What Happens When You Fall Off?

Jenny's POV

High school, they say it's the best four years of your life, whoever said that wasn't wrong. It was the end of sophomore year and I was glad to have the best boyfriend any girl could ever ask for; Liam Southgate.

His thick tousled blonde hair, his expressive blueish eyes, with an athletic build, an easy confident smile and a luscious British accent. Standing at an impressive 6ft tall, he possessed a striking handsomeness that captivated everyone around him. And I was glad to call him mine.

Here at Kingston Southgate Academy, you had to be stupidly rich, have buttloads of connections, or you had to be smart to get in. Fortunately, me and my friends all fall into the first category, we had stupid rich parents.

For summer, my dad sponsored I and my friends vacation at the Amalfi Coast in Italy. That alone boosted my reputation at school, everyone wanted to know how it felt to be friends with Jenny Parker.

"Okay everyone, time for some yacht pictures.." I said delightfully as I signaled everyone to join me in my photo.

"Then some pictures with my lover boy," I teased Liam with a broad smile on my face.

"The pleasure's all mine for the taking," he said as he joined me in my photo. He showered me with kisses as we took each photo. Couple of the summer, I captioned as I posted on Insta.

Eventually, summer was over and we had to fly back home. My dad and siblings patiently waited for me at the airport, first time they ever did that. Before, it would've been our driver...

"What happened, missed me too much?" I said bubbling with excitement.

"Honey..." my dad chuckled and then hugged me ever so passionately.

"We didn't miss you at all, didn't even know you were gone." Danny said indifferently.

"Yeah, dad forced us to come." Sabrina said.

Danny and Sabrina were like twins, just that Danny was a year and a class older than Sabrina.

"Now come on, show your sister a little bit of affection, will it kill you two?" My dad said.

"Yes father, literally." Sabrina retorted.

I chuckled then I said, "Well, while you two were busy doing whatever, I had the best time of my life in Italy." I tried to make them jealous.

"We saw..." Danny said while rolling his eyeballs.

"And couple of the summer, don't you think that's a little too, far fetched." Sabrina said enviously.

"Someone's jelly.." I sang.

My dad then urged us to stop with the clap backs and get into the car. In the car, we were all singing and vibing to a MJ song when my dad got a call, the call that changed my lifestyle forever.

"...yeah, okay, sure. I'll be there Monday morning sharp."

My dad's mood abruptly changed after that call, it was evident. I sat right next to him in the car, so I could tell.

"Dad, what it is, you stopped singing." I asked, concerned.

"It's nothing sweetheart, I'm just tired. You know, work and all that stuff.." he lied.

"Okay, if you say so," I said then I turned up the volume and continued vibing to MJ.

I was so excited for Monday, my junior year starts then. Danny's freshman year began and Sabrina was an 8th grader, the last stage of middle school. So therefore, we had to for a shopping spree. New clothes, for a new session. It was chaotic but worth it.

"That'll be three hundred thousand dollars please. Cash or card?" the cashier said.

"Card," I said as I gave the cashier my dad's card.

We got back home to find dad rummaging the whole place, questioning the maids and butlers, with anger and frustration.

"Dad, what's going on?" I immediately ran to meet him.

"Where did you three all go?" He asked abruptly.

"Dad, chill out. We went for a shopping spree, school starts tomorrow." I responded.

"Shopping spree?" He asked with confusion. Then he yelled at one of the maids to get him his phone, quickly.

When he got it, he scanned through his phone and then he said at the top of his voice, "300,000 dollars?"

"Dad, you're yelling at everyone right now. It's so not cool," I said annoyed.

"What's going on dad?" Danny asked.

"You spent 300,000 dollars on clothes?!" He yelled.

"We spend more every day, stop acting like it's a big deal and we're marching into poverty." I said.

He was silenced, then he got himself together and said, "Never, take my card without my permission," then he walked out on everyone.

"That was weird," Sabrina said then she asked Madame Sarah to take her thing's upstairs.

Nevertheless, something was up with my dad, and I had to find out but first things first. School starts tomorrow!

I strutted inside Kingston Southgate Academy hallway with my girls by my side all looking graceful as ever. There was never a bad day for us, the top elites of KSA. Me with my thick cascaded black hair and alluring facials, Monae with her stylish fringe framing her face beautifully and adding a touch of elegance to her appearance, Abby the ginger head which stood out and radiated warmth and vibrancy, and Carey, the blondy with the boobs. I don't have much nice things to say about her since she has shown interest multiple times in Liam. Such a pick me girl...she's not out of our squad yet because her father owns part of our school.

Anyways, all eyes were laid on us as we walked through the hallways, Liam then stole me away from the girls. But I apologized before leaving. He walked with me, holding hands, knowing others were watching made the moment feel more special, more meaningful.

At the assembly hall, we were all seated, waiting for Mrs. Southgate to address us all. There she was, Mrs. Southgate, she exuded grace and refinement in her appearance and demeanor. She carried herself with poise and confidence, wearing tasteful clothings as she walked through the stairs to get to the podium. As she climbed the stairs, we flooded her with applause and cheers, I turned to look at her son smiling with pride, cheering his mother on. It made me think back about my own mother, she died when giving birth to Sabrina.

"Good morning Kingston Southgate Academy!" She said with cheerfulness.

"Good morning Mrs. Southgate," we all chorused.

"Before I go on, I would like to say to you all, welcome to your new level!" We all cheered as she said that.

"Some new changes have been made to the school's system. Now, instead of announcing during the second week of resumption, the names of students with outstanding payments and or students who haven't paid this session's tuition, we will now be announcing them on the first day of resumption." Mrs. Southgate added.

I didn't bother to listen each time the list was called, there was no way in hell my name could ever fall in it.

"Everyone please, I want absolute silence as I hand over the stage to Mr. Dunbarton to announce the names." Then she gave way for Mr. Dunbarton to speak.

"Good morning students, I will now be calling the names; Mirabel Diallo, Anastasia Nedville, Benjamin Grutman, Leonard Capell, and...Jennifer Parker?"

Everyone in the hall began to murmur, indistinct chatters loomed the air, and I was confused, dumbfounded.

"Are there two Jennifer Parker's in this school?" Mrs. Southgate asked her staff seated next to her.

"What's going on, why are you all looking at me?" I said to my friends pretending like I didn't know what was happening.

"Did you not hear what Mr. Dunbarton said?" Monae asked me, she almost stuttered while saying it.

Of course I did. I felt my whole world crashing before my very eyes, my name-the Parker name has never been mentioned on such list, why now? What the fuck is happening?! I questioned myself.

Soon, I started breathing heavily, my heart pounding rapidly, it was like I sensed an impending doom. I could hear my friends call out my name, but my ears weren't focused on them, just my heartbeat. Shortly, it stoppped.

"Jennifer Parker, are you okay?" Mrs. Southgate asked me.

I cleared my throat and then responded,"Yeah, yes I am."

Jenny's POV

What happened earlier at the assembly still rang in my head like a bell, I couldn't forget it. Probably the worst day of my life, and more to come if my name being on the list wasn't a mistake.

"There has to be a mixup or something, I can't be on that list." I stressed to my friends in the hallway.

"Of course, your dad sponsored our trip to Amalfi coast in Italy, there is no way he couldn't afford to pay 10millions dollars for the semester." Monae said in my defense.

"What if he forgot to pay it, you know." Abby said trying to be positive.

"Or...what if he just doesn't have the money now since he sponsored the trip." Carey said.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? My dad always says, 'Money is like air for us; we'll never run out.' He's invested in so many successful businesses, and our family's wealth just keeps growing. We live in a mansion, travel on private jets, and shop at the most exclusive boutiques. Money is never a concern for us!" I hushed yelled at Carey.

"Well, some people run outta air though," Carey retorted, ridiculing me then she left us. That wench! My mood was dampened and from a distance, I could sight Liam approaching me. My friends left me as he edged closer.

"My love, how are you feeling?" He asked me as he gave me a big tight hug.

"Bad and embarrassed." I said sadly.

"I talked to my mom, and she said there had to be a mixup or something and that she's on it. But for the main time, you should know the drill."

My mood abruptly changed when I heard what Liam said but I knew the drill; Students who's names appeared on the list had to go home that instant.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but there's nothing I could do about that. I don't want you to leave..." Liam said to me as he grabbed me for a kiss. I turned my face over and sadly said to him, "Of course there's something you could do. Pull some strings, you're the fucking principal's son."

"Jenny come on, my mom's big on equality and impartiality. If she does that for you because of me, how do you think the rest of the people on that list would feel and see my mom?"

"I'm different, I'm Mr. Parker's daughter and your girlfriend." I stretched my hands towards his face and caressed it.

"I'm sorry Jenny, unfortunately, that's not enough." he sadly said as he stopped me from caressing his face. "You should be in your way now, to avoid more embarrassment. I love you Jenny." He said whilst walking out on me.

It didn't take long before I heard my driver honking just outside of school. I exhaled deeply then I said, "Fuck my life!" My dad was going to have it, if any of the theories my friends conjured were actually true, then he was gonna have it coming at him.

"Mr.Pedro, is my dad still at work?" I asked the driver.

"No Jenny, he got back from work few hours ago. He wasn't looking so happy though."

"I don't care if he wasn't looking so happy, my day got ruined too." I said with derision.

"What happened that ruined the beautiful princess day?" He asked me.

"Forget it, I don't wanna talk about it." I mumbled as I looked through the windows.

"Fine, if we're gonna sit here in silence, then at least let's play some music. Your favorite, MJ." He said cheerfully. He was truly a sweet man.

"Okay, you have me now. Play Annie are you okay cause I am definitely not okay."

"Yes ma'am." As Pedro played the song, we both sang along, for some minutes I forgot about all my worries and troubles, MJ was really a great musician.

We eventually got home and immediately I got down from the car I headed up to my dad's bedroom. I knocked real hard on it to prove my anger.

"Who the hell knocks like that?!" He raised his voice as he walked to get the door. As soon as he saw me by the door, his facial expression was astounded. "Honey, why are you back from school this early huh? Confused, he asked me.

"I could ask you the same thing. Daddy, I was embarrassed today at school and you wanna know why? Because someone forgot to pay my tuition!" I yelled.

"Fucking hell, come here my baby girl." He said as he gave me a big right hug causing tears to roll down my eyes.

"Daddy please tell me it was a mixup, please tell me that you paid it so I can go back to school." I said choked on my tears.

"Honey, we need to talk. Just not right now, when your brother and sister gets back from school." He kissed my forehead as he released me from his hug.

"Dad, you didn't answer my question." I said while wiping the tears off my face.

"Honey, please just wait for them to get back, please?" He said then he went back into his room.

I exercised patience, waiting for my siblings to get back from school. "You're back early from school, that's very unexpected..." Danny said confused.

"Yeah, it is. But we're gonna walk away and stop acting like we care." Sabrina jeered.

Shortly, my dad came running down the stairs, "Everyone, family meeting at my meeting room now." He ordered.

Mr. Parker's meeting room

We all sat around a table, waiting for our dad to speak. He hesitated, a lot and I found it annoying. I groaned and then asked, "Dad are you gonna say anything?"

"It's hard okay!" He blurted out. Then he apologized and said calmly, "It's hard because I don't know how to process it myself either."

"Dad if it's about mom, we totally-" he cut me short.

"It's not about your mother sweetheart," he said with his voice trembling slightly. He seemed rather melancholic.

"Then what is it?" Danny asked our dad.

"I lost my job," he struggled to say.

Those words, those four words my dad uttered from his mouth filled the room with silence. I and my siblings exchanged puzzled glances at each other thinking about what this meant for us.

"The company is going through some touch times and they had to let me go." He added.

Danny was the first to speak, " Dad are you really serious?"

Sabrina equally concerned asked, "Is this for real dad? How are we gonna manage without your income?"

My dad nodded somberly. "I'm afraid it's true, kids. I know this is a big change for us, but we'll get through it together. We have to tighten our belts and make some adjustments in our lives."

Devastated I said underneath my breath, "I guess it's true then, Carey was right. Some people do run out of air."

"We're not outta air honey, we just need to-" I cut him short this time and gritted,

"I was sent out of school today, embarrassed in front of everyone at the assembly! We have run out of air if you can't afford to pay the 10 millions dollars that I need to continue schooling at KSA."

"Honey, I get that you're angry and pained and I swear to you, I'm gonna pay that money. I spent a lot of money on your trip to Italy, on your siblings school fees at their school, I just couldn't spare 10 million to pay for your tuition."

"So we've fallen off huh?" I said in disbelief.

"I guess we have," Sabrina said.

What happens when you fall off? I asked myself as I curled up into my bed. Things change, your lifestyle can't be the same anymore, certain privileges stripped and love interest slowly starts to fade. I didn't know how to let my friends know, worse Liam. My fate, my fate depends on what happens next.

Jenny's POV

It was hard to believe my current reality, mostly because I couldn't live within my means anymore. Dad said he had to relieve some workers of their job at the house to cut cost.

"I'm sorry Madame Sarah, but I have to let you and your staff go." My dad said to the old lady, she was saddened deeply by the news.

"But Mr. Parker, I've been a loyal worker of yours before little Jenny was born. You can't do this now, there has to be another way around this." She said softly.

"I'm sorry Madame Sarah, but there's nothing I can do. I can't have underpaid staff working for me worse, non paid staff. It's just not fair on your part." My dad explained calmly to her.

She nodded her head and cleared her throat before saying, "Very well then, I understand. I wish you good luck sir, you and the kids. I and my staff will be out of here by tommorow morning."

My dad then proceeded to tell the cooks about the bad news, "Oh no sir, that's terrible." One of the cooks said. The cooks all discussed indistinctively amongst themselves until one of them said,

"Does it have to be all of us sir, I'm willing to compromise." She spoke softly, with an afrikaan accent tone was graceful as ever. My dad was captured by her beauty and countenance even though she was a cook.

"Do you work here? How come I've never seen you?" My dad asked her then he asked for her name.

"Amelia sir, I was hired three days ago by the head cook." She explained.

"She's my niece , and a really good cook." The head cook said in her defense.

"How much are you willing to compromise?" My dad asked Amelia.

"I value this job, and the opportunity to serve in your mansion. I understand your concerns, so I'm willing to reduce my wages by over 50 percent if you allow me to stay as your cook."

My dad was taken aback my Amelia's offer, he had not expected such sacrifice. Every other cook couldn't do what Amelia had just done and that was the beauty in it according to my dad. So after a moment of contemplation, he nodded and then said, "Very well Amelia, you may continue to work here. But there's a catch, you're going to oversee all the work that needs to be done around this house. Cooking, cleaning, everything that needs to be done to run a proper home." My dad said.

That was an unfair deal, but somehow Amelia agreed to his terms. "Thank you sir, I am grateful."

My dad then went on to relieve the gardeners of their duties, one of them decided to cut their wages over by 70 percent. I didn't know why they kept on doing that? There were other billionaires looking for workers like them, but here they were, cutting down their wages like they didn't know the repercussions. Eventually, my dad accepted Calipso to garden his flowers for a low pay.

After reliving almost 70 workers from their jobs, he then went on to tell Mr. Pedro the bad news.

"Sir, I am really sorry sir, it's such a terrible thing to happen at a time like this." Mr. Pedro consoled my dad.

"It's okay, everything's eventually gonna be alright." My dad responded.

"I know what you did with the other workers, you probably want to do it to me too."

"Pedro..." My dad said softly.

"I have been your driver for many years, and I have always given my best to this job. So with all due respect Mr. Richard Parker, I'm not going anywhere."

"Pedro I can't afford to pay you like I use to." My dad stressed.

"You don't have to pay me at all. I just need a simple favor," Mr. Pedro continued, " My nephew, Xavier, he's a smart kid. And he dreams of attending Kingston Southgate Academy, they have the best shot at getting into an Ivy League over there."

"I can't afford to pay my daughters tuition, and you want me to pay your nephews? I don't understand where this is going Pedro,"

"No sir, that's not what I'm saying. I was thinking you could allow my nephew to live with you and let him take a scholarship exam at KSA, and I'll drive for you for free. Please Mr. Parker, it would mean the world to him."

My dad pondered the proposal for few moment, nodded slowly and then said, "Pedro you have been a loyal and trustworthy employee and friend. And I can appreciate your dedication towards your nephews future. If your nephew passes the scholarship exams and is accepted into the school, I'll let you continue to work as my driver, for free. But if he doesn't, you'll leave, just like the rest."

"I understand sir. This would mean a whole lot to Xavier's family." Mr. Pedro said with gratitude.

I was by the pool side in my bikini's soaking up the sun with a fruit juice in my hands when my friends came from behind to surprise me.

"You've been absent from school for quite the time, what's up?" Monae asked me as she laid down on the chair beside me.

"Yeah, what's going on. You don't call, text, nothing!" Abby said as she laid down on the chair next to me as well.

"People at school are talking." Carey said as she sat on the chair next to Abby.

"I could care less about what people at school are saying. And Liam, what about him?" I asked them acting as though I were unbothered by everything that was said by them.

"I'm here, Jenny what's going on?" Liam said to me from behind. I turned back and rose my sunglasses up to see if he was actually here and he was.

It was at that exact moment Carey knew she wanted to take a swim in the pool, "Jeez, it's kinda hot out here," she took of her clothes one by one like she was in some luscious advertisement. She pretended like she was struggling to adjust her hair so she kept on shaking randomly just so her boobs could move along in accordance.

"Liam, I think my hair got stuck in my earrings, can you help get it out?" she said as she hurriedly walked to meet him. Whenever Carey was around Liam, her behavior always took a distinct transformation. It was as if a switch flipped inside her and she became a different person all together..

I exchanged cringed out glances at both Abby and Monae and they responded by rolling their eyeballs out. "Thank you Liam," she stretched her voice while she spoke, such a quintessential pick me girl.

Liam then turned to Monae and asked her to scouch over for him so he could have a sit next to me. "Jenny whatever's going on you can tell me, you haven't replied to my text, my calls, my voice messages, you haven't replied to anything at all." Liam said to me worried.

"I have my reasons," I said softly.

"What was the reason then?" He asked me as he took me gently by the hand.

"It's personal," I said as I withdrew my hands from his to put my glasses back on.

"Don't bullshit me, what the fuck is going on Jenny!" He was pissed at this point.

"I'm going in!" Carey yelled of course to attract attention but Liam and I didn't bother to look at her.

"For Godsakes Jenny, I'm your boyfriend!"

"Did you remember that when I was publicly shamed at school?!"

"I already told you, there was nothing I could fucking do!"

"Of course, that's your mediocre excuse?" I was about to yell at Liam the more until Carey jumped into the pool and a cascade of water erupted, drenching poor little me, and just me alone.

"What the fuck!" I yelled at Carey scanning through my drenched body.

"Oopsies," she said with a slight giggle. Monae and Abby cautioned her but she didn't feel remorseful,"You guys should take a fucking chill pill," she said.

Just then, a young male voice approached us from behind, apologizing, "I'm so sorry for interrupting, Mr. Parker didn't tell me people were here."

We turned to see who was talking and this guy was an epitome of perfection, he had a striking appearance standing 6ft tall. He was in a swimsuit so we could all see that he had the right amount of muscle definition. His black hair was tousled in a carefree manner and I was left mesmerized.

"Ou la la, who's that hot piece of cake?" Carey said out loud as she paused her swimming.

"I'm Xavier, Jenny's temporary guest." He said with a smirk.