"You want to fight, Amaya? Try your best, bitch. I will tie one of my hands backward, and one of my eyes close, and I promise to defeat you." Nikki dared me, the onlookers flung subtle jibes at me.
I turned deaf ears to her threat and turned to leave, but she pulled me by my shirt again. "Don't be a coward, Amaya. Common fight!"
I didn't know where the boldness came from but I was tempted to slap her chubby cheeks. The cheerful aura suddenly became silent over my action.
Nikki frowned at her face, ready to kick my face when my mum showed up. "How dare you touch my daughter, Nikki?"
Nikki's angered face became calm as my mum showed up. "Let her fight herself, Florida!" Nikki said.
"My daughter is not a fighter, bastard. Next time you try this, I will make here a hell for you!" My mum said.
"You shouldn't interfere with their matters, Florida. Stop being biased. Your daughter tackles first!" The proprietor said as he got to us.
"No! You are wicked, Mr. Proprietor. My daughter has been the one working things out for your contest, but you shamed her just because she failed in today's contest," My mother screamed on top of her voice. She held my hand and motioned me out of the school field. Nonetheless, I kept shedding tears as I followed her behind.
My mother took me to her cabin and sat me down on a couch. "Stop crying, Amaya. You are never a loser!" My mother said to me.
"No, mum. You caused all this. I told you I wanted to fight beside my father, but you insisted that I should use my ability for the school!" I raised my voice at her, tears still pouring out of my eyes. "Amaya, I am deeply sorry for making you pass through this," my mother sighed and consoled me.
I made up my mind to join my father, Alex, and fight against whosoever he wanted to fight against. I would not hesitate if I destroyed my school. I stood up from the couch annoyingly and walked out of the place.
My life took an unexpected turn in just a few days. I was once a celebrity, a top female figure in my school not until Nikki came around. At worst, the school proprietor could not even consider the fact that I was once a tool used to achieve all the success attained since the beginning of the contest. Nikki saw me as a weak bone. She commanded me as though she was my lord.
As I was walking on the road to somewhere I didn't even know, I stumbled upon Nikki, and some elders having meetings. I froze in place, my eyes widened, most especially when I glanced at the beautiful trophy in her hands. I stood there and watched them closely maybe I could eavesdrop on their conversation.
"We never knew you were this gifted, Nikki. You are far better than Amaya!" One of the elders applauded her. She giggled.
"My pleasure!" She responded, raising arms of pride.
"May we know your father?" One of the elders asked, her eyes frowned as the question landed.
The question was something that hit her differently as she took some minutes before responding. She raised her hands to her head as though she was finding it hard to remember something.
"Why the question? I don't know my father!" She said, after a quick gasp that escaped her throat.
"What?? Who's that soul on earth that does not know her father?" One of the elders asked, exchanging glances with the rest.
"Please, this is not a time for questioning. I need to rest!" She said and walked away from the elders.
Was it true that Nikki lost her memory when she was small? She does not even recognize her parents anymore. What's that happening to her? Amidst all these questions flying around in my mind, I decided to confront her and ask her one question.
"Hey, Nikki!" I ran after her, wavering my hand at her. She turned around and smirked as she saw me running after her. She waited, raising her arms to her waist.
"Guess you want to fight, Amaya?" She yelled at me.
"No, I am not here for that, Nikki!" I explained to her in a way she knew I was not here to fight her, and I asked for permission to ask her some series of questions.
I asked her about her dad, and she said she had no dad. I continued by telling her some things, and then, I discovered that Nikki must have probably lost her memory when she was younger truly. She must have been my father's legitimate daughter, but how her memory became volatile was something so strange to me.
I asked her to join my father, Alex, more or less like I was begging her when the school proprietor walked up to us with Cena.
"Hey, Amaya, you should not be here begging. Have you now seen that there are stronger people who could win a trophy for me apart from you?" The school proprietor laughed at me, making bad remarks about my dad.
"I am not begging, Sir. She needs to know who she is. She shouldn't be doing this to my father!" I said to him and looked away. The proprietor drew nearer to me, placed his mouth around my ears, and whispered,
"Do not start what you can't finish, Amaya. If you can't be of help to my school, then, fuck off. Don't interfere in the ongoing heat between me and your father."
"The next time you stop me and tell me rubbish like this, I would not mind burning that face of yours again!" Nikki said and walked away with the school proprietor.
I stood there, the proprietor's words ringing in my head again like a rewind tape. Jeremy showed up in front, his arms hung over Latina's body. Both of them were taking ice cream, laughing, and pulling tantrums out of each other as they approached me. Jeremy's gaze shifted to a concerned look as he caught my eyes, and this didn't go unnoticed by Latina.
"Waiting for someone here?" Jeremy asked, his voice laced with concern, and his arms were still over Latina's arm.
"No, I just had a conversation with Nikki and the proprietor!" I said to him.
"Does she know you?" Jeremy asked, sparing Latina a glance for a minute.
"No, she doesn't, Jeremy," I responded, his eyes widened again in surprise.
"How come she recognized Latina?" Jeremy asked.