Guina and Sekai sat on the bench near the gym court.
"What could be taking Miss Jessyka so long? We all left at the same time… Why is she the only one late?" Guina said, puzzled.
"Well, something must've happened in her class. She's always been the type to draw attention. I just hope it's not like the old days…" After saying that, Sekai lowered his head and looked at the floor. Guina grew curious about what he might be thinking.
"So, you said she was hot-headed in the past. Has she always been like that? Tell me a bit about your past together."
"Ah, no, I don't want to bore you with that, President."
"Oh, come on! I love a good story, boy! Or do you just want to keep your little love tale to yourselves, huh? Haha." Guina smiled teasingly.
Sekai smiled faintly, pausing for a moment.
"Alright, since we've got time, I'll tell you a bit."
"I'm all ears! I wish I'd brought popcorn…"
"Haha!" Sekai chuckled. "You know Jessyka and I are cousins, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well, Jessyka's family had a very troubled history…"
Sekai clenched his hands slightly.
"My father was the eldest of three brothers, so I have two uncles. The middle one was Jessyka's father. Jessyka was always beautiful, even as a child. We grew up together. She was energetic and loved sports."
"I can totally picture that."
"At school, she had lots of friends. I was her cousin, and we were always in the same class. We weren't as close as we are now, but we never got along badly. She had her group, and I had mine."
"So, she wasn't always obsessed with you?"
"No, that started about two years ago."
"And what caused the change?"
"When we reached fifth grade, Jessyka's father came home early from work. Apparently, he wasn't feeling well and decided to rest. When he got home… he found Jessyka's mother in bed with another man."
"Oh my god! That must have been awful! What happened? Where was Jessyka?"
"We were both in full-time school programs, so she wasn't home yet. She didn't even know her mom had a lover."
"My goodness! What did he do?"
"He was sick with a fever, so he just told the man to leave and then lay down."
"In the same bed they used? Oh god…"
"And that wasn't even the worst part. He fell asleep soon after, and when he woke up, Jessyka was already home."
—
"Dad, are you okay? You were really hot! Mom made you some soup and told me to give you this medicine."
"Where's your mother, Jessy?"
"I don't know, she left with some bags and told me to give you this."
The little Jessyka handed her father a letter. After reading it silently, the man began to cry.
"Dad?"
—
"The letter said Jessyka's mother was running away with that man. Apparently, they had been lovers for years—and the worst part was that Jessyka was the lover's daughter."
"What?!" Guina gasped in disbelief. "So her mother cheated for years and had a child with the other man? How could she hide that for so long?"
"Apparently, she'd wanted to end things for a while but never had the courage. Once her husband found out, she decided to settle it all at once."
"So what did she do?"
"She ran away," Sekai said with a sigh. "Jessyka never saw her mother again. She took everything she could and even fled with the family's savings."
"My god… what a disgusting woman!" Guina said, her voice filled with anger.
"Jessyka's father couldn't believe what was happening. He still loved his wife deeply and never got a chance to talk to her. After the incident, he took a DNA test to confirm what she said."
"And what did he find out?"
"Jessyka really wasn't his daughter."
"Oh no… I can't imagine how he must've felt."
"Her father didn't want to blame her for her mother's sins, but having her around reminded him too much of his wife. Over time, he became cold and distant. He stopped talking to Jessyka, stopped going out with her, and spent his days finding things to do outside the house—often coming home drunk."
"But did he ever hit her?"
"No, he never laid a finger on her. He just treated her with indifference."
"Just seeing her must've been too painful for him…"
"Yes. Jessyka would watch him come home, go straight to his room, and sometimes she could hear him crying."
"That must've been traumatic for her."
"She tried talking to him, but he always pushed her away. Seeing her hurt him too much."
"That's so sad."
"It was around that time Jessyka started bullying others and picking fights. Probably subconsciously. She wanted her father's attention, so she started tormenting other girls and boys—anyone she could dominate. She fought constantly, even formed a group of delinquent girls and took over the school. That's when she got her nickname…"
"Little Pepper. Hehe." Guina giggled softly. "Well, maybe it wasn't so funny back then."
"The school called her father several times, but he never showed up. Eventually, the teachers gave up. Surprisingly, she still kept decent grades, so they ignored her behavior."
"And your father or your other uncle didn't do anything?"
"My other uncle lived in another city. My dad tried talking to her father, but he was already broken."
"How tragic."
"One day, when we were in seventh grade, Jessyka's father lost his job. He wasn't performing well anymore, showing up to work smelling like alcohol, so they had no choice but to fire him."
"Those must've been hard times for Jessyka. How did they survive?"
"Well… it was actually a traumatic event."
"What do you mean?"
"Since he'd been fired, he came home early that day. When Jessyka arrived, she noticed his bedroom door was open and went to check. What she saw inside… was something no child should ever witness: her father was dead."
"Oh my god! What happened?!" Guina was horrified.
"He had taken a large dose of antidepressants. The overdose caused cardiac arrhythmia followed by respiratory failure. When Jessyka found him, his mouth was foaming, and the pill bottle was empty."
"So… he killed himself?"
"The police said it was either suicide or an accidental overdose caused by a depressive episode; after losing his job, he took more medicine than necessary."
"Miss Jessyka must've been devastated…"
"She ran to our house, screaming for help."
—
"HELP! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP MY DAD!"
—
"But by the time my parents got there, there was nothing anyone could do."
"After that, Jessyka came to live with us. The cheerful, energetic girl she once was disappeared. She spent days without speaking, barely eating. She missed two weeks of school because of grief."
"Miss Jessyka…" Guina said, her eyes brimming with tears.