GRIEVOUS VENGEANCE

CHAPTER 1

Mina stared at her laptop screen, one by one reading the topic about her on a popular social media forum, ChitChat. She just came home from taping. With her messed up hair and make-up, she's frowning while reading the comments of netizens, and she had not washed herself yet.

"Here they are again, saying tons of hurtful words and lies about me. What have I done to them?" Tears welled up in Mina's eyes. She made a loud sobbing. She did not know where the rumors about her were coming from. She never once done those accusations against her. The girl again felt a mixture of nervousness, rebellion and trauma.

Trembling, Mina got up from sitting at her study table, and headed for the medicine cabinet. Her eyes dimmed with tears as she searched for her antidepressant. With trembling hands, she picked up whatever bottle of medicine she had found in the cabinet. She tried to walk back to the front of her laptop and sat down on the swivel chair. Her whole muscle was still shaking while having mixed emotions. While shaking in opening the bottle, she poured a handful of medicine tablets into her hand then poured it all into the mouth. She reached for a glass of water beside the laptop then emptied everything. She wiped the tears from her face with her arm and then went back to reading the comments on ChitChat.

Her phone rang. She picked up the phone and answered her manager's call. "Y-Yes, Sandy?" Mina answered the manager while having difficulty in breathing. She touched his forehead.

"Don't read anything on the news and social media. Take a break. You still have a photo shoot tomorrow," her manager ordered.

"O-okay, s-sure." Her eyesight dimmed as she stared at the laptop while listening to her manager. She dropped the phone and unconsciously sank into the laptop keyboard. 'Die f**k die! You all die! F**k die!' was repeatedly typed into the chat box and sent to the open chatroom using Mina Garcia's personal account. Mina's bashers replied with hurtful words because they thought Mina was cursing them.

MinaGarcia: 'Die f**k die! You all die! F**k die!'

SexyTara: No, you die, b***h!

FoxyCarla: Go to hell!

HotDenise: F *** you!

There was no response from Mina again but the hurtful words from her bashers continued.

¤¤¤¤¤

"In the hot news, controversial multiple best actress awardees Mina Garcia was found dead in her condo unit this morning. The cause of death was found to be an overdose on sleeping pills, and the root cause of the 21-year-old girl's suicide. According to the investigation of PO1 Roman Marquez, they found that her laptop was still open and the girl was still logged on to the social media platform ChitChat and there she was found dead crouching on the keyboard. The girl repeatedly typed the words 'Die f**k die! You all die! F**k die!' before she died. The police are still investigating to make sure there was no foul play. I am Janice Sanchez, reporting."

Janine's mother turned off the TV, got up and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. "Young people today are bullies, they just easily insult others on social media. Janine, do not imitate those people. Your conscience will not give you peace ot mind if you find out that the person you are bullying has committed suicide," Mina's Mom Trinidad said.

"Yes, Mom. I don't like showbiz and I don't have an idol. I am not a fan of bullying, too. The only ones who love to fight on social media are those fans who love fan wars. Those bullied celebrities online are pitiful, being judged based on what people just heard from gossips." Janine folded the book she was reading and stood up to help her mother prepare the food. "Our faces have similarity. She's more beautiful though. I also don't believe she had a plastic surgery and she's a mistress of a congressman."

"Janine, whether those are true or not, those narrow-minded people will never believe her. We do not know the cause of their bullying and we may not know the truth ever again. Let them be. Most important now is we, our family, do not meddle in other people's business. It is terrible to look down on other people, too. Never do that," her mother preached again as she put the cutlery on the table.

"Don't worry, 'Mom. That's why you sent me to school, not only to have a good future but also to become educated and well-behaved. I always remember your words, Mom. Promise. " Janine even raised her right palm.

"It 's good then. Go ahead. Wash your hands then call your siblings so we can eat. Your father will spend the night in the police station later because he is working with other investigators of Mina's case. Let's not wait for him at dinner. " Trinidad sat down and scooped up some rice and placed on her children's plate.

Janine went out to look for the two siblings who were in the neighborhood and were playing. "Mrs. Cedes, where's Norie and Nathan?"

"Oh, Janine, they are here, and there's my daughter Helen, crying. Did you watch that news? Helen's idol committed suicide. Norie and Nathan are comforting Helen now. Come in." Mrs. Cedes opened the door for Janine to enter.

She saw Helen crying in the living room, slouching in the couch. Janine approached Helen and tapped her on the shoulder. "Don't cry. There is nothing we can do. Let's just pray for her." Helen spoke between sobs.

"Poor her, Janine. If you just read all the hate messages on ChitChat, even on other sites, you will be really sorry. Until now they are not showing any remorse, she is still being bullied." Helen moaned even more.

"Wipe your tears. Sooner or later, karma will hit them hard," Janine said, comforting Helen. "Come on, Norie, Nathan, we're going to eat dinner." Janine's sister Norie, a fourteen-year-old girl, wiped away the tears using her hands. She was also a big fan of Mina.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Helen," Norie and Nathan bade goodbye.

"I hope they get their karma soon enough," Helen whispered.

----

CAMARIN CITY COLLEGE

Janine was walking down the hallway of the building towards their classroom when she saw her best friend Jackie. "Janine, did you hear? Poor Mina Garcia, right? I heard that Sir Homer is Mina's uncle. He asked earlier if we could go to the wake later."

"Ah, really. All right, let's go later." Their class adviser, Sir Homer, is their favorite professor because he is very kind and has a very broad understanding of his students. He is also approached by those who have problems in class or even in personal life to seek for advice.

"It's good for her. That's right, that's her karma for being the mistress of the old congressman."

"Yes, why should we sympathize there?"

"Tsk! That Mina thought we would feel sorry for her death?"

Janine and Jackie looked at the group who are trash-talking the deceased actress. They just shook their heads and then went straight to their classroom.

"They're evil, right? Mina will not commit suicide if she was not bullied. Until now they did not show any remorse at all. She's being crucified even more even after her death." Janine slammed the book on the table in her armchair. Even though I'm not a fan of any artist, I'm still not in favor of what they are doing. It is not right for them to judge any person, Janine said to herself.

"You said it right. When you open social media, especially in the ChitChat forum, the bashing they do to any artist is really intense, but Mina's bashing up until now is really below the belt." Jackie pulled out her netbook and opened it. He logged into ChitChat then searched for the topic about Mina Garcia.

Janine glanced at Jackie's netbook monitor. "Is that ChitChat? I don't like going to such websites. I rarely use my social media accounts, you know that."

"Hey, my friend. When you see the content in this site, you will curse the developer of the website. I once tried defending Mina against her basher. You know what? I was also bashed. Wait, I will show you the post and responses of her bashers. " Jackie searched the conversation history and the bashers replied to her

Topic: Is Mina's nose natural or PS?

SexyTara: She went through PS. Try to bend her nose.

HotDenise: She's plastic and made of plastic. Matched!?

Jack & Jill: Guys, Stop it. I think you're being too much.

SexyTara: Jack & Jill shut up, b***h.

HotDenise: You're probably the same with your idol, made of plastic.

CoolDoreen: J&J, You're as ugly as your idol Mina. b***h!

"They're too much, right? The saddest part is, you will be anonymous in creating your account and bash anyone without a trace." Jackie sighed.

"But can the user's IP address be traced?" She knows it because she heard it from her Dad who is a police officer and he's able to trace the IP address of the user.

"It's doable, but it is a lot of work, isn't it, and expensive. Maybe only Mina's manager should look for them." Jackie has already logged out of her ChitChat account since Sir Homer has arrived.

"Good morning, class. I'll be a bit down today because of what happened, but I will try my best not to make my teaching affected. So let's start, bring out your textbooks." Sir Homer's sad statement. Janine just watched their professor who looked as old as her father. It's pathetic but she cannot do anything but just empathize.

¤¤¤

The day class was over, it was peaceful even though they heard rumors about Mina. They went to the meeting place before going to Mina's wake. Sir Homer was already in the campus' gazebos, he was the only one there when Nina and Jackie arrived.

"Sir, the others are not here yet?" Janine still looked around if a student will arrive.

Sir Homer sadly shook his head. "No, it's just the two of you. I've been here early."

They sat on the stone chair of the gazebos and waited for a while but still no one came. "I guess we should just go to the wake." Sir Homer stood up, Janine and Jackie followed. They rode in Sir Homer's car and made their way to the funeral homes.

There were a few press people on the wake when Janine arrived. They went inside where Mina's casket is lying. Sir Homer approached the elderly woman sitting in the foreground, probably Mina's mother. "Mina is gone." Homer hugged the so-called sister.

The woman returned the hug and cried. Homer later introduces Nina and Jackie to Mina's mother. "Thank you so much for coming and your condolences." As the woman wiped away the tears.

"You're most welcome," Janine and Jackie hugged the woman before they approached Mina's casket. She just seemed sleeping.

"She's beautiful, right? She seemed kind and smart. How did other netizens manage to bash her?" Janine said sadly, with regret in her voice. The tip of her nose is doll-like, she has long lashes and red lips. Janine couldn't help but cry as she stared at her. She wiped her eyes using the handkerchief she was holding.

"She's beautiful. I wish I had seen her in person before." Jackie also stared at her beautiful face.

"My siblings and their friend were her fans. Norie has posters on her bedroom wall and a scrapbook of her pictures. She cried a river when she heard that Mina had committed suicide."

Janine touched the mirror of Mina's casket. She felt dizzy because a scene suddenly entered his vision. Mina was furious, wearing the white dress she was wearing now inside the casket, floating out of the laptop screen. She was approaching a woman who looked familiar but Janine could not remember. Mina's hand reached for the woman's neck, then she choked her. Janine lost her consciousness.