94: Flashbacks and Betrayals.

KIKI.

Flashback. Twenty years ago.

“She’s lying.” I heard him say as my mind immediately went blank.

What? Did he just support his bully of a brother and throw me to the tigers to feed on? Did he just choose his brother who bullied him over his friend who protects him from his brother and gets picked on for it?

“That’s seals it, Kiki. It’s now two against one, Giovanni can’t be lying against you. We all know how truthful he is, so here’s the punishment for you, because this is the first time which you'll be doing something like this, you won’t be expelled for the camp, you are to clean the gardens and bathrooms for the next days you’ll spend in camp.” The elderly lady had said.

The punishment I was given was nothing compared to the mockery and bullying I knew I was going to get for the next day’s in the camp. All for what I didn’t even do.

“Why did you do that to me?” I asked Giovanni as soon as we were alone.

“I… I… am… I had to… I am…” He stuttered, saying nothing meaningful to my already angry self.

“I thought we were friends, I thought of you as my friend, how could you throw me under the bus that way, how could you not have my back especially when expected?” I questioned further, angry.

But before he could speak further, Gaston and his cohorts showed up and he immediately put his arm around his neck just before speaking, “Friends? Oh please, you are no friend to my brother, stop giving yourself so much than you deserve. We don’t make friends with poverty striken people like you in out family, and he would imof course not choose you over his own brother, did you think he would? Did you really think he would do something to disgrace his own brother all of someone like you? You make me laugh.” He said, in such demeaning ways as his friend started to laugh.

Giovanni remained silent as he kept looking down at his feet without looking at me at all.

My eyes welled with tears but I was not one to back down without a fight even as a child so I spoke, “You know, for your big age, Gaston, you’re one huge idiot and fool. You’re what, six years or seven older than I am and you derive so much joy in bullying me? Someone way younger and weajer than you are? You're sick and you need mental attention as soon as possible.” I said to him before storming out of his presence.

For the next days that followed, I became a laughing stock in camp as the kids termed me a thief and called me various names whenever the adults were not with us. As if that wasn’t enough, I was sideenly called upon by our guardians again and accused of poisoning Giovanni.

Apparently, he was rushed to the camp clinic that morning after eating a food that Gaston and some girls had said I gave to him, a girl even testified to seeing me mix some stuff in it. I was then expelled from camp immediately, the last thing I saw as I left was Giovanni looking at me through the closed gates of the camp as I was driven away by my dad.

That was the last time I ever went to any thing called summer camp due to the bad experience and trauma that it had left with me. Giovanni was my very first friend and my first betrayal as well, I hated him for as long as I could remember.

As I looked between the brothers before me right now, I couldn’t help but connect that faint memory with them both.

The same name? The same nationality? Almost the same attitude?

Coincidental much?

And so I decided to satisfy my curiosity and confusion, “Did you guys ever visit this country as kids by chance?” I asked as they both stopped their fight to look in my direction.

Confused, Giovanni answered, “uh… yes? We visited when we were kids.”

“Where exactly?” I questioned further.

“Summer camp here in New york.” He replied. By now, Gaston was looking to and fro between the both of us.

“What year is this?”

“About twenty years ago, 2002, I suppose?”

At this confirmation to my memories, I knew I was right. They are those same boys who had dared to ruin my social life as a kid. The same ones who are almost doing the same thing even at this time too.

It is really the same Giovanni and Gaston. If I had any doubts about this resignation I was planning on doing before, it was definitely gone immediately this was confirmed.

“So it’s you two? Wow. Really? It’s really that same Gaston and Giovanni from summer camp? The same ones who had framed me up for stealing and then lied that I even tried to poison Giovanni? The same ones who made me a laughing and bully victim in camp and then got me expelled?” I ranted on and it was obvious that Gaston had immediately rembered who I was as he started to laugh hysterically while Giovanni looked stuck instead.

“Wow, its really that summer camp bitch? Life is so funny, you know? You stepped on my toes back then and I put you in the trash where you belong in no time and easily at that, you know, you made that boring and stupid camp so fun for me back them, thanks to you, I didn’t have to keep sulking about been forced to go to a foreign camp in a country I didn’t even want to be in. How do you feel taking the side of the same man who had betrayed you back then, huh? Remember how he threw you under the bus so easily?” He said as he started laughing hysterically again, just as if he was having so much fun at my expense.

“Get out of my office, Gaston!” Giovanni snapped sternly as he glared at him.

“Why would I do that?” He retorted.

“Because I’m asking you to get your stupid ass out, that’s why, Gaston! Now leave before I throw a punch at you, you know that you can’t take me anyways. Just because I let you beat me up doesn’t mean you’re actually stronger than I am, or do you want to test my patience and get punched to know that I’m not joking right now?” Giovanni threatened his brother as he stalked towards him like a predator sizing up its prey.

Gaston seemed to take the hint as he started to walk towards the entrance like the pussy that he was and soon he was out of the office, Matteo who I had forgotten about followed too with some excuse about getting a document Giovanni needs to sign.

As soon as he was out and the door was closed, Giovanni walked towards me with an apologetic face that I was way past. Nothing like that was going to make me change my mind, not after the realization I had come to, no way.

“I’m sorry, I… I… can explain everything that happened then, Kiki. Just give me the chance to, please.” He started but I was not about to give him the chance to get into my head again.

“Save it, Giovanni. First impressions really does matter, let’s just dead and end it all at this point, it has all gone too far now, if you could do that before, you can do it again, have a nice life.” I said to him as I proceeded to storm out but then his voice stopped me in my tracks yet again.

“What!” I snapped as I looked back at him.

“You can’t just Leave.” He said, with a serious face.