Chapter 102: A Trip Through Memory Lane

"I'm Daarc, nice to meet you, two gentlemen." My speech wasn't perfect but I could talk better than before.

"Dark? What sort of name is that?" the young man scowled

My thoughts exactly!

The captain patted his son on the back. "Don't say that Hook, every child's name is preordained by their parents."

I grinned on the inside.

"Yeah, I'm painfully aware of that." Hook clicked his tongue and looked away.

Everybody laughed. I tried to laugh but my chest reminded me that it was not ready for me to even talk let alone laugh. So I coughed and groaned instead.

"I told you to take it easy, didn't I?" The old man gave me the look.

I did not like this new mode of the old man. What was he: A mother hen, all of a sudden?

The captain introduced himself and after some talk, left with his son.

On the other hand I was confused and overwhelmed.

"Old man, how did you do this?" I said.

"You mean how did I procure this ship?"

"What else could I mean?" I looked at him with dull eyes. I didn't have time for his annoying jokes.

"Ha ha. Your sense of humor hasn't improved huh? I promised them this." There was a gem in the old man's hand. It was purple in color and was shaped like an oval.

"How many of those damn things do you have?" At this point I wasn't even surprised. If this old man told me he had a stack of gems hidden behind his beard or something, I'd have believed it.

"Just enough." He hid it in his breast pocket.

I can't even begin to wonder how damn rich you are.

I glared at him for a little while as he laughed.

After that he left and soon Jowy left too. Brend however stayed behind.

If I closed my eyes I could have fallen asleep again but I just didn't want to.

"Say, Brend. Do you feel bad about not being a pirate anymore?" I didn't mean much. All I wanted was someone to talk to.

"How do I put this? You see, I didn't want to become a pirate. When I was a little girl, my village was destroyed by monsters and the captain rescued me. But since I was a girl, he wouldn't let me on his ship. I was very persistent and in the end, he gave up and gave me this bracelet. But then again I think everyone knew… well maybe. I don't miss being a pirate; I just miss the captain. He was like a father to me. And…" She faked a smile and looked down and Bitey. I may have been trying to start a conversation but I never thought it'd escalate this quickly.

I did have one of my questions answered though. Brend was a girl.

And yet again, I can't help but feel that they weren't pirates.

In which universe did pirates save villages instead of pillaging them? I suppose in this one.

"I'm sorry," I managed.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Brend's voice became low and there was sadness in her eyes. She was trying her best not to show.

But I couldn't help but be self-conscious. If only I'd warned them more thoroughly. However, the captain might have still not listened to me. After all, he cared more about his crew than treasure. Perhaps things wouldn't have turned out like this if we weren't on their ship. Perhaps.

Seeing the awkward silence, she swiftly changed the subject. "By the way I changed my name and I'm going by Brenda."

"That's nice. So you're officially a girl now?" I was just trying to act funny but I sure failed miserably at it.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Her eyes narrowed and her face became reddish. I might have stepped on a mine.

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I didn't reply. I was smiling in an awkward way to hide the awkwardness. Meanwhile, my brain shifted to the little white furry delight. "Can I hold him? Can you give me my Bitey?" That was my best attempt to change the subject.

And Brenda fell for it. "Actually this guy is also a she. And I took the liberty of naming her Biteria" Brenda puffed her chest (there wasn't much of it though) and grinned hysterically.

"Huh! Wha!" I couldn't believe my ears.

Had my life been a lie?

The love of my life was actually girl? It didn't bother me that much though. Who cared if it was a boy or if she was a girl? As long as I could cuddle her to my heart's content, I'd be fine.

"You should get some rest now. I'll wake you up once it's time for dinner." Brenda's usual nonchalant attitude made its comeback.

"Okay."

From her words, it was clear that the noon had already passed. There were plenty of things I wanted to ask but the time just wasn't right. Moreover, I felt very lightheaded. I decided to sleep. Within moments I fell asleep.

("The new Binge Zero movie, is out of stock already? Are you kidding me?" I blurted in frustration.

"Daarc, can you go with Alicia? She says some boys are bothering her at school again."

Mom shouted from downstairs. Being the oldest son, I had to do at least some chores. I'd already heard about how she was having a hard time at school or something, but I never did anything about it. Frankly, I didn't care.

"Alright." I sighed and went out anyway. This would work as a fine excuse for me to go out today too.

Alicia was quiet all the way. The two of us headed out and reached the auditorium of her school. She was a model student. So a lot of boys wanted to date her. She had to say no and that resulted in harassment. And because she was popular, the girls were envious of her as well. And that led to some pretty screwed-up situations.

"I'm scared." If an eleven grader tells you she's scared, she's definitely scared!

"Don't be. I'm here with you." It was just a figure of speech.

She went inside. I was free from college assignments so I just waited outside.

While I was waiting, I received a text from one of my friends saying that he found a DVD of Binge zero. I couldn't help but rush to his house and snatch a digital copy. His house was near Alicia's school, so it didn't take long. I was coming back from his house when… Beep!

"Where are you? They are everywhere!" I received a text from Alicia. I couldn't believe myself.

What have I done; how could I forget the very reason I came with her?

If you bought a juicer and couldn't make juice with it, then what the hell was the point?

I rushed to her school only to find her surrounded by bullies, and her, covered in paint. Her classmates were only watching the show; she was crying. I might have been a little blind till now. It wasn't like I didn't know how the world worked but this was unacceptable.

My brain snapped; my heart raced. I punched the bullies so hard that my hands began to bleed; they fell on the floor and I kicked the little goodness out of them. Soon the teachers arrived and I even punched one of them. What the hell were those geezers doing all that time? How could they let these kinds of things continue on their watch? I was furious, to say the least.

And that's how everything went wrong. I always did have a short fuse, but this was by far the worst thing I'd done.

Everyone's families were called to the school. Alicia made it clear that I didn't need to go with her anymore. I could tell that she was suffering more than before. But I could do nothing about it.

The bullying got worse; her whole class was avoiding her and they all made fun of her in groups. I didn't know what to do. Dad was long gone. So mom had her hands full as she was. Even so, she tried to help as best as she could. But it was too late.

Nine days after the incident, Alicia Green committed suicide in her room and left a note. It read,

"Dear everyone,

Thank you for everything. I really love you guys. Thank you, mom, you helped me through thick and thin. Thank you Cicil and Erin, I love you guys. And lastly, thank you, Daarc. Please understand that I don't blame you and I never will; in fact, I love you the most for what you did on my behalf. But I just couldn't take it anymore. I'll be with daddy, so don't worry about me. Please find it in your heart to forgive me. I really love you guys.

Yours truly,

Alicia."

That's when it all began and that was also where it all fell apart.)

"Daarc wake up.. Dinners here!" Brenda's voice woke me up.

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