𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 ; 𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐃

【2】

(02) WHAT A YOUNG GIRL SHOULD NOT KNOW

Irene had felt the stars realigning themselves since her last sleepless night a couple of months ago. She felt a new sense of purpose, it was the best life could get. At the given moment, the girl has her feet digging into the training mattress as she tries to dodge the fast fists trying to strike her down. Yeah, she had seen some better days. Despite all of that, she had no idea why the conflicting feelings still lingered. She hadn't seen her parents die like her dad did, no but she could prevent others from seeing that, yes. She wasn't going to fight for revenge, she was going to do it for justice, the only right way.

Her dad was not easily convinced at first when she told him she wanted to do what he does best; huh beating criminals and giving them head trauma and PTSD for life? The first request had gone downhill a lot faster than she had expected, so Irene thought she could make it work from there. The girl would perch herself up, watching with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, scanning the way her dad moved when he was fighting the dummies in the Batcave's training room. The notebook in her hands was full of sketches and tips noted down with her curly unreadable handwritting.

It wasn't until the eleventh day of her sneaking into the room to watch and learn that he had called her out. She revealed herself from the hidden blind spot, deeply ashamed of her actions and had apologized profusely, a few beady tears in her eyes. She had only ever wanted to be like him, similar to the dark knight her mom would tell her about.

Irene hadn't always tried recessing her wild streak. She was a girl and girls shouldn't fight. She had heard the skimpy blonde woman talking in one of the corridors at the ice rink while the other woman beside her vigorously nodded. Irene followed their line of sight, at the end of which was one of the many rented training rooms the facility had to offer. The blonde scoffed, throwing another dirty look through the glass panel that gave them the perfect view of an older man teaching young students the many forms of martial arts. They stood in a perfect line, then Irene's eyes shifted again, her hands grasping her skates that were hooked around her neck with the help of her tied shoelace. The only female student was a scrawny and frail girl, the others completely towered over her and the disapproving stares of the males made her look a lot smaller than she actually was.

The womens' gazes broke away from the window and landed upon her, she watched as the nasty woman whispered to her friend that seemed to be agreeing to all the nonsense she had been feeding her. A smile etched onto her face and she walked towards the short girl, her hips swaying a little as she tried to act as elegant as she could. Her ugly face reminded Irene of the bruise she had on her knee from her fall during practice earlier. Her fingers were adorned with sparkling jewellery and she sported clothes a little too fancy for the occasion. The blonde greeted her with a smile and Irene's eyes narrowed even further when she placed a hand on her shoulder. She became stiff all of a sudden, she wasn't used to anyone touching her beside her parents and Alfred, the others always seemed to treat her like a precious diamond. So if she really was like a diamond, like so many people claimed, wouldn't she have been the hardest person on earth to break? People always keep contradicting themselves.

Then the nasty woman's hand came closer to her face, her thin fingers slowly caressed her ear and Irene held back a sneer. Her wavy hair was tied in a ponytail at the back of her head and the older woman gently wrapped her finger around her dark locks, bringing them over her shoulder. Nasty woman coaxed at her like she was a lost little puppy and Irene hated how she could only listen as the woman harassed her with her fake compliments. How she wished her dad would just come and take her home.

The front door opened and the built man's eyes were locked on that of his distressed daughter's. Irene pushed forward, finally gaining the courage to slap the hand of nasty woman away before jogging to her father's side. The blonde jeered at her before she turned around to look at the man she was so obviously trying to impress. Irene had decided, she didn't like this woman at all, in addition, she already had her mother, why was this woman trying to suck her toes? She was never going to replace her mother for that nasty woman for sure.