People milled on the streets despite the heatwave that hit the city. Through the window of a speeding car, I envied their freedom.

“Where are we going?”, I asked for the umpteenth time turning toward the driver of the car.

“I told you it's a secret.” Every time I asked, he answered the same thing. I was tired of hearing that sentence. I sighed annoyed with the whole situation.

The drive was short.  The car stopped in front of a house in a rich neighborhood. At the door, Stephan didn't bother to ring the bell, he just opened it.

“Are you sure you can do that?”, I asked worried. I came because I was afraid of jail, I didn't want to add breaking into a house to my troubles. I stayed right out the door.

“You remember I am the headmaster of your school, right?”, he asked in a sarcastic tone.

“Does it have something to do with you breaking into someone's house?”

“What tells you that this house isn't mine?”

“Your name isn't Lu Huang Fu and you don't look Chinese to me.”, I said pointing at a plaque near the door.

“Don't worry. You're welcome.” A woman in her late thirties said from behind his back. 

“I thought you had something to do today?” Stephan asked in surprise as he kissed her cheek.

“It was canceled. Follow me, he's in the garden.” She gave me a gentle smile before leading the way through the house. While we walked, I elbowed Stephan many times. I wanted him to make the presentations but he didn't seem to get the hint. 

When we arrived at the garden, she told us where we could find the person we came to see and left us to our own devices. After a few minutes, we found an old Chinese man sitting alone. I couldn't guess his age. His face was a little wrinkled and his hair was white. The cane at his side indicated that he had problems to walk.

He was lost in thoughts as we waited for him to notice our presence. I cleared my throat loudly. I wanted to know why we were there. He jumped surprised as his gaze fixed on me.

“Meifeng.” He extended his hand toward me.

“I'm sorry but I'm not Meifeng. My name is Akira.” I waited for him to say his name. He didn't.

“Meifeng.” He called me again.

I turned to Stephan asking silently what I should do.

“Grandpa. This is Akira Kirihara . We've come to see you.” 

My eyes grew big in surprise. That old man was his grandfather. They didn't looked alike at all.  The old man was Chinese and he was Caucasian. One had blue eyes the other's were black. The old man had fine features while the headmaster had a more chiseled and angular face. 

“Kirihara Akira . You look just like Meifeng.” He justified his blender. “Come sit next to me.” He patted  the sit next to him. 

“She was the love of my life. I met her back in the home country. We were just kids at the time but I loved her more than life itself. We lived in a small village. I remember how pretty she looked when I picked up flowers near the mountain for her. I studied in the only school our little town had. At the time, girls weren't allowed to study. Meifeng wasn't accepted there. I remember how she would ask me to teach her everything I had learned...” 

My eyes glazed over.  I smiled politely as the old man kept talking, not that I was listening but a nod here and there was enough to hide that fact. Twenty minutes later, he wasn't finished. I was still nodding and smiling. I glanced at Stephan, he didn't move since earlier. 

I needed to stop that old man one way or another. My neck was starting to hurt and I was getting a cramp in my face. I racked my mind for an idea but apart from being rude I didn't see how to get out of this. I didn't even understand why he was telling me that story and ignoring his grandson. 

“How long have you lived here?.” I asked trying to change the subject. His story didn't interest me in the least and I didn't want to know every minutes he spent with Meifeng. 

“Fifty years. After Japan sunk into the ocean, Meifeng moved into this area.” I was lost. How did she went from a village in China to Japan? Moreover, my question had nothing to do with her, so why was he talking about her again? I beat myself over for not listening to his story. 

A woman dressed as a nurse came our way. 

“Mister Lu, it's time for your medication.”

“I'm sorry but we have to cut your visit short. I hope you'll come back to see me again.”

“Of course.” I nodded despite my neck hurting. The nurse escorted him back inside the house. Still in the garden, I waved at him until I couldn't see him anymore.“Why did you bring me here?” I said through gritted teeth.

“It's a secret.”

“Can you drop it already. I had to listen to a stranger talking about another stranger for a half hour. You could at least tell me why you brought me here.”

“You'll know everything when the time is right. Until then, be nice.”

“I want to go home now.” My annoyance was back with a vengeance.

I went to sit in the car when I caught a movement from across the street. She seriously sucked at stalking. 

“Hey, be useful, do something about that.” I pointed at Mrs Johansen who sat in her car peeking at us behind a newspaper. 

“What the hell is she doing here?” He ran to her car before she was able to start it and drive away.

Stephan passed his head through the opened window and removed the key from the ignition. He received blows to the head for his troubles. Mrs Johansen screeched like a banshee. There might have been words thrown in there but it was so high-pitched that they were incomprehensible. 

From the house we had just left, the woman who let us in came out and stood next to me.

“What's going on?” she asked at the volume of my former teacher's voice rose.

“Stalker.” I answered by a single word, I was too busy enjoying the show.

“Should we call the cops?” Her tone let on her concern for our security. 

I turned away from the spectacle they were offering. It was the best idea I had ever heard.

“Yes, you should do it. Last Saturday, she followed us to the beach. It was scary. She kept watching me like she wanted to hurt me.” I let out a sob. My body shook ever so slightly showing how scared she made me. I was impressed with myself I had good talent as an actor. 

“Oh my poor boy!” She took me in her arms. I cried a little louder like I was relieved the stalker hadn't got to me. She whipped out a cellphone and dialed the police.

“What's going on here? Why's Stephan manhandling that woman?” The old man from the house asked frowning as his eyes took on me crying and being hugged for dear life. Stephan had dragged Mrs Johansen out of her car and was trying to restrain her.

Police sirens could be heard approaching. I was a little perplexed at the speed they came. Barely five minutes after the call, a police car parked in front of us. Mrs Johansen lost it then. She kicked Stephan between his legs and took off at a dead run.

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed, eyes big as saucers. I totally forgot the role I was playing as I saw the Plague grab between his legs and his red face distort in pain. 

“Stephan!” the woman screamed as she ran to him. “Are you okay?” 

It was a dumb question. I lost control. I crouched down, hid my face behind my hands and laughed as silently as I could. My shoulders shook, tears streamed down my face. He had it coming for a long time. I wasn't the one who did it but who cared? I had a premium view of the scene, it was good enough for me.

“Come on little one. Let's get inside.”  The old man and his nurse helped me to get up and led me into the house. I still used my hands to hide my smile. “Everything's gonna be alright. It's a promise. I'll make everything alright.” He patted my back as he rambled the same thing over and over again.

He was nice but I would have liked to be able to laugh my ass off in peace. I tried to get my emotions under control when the policemen came into the house. 

“We need to take your statements.”

“Couldn't we do that at some other time? My grandson had a rough day.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I'm sorry Mr. Lu but the sooner we take your statements the sooner you can put everything behind you.”

Lu Huang Fu seemed to debate internally the words of the officers. He finally nodded.

“Could you tell us what happened?” One of the two men asked.

“If you can't talk, don't worry about it. Breathe and take your time.” the old man said to me. He patted my shoulder in reassurance.

I did as he said, I took a deep breath and recounted what happened to the policemen embellishing the story as I went.

“I was getting into the car when I saw her across the street. She was in her car looking at me with angry eyes.” I sobbed. 

“I was so scared. I didn't tell Stephan but last Saturday, when I spotted her inside the shop. She threatened me. She didn't even talk to me and it scared me more. She pointed at me and then she made a sign with her hands like she was cutting her throat.”

“Have you seen her before last Saturday?”

“She was my homeroom teacher until she took leave two weeks ago.”

“Did you have any problem with her before?”

“I didn't see her often. I'm home-schooled. The only time I come to class is when there are exams. I know that she doesn't like me. She said so to my face but I don't understand why she follows me everywhere I go. Is she going to hurt me?” I asked the last question with puppy dog eyes and a trembling voice.

“We'll take care of everything. She won't hurt you.” The old man gave me a hug.

I sniffled noisily in his chest. I hated my face but in this kind of situation it was an awesome advantage that was particularly effective with the old man. 

“We want to press charges against her.”, he added.

“You can but not much can be done on this matter. Even with evidence, what she did is just a minor offense.”

“She's a stalker and she's violent.”

“We'll investigate but you must be prepared. You should try getting a restraining order, it's the best solution I can see. If she goes near you then, we can arrest.”

The police officers left not long after saying this. 

“Can I go home now?” I asked to no one in particular.

Lu Huang Fu frowned. I could see in his eyes that he didn't want to let me go.

“I'll drive, let's go.” Stephan said. I didn't know when he came back inside the house. 

“Are you sure you're okay?” His face was a little pale.

“Yeah, yeah.” He dismissed the concern his grandfather had for him.

Before leaving, I gave a hug to the woman and the old man bringing tears to their eyes.  

Fifteen minutes later, Stephan stopped his car in front of a building.

“We're not at home.”

“I'll come and get you at 6.”

“Huh?”  

“It's your reward for being nice this morning. I don't want to let what happened upset our plans for the day.” He signaled me to get out of the car. Suddenly, someone opened my door and waited for me to get out. As soon as the door closed, the car left.

“If you would follow me.” 

“Where am I?”

“You're at the Helen Hart Spa. Please, if you would follow me, I will lead you to your appointments.”

The name didn't tell me much. I didn't know the part of the city we were in. I followed him and I didn't regret it. I had quite the relaxing day. I had a massage, then I relaxed in a Jacuzzi. The food they served me was exquisite. 

What really relaxed me though was that I was finally in peace. No one to argue with. No one to look out for a wrong move. I didn't need to be on guard. It might be a trap but frankly I was just happy for once not to have to deal with something stressing. I couldn't prevent myself from giggling uncontrollably when I thought back to what happened this morning. It was the best day I had in a long time.     

When six rolled around, I felt like a noodle. Even though I didn't do anything all day long other than being pampered I was tired. When Stephan came to get me, the sound of the car lulled me into a deep sleep.

When I awoke next, I was on my bed in my room. There was only one way I was able to get there. Someone carried me there. I blushed with embarrassment. I was a man, dammit! 

It was three in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep. I decided to log back into the game.

The scan on you iris had determined that you are a registered user. Which application do you wish to connect to?

“Forgotten Soul.”

Request denied. Parental control activated you can't access Forgotten Soul.

“Who's the idiot who activated that?” I asked angry. 

The strongest most handsome man in the universe, the Great Stephan Hayes.

I blinked in disbelief. The system didn't say what I think it said, right? I jumped from my bed and ran to the Plague's room. I pounded on his door.

“It's three a.m. What do you want?”, he grumbled.

“You activated the parental control on my StaViCon!” I screeched. I was so mad, I could feel steam coming out of my ears.

“Well, read the email sent out to your class. It explains everything. Now, let me go back to sleep.” 

“Hell no! I want an explanation now!”

He sighed. “Three students hospitalized. A game believed to be hacked. What did you expect? No, don't answer. There's a temporary ban on the game. Get over it.” He closed the door on my face. I gave a kick on the door. 

“I didn't finish! Open that door!” I kicked the door again and again until he came out.

“What?”, he asked  annoyed.

“What am I supposed to play now?”

“I installed a few games on your StaViCon. Go play whatever you wish. And for the love of God, let me sleep already.” He closed the door again.

“Is everything all right?” Jacob asked behind me as I stared at the door.

“Yep everything's good.” I turned around and went to my room.

Inside, I pumped my fist in the air and danced in the room. After a few minutes of expressing my joy. I rushed at my headgear. 

The scan on you iris had determined that you are a registered user. Which application do you wish to connect to?

“I want a list of all games installed.”

Althasia

Continuum Online

Draconian Glory

Forgotten Soul

Old Ages Online

Serendipity

Star Explorers

Table board Reign

Zombie Apocalypse

I squealed loudly. The most popular and latest games were on the list. Forgotten Soul being out of the question, which game was I going to play now? 

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