Fifth Story: Two Sides of The Same Coin

Chapter 4

20 January 2022

"Isn't there anything we can do about this? Things are getting out of hand," Yến paces around the Student Council Room. "That woman is seriously getting on my nerves!"

"We have to gather support, as you said. But we should start with the Communist Youth," the Vice-President suggests. "Without their support, there's no way we could even think of going against her."

"No way! No way in hell will I deal with those people! I can't stand them; I want to teach them a lesson!"

"He's right, Prez. At this rate, we might actually lose our positions unless we make truce with them," An nibbles on the frame of her glasses. "I think you should actually set aside your differences and work together."

"Yến, life's not black and white and definitely not a zero-sum game. Think about this carefully. Don't you also want to make up with your sister?"

"Shut up, shut up, both of you! You're annoying! What do you know about me and my problems!"

"Prez, you're too selfish and competitive! Spend some time thinking about how others feel for once. You only care about winning and your reputation!" An snaps back at her.

Taken aback by those words, she could not help but get angry at these two and storms off. Now that there are only Hiếu and An left in the room, the former lets out a sigh of frustration while the latter just decides to make some coffee for him.

Yến runs and runs for a while until she finds herself in the canteen on the ground floor. It is just five minutes into lunchtime, so naturally, the place is rather bereft of activity. She seats herself at an empty table, far from the centre of the small crowd. With her face down on the table, she pretends to be asleep, but she is, in fact, regretting her harsh choice of words.

"I should go apologise to them before it's too late..."

Meanwhile, in the Communist Youth Room, Oanh is slouching on her desk when Châu Anh and Thủy unload some snacks on the desk.

"Chocolate?"

"I figured you could use some, Leader," Châu Anh bites a bar of dark chocolate. "You once told us that you've loved chocolate since you were a kindergartener. So much that your mother even spanked you for eating some just before dinner."

"Stop that, it's embarrassing," the Chairwoman takes a bar and tears the wrapping off. "Anyway, y'all got somethin' to ask me, right? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Well, it's more like a snack, Leader," Thủy comically misses the point. "We are quite curious about, uh... how and why you're so hostile towards Senior Yến."

"You are also in cahoots with her, Châu Anh?"

"I exercise my right to remain silent."

"Idiots," Oanh laughs. "I used to admire Sis for a damned long time, up until I was in seventh grade. People thought that I have a sister complex or something. I always asked her to tutor me and asked her for advice whenever I had my problems to solve."

"Then what happened?"

"Then I, one day, realised that I will never be as good as her no matter how much hard I try. My parents, my relatives, even my grandparents would only sing the praises of her. It got extremely annoying after a while because I believed, and still believe that no one is paying attention to me. It's always Yến, always about her. My parents have expectations for both of us, but only Sis manages to meet them every single time."

"A case of inferiority complex, then."

"Thủy..." Châu Anh shoots daggers at her junior. "Sorry, that wasn't very polite of us."