Chapter 6: A Girl Named Lucia

Nothingville, Lancaster, England

April 22, 1995

"Hiks... hiks..."

A boy sobbed on a swing after his lunch was snatched by a fat girl who became a new student in his class.

The three boys looked at him with pity while hugging their lunch boxes. They looked at each other confused because they realized that it could be their turn next.

Meanwhile, some children looked scared while hiding behind a big tree, looking at the little fat girl who was enjoying an egg and cheese sandwich from the lunchbox of a brown-haired boy who crying on the swing.

Seeing the oppression that these kindergarten children may see for the first time in their lives, makes them begin to realize that the outside world is not as beautiful as in the fairy tales their parents used to tell before sleep.

"What should we do?" The dark-haired boy asked, one of the three boys standing not far from the chubby girl.

"I don't know!" The blonde haired boy said.

"Pierre, do something before our lunch is taken too! Call teacher!"

The boy named Pierre seemed calmer than the others boys, of course because he knew the girl who had only been his neighbor for a week.

He remembered how their first meeting made a deep impression. The girl named Lucia ran out of her house wearing nothing but a loincloth and called herself a sumo wrestler. Pierre who was standing in front of his house was immediately invited to a duel.

"She's a sumo wrestler!" He said sure. The dark brown haired boy and the blond haired boy standing nearby stared at each other in confusion.

"What is a sumo wrestler?" The dark-haired boy asked. He'd never heard of sumo or anything like that.

"Sumo is a martial art from Japan!" The blonde haired boy said with quite extensive knowledge even though he was only five years old, because the access he had was enormous considering his existence as the only son of one richest man in Europe.

"You ever seen a sumo wrestler, Bryan?" The dark haired boy asked with his innocent eyes.

"Yes, on tv!" The boy named Bryan replied just as innocently.

However, their innocence turned to fear when the girl who claimed to be a sumo wrestler approached them with a hungry look and her mouth filled with the remnants of food.

Because her big body surpassed children her age, it made the other children feel afraid of her. This is her first day in kindergarten, but the bad impact she gave is already deeply imprinted on the memories of her new friends.

She was standing right in front of Pierre who was looking at her with a bit of fear he was trying to suppress, in contrast to his two friends who were shaking to the point of crying.

"Hey, I'm hungry! Give me your food!" She said. Hearing her request which was very difficult to be granted, made the three boys hug their lunch boxes even more tightly. With their eyes starting to water, they shook their heads in unison.

"Y-you've eaten Christopher's lunch, don't take ours too!" The dark haired boy said with the last bit of courage he still had.

"L-Leo was right, we haven't eaten our lunch at all! So, don't take it!" Bryan said.

Meanwhile, Pierre who stood in their midst did not blink at all to see the figure of a girl with white skin and very round cheeks staring at him menacingly. He still remembered, how this girl pushed him so hard that day, that hurt his buttocks and legs.

"Lucia, don't-"

Greeeppp...

Before Pierre could finish his sentence, the girl grabbed her lunch box violently and pushed Pierre again.

"Ouch...!" Pierre was in pain because the same wound was repeated to him.

Seeing Pierre fall to the ground, Bryan and Leo panicked. They wanted to help Pierre, but they also wanted to save their lunch.

"Leo, call teacher...!" Bryan shouted. Even though he was scared, he tried not to run to save himself.

Leo ran followed by other kids who were just as scared as he was. They entered the classroom and tried to ask the teachers for help.

"Teacher, Lucia pushed Pierre...!"

***

Awkward, that's the atmosphere that feels so strong. Even though 15 minutes had passed since their first meeting after 12 years apart.

Lucia sat among her four childhood friends, around a round table. Around them, no one dared to approach, seeing the tension that felt so strong repelling those who wanted to approach.

Lucia kept her head down, fiddling with her fingers to dispel the tension. She didn't know what to say and how to start a conversation. Meanwhile Bryan, Pierre, Chris and Leo continued to stare at her with strange expressions of disbelief.

15 minutes ago...

"Are you Lucia?" Bryan asked with his pupils dilated. What he saw was unbelievable and so were Chris, Pierre and Leo.

How could they possibly believe that this beautiful woman with a sexy body standing in front of them was Lucia the monster? Who for 12 years made them persecuted.

Hearing Bryan's question, Lucia just smiled awkwardly. Her hands were shaking, she felt awkward and uncomfortable with the way they were intimidating her.

"Yeah, l-long time no see? H-how are you guys?" She asked with a forced smile.

Around her, almost everyone in this room started whispering to express their disbelief that Lucia Sakura Peterson the oppressor had turned into a beautiful woman whose appearance was loved by many men.

Realizing that the atmosphere was getting busier, Bryan approached Lucia while whispering in her ear. The close distance between the two of them made Lucia feel even more awkward because she could smell the perfume Bryan was wearing.

"Follow me!" Bryan said. With just one sentence, Lucia didn't move. Bryan went to a table specially prepared for him and his close friends.

Pierre, Chris and Leo walked after Bryan. Lucia who was confused, immediately gave a gaze 'what should I do?' to Olivia who was standing a few steps in front of her with a gaze 'follow them!'

Lucia nodded slowly, she was forced to follow the four men who were already sitting in a special place. However, the gaze that was fixed on her made her want to leave this place immediately.

15 minutes later...

And now, here is she, caught between her four childhood friends who have grown into handsome men.

"How are you?" Finally, after 15 minutes of struggling in awkwardness, Chris spoke up. Lucia felt a little more relieved now.

"I'm good!" She said while laughing awkwardly. Chris returned her smile, he didn't look at all resentful towards Lucia. While Bryan was the complete opposite, hatred was evident in his eyes.

"When are you coming back?" Pierre asked. He didn't know, what he was feeling right now. He just felt confused because one of the five of them before, now looks like a complete woman.

"Three days ago!" She said. As for Leo, his eyes were fixed on the very conspicuous part of Lucia's chest. Leo's gaze made Lucia uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"So, you're really a girl, huh?" Leo asked. He still couldn't believe that someone so scary was actually a woman who didn't even reach 165 cm.

Hearing Leo's question, Lucia wasn't sure of the answer. She actually remembers what she looked like before who looked very manly and tough.

"O-of course I-"

"Why did you come to this event?" Bryan went straight to the point that bothered him so much. That was the reason, why Lucia had suddenly returned to this city after suddenly leaving without saying anything? She disappeared as if she never existed.

Lucia was stunned, her guilt rising to the surface. When she decided to return to this city, she had prepared her heart to meet and apologize to them. But in practice, it turned out to be much more difficult.

They were no longer the weaker boys they used to be, they were no longer the boys who didn't dare to against her word like they used to. Yeah, they won't be like that anymore. Now, they were 28 year old grown men who were much taller and stronger than her. Everything had changed, Lucia was aware of that.

"I-I came here to see you again!" She answer. She didn't know if this would work. However, seeing the way Bryan, Leo and Pierre looked at her, it was clear they would think that what she was saying was complete nonsense.

"What? Hahahaha... see us again? Are you kidding me?" Bryan laughed haughtily. He got up from his chair and intended to tell everyone about the reason Lucia returned to her hometown.

"Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me! Tonight an important guest came uninvited. Well, not because she wasn't with us until graduation day, but because she wasn't part of all of us from the start! Let's give our friends a round of applause and welcome, Lucia Sakura Peterson!" Bryan said in his deep, hard voice.

Clap...clap...clap...

Everyone clapped and looked at her cynically, including Pierre and Leo. While Chris just kept quiet and looked at Lucia guiltily.

The applause and what Bryan said in front of so many people made Lucia feel so embarrassed that she tried to hold back her tears. She tried to keep smiling.

After the unexpected welcome, Bryan sat back down with a haughty smile that never left his face. He hated Lucia for some reasons, one of which was his past helplessness as a boy who always lost to his female friend and it became a lifelong disgrace to him.

"How? Did you like the welcome?" Brian asked. He smiled with satisfaction, he indirectly started a revenge plan after Lucia's unexpected presence.

"I'm going home now! Thank you for letting me into your wonderful hotel, Bryan. See you later?" Lucia got up from her spot and hastily walked away.

"You underestimate me, huh?" Brian asked. He had just tasted victory after losing for so many years, now he had to feel defeated again with just words.

Lucia stopped walking for a moment, then resumed her hasty pace. Chris and Pierre intended to go after her, but they didn't know what they were doing.

In the end, they just let Lucia go even though there were so many questions they wanted to ask. Including, how could she be so changed like this?

"Why did you have to say something that embarrassed her?" Pierre asked.

"I just wanted to test her. She looks really pretty, I wonder if she really is Lucia the bully or someone else in disguise?" Bryan said.

"I'm sure she's Lucia, her face is very similar!" Chris said.

"Bryan, you don't want to go after her?" Leo asked.

"Why go after her now? Don't worry, there's still plenty of time. Now isn't the time to dwell on the past!"

***