Chapter 3

Beverly wanted to come down as soon as she heard about their parent’s death, but Virginia convinced her to stay in San Francisco to finish up the semester claiming that they both couldn’t afford to drop out of school so late in the school year.

Virginia resented her older sister for dumping the latest responsibility of the house and bills over to her. Leaving for Boston was the best thing to ever happen to Virginia and it was just like Maxine to be so selfish and careless. She didn’t even stop to consider what Virginia wanted to do with her life. Virginia was newly twenty and this recent change in her life was making her quite apprehensive. Not to mention the fact that she was feeling claustrophobic with the fear that all her high school days would be relived.

South being in the house was a constant reminder of the judgment and ridicule that she had so desperately left behind. He had not changed since she saw him last before she left for Boston. She remembered the end of the summer bash at Scott’s house, one of the richest boys in school. It was the party of all parties to reunite the senior class for one last rendezvous before they headed separate ways to start their adult lives.

Of course, along with any gathering involving the senior class, many with a history that dated back to their elementary school days, there was drama. South was known as a chronic cheater, just like his father who is one of the top criminal lawyers in Los Angeles. The boys would gather around him and slap his shoulder, praising him as the ultimate playboy. Girls saw him as if he were a pair of the hottest Manolo Blaniks. There was only one of him and he was in high demand. This limited supply of South Hue actually caused a string of broken friendships.

One of which had been best friends since the second grade. Anna and Rebecca were famous for being in competition with one another. For being close childhood friends they seemed more like enemies. One would always be talking crap about the other or trying to steal the limelight by out shining the other. It finally became the last straw when Anna found out the Rebecca had been secretly dating South at the same time as her. At the party, after a couple of cocktails Rebecca accidentally admitted this little surprise to her best friend and confessed that she thought she was pregnant with his child. Anna was so enraged with Rebecca’s lack of respect for their friendship had pushed her into the nearby pool.

Although entertaining to watch, Virginia found it ridiculous.

“You would think that since he’s hooked up with half the girls in school that they would know better.” Virginia told Beverly as she sipped her beverage. Scott had handed it to her as she walked in the door and it was more vodka than orange juice.

“While we see man whore they see hot and charming.” Beverly waved at someone from across the room.

“Conceited asshole totally outweighs hot and charming.”

Beverly nodded in agreement, “Totally.” Beverly was once a big fan of South’s handsome good looks and ability to use his words to make a girl feel like she was a diamond in the rough. This soon faded when South had made a manly bet with his friend Camden to see if he could land Beverly in the sack. At the time Beverly had a boyfriend, but by nature she was not a cheater. She use to say that her and Camden had an undeniable mutual attraction, one that she could no longer resist. Although she knew that he was commonly associated with the most uncommitted bachelor in school, she still took a chance on him. Beverly was proud that she had an uncanny ability to remain good friends with all her past exes. It was the reason she escaped a broken heart on so many occasions because the relationships always ended with “no hard feelings.”

The day that Beverly heard about the bet she was overwhelmed with a mixture of anger and hurt. For weeks after that she was still moping around her house over Camden, too proud to get back together with him, but too in love with him to get over it. At this particular bash, Beverly was holding a new record of a month without so much as a date.

A week before Virginia left for Boston, she had run into Camden at the mall and when he found out that Beverly had already left for San Francisco, he looked saddened by the news that he had missed out on fully being able to love her.

This fiasco added to the long list of why Virginia despised South.

South currently attended the University of Irvine, only a twenty minute drive away, and upon his acceptation into the school he pledged for the most prestigious fraternity there, Zeta Epsilon. This only gave South access to more women to prey on and he was consistently showing off his studly ways by inviting them over to the house.

“I just don’t get why you don’t go live with your jackass frat brothers.” Virginia complained as she was picking up one of his sweaters off the living room floor.

South smiled at her. An adorable smile that usually won many hearts in which no longer had an effect on Virginia since their freshman year. “I would miss you too much.” He teased.

“Isn’t your dad like a famous lawyer or something? You can afford to live anywhere else.” Virginia threw the sweater at him in annoyance.

South’s smugness immediately disappeared. “I’ve disassociated myself from him.” He pulled the sweater off his head and before Virginia could inquire more about the reason why he said, “You’re being such a grouchy nag. I have a lease signed with Maxine. You couldn’t kick me out if you wanted to.”

She was legally not the landlord and this made her boil inside because she had a tenant that she not only hate, but couldn’t get rid of.

Later on, Virginia found out through Brittany that South’s father had finally divorced his mother after years of unfaithfulness and married a girl South use to be involved with. Mrs. Hue was left with nothing and forced to move out of their lavish home into a small loft outside of town. South could not stand for the way Mr. Hue had treated her and decided that he would give up his privilege life to be with the woman that was there for him all those years when his father had abandoned them for sex.

“How do you know all this?” Virginia asked.

“Oh, Zeta Epsilon are frequent visitors at the club.” Brittany said coyly. Brittany was not at all shy about being a stripper. The day she moved in, Maxine had briskly mentioned that Brittany worked at a nightclub and during casual conversation Brittany was surprised that Virginia hadn’t know that she was a exotic dancer.

Hours later Virginia was scolding Maxine about her choice in tenants. Virginia right then and there had decided that Brittany was probably a wild party girl who would bring men, drugs and trouble to their house.

Maxine looked at Virginia in disbelief. “You are just like other people.”

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“You’re a judgmental asshole.”

Virginia stepped back as if Maxine had just thrown a dart at her. The very next day she decided to get to know Brittany a little bit better.

It turned out that Brittany had moved to Los Angeles from a very small town in Texas to become a professional dancer. “Like in the music videos, ya know?” Brittany sighed. The industry was rough and Brittany wasn’t getting enough gigs to live on so when she saw an ad for a dancer that could make $1,000 dollars a week she decided to go audition for it. It wasn’t her dream to take her clothes off for money, but she thought it would be okay for the time being.

A year later, Brittany decided that she wanted to go back to school to become a doctor, just in case her dancing career fell through. She kept her job at the club in order to pay for tuition. She was proud that when she would finish in ten years that she wouldn’t be in debt.

After Virginia got pass what was on the outside, Brittany and her became fast friends.

As Virginia and Brittany seemed to get closer, South and Virginia only became more hostile, almost violent towards one another. Weekend after weekend, girls with hangovers would trickle down from South’s bedroom and Virginia would gripe about how they had no self-respect and how disgusted she was that South treated them like toys.

“You should know a thing or two about that.” South said one day.

“Why?” Virginia questioned.

“It’s not like you were the most innocent girl at our high school, Virgin.” He reminded her.

Virginia threw a pillow at him from the couch. “You don’t know shit about me.”

“I know a lot of shit about you.” South smirked, “Details and all.”

“You’re a fucking jerk.”

“You’re a slut.”

“I fucking hate you.”

“Good.”

“Fine!”

Virginia gritted her teeth in anger. Every time he called her “Virgin” she felt like he was mocking her for her past errors with boys and the promiscuous reputation that followed. The double standard was what made her hate him most. He was not a boy without misconduct. In fact, every chance he got he would charm girls exactly like her into sexcapades with him. She couldn’t understand how he could be rewarded for the same behavior that she was known for.

What ate her up most was the fact that she didn’t ask to be the school slut, while South accepted his own reputation with a great amount of pride. Boys like South haunted Virginia all throughout high school. It seemed they all wanted a piece of her and although she never gave many of them the pleasure, no one looked beyond the image that they had created for her.

It wasn’t enough that it was acceptable for South to be the school playboy, he had to flaunt his sexual prowess. His arrogance only suffocated Virginia and this only resolution was to get into bickering matches with him about how disgusted she was that he measured what sort of a man he was by how many women he slept with, but deep down she was only jealous that she couldn’t be proud of what she had become.