𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 - high&low the worst: x cross

ELEVEN

—[ t r u s t f u n d b a b y ]—
}{
{ woah, it feels good putting on
your dirty clothes.
you're something different, rockin',
rollin', swagin', swagger, wrong! }
free falling; 01

c h a p t e r e l e v e n
「 m o m m y i s s u e s 」
}{

Gigi has never really gotten along with her mother. She has always tried hard but eventually realized there was no hope. Now all she does is attempt to at least live a civil life with the woman that gave birth to her. On the other hand, Gigi adores her stepfather who gives her an abundance of love. It was nice having an adult around that genuinely cared for her. At first, Gigi had been very skeptical about Hideoyoshi Nakamoto but she warmed up to him and not only because he bought her expensive gifts, but because he was genuinely interested in her life. Just like right now as she sat with the extremely wealthy man in a small shop having lunch in Oya City with her friends, her stepfather was getting along very well with the boys. "World Cup is happening in Qatar this year in December!" Yasushi said excitedly

You would think someone as fucking crazy as Yasushi didn't have any actual ambitions or interests other than fighting but he was very very into Football. "Do you even know where Qatar is?" Tsukasa asked the Burning Tower resident

Yasushi only shrugged and said he'd failed geography in 6th grade. "Ah~ I've been to Qatar, it's really hot. An Arab country" Her stepfather explained to the boys "its all just desert and really hot which makes sense why they're hosting Fifa in December and not the months they usually do"

There were often long conversations about football and football clubs and other things like that. Gigi didn't follow the sport like that and often did not understand what they talked about but it was nice seeing them get along. At first, Gigi did think her stepfather would be like her mother and tell her not to see any of the boys but instead, he encouraged their friendship and talked about how it was good to have many friends even if they weren't of the same gender.

About 2 hours had passed and Gigi's stepfather had paid for everyone. "Boys, you should come up and visit" Her stepfather told them as they stood in front of the expensive car parked near the shop "you boys haven't met Amagai's son yet have you? Gigi's boyfriend?" Her stepfather usually didn't say Kōhei's name, only referring to him as her boyfriend

The boys all looked at each other a bit awkwardly. "um, no, Gigi doesn't want us too" Todoroki said before anyone else or Gigi could say anything

Gigi coughed awkwardly when her stepfather gave her a glare. "Come on to-san, you know how Kōhei is. He's gonna throw a fit to Ryo and then Ryo's gonna be mad at me for making his best friend mad"

"When is Ryo ever not mad? I swear that boy doesn't have a happy bone in his body" Hideoyoshi Nakamoto said with a shrug

"Senomen sounds fun" Tsukasa said shaking his head

"It's not" Gigi told them with a frown

"Transfer back then!" Fujio said, a huge smile on his face

Gigi looked at her stepfather and so did the rest of the boys, the man only shrugged. "Do what you want, just bring me whatever forum you need to sign"

Cheers erupted in the quiet street. However behind Gigi's huge smile was a look of hesitation, she wasn't sure if she should transfer back. There were bound to be consequences.

—

Unlike most kids from Hope Hill and Oya Kou, Gigi was well-versed in communicating with adults. The fake polite smiles and the overly sweet behaviour. But she didn't need to do that all the time since she usually got along with adults pretty well—as long as they weren't all up in her business or didn't try to make her do things she didn't want to. She got along with most adults except her mother. As said before, Ume Miyama was not a kind woman or she was kind to everyone but her daughter. Just like right now. "Why the fuck do you hate me so much anyways?" Gina spat at the older woman "what the fuck did I do to you?"

Ume Miyama narrowed her eyes at the girl. Gina hated it when she sounded like her mother— it made her want to commit arson. Maybe that's where her slight pyromaniac tendencies came from and not from just being born in Burning Tower. "Don't swear at me Gina I am your mother" the woman hissed "if only you were a son you would be more respectful"

There it was. It was the classic insult against Gina's entire being thrown at her by the woman who gave birth to her. Why did her mother hate her for something that was out of her control? It made Gina angry. Why was this woman taking out the anger of not having a son on her daughter? What was wrong with this woman?

Mothers and daughters exist as wretched mirrors of each other: I am all you could have been and you are all I might be.

Gina never wanted to end up like her mother. A woman with internalized misogyny who was bitter towards her daughter even after marrying a rich man who has given his all to her. "If you were a son my life would have been so much easier" Uma Miyama spat at her daughter ruthlessly

Whenever Gina looked in the mirror, she got angry seeing the face of her mother. They didn't look exactly alike but there were some similarities. Gina didn't want to look like her mother, it made her want to set herself on fire.

People always tell her, "be nice to your mother, she has lost a lot"

It always seemed so cruel to Gina. Had she not lost anything? Why was her mother taking out the grief of her losses on her own daughter? Why? Why? Why couldn't her mother just love her?

But eventually, Gina found it easier to hate her mother than to find a way to love her.

Cruel mothers are still mothers. They make us wars. They make us revolution. They teach us the truth early.

(The truth being that men always get the first pick. If you want the first pick you have to beat the men at their own game. Be them. Use tricks, use your beauty, be a seductress, don't be unruly and you'll get what you want. Pretend to be innocent, pretend you mean no harm and when you get the chance strike at the throat and get away as quick as possible.)

Gina's mother doesn't remember teaching her that, but she did. Everything Gina knows now was taught by her mother, by observing her.

(Fight for your fucking life and don't stop. Don't get comfortable until you know, till you fucking know it's safe. The world of men is cruel and full of absolute shit. If you want to survive you have to beat the men at their own game.)

Mothers are humans who sometimes give birth to their pain instead of children.

—

If the evening hadn't already been bad enough, Gina's phone buzzed. She sighed in annoyance at the notification. Kōhei had stopped texting her Friday but this time it was Ryo who texted.

Ryo was an asshole just like Kōhei. That's why they were best friends. That's why, Gina would never trust him.

(Yet Gina still doesn't see that she's trusting Kōhei)