Ch 202 - Old School Memories

"Derek?" Lucas asked as others came to help. "What's going on? What about these two? Why don't we tie them up, let them grovel, and then throw them in the river?"

"Shut up!" Derek shouted at him angrily. He turned back to David and said much more quietly, "David, I'm sorry for what I just said. I'm a fool."

Derek's behavior greatly surprised everyone present. They all wondered who this young man was, who could frighten someone like Derek into such a state.

"Didn't your men tell you to deal with me?" David sneered.

"I would never lay a hand on David Drake," Derek replied deferentially. Then he turned to his subordinates and frowned. "Are you all in a daze from seeing the head of the Drake family? Show some respect!"

"Mr. Drake!" Everyone was shocked and started murmuring among themselves.

"Well, I never", said a henchman.

"Isn't that something? It's David Drake", said another.

"They say he owns the city", said one of Lucas' friends.

"Derek is nothing to David", said another.

Alex suddenly realized that this man was the head of the most influential family in Washington D.C. No wonder he seemed so calm. He also understood why Lindsey was so scared when she heard his voice. This guy was her fiancé.

Derek's subordinates nodded to David and greeted him in unison.

Standing among them, Lucas and his three friends trembled with fear. Their foreheads and palms were sweating.

"You four, come here!" Derek yelled at them. He looked as if he wanted to kill them right there.

"Yes?" Lucas trembled as he answered. He was so scared that he couldn't control his own body. A warm stream of urine flowed freely down his leg.

Frightened, they all walked with heavy steps over to face David.

Derek didn't hold back. He gave each of them a deafening slap across the face. Then he walked behind them and kicked them all in the back of the knee, forcing them to kneel on the ground.

"Apologize!" he ordered.

Lucas and his friends were confused. They immediately bowed to David.

"Mr. Drake, I was wrong. I didn't see. I bow to you. Please forgive me", cried Lucas.

"Mr. Drake, we were wrong. We're fools! Please forgive us", cried his friend.

"Isn't there someone else you should be saying this to?" David said, indicating Alex.

"Go and apologize to that one, as well!" Derek ordered, kicking Lucas and his friends.

They crept up to Alex and cried at his feet.

"Please, we were wrong before. It was a stupid mistake", said Lucas' friend.

"I don't even deserve to lick your shoes!" cried Lucas."I'm nothing compared to you."

"So, my friend, do you think that's enough?" David asked Alex with a smile.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."

With that settled, David turned and yelled at Derek. "All right, then. Go away!"

When Derek had heard David let him go, his heart flooded with relief. "Yes, David. Don't worry. I'll teach these lowlifes to know their place. We'll go now. Goodbye." He nodded to David, led his men back to the cars, and drove away.

Alex turned to him. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Since you and Leona are friends, let me buy you dinner," David answered.

"No, thank you. We still have something to do tonight, so we won't hold you up. Goodbye." Alex was surprised that David hadn't recognized Lindsey, even though she was trying to hide. But he didn't seem curious about her at all. Since there didn't seem to be any point lingering, he nodded to David and Leona, and they left.

They found a taxi and got in, and Lindsay took off Alex's coat. She looked lonely.

"That David is very good," Alex said with a smile.

"Yes, he's very good," Lindsey said as if in a trance. "Alex, what kind of girl is your girlfriend?"

"She's just a girl from a small town, but she's very kind."

Lindsey stared blankly at him. "Sometimes I think about it. How nice it would be if I wasn't a girl from the Marvel family, but just a small-town girl like Debbie. I wouldn't have to think about the family business. I'd be free to pursue my own happiness, but..." As she spoke, she looked sadder and sadder, and she couldn't say any more. When she looked back at Alex, she was almost crying. When she spoke again, she spoke slowly. "If I asked you to, would you think of me like I was Debbie for a moment?"

At that moment, looking at her delicate face, Alex could not refuse her. "Of course."

When he said those words, Lindsey's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She laughed again and threw herself into his arms. "Thank you. I love it when you say that."

She lay like that for the rest of the taxi ride. When they got back to Arlington Heights, she reluctantly let go of him, got out of the car, and said goodbye with tears in her eyes. Then she ran back to the community gates without looking back.

Alex returned to Richmond University in a strange mood. The people in the dormitory thought he was being reclusive and strange. It was useless for him to explain, so he simply didn't. Instead, he went to bed and fell asleep.

**

The next day, he got up early in the morning and put Debbie's diary in his backpack. Because of the business with Lindsey, he was worried that Leona now disliked him even more. Alex wanted her to see her old diary. He hoped it might solve their misunderstanding and help her to remember things.

After his morning class, his classmates, who had always sneered at him, surrounded him and tried to be friendly. Alex knew that they were all snobs and only sucking up to him now because of his donation to the school. Now that they thought he had money, they wanted to play nice. He despised them. He walked quickly to get away from them, and they finally gave up after a while.

He was on his way to find Leona at one of her classes when his cell phone rang. It was an unknown number, but he picked it up anyway.

"Alex, it's Myriam."

Alex was surprised and stood silently for a few seconds.

"Are you busy?", she asked.

Alex frowned. He didn't know what to say. Thinking of what Myriam had done before still made him very angry.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I was wrong before. I want to make up with you. Would you give me a chance?" She seemed sincere.

Alex hadn't expected Myriam to call him like this.

"Do you want to ignore me? What I did before made you hate me, didn't it? I'm sorry, I've already repented. Please give me another chance. I helped you in high school, didn't I?" Myriam spoke more and more earnestly.

"Okay, I'll make up with you," Alex said, almost without hesitation.

"Great, I knew you would. Let's have lunch together. My treat. I'll be eating at Flower Garden. I'll see you later. Bye." After that, Myriam hung up.

The thought that Myriam wanted to reconcile with him made Alex very happy. After all, in high school, she had been one of his closest relationships.

Since it was already getting close to lunchtime, he decided to go directly to Flower Garden.

When he got there, Myriam was waiting for him by the door.

"Here you are." She walked up to him and smiled sweetly. Everything was quite different from their last meeting at the Olympic event. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, just like in high school. Alex was moved. It reminded him of all their good times.

"Well, hey, monitor," he said and smiled. There was still a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. He didn't know what had made her want to make amends. Whatever it was, she had gone back to being the gentle, kind, and helpful Myriam he knew back in high school. She had always been the most well-respected student tutor they had, acting as a monitor for younger students like him.

"You're still carrying a backpack," Myriam said. "I'll help you. Let's go inside quickly. I think you must be hungry." She took Alex's backpack and held it for him as they walked into the restaurant.

They sat down at a table, and Myriam ordered four or five dishes for them. Because their meeting had been so courteous and friendly, Alex felt that she was once again his tutor from high school, and he was very comfortable.

"So, monitor. How come you changed your mind?" he asked.

"I dream a lot about the day of the college entrance examination, and I hate how I feel when I wake up. It all really had nothing to do with you. Thinking about the things I did to you, I feel so ashamed. Alex, I'm really sorry!" She lowered her head slowly.

"Forget it. It's in the past. I had forgotten all about it. You're still my monitor." Alex looked at Myriam and was filled with sympathy.

"Thanks. You're as generous as you were in high school." The shame in Myriam's eyes was gone. She smiled at him. "Alex, do you remember how in high school, I had muscular atrophy? Sometimes I got sick. I needed someone to rub my hands all the time. Other people wouldn't do it. You were the only one who did it without complaining, even though sometimes your arms got too sore to write."

"I remember," Alex said and smiled.

"Could you rub my hand for me now? I feel a little twitch." She reached out her hand to him.

Alex was slightly stunned. When they were high school students, rubbing Myriam's hands hadn't mattered. But now that she was a beautiful woman, he was embarrassed to do it.

"Ouch," she called out softly. "Alex, please help me rub it quickly. It's pulling again."

He saw the pain on her face and didn't have time to hesitate. He grabbed her hand and started kneading.

As he was doing it, he noticed how soft her hands were. Her skin was smooth and clear, and smelled like some kind of nice perfume. He felt as if he had been rubbing her hands forever, which he knew was ridiculous. However, he had to calm down and focus on doing it properly.

Suddenly, a man's voice called out from behind him. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"