Chapter 196
Now that Helen had apologized to me sincerely, how could I be mad at her? Her mother was her mother; she was she. I was mad, but I shouldn’t get the two things mixed up.
“You think I’ll forgive you after a simple apology?” I pouted playfully and looked away.
Helen sniffled and continued, “What do you want me to do, then? Write an apology letter and post it on the school’s forum?”
What a bad idea. I didn’t need more publicity.
“You’ll buy me breakfast for a week. Otherwise, I won’t forgive you.”
I gave her forearm a nudge. Helen was stunned for a while. Then, she leaped and clung to me like a sloth. “No, I’ll buy you breakfast for a month! A week isn’t enough to make my guilt disappear. Luna, you’re a dummy! You should’ve used this opportunity to ask for anything. I can buy you a mansion if you want.”
See? That was the difference between a rich person and an ordinary person.
I was off to a bad morning, but Helen brought warmth back to my world like the bright sun.
Matthew and I might not be able to be together, but I made a good friend. It was all worth it,
no?
After breakfast, Helen left me all alone. She disappeared for the entire day. Just when I thought I would be sleeping alone tonight, she returned with tons of snacks and two cans of
beer.
“I thought you weren’t sleeping here tonight.” I put down my pencil and placed a tray on her desk
Excitedly, she plopped down the snacks and removed the thick coat she was wearing. She then chirped, “I wasn’t supposed to sleep here tonight. Then I remembered there was a piglet in the apartment, so I came back and brought her favorite snacks. I know you love this one. Here. Dig in.”
I got up and grabbed some of the tortilla chips.
They tasted familiar. Helen must have gone to the restaurant I had visited with Matthew
twice.
I loved the tortilla chips there, as well as the dipping sauce. Helen never paid attention to my
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food preferences. He must have helped her pick my favorite snacks.
I wanted him to stop being so nice to me because I didn’t know how to repay him.
After downing half a can of beer, Helen became more talkative. She shared her upbringing with me.
She had never told me anything about her past. Perhaps the debacle in the morning renewed her impression of me. And now, she thought she could open up.
“Since I was little, I was followed by guards wherever I went. Even at school. I would be attending classes inside while the guards stood like soldiers outside. They had scary faces, which scared my classmates. Because of that, no one would play with me.
“During recess or PE classes, the girls would be having fun playing games. But I was forbidden to do anything. I cried so many times because of that. But Mom told me that she did that because she didn’t want me to get injured.
“I said I wanted to play with others. She then told me that we had all sorts of board games, musical instruments, and sports fields. She said I could play with the nannies or guards. I shouldn’t play with bratty kids.
“Luna, believe it or not, other than the other kids in the same circle, I never had other friends. You’re my first. I had to go on a hunger strike to convince them to let me befriend you.”
“What? You’re an adult now. You study at the college every day, so you can befriend whoever you want.”
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