Eight years ago:
I was annoyed.
I looked at Mum, who was now entering the doors of the establishment, holding me by the hand so I wouldn't run away.
She knows her daughter well, huh?
Our security was left outside, and some people stopped going about their business to look at us. What can I say? With more than a dozen armoured men acting as our escorts, we were more than enough of a feast for the eyes.
Gosh, I felt like an exhibition. What's up with this woman? Her friend opened up a five-star restaurant—big deal.
I clicked my tongue, annoyed. This time, Mum turned to look at me before walking through the doors.
With a smile, she bent her face closer to mine. "Ada, I promise, this won't take an hour. After the adults are done talking, I will take you straight home."
Liar. If an hour was her best estimation, then staying for half a day wasn't entirely impossible.
But I was a good girl. I had to make my mother happy—it was my job. Yes, that's just it.
With a smile, I looked up at her. "Don't worry, Mum. I trust you."
Since I couldn't do anything, I might as well play the guilty card.
Mum shifted uncomfortably, then walked through the doors, and I followed behind.
The room was large and quiet. That's what made it strange. I mean, scores of people were eating inside, and dozens of waiters were walking around, yet they tried to make it as silent as possible.
I snorted. Old people and their etiquette ways.
The feeling of boredom washed over me, and I made sure it was written all over my face. Two men in tuxedos walked toward us the moment we stepped in, and I guessed they were meant to receive us.
I rolled my eyes. I was eight, but not stupid. Who receives someone behind the door? These two men must be like me—they weren't quite right in the head.
Maybe we could be friends.
"This way, Madam," one of the men told Mum, gesturing toward the elevator at the end of the room.
I frowned at him. "Hey," I waved. "What about me? I'm with her too, you know."
The man looked at me, and it felt like he was seeing me for the first time.
It felt insulting.
Yes, I wasn't irrational; I knew I was still a child.
But he made me seem so short...
My frown deepened.
The other man was quick to reply, his face holding a weak smile.
The face I had seen on a lot of people who associated with me—the face that recognized me as nothing but trouble.
Which I admit, yes, I was, but I wasn't entirely irrational. Mummy and Daddy trained me well.
"Sorry, Miss. My partner lacks experience," he said with a bow. "Allow me to apologize. Madam and Miss Storm, please follow me to the office of CEO Lyra. She expects both of you."
"Don't bow, sir. You're too old for this. Leave some pride for yourself," I admonished him, educating him like a child.
Hey, that doesn't sound right—I was the child here.
I shook my head. Whatever.
The man's body shook when he heard me, or maybe it was only my imagination.
I waved him off, and throughout the exchange, Mum kept looking at me with a weak smile.
I know—she must be wondering what went wrong with her genes, not that I know either.
We followed both men into the elevator. It must have been my imagination, but they kept trying to maintain as much distance from me as possible.
Hey, I don't bite.
It looks like I won't make friends today.
With a sigh, I entered the elevator, looking forward to nothing.
This was going to be a very long and boring day. I felt like causing some chaos, and I knew I could if I tried, but Mum wouldn't be proud.
Humph, so much for being a good girl.
The doors chimed open, welcoming us to the second floor. The men led us through the corridor, with Mum and an annoyed me following behind. By all indications, it was obvious I didn't want to be there.
We passed through rows and rows of offices, which my mind could only interpret as men and women sitting in corners doing boring work.
I felt my frustration building up. I'd rather die than be here. All this because Mummy's friend wanted to meet me? Couldn't she come visit us at home or something?
Whoever this friend was, we were going to war. All possibilities for a peaceful resolution were long gone.
The men stopped in front of an office, and just then, the doors burst open, and a lot of people began to walk out. Most of them were old men wearing their typical tuxedos, with a few women in exaggerated dresses and posh makeup.
My young mind tried to analyze what this was all about.
Boring-looking men and weird-looking ladies, holding papers and walking out of the room, talking about what I could only interpret as boring stuff.
A light bulb flashed in my brain. Business meeting—yes. I was so smart.
A young woman came out of the doors, and the moment she did, all the boring-looking men and weird-looking ladies bustling around made way for her.
I narrowed my eyes. With all that aura around her, she could only be the boss of this place—aka Mommy's friend and the enemy I hadn't yet met.
The moment she spotted us, she quickly walked faster, her face filled with excitement. "Victoria!" she called, embracing Mum in a tight hug before she could even react.
I narrowed my eyes. Nobody but me and Daddy hugs Mum like that. Now I disliked her even more.
"Lyra," Mum replied, all smiles. "I told you I'd surprise you, didn't I? Ada here equally wanted to meet you, so today I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Give you a surprise and let you meet my cute little girl. Smart, isn't it?"
I frowned. Mummy told me to always speak the truth, so maybe this was just a test.
"Hey, I didn't—"
Mum quickly put her hand over my mouth. "Oops, my hand slipped."
Lyra rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be so dramatic, Vicky. You dragged the little one here, didn't you?" she said. Then she turned to me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
She bent to look at me—one of the many things I hate when adults do. I know I'm young, but still...
"You look so cute," she told me, swiping her fingers over my left cheek in delight.
"Don't touch me," I said, my voice sharp.
"And sassy," she continued, the smile never leaving her face.
It felt weird—she felt weird. I turned to look at Mum, confused. Mum was friends with her?
I turned back to the lady. "You and my mum are going to talk about a lot of adult stuff, right?"
"Ada," Mum called me, her tone wary.
"Relax, Mum. I just want to make a small request. No way am I going to be stuck in a room with the two of you," I replied.
There was only so much being a good daughter could do for me, but staying in a room with the both of them was hitting my limit.
"That's hurtful," Lyra replied with a sulky voice—one that irritated me. "I wanted to get to know you."
"Listen, lady," I said, now clearly annoyed. "Everything about you reeks boring, so you'll only be interested in boring stuff. My life has way too much excitement for someone of your league."
Lyra's eyebrows twitched.
But did I care? Of course not. Mummy and Daddy taught me to tell the truth, which equals speaking my mind. Yes, I was a good girl.
"I'm just going to look around," I continued. "Not like there's much to see here anyway."
Mum sighed. Lyra and Mum exchanged glances, and then Lyra laughed. I felt frustrated. Was I a comedy show or something?
"Okay, this is hilarious," Lyra said in between laughter. "How did someone as prim and proper as you give birth to her?"
"Sto... stop it," Mum stuttered. Then she looked at Lyra like she was making a statement she fought hard to believe. "She's still my cute little girl."
I was getting really annoyed. I turned from them and walked away. "I'm leaving."
"Hey," Lyra called after me, still fighting to stop laughing. "Let the two of them follow you. Even though this place is safe, we can't risk it."
I turned to look at the two men who escorted Mum and me into this place, and only then did I realize they had never left.
"Whatever," I replied before I kept walking.
Mum called after me. "Ada."
What now?
I turned to her and saw the look in her eyes that only I could recognize.
Don't cause trouble... please.
I rolled my eyes at her in our peculiar language.
I'll try.
The two men followed behind me as I walked toward the elevator. The second floor was as boring as hell, so I decided to go to the restaurant downstairs and try as much as possible not to cause mischief.
Emphasis on try.
The elevator doors chimed open, and I reached the ground floor. The moment I stepped into the restaurant, I nearly lost interest again. The boring vibe was overwhelming.
I turned toward the area where the cooks were aligning food in showcases while waiters quietly collected their requests. Maybe that could be interesting.
Jogging toward them, with the two brawnies following behind, I attracted a lot of attention. I didn't exactly blend in.
"Hey," I called out to one of the cooks as I reached the partition separating them from the rest of the customers. "What are you making?"
The old man frowned at me, but the moment he noticed the two men behind me, his demeanor softened. "Spicy Tuna Tartare, Miss," he replied with a smile, carefully arranging the dish on the tray.
"Hmm," I said, placing my forefinger on my chin while studying the dish. "Isn't there too little pepper?"
"Of course not, Miss," he replied. "We measure it moderately. Any more than this, and the customer may choke on their meal."
"Isn't that what makes it exciting?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't understand, young Miss," he replied, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"It's meant to be spicy," I reminded him. "Doesn't the customer choking mean it's working? Who's it for anyway?" I asked, looking around.
I didn't really care about the person; I was just curious to see the focus of my little experiment.
The cook looked relieved for some reason. "It's for the young man in the blue shirt just behind the window at the end of the hall."
I spotted the man he was talking about but quickly shifted my gaze to the table beside his.
Something else grabbed my attention.
They were a group of four kids my age, sitting quietly at a table without uttering a word. Their table was empty, and their black outfits, which made them look like ninjas, couldn't be less eye-catching.
They looked strange.
But I didn't care about any of that. They were my age, and that was enough for me.
I turned away from the cook and skidded toward the group that now held my interest. The four of them turned to look at me as I stood in front of their table, their expressions wary.
What's up with those faces? Hey, I don't bite. I was curious about why there didn't seem to be an adult with them and how they'd gotten in if so, but maybe it was too early to judge.
Without asking for their permission, I turned to one of the brawnies behind me. "Hey, Jerry. Be a good boy and go get me a chair, will you?"
With a nod, he walked off.
"Hi, my name is Ada. What's yours?" I asked.
One of them, the only female—brown-eyed and pretty—turned to look at me with shaky eyes before quickly averting her gaze.
"Leave," one of the boys said, his tone cold. It felt like a command, and his scary aura would make any normal person obey.
Well, that was if I were normal.
Just then, Jerry returned with a chair, and I sat on it, ignoring the same boy who was now glaring coldly at me.
I've decided. I'll call him Mr. Grumpy from now on.
"What are your names?" I asked them. I was curious about a whole lot of other things, like their clothes and how they were together but didn't seem to be friends, but I decided to go with this first.
"Ai... Aisha," the only girl there mumbled. She seemed to be shaken up, or maybe she was just shy.
One of the boys turned to look at her, concern evident in his eyes. He was by far the cutest person I had ever seen.
"Our names both start with an A," I said with a smile. "Aisha, I guess this means we'll be really good friends."
"Really?" she asked.
"Of course," I replied. "It's a sign. We need to take it seriously."
The cute-faced boy smiled at me. "You are funny. I like that."
His smile made me freeze. I was by no means immune to cute boys and their smiles, but this hit different.
For the first time in a long while, I got flustered, and my brain short-circuited.
"I'm Luke," he said, introducing himself. "This here is Obinna, and right there is Matthew. Don't worry, Matthew is rude to all of us."
Shaking my head and rearranging my thoughts, I turned to look at Obinna. He was by far the youngest and was the only one who hadn't spoken up since I arrived, and I could see why now.
I could hear his stomach growling all the way from here.
He was hungry.
"Hey, Tom," I called, not turning to look at him. "Get us something to eat, will you?"
I could hear him walk away, and Mr. Grumpy narrowed his eyes at me after I was done talking.
"We are not hungry, save yourself the time," he told me.
I looked at him like he had gone senile. "No kidding, Sherlock. Obinna looks like he's eaten a lot of food and really can't eat anymore. You are such a genius."
Luke laughed, and Mr. Grumpy growled at me.
"Only dogs do that," I told Mr. Grumpy, then I turned to Aisha with a smile.
"Your hair is beautiful," I said, matter-of-factly. It was brown and curly, and it had an otherworldly shine to it.
"Thank you," she replied. Then she frowned, as if annoyed. "Dogs, do you have a dog?"
Her way of speaking was so short and random that I was struggling to keep up.
"No, but I have a cat at home. We call her Kittypaws."
"Not cats," she replied. "Cats are bad, I want a dog."
That kind of offended me. Kittypaws wasn't a bad cat; she was lazy but not bad.
"No, cats are cute. Dogs are not as cute. That's enough for me," I replied.
Aisha pouted. She seemed to disagree.
"Hey," Luke called.
I turned to look at cute face, curious as to why I was called.
"Why are you being nice to us? We don't even know you," he asked.
"I was bored," I said, giving the only answer that came to my mind. "I mean, that was then, but now I have changed my mind. Even though you guys don't speak much, there are a lot of things about you I feel will be exciting to know. But, of course," I paused for a brief moment. "It would be rude to ask."
"Things like what?" Mr. Grumpy asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
I smiled. I had hit a gold mine. "Why are you all dressed like ninjas? You don't seem like friends or siblings. Hell, you are all alone, and no adult is with you, which, by the way, makes me really jealous, you know? And last," I asked the question that had been bothering me all this while, "Why is it only me that seems to notice how strange this all looks?"
There was silence after I was done talking. I could guess none of them were planning on answering any of my questions.
I shrugged it off. I was just curious. Everyone has secrets.
Just then, three waiters carrying dishes on trays arrived, dropping the meal on the table and walking away.
I turned to Obinna, the young boy beside me, and asked him in a gentle voice, "Would you like me to feed you?"
Obinna turned to look at me, then he looked at the rest of them, who still had hesitant faces.
Of course, all except Mr. Grumpy; he was just angry that I dared to disobey his holy command.
"Eat it first," Mr. Grumpy told me, his voice thick and heavy.
It dawned on me.
They thought I had poisoned it. This was the most insane thought for any kid my age to have when another kid ordered food right in front of them.
I felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," Luke told me, looking angry at himself. "Listen, Ada, we are all really hungry right now, but this request won't make us any weirder than we already are. So please take this as a weird request, something that only crazy people like us can say to someone that is trying to help us."
The way he worded it worked for me. I mean, I was crazy too, so I understood. Plus, at the end of the day, I was still a stranger, so I couldn't really blame them.
With a sigh, I started with the drinks first, taking a straw and drawing out light sips from each of them while they watched me. Then I took a spoon and ate bits of the food on the table, and immediately I was done—like that was the signal they all needed, they all turned into wolves.
I mean, literal, hungry wolves. Even Mr. Grumpy was no exception.
Their ferocity while eating surprised me. Exactly how long had they gone without food?
Hours.
Days.
I wasn't even sure anymore.
Obinna didn't need my help; he used more of his hands than the forks and knives to eat the meal.
That was unhealthy.
I ruffled Obinna's hair while he ate, feeling my heart ache for all of them.
They finished the meal in under five minutes, and this was food that could leave ten average adults satisfied.
And worse, they were kids.
"Do you guys want some more?" I asked.
"Thank you," Aisha told me with a smile. It looked particularly funny with her lips stained with sauce. "You are a good person. You are nothing like me."
Now this left me confused. It could be interpreted in so many ways.
"You're welcome," I replied anyway. Crazy people like the both of us are like this.
"You are Ada, right?" Mr. Grumpy called me. "Your dressing gives off the feeling that you came from a circus. You need to improve."
I was surprised that Mr. Grumpy could talk that way.
But that surprise didn't last for a second long.
I got angry.
"I don't dress like a clown," I snapped, now preferring the old Mr. Grumpy. He was less annoying.
He looked at me for a few seconds in silence, then he smirked. "That isn't a surprise. How will a clown ever know he dresses like one? A clown dresses normally by clown standards."
"Matthew, that's enough," Luke cut him off, but I could tell he was trying to hold back his laughter. Then he turned to me. "Ada, don't worry. You dress way better than a clown."
I clenched my fist. Should I feel better that I was compared to a clown?
This idiot—now he didn't look cute at all.
But...
Do I really dress that badly? I knew that I wasn't really right in the head, but that doesn't mean I can't dress well.
Gosh, these boys were rude.
"Your dress will put models to shame," Obinna said, speaking up for the first time. "Don't mind the two of them; they are both sore losers and just want to feel better by comparing themselves to you."
"Seriously, dude, why am I getting roasted?" Luke said with a frown. "I complimented her, you know."
"That's ungentlemanly of you, Luke," Aisha said. "You soiled the name of our princess with that of a clown."
"That reminds me," Obinna said. "There's this creepy smile that clowns make. Am I getting it right?" he asked, making a smile that gave me the shivers.
"It's creepier," I told him.
"Stop it," Aisha continued.
"Way to go, dude, that's a level ten out of ten," Luke said.
"Hmm," Mr. Grumpy said, and then he didn't say anything else.
From there, we talked about a whole lot of other things. Believe it or not, if Mr. Grumpy wasn't the most talkative of the lot, he was almost there. We talked about school and shared our deep hatred for it. Then I and Aisha gave our opinion on boys and how they were dirty most of the time, with the three boys shouting out loud and defending the brotherhood, as they called it.
I couldn't count how many waiters walked over to us and told us to quiet down, and I only responded with a short, "Tom and Jerry take care of it." With that, no one disturbed us anymore.
The restaurant wasn't noisy anymore; we made sure of that. We were now the center of attention, a weird source of entertainment in this boring place. And these boys, they were the most dramatic people I had ever seen.
They made short dances when they got ahead of Aisha and me in an argument. Some dances could get on your nerves to the point you just feel like dragging them by the hair until they beg for mercy.
Which I did most of the time.
"So I looked her in the face and told her," Matthew said, mimicking his voice from back then. "You just helped yourself to a big dish of frog meat. How does it taste this time? Is it still delicious?"
We all laughed it off, and I clutched my stomach because I was laughing so hard. We had been talking for three hours straight now, and I had gotten to know them so deeply that our bond couldn't be described as mere friends.
It felt deeper, more concrete, such that I couldn't quite put it in words.
"Which high school do you have in mind, Ada?" Aisha asked me.
They all turned to look at me, and I felt this question interested all of them.
"Nerland," I replied with a sigh. "It's not really negotiable for me. Granny was the one who decided that."
They all made an "oh" sound, although I felt my answer made them shift uncomfortably.
Must be my imagination.
No one said anything for a few seconds, which felt weird to me. I turned to see them staring at the door.
Curiously, I turned towards the door too.
Just outside the glass doors, about a dozen men in suits stood, and they were looking at us.
Or more specifically, they were looking at them.
"I'll call you," Obinna told me while standing up, the rest of them standing too. "We need to leave."
"I could escort you," I said, making to stand up.
"No," Aisha said, pushing me back into my seat, her hands trembling. "Please, stay. Don't step outside with us."
I narrowed my eyes. "If you don't want to leave with them, just give me the word. My family is powerful enough to give whoever is threatening you hell on earth. No, fuck that, I alone am enough."
Luke smiled at me. "We get it, you are a Storm. But we aren't in any danger. We are just going home."
Aisha's trembling form wasn't convincing, but if I tried to ask too much, they'd just deflect the topic entirely.
I gave up.
The four of them looked at each other, then it felt as if they came to a silent agreement. They walked toward me in the chair and surrounded me in an embrace.
"You are my sanity," Obinna told me.
"You are my friend," Aisha continued.
"You made me feel human again," Luke said. I could sense it; his voice was nearly breaking into sobs.
"Sunshine in the darkness," Matthew mumbled, although just enough for me to hear.
Their words got me flustered, and I didn't know what to say for a while.
Before I could even come back to my mind, they were already walking out of the door, away with the dozen or so men escorting them.
"What the hell was that?" I said, shaking my head in confusion. Their absence filled me with a strange sense of loss, but I didn't have time to dwell on that feeling.
I saw Mum walking out of the elevator toward me, her friend following behind her. Mum looked like she was kind of in a hurry, and I raised my eyebrow. What could get her so worked up?
It was then that I noticed the restaurant was almost empty, but it was still an hour until dusk. I wondered why I didn't notice people leaving. Of course, how could I?
I'd be surprised if I noticed the apocalypse descend while I talked to them. I was that distracted.
"Get up, Ada, we are leaving," Mum told me the moment she got to me.
"What's the rush?" I asked Mum, standing up while doing so. Like hell, I wanted to stay here for a second more.
"There has been some kind of mass murder. The explosion left about a hundred people dead," Mum explained impatiently.
"Vicky, what's the rush? It's only a fool that will try to cross the Storm's," Lyra said with a sigh.
"I know," Mum replied. "But I'm not taking any chances with my daughter."
"Did they get whoever did this?" I asked Mum, following her toward the doorway.
"Of course not, since when did the police become that responsible?" Mum snapped.
Gosh, this has really left Mum feeling cranky.
"They only got footage of four black-clothed silhouettes in a moving vehicle after the explosion. Tell me, what good is that?" Mum explained with a sigh.
Four images came to my mind immediately, but I quickly discarded the thought. Even if I considered that, it's not every day you find eight-year-old kids driving a car.
And they didn't do that; they weren't murderers. They were like me, kids.
The little army of armored soldiers surrounded us and led us into the Mercedes Maybach. The convoy surrounded us, driving off the moment we began to move.
I couldn't help but think of my four friends on the drive home.
I hoped they were okay.