Chapter 3 Cyberbullying

Marjorie felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She lifted her head to stare at the sky for a moment, then finally left. She checked out of her hotel room and made her way to Meredith's house with her suitcase. When she arrived, Meredith had still not awoken, so she looked a little grumpy when she came to the door. Marjorie made a face and asked, "Can I stay here with you tonight?" "My pleasure." Meredith grinned as she flung the door wide open. Meredith's house was untidy, with beer bottles strewn all over the place. It seemed that she was enjoying her bachelorette life to the max. "Do you want anything to drink?" Meredith asked rather sheepishly. "What do you have?" "Um, beer. And mineral water. That's all I have." "I'll have some beer then." With that, Marjorie picked up a can of beer from the coffee table, popped it open, and took a giant gulp, much to Meredith's surprise. "Haven't you cut out alcohol because you're trying for a baby?" The two of them used to drink together all the time before Marjorie got married, so much so that there was not a single bar in the city that Marjorie and Meredith did not frequent. However, ever since Marjorie got married, she had been trying for a baby. Even when they went out drinking, she would only order milk, which, to Meredith, was more an embarrassment than anything. "Try for a baby, my ass. I'm about to get divorced soon, so I'm going to live my life the way I want. That asshole can go have a baby with someone else." Meredith was a little perturbed by this. She knew how much Marjorie loved Stephen, so she knew something must be very wrong for Marjorie to want a divorce. "Are you really divorcing him? Why?" "Carolyn is back. They're together again," Marjorie said with her head lowered. Meredith leaped out of her seat in disbelief. "What? Carolyn? The one who dumped Stephen two years ago?" "Yup, that's her." Meredith was infuriated to hear this. "She vanished into thin air two years ago, and now that she's back she's stealing your man from you? Is there no other man in the world she can prey on? Why is she stealing someone's used goods?" "Well, I stole the man from her in the first place. If anything, I was the one who had stolen her used goods, but now even this man is leaving me. Am I really that unattractive?" Marjorie wailed. "That's not what I meant, Marjorie. All I'm trying to say is we should strike back. We should expose those snakes for who they are so everyone will see their true colors," Meredith said with a frown. "Then everyone will know that Stephen cheated on Marjorie because she's bat-shit crazy," Marjorie said, trying to feign nonchalance. When she saw the worried look on Meredith's face, Marjorie tried to reassure her as best as she could. "The truth is, I've gained a lot from this marriage. Stephen has never restricted my spending, and I'm sure you're well aware of that too. I lived the life I could not even dream of during these two years, and I know plenty of women would kill to be in my position." Meredith did not think it would be difficult for Marjorie to find another man. After all, Marjorie had a beautiful and dainty face with twinkling eyes, rosy pink lips, and a slender yet curvy figure. She had lustrous blonde hair that framed her face perfectly. Not only that, but back when they were in college, her professors would praise Marjorie for her potential in the film industry. When she graduated with her film degree, Marjorie received many offers from famous record labels. She could have chosen any one of them, and she would have been catapulted into a career of stardom, but she had chosen Stephen instead. However, he provided her nothing apart from wealth; if anything, it was less valuable to her since it did not come from her hard work. "What are you going to do now?" Meredith asked. "I'm probably going to go back into voice acting. There's a movie to be released soon, and the director offered me an opportunity to voiceover the main character." Voice acting was one of the only things Marjorie stuck with since her marriage to Stephen. The only reason was that with voice acting, she could hide behind a screen without anyone knowing who she was. "I think you should delve into something that gives you more recognition. You're talented and beautiful, I think you will do well as an actress. I can be your manager. I'd like to think I'd be a splendid manager," Meredith said confidently. Although Marjorie majored in film, she had the advantage of being exceptionally attractive, and so she could easily get into the acting industry. "I haven't been in front of a camera for two years now," Marjorie said, crestfallen. "Don't be discouraged. You've got plenty of potential. All the movies you've done voiceovers for over the past two years have done so well. Some of the critics are even searching for you, and the only reason you're choosing to hide behind a screen is because of Stephen. Come on, that Carolyn is an actress but she's nothing compared to you. All she does in her movies is blink and say a few lines. If she can get famous doing that, I'm sure you can do much better than her." "I know my potential, Meredith, and I believe I can do it too, but now's not the best time. Besides, I get a lot of satisfaction from voice acting, so just have some faith in me, okay?" The two of them spent the rest of the night talking and ended up sleeping in the same bed together, just like the old days. At 6 a.m., Marjorie's phone rang. She picked up in a sleepy stupor and asked, "Hello, who is it?" "Madam, do you know where Sir put his blue watch?" It was Fiona. "Isn't it in the glass cabinet where he stores all his watches?" A moment of silence. Finally, Fiona continued, "Madam, all the watches are there except this particular one." "Don't wear it, then. He can choose any other watch he wants. It's so early in the morning. Did you wake me up just for this?" Marjorie shouted, then slammed the phone down. "Sir, Madam says you should wear another watch," Fiona said sheepishly. "I heard her. I'm not deaf, you know, but I need to wear that watch. It's the only watch that matches the blue suit she got for me." "Should I call her again?" Fiona asked, despite her unwillingness to do so. She knew she would get her head chewed off if she called Marjorie again. "What do you think?" Stephen snapped. All of a sudden, his phone rang. "Mr. Stephen, something terrible has happened to Ms. Carolyn!" Carolyn was when the fire broke out on Maple Street, making her one of the nineteen people injured at the scene. Thankfully, she had suffered only minor injuries. Her foot had been trod on during the rampage when everyone scrambled to escape from the building. Unfortunately, someone had caught her getting into the ambulance, and a video of her was circulating the internet now, with mean comments piling up by the minute. Ms. Carolyn was now a victim of cyberbullying.