Abnormal Standards (6)

"This is the last room we didn't check that Rika has access to," Luke stepped inside the room.

"I can't believe she ran away from the infirmary," Alex joined him.

I knew there were more than ten rooms per floor! Luke's parents were no different from his son, banning me from certain areas of their mansion. I angrily hugged my teddy bear tighter, dejected from finding the deal broken. Maybe it ended when Luke began shaking me awake again. I thought it would be an exception since we were at my parent's house.

"The stroller is the last object we didn't check," Luke started to open the covering.

Why couldn't they leave me alone? I immediately closed my eyes, stabilizing my breathing to pretend to sleep. Meanwhile, Alex nearly scoffed, "there's no way Rika could fit inside there."

"She actually fits?" Alex was surprised.

"Rika is smaller than you think," Luke sighed.

"How? There's enough room for the doll she's holding," Alex was in disbelief.

"We should leave her inside. I don't want to wake her," Luke studied me.

I slightly stiffened as Luke began moving the portable bed out of the storage room. I should have quickly returned to the infirmary instead of testing out my purchases. However, it was too late, forcing me to continue listening to them. Helplessly led to wherever they wanted to take me.

"This is useful. I think I'll bring this to school," Luke discovered.

"As long as we don't get minus points, it shouldn't cost many points to repurchase," he revealed.

What? Was this how he previously brought the objects from his mansion into the school? I did think it was strange. In elementary school, we only used items we purchased from the tablet. However, it changed once we entered middle school. I suddenly found multiple objects inside my room I didn't remember seeing. Luke was pushing me to study more than necessary, hiding this fact from me!

I never thought of this possibility since he was the one managing our points. I stopped pretending I was sleeping, rising to face him. A little surprised when Luke ignored me like he knew my act from the start. Only acknowledging me when I asked, "how much will Sparky cost to repurchase?"

"Pets aren't allowed in school. We'll have to sneak her inside," Luke planned.

"I think we should sneak in this portable bed. I added a bunch of features to make it more livable," I introduced my purchases.

"Come inside," I urged him.

"I won't fit," he refused.

"You will," I tugged at his shirt.

"Stop," Luke was annoyed.

"We're not like you. Who would use the same things as you?" Alex mocked me.

"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes.

"You're treated less than a toddler by our entire family. This stroller is perfect for you," he sneered.

"You're jealous of me that my schedule is more lenient than yours," I scoffed.

"Do you know what age level your schedule is at?" Alex dismissed my claim.

"Age level one and a half. I think it's too high. It needs to be lowered," I planned.

"How do you know?" Luke stopped walking.

"Your mother told me," I lied.

"You will never gain the privacy you want as long as the age level is lower than four," he warned me.

"What age level have you always seen me at?" I wondered.

"It never went past age level four," he had high standards.

It was a hard trade-off. Once I passed around age level four, Luke would begin relying on me. Meaning, I would have to do some fraction work. In addition to my schedules becoming cruelly intense as the others. The most horrible part was his family increasing their expectations. I enjoyed how they currently didn't have any. However, the lack of privacy was hard to endure. Including the frustration I wasn't allowed to make any decisions for myself.

"What about my actual age? I'm fourteen and the same grade as you," I was confused.

"That is only for formalities," Luke believed.

"There's times I get better grades than my friends," I was offended.

"Do you believe you're actually on the same level as them? You who can't do anything on your own?" Alex smirked.

"I can do things on my own. You're the ones who never let me," I pointed out.

"How could we ever trust you to do them on your own?" He argued.

My forehead irked with irritation, sick of the way they treated me. It was obvious their impression of me would never change. Especially when Luke's parents lowered their expectations again by the end of summer. What else was I supposed to do? It was hard to study under Joanna and William, who were less generous than the tutors. And when Belle and Lucius visited, my kind impression of the Suilett family quickly shattered. They were equally brutal as the Roselia family.

Although I had escaped from the mansion, I was entering a new form of hell. I shuddered inside the hover car as Luke's impression of me lowered to nearly hit the core of the earth. Unfortunately, ever since the age level decreased to one and a quarter, it was like Luke didn't see me as a human being anymore.

"You don't deserve your own room anymore. That's only for age level two and above," Luke coldly decided.

"What if we end up staying with my friends?" I cautiously asked.

"This will never happen. If it does, you will never be more than a meter away from my side," he threatened me.