Melanie pedaled with empty thoughts while her eyes stared unblinkingly at the view five meters ahead. One man, then two. Melanie looked at them with pity while Priscilla who was openly ignoring the men continued lifting her body onto a tall metal pole before swinging upfront and landing perfectly on the mat.
"Show off!" Melanie shouted as Priscilla approached the bags they had placed side by side. Priscilla raised an eyebrow, prompting Melanie to click her tongue. "At least, say something to the poor men. It looks like they're just talking to the wall, you know."
"Ah, those strangers," Priscilla mumbled while glancing in the direction she had just stretched her body. However, both men were no longer there. "I thought they were just talking to each other."
Melanie chuckled, then stood up, stepping away from the equipment she had been using for nearly an hour. She took a deep breath and grabbed a bottle of water from her bag. She walked over to Priscilla, slowly leaning closer to catch a breath of fresh air from the medium-sized electric fan Priscilla holding in her hand.
"Say Prissy, am I never going to have a nephew or niece in the near future?" Melanie asked in a whisper, then slowly maintained her distance, bracing herself in case she would be hit or have something thrown at her face.
Fortunately, Priscilla only sighed and replied in a sour tone, "Is Peng not enough?"
"He's a beagle!" Melanie exclaimed. "It's not that I hate it, okay?! I love Peng with all my heart, but ... ugh, fine! Whatever. I'll ask you again next year."
Melanie clearly saw Priscilla roll her eyes, making it hard for her to stifle the laughter. Fortunately, Priscilla didn't see what she's just trying to do because that woman was already walking back to her bag.
"Do you still remember Cassandra, who used to come home with me when I was still in high school?"
Melanie nodded, but suddenly her eyes widened as she covered her mouth with one hand. Her eyes flicked toward Priscilla. Fully understanding the meaning of that look, Priscilla smacked the back of Melanie's head with one hand.
"She's getting married soon and said she wants to have a girls' night out," she said while putting on her bag. Melanie let out a long hum, then giggled when recalling what had crossed her mind earlier. "She invited you too since she heard you were coming back. Wanna come?"
"Why not?" Melanie replied while grinning ear to ear, showing off her teeth. "Can I drive?"
Priscilla only shot a sharp glance at her sister for a few moments who still had a wide grin, before finally letting out a long sigh. "Don't get wasted then."
"Never. I just wanna meet Cassy again," Melanie mumbled while following Priscilla's steps as she began walking out of the gym. "Who's the lucky man?"
Priscilla stopped in her tracks and then turned to face Melanie. Seeing her sister wearing a grin on her face, Melanie swallowed her saliva and braced herself to hear the answer with her heart racing.
"Martin Henderson. Her enemy since sophomore."
~𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 8 𝘱𝘮~
"That was just another different person with the same name, right?" Melanie asked for what felt like the umpteenth time to Priscilla who was sitting beside the driver's seat. Seeing no response from her, Melanie asks again, "Right?!"
"No, Mel. It's absolutely him. The same person as it is. Now, focus on driving or you'll make us end up in the hospital instead of the bar."
"No way!" Melanie exclaimed, hitting the steering wheel in her grip, causing Priscilla to widen her eyes. "Isn't he the one who always made Cassy cry, right? Spilling thick, smelly juice on her head? Hiding her homework? Is she serious? Isn't she being threatened or something?"
Melanie could clearly hear Priscilla exhale from her mouth. She glanced at her sister for a moment before the woman quietly mumbled, "I know. I have the same reaction as you, even thinking she bumped her head too hard. But then I thought again, I don't know what happened between them when I was busy with my practices. I'm not always there to know everything, and what has changed about those two."
Priscilla shifts her gaze outside, allowing the silence to continue the story. Meanwhile, Melanie remained silent because she herself didn't know anything as her sister.
"That's why!" Melanie jolt when Priscilla suddenly shouting. "Tonight is a perfect time to interrogate her to the fullest."
Melanie laughed dryly at the terrifying smile that appeared on her sister face. That expression, no matter what, was one of the signs if Priscilla was still human, besides the flat face she always put on her face. Melanie decided to close her mouth, letting her sister's laughter echo in the car although it makes her shiver to the spine.
Eventually, Melanie safely managed to park Priscilla's car which she was driving. The two of them entered the bar, which could be said to have luxurious exteriors and interiors. In her heart, Melanie hoped that tonight all expenses would be covered by Cassandra.
"Oof, it's getting a little cramped tonight," Priscilla complained in a low voice just after they entered. Priscilla reflexively moved one of her hand to the back of Melanie's shoulders. "Don't wander around if you don't wanna get lost."
Melanie ignored Priscilla's scolding as her eyes began to scan every corner of the hall they had entered. This bar was far from what she had expected. It wasn't like the bars she used to visit or the ones she had ever imagined visiting.
Finally, when Priscilla led Melanie to one of the round tables on the left side, a woman in a yellow dress, matching her hair colour, smiled widely and waved cheerfully at her. Melanie silently observed the figure before the woman herself approached Melanie and enveloped her in a warm hug.
"I regret not seeing you sooner," she said in front of Melanie's face, then glanced at Priscilla. "Hey! How could your little sissy become this pretty and you never told me a word about her growth?"
Melanie witnessed Priscilla roll her eyes. "C'mon. She's not your daughter. At least, now you see her, right?"
Cassandra nodded enthusiastically before leading them to a table already occupied by a few other women whom Melanie didn't really know, except Tiffany and Katty who happened to be her sister's friends since high school just like Cassandra. Sitting across from Cassandra, Melanie sipped her drink slowly while observing the spirited woman in front of her closely.
In Melanie's memory, Cassandra was indeed cheerful and always emanated a strong positive aura for everyone around her. Not much different from the Cassandra she saw now. Seeing that, made the corners of Melanie's mouth lift upward. However, when she realized that the conversation was starting to lean towards what Priscilla had intended for, Melanie glanced at her sister who was too focused on her purpose for being here.
"It–it happened in the past! We all were young. We did have such inappropriate acts. You know what I mean?"
Melanie could only zip her mouth, suppressing her initial intention to ask a similar question to what Priscilla was emotionally asking. Honestly, Melanie too still couldn't believe and didn't agree with Cassandra's choice of man who just happened to bully her in the past. But on the other hand, she also didn't feel entitled to comment further on what she didn't know about them after that.
For some reason, the topic surrounding Cassandra reminded Melanie of herself. Although during her college years she didn't want to create and seek enemies, she had one before that. Someone who for some reason was always there to disrupt her aim of being number one at school. A boy named Jaden. Somehow, he looked precisely like that man standing at the counter over there—
"Huh?"
Melanie blinked her eyes, then moved her hand to rub her eyes. After doing so, her eyes returned to the counter where the guy she had seen earlier was still there. Melanie furrowed her brow intensely.
"I'm going to get some drinks," Melanie mumbled, deciding to head directly to the counter to ensure whether her eyes were indeed playing tricks on her or not.
"Grab me a martini, Mel."
On another occasion, Melanie might have immediately rejected Priscilla's order. However, this time she simply nods and headed straight to the counter before the person she had seen earlier vanished without a trace.
"Jaden?" Melanie furrowed her brow even more deeply when the guy turned around to face her, showing that she was not mistaken. "What are you doing here? I thought some of our friends said you were going abroad."
Melanie was totally sure and recognized that the young man in front of her was Jaden, known to her as the most annoying person he ever met. Those short, shining black hair, and dark caramel pair of eyes. However, for some reason, he seemed a little different now even though he was trying to act as usual.
"I'm waiting for an old friend. How about you? You're not going here alone, right?"
Even that teasing felt a bit forced when Melanie heard it. So, she replied with a shrug and answered briefly, "With my sister and her friends. A girls' night out."
Jaden tilted his head, take a glance in the direction Melanie had indicated, and said, "Then, perhaps I shouldn't hold you any longer and make them accuse me of trying to steal you from them."
After saying that, Jaden attempted to end their conversation by stating that he would wait for his friend upstairs. However, before he set foot on the first step, Melanie stopped him, looking at him with a deep frown.
"You alright?"
From his expression, Jaden seemed taken aback that Melanie would ask him that question. With a confused blink, Jaden mumbled, "What do you mean?"
"You don't seem like yourself," Melanie said, then shrugged. "Or that's what I thought. I don't know. Ugh, forget it. You should just go."
Noticing Melanie's awkward movements as she approached the bartender and ordered her drinks, Jaden held his steps and stared at her while saying, "Of all people, I didn't expect you to be the one asking me that full-of-concerned question."
"Shut up!" Melanie snapped, giving a sharp glare at Jaden who was now smiling slyly at her. That! There it is, the annoying smile Melanie recognized so perfectly well. "Don't confront me in this glamorous place! I won't embarrass myself! Not here!"
As if not hearing the exclamations of frustration Melanie pointed at him, Jaden kept his gaze fixed on her before finally speaking softly, "Thanks for your concern, Melanie. However, don't worry. I'm still the person you knew, though."
As if deliberately leaving Melanie hanging in ambiguity, Jaden simply walked away after saying that. Melanie intended to chase after him. But when she saw a glimpse that the second floor looked far more elite, her steps halted as if there were an invisible wall preventing her from entering further. With an annoyed click of her tongue, Melanie grabbed the two glasses she had ordered and walked back to the table she had occupied.