The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

163 Work Partner

No one believed that Rachel had that kind of side, except Emma. Emma already knew that Rachel was smart. She was not surprised if that girl could think so.

“Oh.. You’re kinda good, Rachel..” Kathy said, pretending to be sarcastic, making Rachel and Poppy chuckle.

Emma smiled warmly when she saw Rachel was finally able to get along in her group. It seemed the introverted girl was pretty comfortable with Kathy and Poppy. Now, the girl who was rumoured to be a monster was no longer alone.

“If it’s true that Poppy would rent Rachel’s building, how about we decorate the place together? That would be fun and of course, save money. Isn’t that right?” Emma said.

Poppy nodded happily, “That’s right, Emma. I’ll also make that place our base off-campus. We can stay there to do ‘Girls Night’.” she continued with a small clapping. Just imagining it already made her rejoice.

“That can be done because the building does have four floors including the roof,” Rachel added.

“Geez.. I can’t wait for it!” Kathy said, imagining it.

***

After college, Emma immediately went back to her house to get some voice changers. Then, she rode her motorbike to go faster to Rachel’s house. To avoid meeting other gangsters, Rachel asked Emma to park her motorbike in the garage behind her house, where Rachel also parked her father’s motorbikes.

.....

“Where are your grandparents?” Emma asked as she took off her black helmet.

“They’re both working,” Rachel answered as she lowered the garage’s rolling door after Emma came inside.

“Your grandma too?” Emma asked with a surprised face.

Rachel nodded weakly, “It’s just helping an acquaintance’s food business because she happens to really like cooking. But I know that she actually does it because she wants to help Grandpa and me to raise money.”

Emma looked at Rachel in sorry, “Don’t worry too much, Rachel. It won’t last long. We will stop the Creeper crime.”

Rachel smiled and nodded, “Come. I’ve bought some ski masks and modified them a bit.” she walked over to a table in the corner of the room.

“Ow.. Looks like you move fast, don’t you?” Emma praised by looking at the slightly messy table. She opened her backpack and took out a bag containing five voice masking devices.

“This mask only has holes in the eyes. I covered it with glass from old sunglasses.” She showed a black mask with a model that covers the entire head. In a way, the mask was suitable for a thief.

“This is the mask Roger was wearing,” Emma muttered.

“What did you say?” Rachel looked at her questioningly.

Emma just shook her head, “It’s nothing.” Then she grabbed the mask that was in her tall friend’s hand and put it on, “Is there a mirror here?”

Rachel nodded and went into her house, then soon returned with a portable mirror. She pointed it at Emma’s face, “Your identity is completely hidden.” she smiled.

“You’re right. Not even my eyes and hair are visible.” Emma said amazed. She turned to Rachel, “You’re a genius. You know that?”

But Rachel shook her head, “Don’t get excited just yet, Emma. Now we have to figure out where to put this voice mask.”

“Hmm.. You’re right,” Emma said by taking off the mask. “Even though it’s small, it will be very annoying if it is put here. It will also make our style look ridiculous, right?”

“Looks like we have to make a patch that covers our mouths. But it shouldn’t be too big because we have to wear helmets.” Rachel said. Actually, she did not mind how their appearance would look like. But what Emma said was true that they would be disturbed if the sound masking device was simply attached to a cloth mask. Maybe it would also reduce its functionality.

“Oh, aren’t you working today?” Emma asked.

Rachel nodded, “I’m working.”

“Gosh.. Then you should get some rest, Rachel. You might fall asleep at work.” Emma said worriedly. She took one of the masks on the table and put it in her backpack. “I’ll think about it at home. I’ll leave one of the devices here.”

“I’m fine, Emma. There’s no need to worry about me.” Rachel replied.

Emma immediately shook her head, “No, Rachel. If you keep pushing your body like that, you’re going to get sick. After this, I want you to go to bed right away. Sorry, but I have to force this time.”

Rachel finally gave in and nodded, “Okay. Thanks, Emma.” she said, then she raised the rolling door so Emma could back the bike out.

“Don’t worry about it. Call me if there’s anything you want to talk about. Of course, it has to be outside your sleep time, okay?” Emma said as she put her helmet belt on.

Rachel nodded, “Okay.”

“Bye!” Emma exclaimed as she drove her motorbike away.

Rachel waved her hand as Emma’s motorbike drove away from her backyard. The smile still lingered on her face. She did not think that now she had a friend who could worry about her. She couldn’t believe she had friends she could help. None of that would have happened if at that time she had refrained from speaking directly to Emma. It wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t insisted on waiting for her to pick up the bag Emma left in ballet class, even though she didn’t know that Emma would come.

***

The sun was starting to set and the sky was getting dark. Rachel faintly heard a woman’s soft voice. Slowly, she opened her heavy eyes and found her grandmother calling her name from the doorway.

It felt like Rachel had just closed her eyes for a moment, but it looked like she had to get up again for work. She only had less than three hours to sleep today. Honestly, her body felt like dying because of it, however, she had to force herself so that her family could still eat every day and her studies could continue.

Helen entered her granddaughter’s room. She sat on the side of the bed and stroked Rachel’s hair affectionately, “I’m sorry to have to make you work like this, sweetheart.”

Rachel sat up from her slumber. She smiled as she rubbed her sleepy eyes, “I’m fine, Grandma. You too have struggled. We are all fighting together here.”

“If your grandpa wasn’t that stupid as to borrow money that he didn’t really need, we wouldn’t have had this much trouble.” The white-haired woman muttered.

Rachel chuckled, “Grandpa would be sad to hear that, Grandma. You have no idea how hard it must have been for him.” she said, imagining the Creeper’s cruelty. Truly, she would eliminate that damn group.

“God.. If there weren’t the man to help you guys at that time, I don’t know what would have happened. But, you’re really okay, right?” Hellen gave a very worried face while rubbing her granddaughter’s cheek.

Rachel fell silent. She knew what her grandmother meant. In fact, she didn’t like it when someone talked about her past. But she understood that her grandmother was just too worried about the only granddaughter she had.

Rachel cleared her throat a bit, “Oh, Grandma. A friend of mine is planning to rent our vacant building. Is that okay?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

“Oh? The building? Of course, you can, sweetheart. But, isn’t the place a complete mess?”

Rachel nodded, “She’ll pay for the renovation.”

“That’s probably going to cost a lot of money. If she’s willing to pay for the renovation, it’s probably the equivalent of a few months’ rent.” Helen looked thoughtful.

“Actually...” Rachel gave her a guilty look, “I told her that she wouldn’t have to pay for a year if she already covered the renovation costs.”

“Oh, did you?” Hellen nodded, “Well.. you can do whatever you want, Rachel. The building is yours anyway.”

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the building was indeed hers, she still thought that she must get permission from her grandparents in making decisions regarding the heritages of her own parents.

After waking up from her short sleep, Rachel immediately rushed off to work. Even though it was night, she still went by bus because taxi fees were too expensive for her.

It was a 24 hours mini-market. As usual, Rachel came to work on time. Actually, she had a co-worker there who was a girl named Elisa Lanken. But just like Rachel, she was also an introverted person.

“Hello,” Rachel greeted Elisa who had already come first.

The girl with white hair and blue eyes replied with an awkward faint smile, “Hey,”

You could say, Rachel Markway and Elisa Lanken had opposite appearances. If Rachel had a big body, then Elisa had a short skinny body. The little girl was even smaller than Poppy Castonia.

The night shift finally started. When the clock started to show 1 am, no one came to their mini market. It made Rachel very sleepy. She took advantage of the empty time to do her coursework so she could sleep on campus later.

The two introverted girls rarely talked. Usually, they would only talk if there was something important, namely about work problems. Rachel saw Elisa as a mysterious girl. It seemed that the girl did not want to be approached and was more comfortable being alone.

Feeling very sleepy, Rachel finally got out of the counter and walked to the chiller section. She picked up a can of cold coffee there and carried it back behind the counter.

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