Ch 76 - Clean It up

Melissa grabbed the corner of Debbie's lyric sheet. Startled, Debbie looked up and saw that Melissa and the other girls were now standing next to her. She was trying to practice, and she needed that sheet, so why was Melissa trying to take it? She froze for a moment before Melissa yelled, "Let go!"

Debbie was so frightened that she trembled as she let go of the lyric sheet. She looked at Melissa with a hurt expression. Why was she being so mean to her? Her heart sank.

Janice was very nice to Debbie, but Melissa and her friends didn't seem to like her.

"Don't be so serious," Melissa said jokingly, as she dropped into a swivel chair. Katie and Olivia sat beside her, while Rita remained standing, looking at Debbie with a faint smile.

"Hey, new girl, since you've joined our band, you have to follow our rules." Melissa sneered. "From now on, we're your superiors. I'm the boss. Olivia Taylor is second, Katie Jackson is third, and Rita Lopez over there is fourth. You're last. You should call me Miss Kennedy."

"Yes, Miss Kennedy," Debbie said. Although she knew they were teasing her, she still did as they asked. She looked at Rita, who was fiddling with her guitar, and said, "Hello, Miss Lopez."

"Just call me Rita. There's no such rule," Rita said plainly.

Melissa glanced at Rita. She laughed, and the other girls joined in. She was quite proud of her joke, but Debbie was being very quiet, having been firmly put in her place.

Debbie ignored their mockery. Right now, all she wanted to do was improve her singing, and she just wanted to be left alone to practice. She turned away.

"Hey, new girl, did we say you could go?" Melissa asked with dissatisfaction. A scowl marred her beautiful face.

"What do you want?" Debbie asked, also unhappily. She had called them by their surnames as they had wanted, but they were always calling her "new girl". They had no respect for her at all.

"Haven't you seen the mess in this room?" Melissa asked. "Every new member needs to take a turn cleaning up, so you can do it now. Remember to clean everything on the table and to wash the floor properly."

Rita stopped strumming her guitar and sighed. When she saw that Debbie had accepted Melissa's order and had started cleaning, she shook her head and resumed playing.

Debbie cleared the table, and then she swept the floor with a broom before wiping it with a mop. She was very good at these things. Before she had come to college, she had often helped her mother with tasks like these.

She had just finished cleaning the floor when Olivia and Katie walked over it on their way to the door, leaving two rows of black footprints.

Debbie glanced at the two of them as they wandered off, talking and laughing. She didn't say anything, but simply wiped away their footprints.

When she had finally finished, she was about to put away the mop when Katie and Olivia came back with a few bags of snacks.

"Please wait a few minutes and the floor will be dry," she said to them with a smile.

"I'm in a hurry," Katie said casually as she followed Olivia into the practice room, again leaving two rows of black footprints behind them.

Debbie glared at their backs, but in the end, she still took the mop and wiped away their footprints.

"Stay there," she told them. "The floor will be dry in about five minutes. If you walk on it again, I won't clean it." She knew that these three girls didn't like her.

Before Debbie finished speaking, Melissa looked at her with a smile. The bag she was holding slowly fell from her hands, and the potato chips dropped to the floor, causing a mess.

"Oops. I'm sorry," Melissa said with a smile. "Let's get this place cleaned up a bit more."

No matter how good-natured Debbie was, she couldn't help but glare angrily at Melissa. She didn't say anything as she carried her mop and walked out the door.

"Stop!" Melissa cried out, her voice echoing in the empty practice room.

Debbie did not stop.

"Where do you think you're going?" Melissa yelled.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from behind Debbie, who turned around and raised her hands to defend herself.

Melissa grabbed Debbie's neck and pushed her against the wall. "Who do you think you're dealing with? You're a country bumpkin from a small town. How dare you disrespect me?"

"You're nothing compared to us," Katie said with a sneer. "Show some respect."

"Your mother wants to puke when she sees you acting so pitiful. Do you really think you can be the lead singer?" Olivia said sarcastically.

Debbie only looked at them in fear.

"Look at this little bitch," Melissa said, laughing. "She's so scared of us that she's shaking. And here she thought she was so awesome." She fiercely pushed Debbie away, causing her to stagger. "Go! Clean up the floor."

Angry and frightened, Debbie picked up a broom and prepared to clean.

"Look, Melissa," Olivia said. "She'll do whatever she's told, just like a dog. She'll be easy to control in the future."

"That's right. Who cares if she sings well?" Katie joined in. "But we won't be able to beat her if she becomes the lead singer."

Listening to her friends' flattery, Melissa felt proud of herself. She crossed her arms and sneered at Debbie.

"Didn't this little bitch say that she and her mother are the only two people in her family?" she asked. "With her mother being a poor woman from the country, it would be a miracle for Debbie to go to university. Her mother must have done something shady to get the money. If she could have some fun and also earn some extra money…"

"Shut up!" Debbie yelled as she turned around to glare fiercely at Melissa.

"Hey, bitch, did you dare to yell at me?" Melissa spoke slowly and deliberately, as she angrily walked toward Debbie. "So, your mom is your weak spot, right? Your mother is a prostitute who sleeps with men all day long…"

She kicked at Debbie's lower abdomen.

"Don't insult my mother!" Debbie screamed angrily. She grabbed Melissa's leg and flung her away so hard that Melissa's head bounced off the floor when she fell.

Debbie and her mother had always been mutually dependent on each other, and she knew how many hardships her mother had suffered to provide for her.

When Olivia and Katie saw Melissa hit the floor, they rushed forward and pushed Debbie away.

"You little bitch, you actually dared to hit me!" Melissa said, glaring at her. "You'll pay for that." She rubbed at her head as Katie and Olivia helped her up. "Hit her," she ordered.

The girls rushed at Debbie to beat her up.

Debbie was too weak to fight back. She could only kneel on the ground, hugging her head to protect it.

Blows rained down on her shoulders. Katie kicked her to the floor, and then all three of them jumped on her, kicking her head, back, and stomach.

"Enough!" Rita pushed Melissa and the other girls, who were punching and kicking Debbie as hard as they could.

"Mind your own business!" Melissa said, glaring at Rita.

"You guys are being too loud. I need some peace and quiet," Rita said, looking at Melissa.

"Then get lost!" Melissa said, exasperated. "If it's too noisy here, then go somewhere else."

"Do you want me to call Janice?" Rita took out her phone and shook it at her.

"You—" Melissa stared angrily at Rita. If Janice found out about this, then they would be in trouble. She glanced at Debbie, then said, "If you dare to complain to Janice, you'll be sorry."

"Let's go!" Melissa glared at Rita and then left with Olivia and Katie.

Rita let out a sigh of relief as she watched the girls walk away. She turned around and looked at Debbie, who was curled up on the floor, trembling, with her arms wrapped around her head.

She's so pitiful, she thought, feeling sorry for her.

"Get up," she said, squatting down to help her. Debbie's face had a few bruises, and her hair was a mess. Her clothes were dirty and covered in black footprints.

"Thank you," Debbie said softly, with tears in her eyes.

Rita was moved by her timid appearance.

"No need to thank me," Rita said, looking away. "I just don't like those guys."

"Well, thank you, anyway," Debbie answered, a little disappointed by Rita's words.

"If you don't want to be bullied again, then you need to find a boyfriend to protect you," Rita said. Then she walked toward the door.

"Debbie!" Alex called as he rushed in, brushing past Rita. When he saw Debbie, he was shocked and felt sorry for her.

Rita's expression became a bit dejected. Judging by Alex's appearance and clothes, he wouldn't be able to protect Debbie at all.

"Alex!" Debbie said. When she saw him, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears started dripping down her cheeks, and she hugged him tightly.

"Who hit you?" Alex asked, looking at her bruised face. He was anxious to know the identity of the culprit so that he could avenge her. He turned around and looked at Rita with an unfriendly expression. "Is that her? I'll make her pay for this."

"No, it's not her," Debbie said. "The person who hit me has gone." She pulled him back, stopping him from going after Rita.

Rita smiled wryly and shook her head. Debbie's life was already difficult enough, and the universe had given her a silly boyfriend like this. Disappointed, she walked out of the room.