Unwelcome Change (4)

I limped out of grandma's bedroom, finally freed from apologizing. What was I supposed to do with these idiots? They actually believed this junk grandma cooked with was precious. It was extremely unfair on my end as I wasn't the only one cooking rice. I wiped my tears, disappointed in grandma for never stepping up for me. Instead, she wickedly accepted their money, allowing them to take more of my freedom away in front of her.

My ears hurt from the continuous yelling, my head throbbing as their lectures never seemed to end. I needed cake to recover from this, the usual way I comforted myself. However, I didn't have access to them like inside their mansions. I slumped onto the couch, taking out some snacks from the grocery store to replace them. Ally stared at me with pity, trying to give me more space on the couch.

"I can sneak out more snacks for you," she offered.

"Lower your voice, they're listening. If you send me any messages on my phone, there's a high chance it'll be exposed. We can meet in secret later," I warned her.

"Are pies fine with you?" Ally whispered.

"Please don't give Rika any snacks," Luke joined us.

"I can give you more cake and desserts later today," he turned to me.

"Thank you for your offer. However, I believe the pies would be better suited for Adam," I declined Ally's offer.

Luke approvingly gazed at me from my response. This was the usual way he wanted me to speak, making me repeat many phrases during our study sessions. I was only doing this since I knew there was a high possibility Ally was going to get caught. The cakes and desserts he offered were the better option. I hoped he would give me more than usual as I instantly fixed my posture to properly sit on the couch.

"I want you to learn from your mistakes. Since you properly apologized, I will give you the usual amount after lunch," Luke promised.

I wondered if they had restocked their supplies, remembering him being stingy with desserts. However, sometime after lunch, Luke began to set the dining table with my favorite cakes and milkshakes. Adam was stunned, nearly drooling, finding the entire table full. My eyes glittered as I was touched, resembling the café I always visited. This really was the usual amount I ordered. I couldn't help but hug him to thank him.

"Is this all for Rika?" My mom wondered.

"It's mine," I wasn't willing to share.

"Rika really needs those desserts," Ally was on my side.

Thankfully, April led Adam away from the table, telling him he would become like me if he ate anything. Maybe my cousins were able to hear everything in grandma's room. I melted as I sipped my strawberry milkshakes, not knowing how much I missed them. My mood improved as I took more bites of sugary strawberries. It was a shame I wouldn't experience this again if I didn't visit their villas or mansions.

"We should return to the first district or stay in our villas. It's better if you eat cakes like usual instead of those snacks," Alex tried to convince me.

"Does Rika eat like this everyday?" My mom realized.

"We set limits to how much she can order. This is close to the limit per meal," Luke revealed.

"There's no way anyone can eat more desserts than this," grandma found the idea ridiculous.

"Rika ordered more than ten thousand cakes during her sleepover since we relaxed the limit that day," Alex went into the details.

"Ten thousand?" Ally was stunned.

"You really like desserts," grandma viewed me in a new light.

"I'm not going back to the first district," I didn't want to suffer.

The situation was still a bit better in grandma's place. As soon as I returned, I knew the study sessions would return to their usual lengths. And I didn't get many opportunities to spend time with my parents. They also treated me nicer around my family. I was sick of being inside the same environment all the time. There were more possibilities to go outside here, either by visiting the grocery store or the mall.

"There's less than two weeks left anyways," I added.

A few days later, I continued to roll on the ground, bored of being caged inside grandma's house. My parents, aunt and uncle were busy helping grandma with housework. Seeing my mom enjoying some coffee with my aunt, it looked like they had some free time today. I rose to join them, "can we go to the mall today? I want to go outside."

"Sure. Let me know if there's anywhere else you want to visit," my mom casually answered.

"Is there anything you need?" Luke heard our conversation.

"I want to explore the third district. It's not like I have to spend my entire vacation inside grandma's house," I turned to him.

"You don't have the time. We're behind the planned schedule for our study sessions," he disapproved.

"I want to go to the library," I planned to read some manga.

"I don't mind. I can take you there every morning," my mom offered.

"We're fine, I'll have a talk with Rika about this," Luke knew my true intentions.

"You don't have to go. You can stay at grandma's place, so don't drag others with you," I felt annoyed.

"I'm joining you," Ally raised her hand.

Maybe I should have asked my mom in secret, somewhere Luke couldn't have overheard. Luke pressured me with his gaze to walk to our room with him. However, I had my parents with me, so I wasn't forced to listen to him. I stayed in my seat, not willing to hear another lecture. Until he mouthed to me that he would double the length of the study sessions. Unfortunately, I knew it was possible, making me give up all my free time.

I sighed as I followed him to our room, my shoulders nearly hanging down. The door was closed behind me, blocking the exits. He grabbed my shoulders, seriously facing me, "you should know it's dangerous for you to go outside. Others from the first district can come here to kidnap you. I let you come here to spend time with your family."

"You were thinking of going outside?" Alex listened.

"It's always dangerous everywhere. You can't always keep me caged. I'm going outside today," I was determined.

"You can either join me or stay behind. I don't care what you two do," I stepped aside.

"I can go with you to the mall. It'll take me some time to make the arrangements. In exchange, I want you to visit the villa tonight," Luke began to negotiate.

I almost rolled my eyes, knowing he was trying to make up for our lost time inside the villa. There were time-space rooms, perfect places to increase the torture. But it was better than staying inside grandma's house, starting to resemble the strictness inside the mansion. Was I supposed to be glad I was used to this by now? He wasn't able to take me to fancy malls anyways since we were going with my parents.

"I'll visit the villa tonight," I spat the words out.

Alex slightly smiled, finally able to sleep in a better place for a night. I could tell he was sick of the three of us sharing one room together. I was the same, sleeping in between them as they wouldn't give me the edges. Pushed to study while Luke made the arrangements, I went through the workbooks. When I sneaked a peek at his screen, I wasn't surprised when he was calling a car. This was what usually happened during our field trips in elementary school as well.

"When is it coming?" I leaned closer to him.

"One hour from now. Continue working on your current chapter, I'll let your mother know," Luke rose from the bed.

I closed the workbook when it was nearly time to leave. Outside my room, my mom was ready to go with the car keys in her hands. Unexpectedly, my entire family was joining me on my shopping trip. When our car arrived, everyone was in awe, staring at the servant opening the car door for us. They didn't know the servants were actually robots, highly realistic and programmed to do their tasks. Did Luke not tell my mom we were calling our own car?

"We can meet you at the mall at entrance four," Luke turned to them.

"That works," my mom awkwardly answered.

"This is what rich people are like," April mumbled.

"They're from a whole other world," Evan agreed.

I was the first person to enter the car as Luke and Alex followed behind me. Leaning against the familiar car seats, I stretched my arms. The car drove on its own as the servant was used as a disguise for having no driver. Ignoring Luke and Alex, I stared outside the window, enjoying the scenery.

The pure countryside slowly transitioned to add more buildings, the bright blue-sky grayed. More polluted air was running through our filter as the green sign turned into red.

"This bracelet will protect you from the bad air," Luke slipped it onto my wrist.

"Why couldn't we just stay at my parents' house then?" I wondered.

"There's a time limit," he explained.

"How much did this cost?" I wanted to procure more.

"I synthetized the bracelet together with Micah's guidance," he revealed.

"Do you have more of them? Are they easy to charge?" I could extort him later.

"The spells are slightly difficult in recharging them," he admitted.

If the spells were hard for Luke, it probably meant it took him several days to work on them. My thoughts of using this bracelet to my advantage disappeared. I guessed most good things were really too good to be true. Using an exclusive route, the car soon arrived at the entrance. I stepped out of the car, my eyes sparkling, excited to go into the stores. When Luke messaged Evan, somehow getting his number, he revealed, "they're still an hour away."

"We can go inside first and go outside when they're near the area," I skipped towards the doors.

The aroma of crepes and fast food drifted into my nose as soon as I went inside the mall. With my heightened senses, I could see and feel things from a far distance away. However, it was too silent for a summer day, making me wonder if this mall didn't have many customers. I scanned my surroundings, walking deeper into the mall, finding only the staff present. There were no signs of anyone holding shopping bags, and eventually nobody was seen in between the shops. Was there something wrong with this place? Why was this mall empty?

"Did you do something to this place?" I turned to Luke.