Chapter 9: Bad Memories

Nothingville, Lancaster England

September 1, 1998

"Tch, that sucks!" Lucia grumbled and continuously threw balls at the wall with force.

Thump...thump...thump...

The thud on the wall made the four boys standing in a row behind her shudder in fear. They don't understand, what else have they done wrong that they must be an outlet for the anger of a girl who is much stronger than them?

"Hey, Lucia! We already explained it to you, right? Are you still not believing it?" Leo asked. He didn't even pay any attention to the blood on his nose that had dried up because he was too afraid to face Lucia's anger.

Chris was still sobbing, though he tried to suppress the sound of his sobs so that Lucia wouldn't hear him. Beside him, Pierre tried to calm Chris by rubbing his shoulder. As for Bryan, he endured the pain of losing one of his teeth which either intentionally or unintentionally received a blow from Lucia's fist.

"Shit, why are we in the wrong anyway?" Brian asked quietly. Even though he couldn't accept Lucia's bad treatment, he didn't dare to go against it either.

"Hey, what did you say?" Asked Lucia who could somehow hear Bryan's voice speaking.

Lucia gave a sinister glare, rendering Bryan motionless. He knew that he should have asked his personal bodyguards to save him, but every time he got a hit from Lucia, the adults would definitely say that what had happened was a child's quarrel.

"N-no, I didn't say anything!" Bryan said stuttering. Cold sweat dripped from his body. Lucia who was already filled with anger, grew even more violent at the slightest provocation.

She walked over to Bryan, when they were only three steps away. Without a word, Lucia threw the throwing ball in her hand right at Bryan's face.

Bruukkk...

"Agh..." Bryan screamed in pain. The blow was strong enough that it made him sit far away with his temples blistered and bleeding.

Bryan wanted to cry because of the pain he was in. But his high pride as a boy made him try his best to endure the pain.

"Why did you throw the ball at me?"

"Why? You're still asking? You stupid! One throw is still not enough to make your brain smart, huh?"

Baaakkk... buuukkk...

Lucia again threw the ball at Bryan's body who could only parry the throw with both hands. Seeing what was happening made Pierre, Leo and Chris couldn't bear it, but too afraid to stop Lucia's actions.

"Lucia, stop it! That's enough!" Said Pierre with what little courage he had left. Although as a boy, Pierre is strong and athletic, but when compared to 8-year-old Lucia who will soon get a karate black belt, Pierre is nothing. Pierre knew that the only way to deal with Lucia's anger was not by fighting her in a fight, but by persuading her to stop her crimes.

As expected, Lucia stopped throwing balls at Bryan. Although the four of them were often beaten, it could be said that Bryan was the one who received the most beatings because of the resistance he always tried to put up with. In contrast to Chris who was afraid and immediately obeyed Lucia's wishes, Pierre who was patient and skilled in persuading her or Leo who preferred to follow her on the wrong path. Bryan was more determined to fight her even though in the end he always suffered defeat.

With an innocent look on her face, Lucia gave a haughty look while raising her chin. She always knew that the four of them would not dare to fight her, it made her proud and always took advantage of their weaknesses.

"If only you guys kept your word and didn't keep me waiting, I definitely wouldn't beat you up!"

"But didn't we explain? We were late because we accompanied Chris to visit his mom in the hospital. Today her mom had surgery!" Leo said.

"What?"

"I thought you wouldn't care, right? Yes, how could you care? All you can do is hit and kick other people. You heartless monster!" Bryan who was still not deterred, continued to fight with his words.

Lucia was silent, not because Bryan mentioned being a monster, but because Bryan tell that she had no conscience.

Hearing the cursed words Bryan said made her anger that began to subside, rise again. She didn't know why she was always annoyed with Bryan.

"What did you say? Monster?" An enraged Lucia stood right in front of Bryan while tightly gripping the handball.

Bryan was scared, he had prepared himself to accept the pain from the handball that pierced his body.

"Lu-Lucia, never mind! Bryan didn't mean-"

"Don't call me Lucia! How dare you!"

"A-alright, Your Majesty Lucia. Please don't throw that ball again!"

"What? Your Majesty? Why is someone like her called Your Majesty? The only one who deserves to be called Your Majesty is me!" Bryan was still babbling. His high ego made him not want to give in even though he had to faint in the end.

"Hey Bryan, shut up!" Said Leo who was annoyed with Bryan's persistence to fight back.

"Tch, what for? Just let it go! Just hit me again! Come on, throw the ball again-"

Buuuukk...

The ball landed right in his face. Bryan fell on his back and immediately fainted unconscious with blood coming out of his nose.

Annoyed, Lucia walked away leaving Bryan and his three friends screaming hysterically.

"You idiot! Feel it, coward!" Lucia thought as she walked away.

Meanwhile, Pierre, Chris and Leo try to build Bryan up and seek adult help.

"Hey Bryan, wake up...!"

***

"Tch, damn it! Why do I remember that embarrassing incident again?" Bryan muttered. He felt annoyed every time he remembered his misfortune in the past which he considered a very shameful disgrace.

The coffee in the cup had not even been touched and was still intact. In front of him and beside him, Leo, Chris and Pierre looked at him confusedly.

"Never mind, forget it! Let's just say you're watching one of your girlfriends trying to get naked in front of your eyes!" Said Leo who is precisely the person who can't forget what happened this morning.

Pierre laughed with amusement, he had to admit that what had happened this morning was a complete shock and made him hard to believe. The woman they saw this morning felt very different from the girl they used to know as Lucia the monster, or Lucia the bad girl, or Lucia the oppressor, or Lucia the viper. Yes, there were so many nicknames they used to give her.

"I thought maybe we should slowly try to forget the past. I think it seems Lucia has changed a lot. It wouldn't hurt for us to-" Not yet Chris finished speaking. Bryan immediately interrupted in annoyance.

"To forgive her, is that so? Hey Chris, have you forgotten what she did to you? When your mom was critically ill at the hospital, she locked you in the gym, so you had to stay the whole night there? Because of her, you can't see your mom one last time! She is so outrageous! A demonic woman! How dare she come back here again!" Said Bryan who was much more angry than Chris who experienced it.

"Chris is forgiving, unlike you, vengeful!" Pierre said as he took a sip of the coffee in the cup.

"Shit! Who doesn't hold a grudge against her? Even if she dies, I will not forgive her!"

"Then, try telling to her directly!" Leo said as he glanced behind Bryan.

Bryan immediately looked back, right in front of the door, they saw Lucia enter carrying a brown envelope. Lucia stepped nervously over to the counter and handed over the brown envelope.

"What is she doing?"

They watched Lucia's movements which they could slightly guess. Lucia sat on a chair and seemed to be waiting for something. However, what caught their attention was that her appearance and body language were very beautiful and graceful.

She let her long hair down and wore a mini dress above her knees which made her look very pretty.

About five minutes of waiting, a middle-aged man approached her and asked her to come into one of the rooms in this cafe. It made them curious about what Lucia was actually doing in this place.

"What did she do?" Leo asked.

"I think she's in need of a job!" Bryan said.

"Is that true?"

"That brown envelope must be a job application letter! Of course, she came back to this city to get a job!"

"Wasn't she living in America before? Wasn't there a job there for her?"

"What kind of job is suitable for a girl like her? No, wait a minute! I have an idea!" Bryan smiled sarcastically as if he had found a brilliant idea.

Pierre and Chris had a not-so-good feeling about this as if they already knew what was in this man's head.

"Bryan, I want you to stop all those dirty plans in your head before it's too late!" Said Pierre.

"Hey Pierre, come on! Can you not think badly of me first? I was just thinking, if she really needs a job, I think I can help her!"

***