Marvel's Princess - Chapter 39
Bella had an extremely high SAT score, but like many, she was rejected by prestigious universities due to lacking community service, which was a significant headache for her.
She wasn’t a newcomer to society and had a hunch about Victoria Hand’s reason for inviting her for coffee, mentioning that she chose Stanford partly because Hand was an alumna.
Without proper research, one shouldn’t speak, but she felt that the networking among university alumni was similar between the East and West coasts—being alumni sometimes naturally forms a circle.
Victoria Hand ignored the mention of Stanford and counter-questioned, “Isn’t the history department at Harvard better?”
Bella laughed it off, “I don’t want to be too far from home. My mother is planning to move to California with her husband, and although my father is in Washington State, it’s not far from California, so…”
Victoria Hand saw through her subtle evasion: “Ah, regional bias.”
Bella made a dismissive gesture, firm in her stance as a Westerner.
“I know a girl in her twenties from Fawcett Town who went to school in Philadelphia. She said people in Washington State are genuine and harmonious, whereas people from Philadelphia are icy and mean!”
Using the word “mean” was already a strong statement from Bella.
Victoria Hand would usually correct her terminology regarding issues involving Native Americans and settlers. Still, when Bella openly expressed her dissatisfaction with East Coasters, Hand casually sipped her coffee.
“Those East Coast folks only recognize their Ivy Leagues; they think the center of the world is New York. But really? They can’t match the West Coast in high-tech and entertainment industries. A bunch of bookworms, a bunch of misers who only calculate their pension earnings!”
Bella was quite outspoken.
In America, discrimination and prejudice are taboo and untouchable, but regional bias and bigotry seem to be exceptions. Talk show hosts casually make remarks about people from Georgia or Texas, and it’s all considered acceptable.
The strong dissonance between states, let alone between East and West Coasters, runs so deep that anyone can comment without anyone finding it problematic.
Victoria Hand smiled subtly, pleased with Bella’s stance. Those New Yorkers had ousted her herself. What could Coulson do? Wasn’t it just because he was a New Yorker?
She appeared to be fair-minded as she said, “The academic atmosphere in the Ivy Leagues is powerful; the media’s false reports must have misled you.”
Bella waved her hands repeatedly, “I’m afraid they will discriminate against me. Living in an Eastern city would be too difficult for someone like me.”
Victoria Hand had thoroughly reviewed Bella’s file and knew she wasn’t lying.
It’s not unusual for girls whose personalities don’t align with mainstream values to be ostracized by those around them, with some unable to bear the pressure and resorting to suicide.
This country advocates for heroes but promotes an anti-hero sentiment. The state doesn’t want any individual to stand out too much. Those who are exceptionally beautiful or brave receive strange treatment here. The state prefers everyone to be mediocre, facilitating the upper echelons to manage effectively using their rich social resources.
Victoria Hand made no promises, and Bella, seemingly oblivious, casually exchanged a few words with her before they parted ways.
That evening, Bella took a flight back to Phoenix, Arizona.
She found her pickup truck in the gym parking lot, and after driving around the city a bit, she finally found her way home.
Strictly speaking, this was her mother’s house. Her mother was starting a family in California with her boyfriend and had no plans to return anytime soon, so staying for a few days wouldn’t be a problem.
Bella called her mother to let her know she would stay for a few days and called Charlie to check-in.
Now, she could finally relax.
Over the next few days, she would stay in Phoenix to participate in the Survivors Association’s lawsuit against Global Airlines, demanding substantial compensation as part of her ‘social practice activity’.
According to the 1999 Montreal Convention, airlines and their insurers must pay hefty compensations to victims and survivors.
This is where the peculiarities of the U.S. come into play; the U.S. has signed numerous confusing treaties with the world, and while other countries implement them, the U.S. delays execution. The U.S. is a member of many treaties but not a contracting party, as the government-signed treaties still require approval from the legislative bodies.
As long as the legislature doesn’t approve, these treaties are effective for others but not themselves. Whether Flight 180’s incident falls under these treaty compensation plans is questionable.
Compensation is due, but the amount is contentious. Airlines and insurance companies don’t want to pay more, while victims and survivors hope to strike it rich overnight, and their interests are irreconcilable.
Bella participated a bit but soon realized she couldn’t get involved.
Watching a group of elderly men and women on the media desperately portraying how scared and helpless they and their families were and how severe the airline’s offenses were, she felt her face was too thin!
She knew well that the airline was also a victim here. To falsely claim the airline’s offenses were indescribably severe went against her conscience, and she simply couldn’t do it.
Facing the hefty compensation, many airline staff were laid off and lost their economic livelihoods, leading to tough times.
Bella stepped back from leading the claim efforts, allowing the elderly to take over.
The survivors recently killed by the Grim Reaper were also blamed on the airline—after all, capitalists are heartless! Indeed, the airline shareholders had hired killers, they argued!
While sorting through the death list, Bella made a significant yet not massive discovery—the pretentious black coroner had also died, likely in the latter half of the struggle between the Grim Reaper and the Native American curse, passing away peacefully in his sleep.
For this ‘social practice’ activity, Bella was no longer concerned with the process, only the outcome. She desperately needed the sinful money of the capitalists to replenish her meager wallet; she was so impoverished that even when Natasha invited her out shopping, she had little interest.
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