Universal rule

"Of course, I didn't mind when they resorted to verbal plays. I am not Aiden's sister for nothing, I wouldn't fall prey to merely mental stuff." There was pride when she mentioned Aiden. "But when things got physical I didn't back down either. I got hurt, but they ended up much worse. I am fine if you call it that."

Lucas forced a smile as he heard Grace narrate her experiences in the care center. The establishment was worse than he thought. He noticed a few youngsters shuffling about as Grace's voice brought his attention back to her.

"Oh well, they only sent kids my age though. Those big fuckers directing all the crap in care center don't have the guts to come themselves."

Uh oh. Are you deliberately picking fights now that I am here? You haven't changed have you? No worries, this time I have the confidence to back your trust in me.

"What did you say you little shit? Who is the one who always hides behind nurse Ava? I'll make sure she gets fired if only because of you." Ethan was fired up after being humiliated.

Grace's voice still held the same cheeriness and sarcastic edge to it as she replied, "Oh no, the director's son is mad. He'll fire anyone now, cuz that's the only thing he can actually be good at. Irony how that is also because his father has the power to do so, not him."

Her voice instantly switched as she screamed to no one in particular. "Are you all going to keep watching as the care center rots? He is going to fire nurse Ava, the only one who shields you all from bullying. Are you never going to speak up?"

A nervous voice spoke up amongst the crowd. "She is going to get fired because of you. Don't drag us into it."

"What now? Don't tell me y'all never received nurse Ava's care? Ungrateful spineless fucking cowards. You all deserve to be bullied. Fuck you."

Lucas' show of display seemed to have been a stimulant for her as she cursed and made enemies left and right. Her face had turned red like a tomato.

A grating laughter escaped Ethan's mouth as he spread his hands. 

This was how everything ran here. Privileged kids who lived in bungalows paid up a little more from their pockets to avoid bullying. They called it protection tax. Complaining to parents was useless, Ethan's dad owned the care center and was pretty high up on the political ladder himself. If anything, it would only worsen the bullying. The rest of the kids could only endure or join in the bullying.

Grace was the one who stood up to it. She was also smart enough to always leverage nurse Ava's presence. As to why nurse Ava couldn't be trifled with compared to other staff? It was because her sister was pretty high up in the political ladder too. Rumors suggest she might be higher than Ethan's dad. Of course, Ethan wouldn't admit to it.

"Why did they not let me in earlier?" Lucas asked with a frown on his face when he realized things weren't adding up. He might be stupid but his guts still made him realize the inconsistency of the situation.

"Ethan has all the important staff engaged with an important meeting in a soundproof conference hall. All the remaining ones were bought by him. He planned to teach me a lesson, but I still knew a few secret routes through the structure of the building. I planned to run away but came here after hearing the commotion. Turns out I did the right thing."

"Gathering so many people to beat a single girl? Are you out of your fucking mind Ethan?" Lucas snapped so hard he laughed. "Did Evander beat so hard you've got no sense left?"

Lucas was seething in anger. Aiden was his best friend. He asked him to check up on his sister. To see if she was doing alright. It was his duty to ensure she was. True, it wasn't his fault, but could he be able to face Aiden guilt free if something happened to her? No. True, she said she had backup plans, but who knew if she would have succeeded? 

Lucas noticed some young men taking out their bats. Are you kidding me? The final string in his head snapped.

*****

Aiden sat quietly on the last row of the bus alone. The bus coincidentally took the route which went through the shop where Mimi won the potato chip in the lottery. It was also coincidentally on the same route as the care center, where he intended to drop off Mimi. 

He had already told her about Grace and the do's and don'ts of everything. She was currently going through everything he had taught her.

"Always trouble Grace?"

"Yes."

"Never leave her side?"

"Yes."

"Cry if it's convenient?"

"Yes."

"Eat on time?"

"Yes."

"Sleep on time?"

"No. You first trouble Grace, don't let her sleep easily. Then you'll get a more peaceful sleep."

"Is that how it works?"

"It's a universal rule."

Mimi seriously nodded her head. Her little hands held four packets of potato chips tightly as if someone might come and steal them anytime. Aiden made sure to instill valuable knowledge in her while waiting for the stop at the care center.

When it was finally time, like before, he asked the driver to wait for a few seconds. "I'll be back quickly, just dropping her off in the care center here. Please wait a few seconds."

He took her in arms and ran up to the familiar building. The next second though, he frowned hard as he caught sight of Lucas' car rammed into the gate. His run transitioned to a walk as he carefully stepped in through the open gate.

His eyes instinctively caught sight of the familiar figure of his little sister Grace, standing alone. His gaze traveled to what she was looking at. 

Only a single man was moving.

Amidst a sea of twitching and groaning mass of flesh, only he was moving with vigor. To be precise, punching.

Aiden recognized the bloody figure of Lucas smashing the face of some young man with an afro hair style.

In the silence of the scene, Mimi's exclamation rang loud. "SO COOOOOL!"