37

Diora didn't say anything else. She watched Claia's father who was busy fixing the door to his daughter's room. Claia's mother pulled Diora's hand toward the dining table. The woman sat down and invited Diora to sit down too but Diora noticed the chair. The chairs were not like the ones in her house which were very nice, comfortable, and soft. However, it didn't matter. She had already accepted being Claia so she had to accept whatever it took. It's just a chair after all.

"I'll be right back. I'll get the medicine."

Inka stood up again and got some medicine for her daughter. At first, she wanted to ask her daughter to tell her what had happened to her. While she was getting the medicine, she kept thinking about what her daughter had experienced at school.

Was her daughter being bullied? All this time, Claia always looked like she was hiding something.

"Why did she get hurt like that?" Inka looked sad.

Meanwhile, Diora tried to take Claia's cell phone. Despite being from a family that seemed to lack money, this girl had two cell phones. Her expensive cell phone seemed to be used for personal purposes such as saving some schoolwork and playing games. The other phone is used to communicate with the kids from her school.

There were many incoming messages from...Tiara and her friends.

"Aren't they the ones bullying her?" thought Diora.

Diora opened each message that came to Claia's cell phone. The first one she opened was Tiara's because that girl seemed to be the reason why this girl committed suicide. Then Claia's bad memories came back to her.

Diora stopped her fingers and narrowed her eyes. This memory was horrible. Some guys tried to touch Claia.

"No wonder," Diora whispered.

Diora looked back at Claia's phone screen.

Tiara

Claia, how dare you not open my message and reply. Do you want to be insulted even worse tomorrow?

"How bad?" Diora muttered.

"Today is the last time you can insult me. Tomorrow and never again," Diora whispered.

Inka returned and started wiping Diora's wounds. Diora put her phone on the table and took over the cloth held by Inka. However, Inka pulled it back.

"Let Mama clean your wounds," Inka said.

Diora was pensive. She watched as her mother Claia carefully cleaned the wound. After cleaning it, she applied the medicine.

"Thank you. I could have done it myself."

"Claia, why thank you. You don't usually say that. It's only right that I do this for you."

Diora embarrassedly looked the other way. Claia who was often treated for her wounds by her mother appeared in her memory.

"This girl...is so lucky," Diora thought.

"Do you want to change schools tomorrow?" Inka asked.

Diora looked at Inka.

"Yes, just change schools. I'll take you to school every day instead of continuing to be unhappy at this one school. It's better to change schools. Register with Papa tomorrow," said Claia's father.

"No!" said Diora immediately.

"Why?" asked Inka.

"It's okay to stay in that school because then something like this will never happen again. And do you want to help me?" asked Diora.

"Of course, Mommy and Daddy will help you," said Inka.

Claia's father also nodded enthusiastically. They felt that their daughter was different from usual. Claia should have agreed to their decision to transfer her to another school. They were certain that at school, their daughter would be bullied.

"Is it okay Claia? I'm really worried about you," Inka said sadly.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Diora replied.

Diora took her cell phone and walked out of the house. She squinted her eyes. There were tons of plants and trees around her. As far as she could see, there were no very tall buildings like where she lived.

"What is this place?"

Diora was worried that she had entered another dimension. She hurriedly checked on her cell phone.

"Dearest Village? I've never heard of this village before. But...the town I recognize. And then... The town where I live is also there. That means... "

Diora stopped thinking and walked around, observing the surroundings. If where she lived the houses were close together, here there were almost no houses.

"I think I'll be happy here," Diora thought. And after all this time, she finally pulled the corners of her lips together.

Diora finally entered Claia's parents' house and approached Inka who was preparing dinner. Tomorrow was a school holiday so she would adapt to this house first. Meanwhile, Claia's father had finished cleaning the door to his room.

"Are you cooking dinner?" Diora asked Inka. She watched as Claia's mother cooked.

"Yes. Do you want to help mom? Tonight I'm cooking your favorite."

"What's my favorite?"

"You like vegetables that are quite bitter, don't you?"

Diora froze. That was Claia's taste? In the memories that popped into her head, Claia was never picky about food. She ate everything as if she didn't care what it tasted like. But what was wrong with her favorite food? Did she like bitter flavors?

"Instead of bitter, I prefer spicy," Diora replied.

"What? But we don't have chili?"

"Let me buy some."

"... "

Inka stopped slicing the vegetables. She looked at her daughter.

The problem here was, she hardly ever bought chili so she didn't know how much it cost. The money would be used for necessities and buying medicine. She even had to buy more medicine for her daughter's wounds.

Inka also doubted that Claia would remain at the school so she saved the money for Claia's school fees at her new school.

"Claia, what's wrong with you, child? Why are you suddenly so fond of spicy that you're willing to go out and buy chili?"

"I always bought spicy snacks at my mom's school so I love it to this day. I don't have to spend money on chili because I'll buy it myself with my own money," Diora said.

After saying that, Diora went into her room. She opened her closet to check what kind of clothes Claia had. She loved wearing hoodies so Claia should have at least one.

Diora sighed. "Moving into this girl's body has me excited but it seems like some things aren't going my way. I can make money. I put my money in several places including this town. The problem is, those people definitely won't believe that I'm Diora. Hm, then I'll steal it."

Diora picked up one of the light green t-shirts and a pair of cream-colored long jeans. After putting them on, Diora started looking around for makeup tools. She wanted to do this makeup. In Claia's memories, the girl rarely dressed up. She imagined that if she did, Tiara and her friends would most likely notice and do something to her.

However, Claia did not have so many makeup tools. There was no foundation, mascara, lipstick, and more. Diora sighed. With unsteady steps, she left the house. She was determined to get what she needed.

"If this girl was in my real body, would she confess that she's not Diora? She seems like an innocent girl so she'll confess to everyone. After that, they will look for me here. To be honest, I didn't expect to experience this. At that time, I was at the restaurant with Jethro and the others. Will she be okay in my body? And...there's something I'm really worried about."

Diora walked while looking around. While Claia's parents watched her from the doorway.

"What's wrong with our daughter?" asked Claia's father.

"You noticed it too?"

"Of course. She's not her usual self. She has something to hide. We should contact the school."

Meanwhile, Diora headed to a nearby stall.

"Excuse me, can I borrow some money? I promise to return it today in double the amount."

The stall owner was surprised. He knew this girl. The girl was often talked about by the neighborhood because she often came home from school on her bicycle and barefoot. They had all kinds of speculations about the girl. They thought that the girl had a very introverted nature.

"What?"

"Please lend me money. Just answer yes and give me the money or no."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Twice as much? I know that your family is poor. Your father just got fired from his job, right?"

Diora had just learned that fact. She averted her eyes in surprise. "Then what does it have to do with my father? Isn't it that if I break my promise, you can easily go to the police how could our family which barely has anything dare to go that far when we are suffering and not tell anyone else let alone ask for help? Come on, I hate bullshit. Just say no what's so hard? And just watch, our stall will beat yours."

Those cold eyes stared intently at the stall owner. Diora walked away. But she secretly took a mask from the stall. The stall owner just realized it. The stall owner pointed at Diora while shouting angrily that he would report her to the police.

"Look at the table!" snapped Diora.

The stall owner looked at the table and saw several bills. One mask doesn't cost this much.

"That girl... Since when did she become that brave?" thought the stall owner. He would tell the others about what happened this time.

Diora just remembered that she had to wear a mask. Ever since she recalled the memories of this girl, she felt that this girl was being watched. This girl was like their plaything.