Side Story: Nadia (2)

Master smiled, "This week, he has the night shift and is still obsessed with your last gift."

"Of course," Michelle laughed with wide eyes, happy that Jaime appreciated it.

"So, what do you want this time?" Master asked, pouring a glass of mineral water for Michelle, which she promptly drank.

"The usual," Michelle said after sipping the water, "But maybe he should take a day off tomorrow to accompany me. Can you allow it, Uncle?"

Master shook his head, "I have a commitment tomorrow so he has to work. If you want to borrow him, better ask him to take a day off today."

Michelle quickly glanced at her wristwatch showing 12:45. "Uncle... can you contact him to accompany me today?" Master sighed looking at his mischievous niece, "Why don't you ask? Doesn't the effect of your gift still linger? I doubt he would refuse."

"Hehehehe… Actually, this week I've asked him several times to clean my apartment." Michelle smiled cheekily, "So I'm sure he would decline if I ask him now."

Master looked at Michelle's alternate appearance, "Where do you plan on taking him?"

"Just accompanying me to the city to buy Alec's birthday present and well… a bit of cleaning... in my apartment," Michelle blushed. Master shook his head at his niece's antics, "Fine, but make sure to treat him to dinner later." He then dialed a number on the cafe's phone.

"Jaime?"

"Yes, Jaime here. What is it, Master?" Jaime responded from the other end.

"Jaime, take the day off today and please accompany Michelle"

… there was a long silence on the other end, "Alright, should I come there now?"

Master looked at Michelle, "Do you want him to come?"

"I'll go to his place," Michelle immediately replied.

"Michelle will come to you," Master conveyed over the phone.

"Alright, I'll wait here, Master. Anything else?"

"No," Master replied and after a brief pause added, "Have fun and don't keep cooped up at home."

"Thank you, Master," Jaime, understanding Master's intention, quickly hung up with mixed emotions. Master put down his phone and looked at Michelle, "Alright, Jaime is ready to serve you, young lady."

Michelle smiled widely, tiptoed to hug Master, kissed his right cheek, and said, "Thanks, Uncle!" She then swiftly exited Kafe Eve. Nadia took a deep breath, sensing she might have found a lead in her search.

Even though it's a slim chance, she believed if she directly asked Michelle, she would surely get the name of the man. Before she could share this with Gris and Angelina, the cafe door opened with a "Cringg", and Michelle re-entered, sitting at the bar table in front of Master with a grin, "Uncle, I've decided to have lunch here before heading to Jaime's," she announced, quickly grabbing the menu and ordering some dishes which Susan promptly noted down. Master just smiled, went back to his seat, and continued reading his unfinished newspaper.

"Michelle?" A gentle voice greeted her, making Michelle turn to the side to see a girl also dressed in BtP uniform. From the color of her white uniform, this girl was clearly a junior and still in training as seniors wore grey-blue or dark blue uniforms.

The girl looked sweet and quite beautiful, which made Michelle immediately happy to have a junior like this. She even began trying to remember her appearance to mimic it later; she appeared to be in her late teens, approaching twenty.

"Yes," Michelle replied cheerfully.

Michelle was always a cheerful person, except when she had been dumped by a boyfriend. She always had the persona of a kind senior. "Sit here," Michelle said, pointing to a bar stool beside her, "Can I help you, pretty girl?"

Nadia blushed and sat down, then extended her hand, "My name is Nadia," which Michelle quickly accepted, but her face clearly showed she had forgotten that name, prompting Nadia to add, "Four days ago, we met at a masquerade?"

Michelle's mind raced back to that moment, and she remembered meeting many people. Still having no recollection because almost everyone was wearing masks, Nadia quickly added, noticing Michelle's confused expression, "Your friend rescued me in the park the other day and introduced me to you when you were with your male friend named Alec."

Nadia started to doubt whether this Michelle was the same one from the party, or if it was just a coincidence they had the same name but were different people.

This time, a lightbulb went off in Michelle's head, "Oh, so you were the one wearing that silverish white dress and beautiful silver butterfly mask. It suited you so well," she exclaimed with a sweet smile.

Nadia smiled with relief, realizing that this Michelle was indeed the same person she met at the masquerade. Although her appearance and body shape were entirely different now, she thanked her, "Thank you."

Susan quickly placed a plate of warm spaghetti in front of Michelle, "Ah, I remember now," Michelle said, grabbing a fork and starting to mix her spaghetti.

"You don't mind?" Michelle asked, pointing to her spaghetti with her fork, "I'm really starving."

"Go ahead," replied Nadia quickly. Suddenly, while chewing her spaghetti, Michelle got curious, "How did you meet him? Did he flirt with you?" Remembering this could be used as a joke to tease Jaime later, or depending on the answer, she might scold Jaime for flirting with her cute junior.

"No, actually he helped me," Nadia quickly added. Although Master was reading the newspaper, his ears were tuned into their conversation. He had a hard time not eavesdropping, especially when it involved a girl and Jaime, his waiter. Michelle, speaking with her mouth half full of spaghetti, inquired, "He helped you?" She remembered the last time she called Jaime, he mentioned something about a princess and two nasty frogs.

"Ah, the princess and the two nasty frogs in the park, so you were the princess."

Nadia's face turned red, "That's why I wanted to thank that senior for his help." Nadia referred to her savior as "senior" because he was a friend of Michelle and likely at the same or higher level than her, a junior.

Michelle laughed and resumed eating, "If he just shooed away two nasty frogs, you don't need to thank him. Besides, they're just two frogs, don't you like frogs?"

Master, from behind the newspaper, nodded in agreement, feeling proud that Jaime could help, even if it was just scaring away two frogs. Nadia felt that Michelle didn't fully understand and needed to explain, "Actually, by 'two frogs', he was joking. Those who bothered me were senior Jess and senior Daniel, and he kicked them both."

Michelle choked on her spaghetti, spitting it out in all directions.

She heard Master coughing in surprise from behind his newspaper, but he immediately adjusted his paper, looking at Michelle, reprimanding her for her poor eating manners.

Michelle widened her eyes at Master as if saying, "Can you believe what I just heard?" then turned back, smiling, pulling out a tissue to clean her mouth and the scattered spaghetti around the bar table.

After that, she grabbed her drink and took a big gulp, almost three-quarters of it. Composing herself, she looked back at Nadia, "You mean the fire-man and the giant?"

Nadia nodded, "Yeah, Jess The Fire and Daniel The Giant." Michelle's eyes darted upward, left, and right, her mind racing for a similarity between the Jaime she knew and someone who could defeat those two monsters. She couldn't find any similarity. She wanted to laugh but couldn't, seeing Nadia's serious face. It made her unsure of how to respond to that joke.

"Ah, Nadia, if the man you're referring to is my friend, then there's no way he would kick those two monsters. Maybe to those monsters, he's just a pathetic frog that can be squashed with a single step," replied Michelle, laughing, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Master, unseen behind his newspaper, nodded in agreement with Michelle's words. However, his ears picked up a much more interesting story than what his eyes read in the newspaper.

But Nadia was completely serious, having witnessed it herself, "Michelle, the man wore a black mask, and he really defeated both seniors in an instant." Her eyes sparkled with honest amazement, prompting Michelle to raise an eyebrow.

"Tell me how he managed to do that," Michelle, now curious, pressed on. She could only imagine if Jaime, the servant, confronted Jess and Daniel... the result would be something akin to a finely pounded steak. Who would bet on a normal person in a fight against a superhuman, especially two aggressive superhuman types?

Nadia blushed and recounted enthusiastically, "The senior leaped down from a tree, and from a distance, took down senior Jess, who was igniting fire from both hands. Then he approached Jess and delivered a punch that knocked him out."

Michelle's eyes widened in astonishment. Jaime became Superman. Master's eyes rolled upwards as he struggled to visualize the scene, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Then senior Daniel charged at him, but moments later, Daniel was sent flying until his head smashed on the park's floor."

Michelle, holding her belly, tried to suppress her explosive laughter. Two seconds later, her laughter echoed throughout Eve Cafe. Master also struggled to contain his laughter behind his newspaper. "Hahahaha… you... you just told a really great joke," Michelle said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Nadia looked annoyed, biting her lip and seemingly holding back tears.

"Michelle, I'm not joking," she protested. Michelle looked at Nadia's serious, almost teary face, but still found it amusing. "Michelle," Nadia's face fell, "I want to meet him again or perhaps ask for his name. Can you tell me? I just want to thank him."

Michelle was shocked, her laughter abruptly halted, "He didn't give you his name, did he?" Her heart raced momentarily. Nadia shook her head, "He didn't."

Michelle let out a relieved sigh. If she were found out for sneaking Jaime into the masquerade, she'd be in trouble. "My dear Nadia, here's what we'll do. I'll convey your gratitude to him, and I'm sure he'll appreciate it. So, you don't need to go looking for him to thank him. Keep this a secret from everyone."

Nadia wanted to protest, but Michelle felt she needed to escape the situation. Swiftly, she took a card from her wallet, swiped it at Master's counter, and left before Nadia could ask any more questions. By the time Michelle exited the cafe's door, Nadia's mouth was still agape.

Gris and Angelina quickly approached Nadia, who responded with a shake of her head. All her efforts over the past month felt in vain. Even Michelle, her only lead, refused to help. Tears threatened to fall but she held them back. Soon after, Nadia's tears silently flowed, and Angelina hugged her. Master could only shake his head in disappointment.

Outside the cafe, Michelle opened her car door, but then she saw Jess arriving in his flashy red convertible and parking beside her. Remembering something, Michelle approached Jess, seeking confirmation.

"Hey, Hot Man."

Jess, upon being called, turned to see a gorgeous, curvy girl addressing him. "Yes babe, all me," he responded smugly, striking what he considered a cool pose. Michelle quickly got to the point, "I heard that at the last masquerade party night, you and Daniel teased a young girl and ended up being kicked by someone in a black mask." Jess's once confident face turned pale. "And it happened in just a moment," Michelle added, finding it amusing, and she burst into laughter.