Lucia
I paused, shifting the table with my leg as I peeped through the window. A girl struggles with her luggages. Her facial expression screams every bit of clumsiness. And I could see the unsteadiness of her body outfit. She just kept looking sideways like someone was after her. By that time, Sonia was already back in the kitchen. So I reached out to the door knob and twisted it open.
She swallowed hard, a rush of relief washed over her.
"Who are you? And how may I be of help?"
She cleared her throat, her voice strong and subtly deep.
"I'm Doris…"
"And?"
"I've you seen Dianna?"
I paused. "Is he referring to the Dianna I saw earlier today?" I muttered from within.
"Does she look exactly like you? I..I mean… based on your dress and hair."
She's calm, facing downwards, unable to keep eye contact.
"Yes she does." She finally says.
"Alright. I saw her, but.. she's not here… Check her around." I gestured towards the other apartment surrounding the school.
"Lucia, who's that?" I heard Sonia call from the kitchen.
"Just a random missing stranger I guess." My eyes rolled and she looked away.
"Okay then. Hurry up, we can't be late for our training." Sonia added.
"Yes. Sure, I'll join you shortly."
As I turned to look at her again. Her phone rang.
"Thank goodness! Dianna, where are you?" I heard her say through the phone and I slammed my door. "Sycophant!"
The school bell rang and we all gathered at the martial centre. We were split into two groups by Coach Chloe. She was the one in charge of our martial arts activities.
I looked around my group members. We were quite many and for some reason Sonia wasn't in my group. But I saw Dianna and Doris at the back. It looked as though Coach Chloe was directly instructing them on where to drop their luggages. Too bad they really had a lot of catching up to do.
"You guys will go in twos one after the other." Coach Chloe announced, her voice strong and commanding.
I looked at my team waiting for the first two to go.
"In this game you're meant to wrestle with your opponent and protect your face or neck from being punched." I heard Coach Chloe announce and Dianna's eye flashed at me.
"Why's she staring at me?" I mutter. And by the sound of the whistle the first group started.
My eyes flashed to the spot Dianna was standing, she's whispering something to Doris. And when they tried to look at me I pulled away facing the wrestlers.
My eyes traced through the small crowd searching for my best friend but I couldn't find her.
"Hey, your turn." Coach Chloe pointed to me and I stood frozen at first before turning back slowly. Her eyes pierced into the crowd to find my perfect match.
"You!" She's pointed to Dianna. And I snapped my finger. Yes!
"Yes ma."
"Come forward."
She moves closer, her face down to the ground and palms placed on each other.
"She must be such a timid girl. Pathetic! I bet I'm gonna beat her to this. Yes!" I squealed in my own little corner, causing the other small crowd to look at me.
"Look up. Doris and Lucia you may proceed."
The crowd chattered as they echoed my name. "Lucia! Lucia!! Lucia!!! Lucia!!!! Finish him up."
I shifted back a little, pinning my foot to the ground. She's approaching me slowly, her eyes shifting from Doris back to me and from me to the crowd. She got very little to no cheering apart from Doris. The sight of this alone made my body light and my face bright.
"What a good way to deal with her for what she did to my backpack earlier today."
"Go Dianna, you can do this. Remember, stay focused." I hear Doris say to him. And I laughed so hard.
"Leave her alone. She's such a weakling! I wouldn't even sweat to deal with her. Bring it on girl."
"I'm not afraid of you." She finally choked. One. Two. Three. Attack!"
She ran towards me, my vision blurry. I tried to steady on the ground but Dianna pushed me even harder. The crowd erupts in a loud gasp. I opened my eyes. She's standing right in front of me, her right leg on my stomach folding her arms. Coach Chloe is smiling by the corner. My face fell flat, my body closed in.
"Now you know who's the real weakling" Her mouth firm and teeth grit.
I pressed my lips, my veins throbbing on my forehead. "Who the fuck is she! And how was she able to do that?"