Chapter 25
Taye mumbled. "I've never done this before."
"I know."
"What if I mess up, or shoot you? I won't forgive myself if I did so."
"Trust me, you won't."
She hesitated for a while, then nodded. "Okay fine. Let's do this."
I gave her my sincerest smile. I really wanted her to feel comfortable. I could sense the dread oozing through her body and I wanted to change that. "Let go of the fear. You're wearing it like an armor and it's clearly weighing you down."
Her face softened. I could see tears springing into her light orange eyes, but she fought it from falling. "Thank you. No one's ever tried to help me like you're doing right now. Kenny doesn't even know I'm here or she'll freak out. She's so sensitive around me, but all I want is to be free."
"Enjoy your freedom, then. Pick a gun." I handed her a stash of guns I kept in a small bag. Not the wisest thing to do, but I had managed to steal these guns from Kóre's department some days back, so I could practice my shooting frequently and now, I was using it to teach Taye.
Taye quietly picked a small pistol. Its midnight black color held a special allure in her hand. "Would this do?"
"Nice choice. That's a 9mm pistol. It's actually Levi's favourite."
"It's nice to know that my leader and I connect on something, no matter how small. What do you use?"
My eyes twinkled, as I spoke. "A revolver. It's not as light as a pistol but I like shooting more than once, without reloading, so this has a good feel to it."
she nodded slowly and I folded my arms. "Let's start".
......
The loud shots of Taye's gun roared through the large room. It was earsplitting, despite wearing thick earmuffs, and I almost felt like I was going deaf because of the loud sounds.
I held Taye's hand. " Okay. Stop. Let's take a break."
Taye pulled her pair of shooting glasses over her head and admitted. "I suck at this, don't I? Look at my target. I'm always missing it and messing the hell up."
I did look at her target. The makeshift mannequin I had stolen from the cloth design department didn't even get hit. Not even once, but there were countless bullet holes that designed the walls behind it. "It's your first time. Everyone sucks at their first time. It takes months for perfect."
"Not you. You nailed yours. Your first time was even on the field."
"You know why. It's the eidetic memory, not me. It's my mind I have no control over. Besides, you have a speciality that I doubt I'd ever be good at. You're an amazing cook, and I wish I learnt a little bit of that."
She only gave a resigned sigh. Her shoulders slumped down and her face crumpled up. My attempt to making her smile didn't seem to work. "I should get going. We've been at this for over an hour."
I stared at the thirteen year old girl in front of me and felt a twinge of sympathy seeing her like this. "Tomorrow. Same time. Let's have another lesson."
Her eyes lit up. Something scintillated in them and I couldn't help smiling. "You still want to do this one more time?"
"Not just one more time. We could do it for a couple more times, if you're up for it. Just don't be late."
She saluted. Just like last time. "Yes ma'am, boss lady. I won't let you down." She smiled briefly and headed out of the room.
I looked around the large soundproof dojo and began to pack up my stuff. I caught a whiff of his minty scent before he could even try to speak and whirled myself around "Levi."
Hands dipped in his pocket, he stood there. Wearing his usual crimson red jacket that snug sultrily to his lean muscle, paired with dark trousers and hickory combat boots. My lips looped into a tender smile when I noticed a change in him that I missed. "You changed your hair back."
He attempted to untangle the beautiful mess of his curly hair, but gave up trying, and said. "I just wanted to look natural. To make Levi feel like Levi".
I searched through his eyes, trying to read him. He did it for me? My cheeks tinged at the thought.
His smile broadened. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to shoot down some stuff?"
My nose crinkled. "Huh?"
"I came here to do some thinking and happened to see you teach Taye some shooting lessons."
"You saw?"
"I did, but I excused you guys, when I saw how busy you were. I also knew it was over when I saw Taye jumping down the halls in excitement."
"Oh."
"Unload your mannequin. I want to get to see how good your targets are." I stared at him for a while and curled up a small smile. This was going to be a piece of cake.