The past, the pain, the daily task

Victor left the room and reread the report from Hixa.

[Report: No object found in the shattered box. No trace of any chemicals or mechanism that would cause it to blow. The box is made of narra, a strong type of wood in the Philippines. The purple covering was made of silk. Nothing was disturbed inside Dr. and Mrs. Barclay's bedroom aside from the box itself.]

"Where did that blow come from? And what was that strong power that threw her to the wall? This report is totally absurd. Hixa is a highly advanced AI system. It could not make a mistake unless the elements used for whatever in that box is made of something that is not in Hixa's data.

"Yes, that's right. That is the most probable explanation here. But where is that thing that caused the blow? Hixa is capable of searching every nook and cranny in the house and around a kilometer radius in its surroundings. It couldn't have missed it unless the thing was flown away far from its scanning range. But the windows are always closed."

Victor sat on a bench outside the room with his back leaning on the wall. This accident was a headache for him, most of all that her parents were away. Good thing nothing too serious happened to Daisy. How will he face her parents if something happened to her? And how could he bear to see her being harmed?

He knew Daisy well because they grew up together. His father was the former butler of the Barclay family.

The first time he met her was when they were still little. He was amazed when he learned Daisy was the daughter of a wealthy family, yet she was not selfish, though sassy in some ways. However, despite being the only daughter of a wealthy family, she grew up well under her parent's guidance and was always willing to lend a hand to her friends.

From then on they spent most of their spare time together in Daisy's house. Thus, he could consider calling himself as her best friend.

What he liked most about Daisy was her personality. She was jolly, determined, and would not give up so easily, unlike to his little self who lacked the determination she had. That was why when they grew up as youngsters, he spent less and less time with her and studied well, aiming for excellence. So that someday, he would be worthy of her when he proposed, if that time would come. No, he would make it come, he promised to himself.

Somehow, wherever a sweet smelling and blossoming flower was, bees would always hover around it. It pained him to see young men going nearer to her while she slowly walked away from his side.

However, a year ago, his father got ill due to old age and the Barclay family had no choice but to hire a new butler and to become Daisy's bodyguard at the same time. Henceforth, many young and capable men applied for the job, making Victor anxious all the more.

As a result, he didn't think twice and asked Dr. Barclay to let him take his father's place, to be nearer to Daisy again as he continued to pursue his dream.

Being with her again, made him see a different side of her that he hadn't seen before, making him fall for her deeper.

After her parents went on a trip, Victor noticed that she cleaned her parent's bedroom every other day, saying she wanted to do it for them.

Over the past six months, she always encouraged herself that they would come home while she cleaned the room. She always looked at the mails or for any calls from them. When they talked, she would say, "I will cook food for them when they get back." She motivated herself to do something for them.

Before Christmas, she prepared her parents' favorite dishes but sadly they didn't come home. Despite their absence, she was full of optimism. Instead of crying, she packed the food and gave it to the orphanage where her family was a patron.

In Victor's eyes, Daisy was a strong and kind lady. But he didn't know she was suffering inside. Daisy was just good in hiding her pains.

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Back inside her bedroom, Daisy lay on her pastel-pink colored bed and looked up at the ceiling and thought about her dreams when she was a child. First was to become a research engineer, like her parents. The second was to help them in their projects.

During her elementary years, she was good both in academics and on the practical side, but as she entered junior high in a prestigious school where only the rich and famous studied, her grades went lower. Yet, she kept the top fifteenth seat in class despite the pressure.

In her secondth year, her grades plummeted and continuously sunk lower when her parents spent less time with her and more in their jobs as the demand for mass-produced robots reached greater heights.

However, they would always come home for special occasions and would never miss to encourage her to never give up on that dream. Somehow, for her, her dream was already far from becoming a reality.

As time passed, the bullying in school got worse. Her teachers, who were fond of her at first, left her one by one, aside from one teacher. They thought that she was as good as her parents, but her shortcoming stunned them to keep them away from her. Their high expectations became disappointments.

Students began to look down on her because of her 'only passing' grades. They thought of her as a loser and would deliberately mock her every time she entered the classroom.

Although not all, but most wouldn't miss a chance to bully her, like stealing her lunch, pouring water on her gym clothes in the locker, and so forth. The teachers did scold the students but didn't bother to totally stop the bullying. It was only the homeroom teacher who took her side but what could a lone teacher do by himself?

He wished to tell her parents about it but Daisy would only smile at him and said that it was fine. That she could handle the situation and no need to call them away from their busy jobs, because... she felt ashamed to tell her parents about her low grades.

There was one time when she entered the hallway and the students threw eggs at her, calling her chicken. The worst, they would slap her if she complained while calling her a loser. As a result, fear took over her and began skipping school outside her parent's knowledge.

Every night, she cried out her agonizing pains. She didn't want her parents to worry even though deep down she was hurting.

There was a time that she wanted to end her life but her mother and father's loving faces would pop up in her mind, stopping her from doing so, because she couldn't bear to hurt them or see them crying. Hence, she endured the four years in that school despite it being a living hell.

Nonetheless, her absences were not a hindrance for her to get her graduation certificate.

Finally, on her graduation day, her good teacher told her parents about the four years of bullying and made them regretful. Her mother even cried non-stop and threatened to sue the school and those who bullied her, but Daisy stopped them.

"Ma, I don't blame you or those bullies. It was all my fault for not being good enough and not telling you all about it. But don't worry, Ma, Pa. I've endured it and would leave this school for good. So, let it be."

Her father didn't listen to her, though, and sued the school but her reluctance to come out closed the case.

There were two things she hated the most: blaming others for her incompetence and making her parents worry. But despite her optimism, Daisy couldn't forget those darkest times in her life.

Victor's presence at home was a refreshing start. He was her inspiration to open her own shop while she rested from school. The university could wait for later, she told herself, although she knew Victor had entered college ahead of her and took the same course as her parents.

She never told Victor of her past, fearing she would lose a friend once he learned she was not as intelligent as he thought she was. Regardless, she was determined to start anew, to stay positive and never lose hope for her parents and mostly for herself.

With this reason, she didn't whine or complain when her parents didn't communicate nor come home for christmas or for new year celebration. However, when the new year came, she was determined to dig out the truth and find them.

Unexpectedly, this Greatest Inventor System came to her life and the cause she paused her investigation.

This morning, the screen displayed:

[Daily task: Stay fit and healthy

Wall Push-ups 0/15

Curl-ups 0/15

Squats 0/15

Running 0/5 kilometers

If you don't finish your task, you have a punishment.]

"What?!!" Her scream startled Victor downstairs. He ran as fast as his feet could, straight to her bedroom, without knocking. And both of them screamed out loud when he entered and saw her with only her towel on after a nice refreshing bath.