Over the Line (2)

"The food court is really closed," Evan mumbled.

These inconsiderate people probably didn't know my family planned to meet at the food court as a checking point. April dropped her shopping bags, staring at the empty area in silence. On the other hand, my parents awkwardly smiled, shooting apologetic looks to the rest of my family. Meanwhile, my uncle began to search which eateries were open inside this mall. I glanced at Luke and Alex to repeat the same words they told me.

"We made a reservation at a hotel in the same city for lunch. Would you like to join us?" Luke offered.

"A hotel?" Grandma found it ridiculous.

"I can call them to make new arrangements if you would like to join us. Otherwise, there are many eateries open inside this mall," he explained.

"We'll try exploring the eateries here," my uncle seemed burdened.

"This is only an offer and if you would like, I can show you the menu for those who are interested," Luke passed his phone to grandma.

Grandma's eyes went large when she read the prices of each plate. Her hands slightly trembled as she passed his phone to my parents and it eventually landed in my aunt's hands. When April peeked at the menu, she began to beg grandma, and tugged on her arm, "can we please join them? You have enough money. You got five million dollars from Alex. I'll help with some of the chores. Please, pretty please?"

"You accepted five million dollars from Alex?" My mom didn't know.

"Grandma got the money for her broken pot and some fields we played with," April explained.

"It's only right of us when Rika damaged one of your family heirlooms," Alex found it reasonable.

"We can join them," grandma quickly decided.

It was obvious grandma didn't want everything to be revealed. She gave into April as she shot a look at her to stay silent. I knew this pot and family heirloom thing was a joke from the start! Before I could add to their conversation, grandma urged everyone to get into the cars. My eyes flickered with anger as I have suffered for nothing. It was disappointing to figure out grandma was greedy towards money.

Once I entered the hotel, the servers immediately escorted us to an exclusive dining area. As we entered our private room, my family curiously looked around at the extravagant decorations and service. Brilliant chandeliers hung from the ceilings and lush white curtains were swept to the side, showing the city view. When I raised my head, I faced the elegant gold carvings, embellished into the walls. Looking down, my feet were more comfortable with the soft carpeted floors, giving a cushiony landing to each step.

Turning my head after taking a seat, a line of servers stood behind us, waiting for our call. As usual, I left everything to Luke, treating the burdening staff as if they were invisible. Meanwhile, the rest of my family appeared extremely uncomfortable, hesitant to freely order the staff. Grandma clumsily tried to follow Luke, saying the courses they decided beforehand. My mom attempted to lighten the mood, "do you always take Rika to these kinds of places?"

"We like to dine in familiar spaces," Luke answered.

Thankfully, our plates quickly arrived, ending the awkward small talk. After Luke sliced my food into small pieces, I used a spoon to take a bite. Unfortunately, the taste was horrible compared to its appearance. I wondered if it was just me, watching my family brighten and consume each plate at a fast pace. I whispered to Luke, "I don't think the ingredients are fresh and the food is slightly undercooked."

"Excuse me, can you replace all our dishes? The food is undercooked in these areas," Luke immediately called a server.

My family stopped eating to watch the staff busily replace our plates, enthusiastically asking if they could assist us more. I was surprised by the replacements, impressive for the third district, only a little lacking compared to the ones inside the mansion. However, the loud conversation between the staff was disappointing, and I preferred silent robots in their place. The mood was brought down again as we listened to them.

"Maybe it's a charity event," a server whispered.

"It has to be. The people on the other side appear to be uneducated, they're making countless mistakes," a worker insulted my family.

"I don't know why the three of them are dining with people who messily slice their food. I never saw anyone with more perfect dining etiquette than them," she agreed.

"Our manager mentioned they are extremely important guests. One of them is the grandson to the chairman who owns this chain as their subsidiary," a worker glanced at Alex.

"His cousin was the one who made the reservations," he added.

"I think the three of them are related. Look at the girl, the one who is wearing blue diamonds and pearls everywhere. She must have been the one who made the complaints, she's barely touching any of the food," another server pointed out.

This was exactly why I hated these kinds of places. You always had to pay attention to how you ate. How could they compare my family to someone like me? Someone who suffered under frequent and brutal lectures to keep the dining etiquette for close to a decade. Although my family was less experienced, they were trying their best to imitate us. These servers needed more discipline, I turned to them, "excuse me, can you lower your voices? You are disturbing our meal."

"We would also like to receive the bill," Luke noticed the ruined atmosphere.

"Of course, we apologize," a server left the room.

I slightly smiled as the room went silent. None of the servers were talking anymore. Maybe I should have done this from the start. A few minutes later, the workers gave us the separate bills, one to my family and the other to Luke. Looking at the overall amount, it was massively underpriced compared to its quality. Merely twenty thousand dollars in the currency of the third district, translating to around twenty Aris.

"Eighteen thousand dollars for a single meal," grandma's eyes widened.

"It's cheaper than our usual meals. Twenty thousand dollars is nothing," I tried to console her.

"This is a huge amount of money," my mom argued.

"The cost of each plate we eat inside the house is at least fifty thousand dollars," I revealed.

"Is everything Rika saying true?" My mom couldn't believe me.

"It is on the lower end for each plate," Luke paid the bill.

"They're rich," Ally joined us.

"Their families own nearly everything," she added.

"But Rika always throws the food out," Adam mumbled.

"Just because they're expensive doesn't mean they taste good," I defended myself.

"Although it's due to your illness, this is going too far, Rika. This means you throw out around several hundred thousand dollars per day," my mom disagreed.

"It's fine. We prioritize her health first. This is nothing compared to the time she threw out more than quadrillions of dollars' worth of food," Luke recalled my horrible talents in synthesizing.

"Is that even possible?" Ally gasped.

"She threw out that amount per day," Alex sighed.

"Rika!" My mom turned to me.

"It wasn't intentional," I glared at Luke and Alex.

"You're spoiled," April muttered.

How could they say this to me? I felt betrayed since my family was supposed to take my side. Did Luke and Alex forget how hard I worked to get the legendary items? My eyes began to glisten, wondering if they ever considered my perspective. There were many things I couldn't do in exchange for the wealth I was forcibly surrounded by. I would rather live an ordinary life, and I envied their position.

"How do you live in the first district?" My grandma wondered.

"You are welcome to visit our villa to experience a similar environment as the first district. We will be staying in one of our villas for tonight," Luke offered.

This was how our shopping trip abruptly ended to visit the villa. I suspected this was planned from the start. The grand villa gates opened to let us inside, plastered with the Roselia family crest. The aroma of familiar lavish flowers drifted into my nose as I stepped out of the car. I didn't want to go inside, knowing what hell was waiting for me. However, my family was frozen for a different reason, and just stared at the magnificent wealth.

"Why are you staying with us when you have this?" Ally turned to me.

"Who wants to stay inside this prison cell?" I despised the villas.

"Let's go inside Rika," Luke urged me.

Like I predicted, I was forced to practice a few instruments while the others got a tour from Luke. I silently cried inside my heart, finding this to be extremely unfair. Endless criticisms entered my ears, Alex raising his voice each time. Who knew these would enter the curriculum in high school? Apparently, they were needed for missions as I discovered the reason Luke never wanted my skills to regress.

"I give up!" I stopped playing the piece.

"You need to perfect these basic techniques. High school is different from middle school," Alex pressured me.

"I don't mind sleeping in the shack. It's better than the basement. Worst case scenario, we can join my friends if we become dorm-less," I realized.

"Are you serious? Although Luke may have generously allowed it in the past, it's not happening under my watch. We're not going to the basement," Alex was determined.

"Did you forget? We need points to purchase basic necessities, including food. It's not only the issue about shelter that matters," he pointed out.

"We can bring pre-packaged food. They allowed it in middle school," I had good survival skills.

"Continue Rika, or I can bring these instruments to the shack after today," he adjusted the time-space feature.

"Bring them and see if I'll practice on them. What if I sleep with my parents for the rest of the month?" I had a plan.

"I'm messaging Luke. We can get the servants to take care of the guests," Alex opened his marble.

Unfortunately, Luke instantly teleported to the practice room as soon as the message was sent. Holding the tablet in his hands, he showed me, "no cake for the rest of summer vacation until you perfect the basic foundations. I also can't give you the rest of your snacks. You can expect your free time to disappear if you don't listen to us. You should know that we lost a lot of time from the past few weeks."

How could I ever like these miserable villas? I was forced to practice inside the time-space room without a break for an entire week. By the time I was freed, a few hours passed outside. Nearly unable to walk with my extremely exhausted muscles, I desperately needed some rest. I staggered towards my bedroom to get some sleep, dazedly bumping into someone on the way.

"Can you move out of the way?" I was too tired to move.