Revenge 101: A Manual For Screwing Cheaters Over

Chapter One

What could be defined as a definitive blow? Could it be the proverbial piano that is waiting around the corner? Or more so a flowery and more poetic demise. Maybe it could be equated to the sword of Damocles for a lot of people. Maybe it could be something that snuck up on you but it was very likely it's the weird love-child of both these situations.

Rhianna Jacobs had it going well for her despite coming from a single parent household. He mother was a nurse and she could never say she lacked for anything. Her mother worked a lot and she spent much of her time on her own. So she got up early every day, made breakfast, caught a bus to school, did exceptionally well in school and her after-school activities, went back home, homework, hung out with her best friend, made dinner and finally went to sleep.

She always enjoyed when her mother was around though. She held weekly poker nights and she was a shark who would beat everyone by a landslide. All in all, it was always in good fun. No one could actually hate her. Her winnings would go into savings and she was the one who taught her daughter the value of money... and how to play a good game of poker. She'd dabbled in Vegas as a professional player right after Nursing school and some time before she had her daughter.

One of the more frequent players, Jill, was a hairdresser. Her husband, Mark, was a trucker who was constantly on the road. Because Jill didn't like when her daughter, Madison, was alone in the house and didn't want to find a babysitter, her daughter was also a frequent face. It was this that set in place Rhianna and Madison's best friendship. They had everything working for them as they were neighbors and were both well versed in dealing cards and mixing drinks for the women.

From a young age, Rhianna adored Madison. She was everything she ever wanted to be. At least in mannerisms. She was confident and never afraid to speak her mind making her be deemed the more attractive of the pair. It certainly didn't help that western beauty standards made her into some goddess with her long blonde hair, pale skin and sparkling blue eyes. Rhianna, however, was naturally shy and introverted and thanks to a stuttering problem, she was the target of bullying in grade school. Her mother had called in a favor with a specialist and while it helped, it made her less confident in herself and she deigned to keep to herself.

The poker nights were a regular at their apartment and when a new family moved to the apartment down the hall, Ellis Williams, a recent divorcee was the newest addition to an age old tradition. Ellis had two sons from her former marriage, Eddie and Misha, two curly brown haired boys with brown eyes. At the time they moved in Eddie, Rhianna and Maddie were just shy of turning thirteen while Misha was nine. So during the poker nights, they stayed in the newbies' apartment and only once in a while were they ever back at Rhianna's.

Things began to get so much better around that time. Rhianna had been accepted to a private school on a full scholarship and, of course, her mother, Rachel was incredibly happy for her. Later on, after a series of promotions, the little family was doing great. Rachel even started dating. Things got better after Rhianna got another full scholarship to a private university.

Up to this point, everyone was doing well. Madison had started dating someone, Atlas, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of an up-and-coming band, Kisses After Dusk. She was ecstatic when she was with him and Rhianna was probably even happier for her. Atlas worshipped the ground she walked on and was the only one in the band who was in a solid relationship. If you counted solid as on and off with one single person.

Eddie and Misha were talented at sports. Eddie being the best point guard in the state while Misha was predicted to be one of the best line backers. Thanks to this, they both went to the private school with Rhianna. They all got along really well and Rhianna and Eddie had a sort of relationship. Not dating but not single either and it went on until they were in college. Maybe she should have questioned it but she was busy. Despite her mother having saved her for her university studies, she decided not to use the money and saved up to buy her mother a house in the future. In the mean time, she was juggling school, a part-time job and a blog as an amateur food critic during her free time.