A Journey Back Home

a sequel to A Journey to New York by Jewel Wu (11 years old)

"Yeet! This is going to be amazing!" Sophie bellowed, while Bella glanced nonchalantly at the view through the aircraft window and flexed her legs.

"Travelling on a private jet, sipping champagne, and looking at this pathetic view is JUST PLAIN BORING!" complained Bella. "I should just KICK YOUR BUTT off this jet when you say that! WHY, it costs me S$1,000,000,000 to get this jet!" Bankie's voice boomed like thunder that even birds 1,000,635,537,900,653,452,103,035,536,354,153,246,883,853,591,006,679...kilometres away could hear. "At least Sophie is kind," huffed Bankie. She turned her voice up a few notches and barked, "I should FIRE YOU and GET A NEW CEO! Starting from tomorrow!" Everyone was shell-shocked! Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking. Even the aliens in space could hear Bankie shouting. "STOP! Bankie stop! This is NOT you!" Sophie shouted.

"Bella did not like the view when we were flying. It was probably nothing personal. Besides, how can you find another CEO as talented as Bella?" she continued. Let me tell you why Bankie was boiling with rage. Well today, when they were at the ice cream stall Enjoy, Bankie was already breathless with anger. (If you had read the first story Journey to New York, you would recall that Bella and Sophie vomited after stuffing themselves silly with ice cream.) Bankie was a penny-pincher. She was smouldering with resentment when she realised that she had wasted her precious dollars on ice cream, and premium ice cream in one of the most extravagant ice cream joint in The Big Apple! Just then, a waited named Mr Azeen asked Bankie politely, "How is your day, Madam? Would you like a bowl of our most exquisite ice cream?" He had waltzed in with a bright smile on his face, a tea towel hanging from his left arm, holding a gleaming silver tray on his right hand. Yes, ice cold ice cream is just what I need right now to soothe my nerves, Bankie thought. After she replied Mr Azeen, Bankie went on to watch some mindless videos on her handphone. Soon, Bankie received her ice-cream. As she was about to take a bite of her ice-cream, Sophie shouted, "We need to go to the doctor, Bella has a bad tummy ache!" Immediately, Bankie and Sophie carried Bella out, then Bella and Sophie gave each other a wink. It seems they had wanted to prank Bankie to cheer her up but the prank soon turned into a disaster. When they were about to leave Enjoy, a lady walked pass and "accidentally" spilled ice-cream all over Sophie's expensive dress. It was a dress Bankie had gifted her for her birthday, and it was worth a king's ransom! Bankie's heart pressure shot up, she went ballistic.

Through her fuming eyes, she soon recognised the lady as someone she knew. "Ohhhhhh, hiiiiiii Miss C!" Bankie hissed sarcastically. "Looooooong time no see!" she continued as the day got worse and worse by the minute. "I KNOW, I KNOW that you did this on purpose! WHY WHY WHY, you must be GREEN with ENVY for I am much richer than you!" Bankie barked as if she could read Miss C's mind. "OH PLeeease, I no longer need a job from you, you silly old Bankie! Besides, I am rich! You are just...." before she could complete her sentence, her Samsung15 rang. It was a call from the Bank. While she was talking to the bank, Bankie, Sophie and Bella, were hoping that the bank brought bad news. The economy was volatile of late and they all knew that Miss C had many high-risk investments in her portfolio. "OOooohhhh, wouldn't it be nice if she was stripped off her riches?" Bella whispered to Bankie and Sophie. The trio obviously did not like her. To their greatest surprise, their wish came true. "Ummmm....can I take back my words? I...I....I kind of lost all my money...can...can..you help me this once and I will do anything you want!" Miss C stuttered. "Do you need a second personal assistant?" Miss C pleased with crocodile tears in her eyes, feigning interest. "I've lost my trust in you! Why are you in my ice-cream store? Trying to steal ideas again huh?" Bankie asked, eyes wide open with bewilderment. "I've got to go, bye!" Miss C said as she attempted to sneak off, only to be pulled back by Sophie by the collar. "Why, why, I am not surprised at all!" Bankie lambasted into Miss C's ear, "I would send you to..." she said while onlookers stared at Bankie's mouth with anticipation, curious as to what she would say next. "COURT! Yes to court!" Bankie shouted. Now, this is actually not too far-fetched because Miss C was a recalcitrant evildoer. "You cheated us a million of dollars the last time you worked for us, and even stole money from your ex-boss!" Bella revealed. "In both cases, you quitted immediately, thinking no one would suspect you? Well you are SO WRONG! We suspected you ANYWAYS!" Bankie shrieked. "By the way, I've called the cops!" Sophie announced. In a matter of minutes, the cops came dashing in and brought Miss C away. Meanwhile, Bankie, Bella and Sophie sped off in a limousine towards the court. When they arrived at the court, there was dead silence. "Oh shoot! The judge had to send a letter of notice before court opened. How could I forget?" Bankie slapped her forehead and growled like a bear with a sore head. By now, Bankie's eyes were bloodshot and she was shivering with anger. Bella and Sophie promptly ushered her back into the limousine that brought them back to their seven-star hotel, W Hotel. They packed their bags and headed straight to the John F. Kennedy International Airport where their private jet awaited them. They kissed the dusty, stony and pebbly tarmac floor, did a happy dance, and hopped on to the luxurious jet. Hours after giving Bella a piece of her mind, Bankie apologised to Bella and promised to take her to the most expensive hotel in Singapore. She even made a "too-good-to-be-true" promise, that she would buy whatever Bella and Sophie Touched.

............................................................................. The Psychologist's Analysis

Now, you the reader might have a good idea as to what contributed to Bankie's anger. Her lacklustre experiences at the Enjoy ice-cream shop, first wasting money on premium ice-cream, then her tumultuous episode with Miss C, were the build up to her anger. Thereafter, she was triggered by Bella's lackadaisical attitude towards the trip on the private jet. But this was not all.... ............................................................................. Did you know? The reason why Bankie was so mercurial was because she had depression. Living with her, as Bella and Sophie knew, was always a ride on an emotional roller coaster as Bankie was like a ticking time bomb. Bankie went through a lot in her life. When she was young, her parents always argued, they later divorced when she was in grade four. None of her parents wanted Bankie and she was sent to an orphanage where she was abused and tortured by other equally troubled children. She promised herself that she would lead a better life by making a lot of money when she graduated. True enough, she created VVS Holdings, becoming one of the Top 50 tycoons in South East Asia. However, no amount of fame and money could take her past trauma away. Till date, she deals with her depression, her bouts of anger with the help of Doctor Greydor and her two understanding and loving colleagues, Bella and Sophie.