"Why is she not well, Zadie? What's the problem with her?" Sully turned to her and asked calmly, trying to understand the situation.
"She..." Zadhea clenched her hands. "She has a kidney problem. She needs a donor, but we couldn't find anyone since we're so poor." She let out a self-sympathetic chuckle. "Miserable, right?"
Sully lowered his eyes. "Not at all. It's not your fault, Zadie. You should..." He felt a pang in his heart. He knew very well how much it hurt to lose loved ones. He himself lost his parents, his beloved grandmother, his girlfriend whom he loved more than his own life, and his newborn son. Actually, he was more miserable than Zadhea in that aspect.
At least, she could still hold onto hope.
Unlike him...
"You should hope for the best. Don't let go. She'll be alright one day."
Zadhea's eyes filled with tears. "I keep telling the same thing to myself over the years. Don't worry, Sully. I'd never lose hopes. I'll try my best. I won't give up until the very end."
"That's my girl," Sully tapped on her shoulder kindly like a big brother. "By the way, if you allow me, I can make her feel better. With my powers, although I can't help her to recover completely, I can still provide her with some temporary comfort."
Zadhea's eyes lit up instantly. "What? Really? Sully, can you really? I... I'm... Like more than happy. Truly."
"Yeah." He removed his hoodie, revealing his fair face and mesmerizing purple eyes. His nose looked like a parrot's beak. His eyebrows were so thick. As he closed his eyes, he made a white glittering ball using his hands, earning gasps from his friends. Then he let the ball go inside the woman's body through her nostrils.
Zadhea's mother's whole body radiated the white glow until it slowly dissipated.
Zadhea kept looking at her enthusiastically, hoping to see her open her eyes. 'Mom, just this once. Please open your eyes and look at me.'
With a trembling hand, she was about to touch her cheek when the door to the ward pushed open loudly as a nurse came inside hurriedly.
"Who are you?" She looked at them suspiciously. "What are you doing here? Don't disturb the patient's rest."
"I'm..." Zadhea opened her mouth to explain, but Sully didn't let her. Clutching her wrist, he pulled her outside the ward, saying, "We are leaving. Sorry for the inconvenience."
The nurse rolled her eyes. "Nasty teenagers."
Then her eyes fell on the patient. 'Hmm? Am I hallucinating? Why do I feel like she's glowing all of a sudden?'
"Why did you do that?" Zadhea pulled her hand out of Sully's grip roughly as she felt irritated. "I'm her daughter!"
Sully shook his head. "Not anymore. They are familiar with her daughter. Zadhea, you are no longer her daughter. Please accept the truth."
"No, she is," someone said, gaining their attention.
Zadhea's eyes widened as she realized that it was the same rich guy whom she assumed was her handsome cousin brother.
What was he doing there? Maybe... He also came to visit her mother?
Cyan looked at Zadhea solemnly. "I'll save her. Don't worry." Then without waiting for her response, he turned around and left into the ward, closing the door behind him.
For a strange reason, Zadhea felt like she could believe him.
She felt as though a huge burden finally lifted from her shoulders.
'My cousin brother is the best.' She sighed. 'Please take care of her for the time being.'
She realized that she shouldn't just think about it. She must tell him in person!
"I'll be back."
Both Cyan and the nurse flinched as the ward door opened with a loud bang. They looked at the person who just entered the ward strangely like she was an alien.
Zadhea quickly realized her mistake. She awkwardly apologized before rushing to Cyan's side. "Hey, you. I don't know who you are. But I trust you. I'll give my mother to you. Please take care of her until I come back." She said as tears poured out of her eyes. "Please..."
Without hesitation, Cyan directly pulled her in for a hug as he gently stroked her back. "I know."
________________
"What about this?" Brownie picked up a brown-colored guitar. "I can play it as a bass guitar. What do you think?" He looked at Zadhea earnestly.
Zadhea was in a good mood. She happily took it from him and checked it using a plectrum. "Mmm, not bad."
"Yes!!"
"What about mine? I'm playing the lead guitar." Cyrus showed her a dazzling red guitar.
Zadhea's mouth twitched. She smacked her forehead and said, "Bro, you can't definitely use it. It's an electric guitar. We don't have electricity in our world, remember?"
"Oh yes." Cyrus put it down with a disappointed look on his face.
The manager felt confused. He couldn't understand what they were talking about. But one thing was for sure.
They were super rich!
He felt like he won a lottery ticket.
He quickly turned to his assistant, ordering, "Quickly bring them some drinks. Our gentlemen must be tired."
"Hey, look over here!" Apollo waved at Zadhea with a grin. "Look what I've found!"
"Uhh!" Zadhea arched back her neck in exasperation. "A drum set? Really? We can't possibly buy it. It doesn't belong to our world, and unlike other instruments, this one is hella obvious!"
"But I want it," Apollo stubbornly insisted with a pout. "We'll look cool."
"But..."
"Please, Zadie..." He looked at her with puppy eyes. "Aren't we a pop band? I think a drum set is necessary."
"Yeah. I guess you are correct." Zadhea finally gave in with a sigh.
"Hooray!"
Zadhea chose a rhythm guitar for herself. Now they had three guitars and a drum set. She felt very satisfied.
But...
There was another essential instrument.
Zadhea turned to Sully with a poker face. "So... What do you choose?"
"I already have a piano. I don't need anything else," Sully said, looking around. "Although, they look marvelous, I still prefer my beloved piano."
"Oh, come on!" Zadhea spread her arms wide. "Not the piano. How about a keyboard? You asked me for support. So mister, please listen to your elder sister."
Sully giggled. "Yes, sister. But there's a problem. What about electricity? There's a plug to every keyboard here."
"Wow!" Zadhea was surprised. "You know the difference between electric and non-electric instruments? What a smarty!"
"I know." Sully puffed his chest.
"What should we do now?" Zadhea mumbled to herself.
"Wait. We can ask for Harry's help. So electricity won't be a problem. Sully, choose a keyboard!"
"Oh." He nodded. "Okay then..."
"What about my guitar?" Cyrus still couldn't let go of his dazzling electric guitar. He fell in love with it at the very first sight, and he didn't want anything else.
"...Okie."
"Yessa!!"
When they came out of the store after buying everything they needed, it was already dark outside.
"It seems like we won't be able to do a race," Brownie blurted out, feeling sad. "We only have a few hours to return."
"It's the perfect time, to be honest." Zadhea patted his back. "C'mon! What are you waiting for?"
"Aye, aye, captain!"
The boys became super excited.
Rushrider Racing Arena.
It was the perfect place for races in Minosha's city. Every night, they held a competition for the racers and gave the hottest gift for the winner.
As Minosha, she never dared or bothered to go there.
But after becoming Zadhea, she became more adventurous and energetic. Or maybe she just came out of her shell.
In the end, she couldn't wait to go there.
"Are you sure about this?" Brownie stroked his chin. "Do you really need to disguise yourself like a boy?"
"Of course. Otherwise, how can I win the hottest gift?" Zadhea winked at him playfully as she put on her black wig. "How do I look?" She patted her chest proudly.
"How did you make it flat?" Brownie asked with uncertainty.
"You rogue!" Zadhea smacked his head before whispering, "I got bandages."
He whispered back, "I see."
Money could do anything.
Although they were minors, thanks to money gained by selling gold coins, they could get fake IDs.
After the security officers checked their IDs with their faces, they finally got the permission to enter inside.
"I can't believe he smiled at my name, " Brownie said, pursing his lips as he clutched his ID in his hand as if to break it.
Zadhea laughed. "Understandable."
"Hmph!"
"Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to Rushrider Racing Arena," The announcer said using a speaker. The rich customers began cheering. There were girls too. Probably the lovers of some boys.
"Although you win today, don't accept the gift!" Zadhea heard a girl say to her boyfriend with an angry face. 'How childish!' She sneered and looked away.
The announcer continued, "This is June. She'll be your hottest gift today. And she'll start the race."
June blew a kiss at them before winking seductively.
She was a blonde. She wore a dark blue dress that reached her thighs, revealing her slender, long legs. Her heels were higher than Mount Everest as she made a tuk, tuk sound while walking gracefully. Taking the flag, she waited for the announcer to count down.
"Three, two..."
Zadhea looked at the three boys proudly. She still couldn't believe how fast they learned how to ride. Before the competition, she'd taught them, and they quickly mastered it. Just within three hours!
Unfortunately, Sully didn't take part in it. He said he would cheer them instead.
"One, Go!"
"Brum bruum!"
The racing bikes made a humming sound with the help of the high-performance engines as the tires screeched on the track occasionally.
Zadhea didn't think of anything else again. In her eyes, she only had the finish line.
"Ugh!" She groaned when someone brushed past her. When she recognized who it was, she was shocked to the core.
'Apollo!?'
She was their teacher for three hours. How embarrassing it would be to lose to a student!?
'Nah, I want my first place!'
She sped up without hesitation.
"Look, look. The pretty boy and handsome boy are battling!" A girl said excitedly. "Who'll win?"
"Hard to say."
It indeed looked like a competition between them. None of them wanted to back down.
'Zadhea is a girl. How can I lose to a girl?' Apollo thought in his mind. 'Plus, I've never got defeated in my entire life.'
As they zoom down the straightaway, their bikes roaring with power, each racer was intensely focused on gaining the lead. Apollo, leaning into each turn with precision, maintained a slight advantage, but Zadhea was hot on her heels, drafting closely to conserve energy.
With every corner, Zadhea inched closer, looking for the perfect moment to make a move as girls cheered her enthusiastically. They entered a chicane, and there was a split-second where Apollo hesitated, allowing Zadhea to dive inside and take the lead with a daring maneuver.
Now in front, Zadhea accelerated, pushing her bike to its limits, while Apollo tried to regain lost ground.
"Here's the winner!" The announcer exclaimed with a happy grin. However, his smile cracked a bit when he saw the name.
"Augustus August Augaricus." He almost twisted his tongue pronouncing it.
However, the girls got it quite easily.
"Auga!"
"Auga!!"
"Auga!!!"
"We love you, Auga!"
"Marry me, Auga!" The girl who told her boyfriend not to accept the hottest gift screamed loudly.
"Aug- what?" Apollo felt his mouth twitch. "Seriously, Zadie? You didn't have a better name to choose?"
Zadhea smirked.
"Hey, what about you? How come out of all the people, you were the one to give me the side by side combat? I still can't believe it..."
Apollo chuckled. "I'm not ordinary."
Amongst the crowd's applause, Zadhea climbed onto the stage, waving her arms with a smile.
There she won a cash price although she necessarily didn't need it. "I'm going to give it to charity," She said in her male voice.
The crowd became even more excited.
"That's my hero!"
"Love you, Auga!"
"Auga, our hero!!"
"Auga, Auga, Auga!!"
The announcer cleared his throat and said, "That's not it. You have another important gift too. But this time, don't give it to charity." He looked at the audience below with a knowing look. He knew most of the girls' hearts would break soon.
"August, your second gift is... June!"
Out of nowhere, Miss Mount Everest ran towards Zadhea and jumped on her, circling her milky legs around her waist, hugging her like a giant koala.
August removed her legs from his waist as the crowd became silent. They gulped nervously. Even June became scared, feeling guilty for making him uncomfortable and mad.
The crowd thought June was done for. However, unexpectedly, August gave her a sunny smile before picking her up in princess style and spinning her around, gaining the cheers again.
"August, June, their child is March." Someone even made a song.
"Nah, their baby girl will be July."
"No, he'll be October."
The four boys who knew Zadhea's true identity: "......"
A/N:
I guess I no longer have any readers. (╥﹏╥)
I'm sad.
(I think it's better to take a break.💔)