"If you want to continue to help others, then count me in! Let's be heroes of justice together!" Carter clenched his fist and pumped it in the air with great energy. A bright and naturally mischievous-looking smile beamed at Gracie. The wounds and injuries on his face and body added a ruffian aura to him, yet even then, it couldn't take away the heroism emitting from his spirit.
Gracie smiled through her tears at his words. It was as if her burdens had lightened upon hearing his words, happy that someone is willing to carry them together with her.
"Okay." Gracie cried and laughed at the same time.
"Let's do this!" Carter stretched out his fist to Gracie.
Gracie smiled, wiped her tears, and bumped fists with Carter.
A promise.
They both smiled at each other.
"Okay, don't cry anymore. Where is the fierce and feisty girl from school? Let's go, I'll treat you to a meal to celebrate our newly established brotherhood!" Carter said as he swung his arm around Gracie's shoulders, pulling her along as he moved forward.
'Brotherhood?' Gracie was a little speechless, but then thought about it and didn't find it wrong to call their relationship that. She shrugged and let him pull her along.
They walked and walked and eventually came to an abrupt halt.
Gracie looked in confusion at Carter who suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
Carter was silent for a moment, a mysterious blush appearing on his face. He laughed dryly, "Haha…I'm lost."
There is a sad truth in the world—some people are naturally directionally challenged.
Gracie also fell silent. Speechless for the nth time already, she questioned herself again, how exactly did she find someone like him to be trustworthy?
She sighed, resigning herself to her fate.
She stepped out from Carter's arm. With her back facing a confused Carter and with a cool wave of her hand, she said coolly, "Follow me, your big sis will lead you out."
Carter laughed at her antics and then quickly ran after her departing back. "So cool, sis!"
"You know it." Gracie smiled, at last regaining her spirits.
Not knowing if it was destiny or a coincidence, but this day has been full of bumping encounters.
And this was yet another encounter.
Bump.
"Oh!"
"Ah!"
"It's you!"
"You're that girl!"
Gracie and the guy pointed at each other.
The guy was Geo.
"What a surprise seeing you here," Gracie said with an awkward smile.
"...You too." Geo greeted back.
Not knowing what to say to each other, what with their past, the two fell silent. Carter didn't feel the awkwardness in the air, however.
Carter cut apart the silence in the air, "You two know each other?" He pointed at Gracie and Geo respectively.
They nodded.
"Oh? Big sis, why don't you introduce me?" Carter said with an easy-going smile. He placed a casual arm on Gracie's shoulder.
Gracie didn't take his actions to heart and really introduced them to each other.
"This is Carter, and he is…" Gracie hesitated. Now that she thinks about it, she doesn't know the name of this student in front of her. Although she had stood up for him many times in front of his bullies, she did not get his name. They did not have any interaction with each other outside of her occasional assistance.
"Geo. My name is Geo," Geo introduced himself for Gracie. In truth, he also did not know the name of this girl; they have never had the chance or the desire to introduce themselves to each other. They were like strangers who occasionally crossed paths via Manl and his cohort. Although he felt a little gratitude towards her for standing up for him unlike others who ignore him, he didn't have the intention to get to know her.
He only knew her name through the mouth of Manl and his cohort who would call out her name whenever they quarreled with Gracie.
Geo and Gracie looked at each other with complicated eyes.
Gracie still felt ashamed that she only helped Geo to lessen the guilt in her heart.
Geo felt both gratitude and pain when he looked at her.
Geo was a junior and Gracie was a freshman. Since she started attending school in the winter, she had stepped in whenever she saw Geo being bullied by Manl. Previously, no one would help Geo, they would either watch the fun or ignore him.
Although she offered him warmth in the cold, her actions also caused his group of bullies to intensify their actions towards Geo due to pent-up annoyance and anger.
Come to think of it, although Geo was isolated by his classmates at school, he has seen Carter from time to time when the latter came to school after a period of class-skipping. Carter was clearly a junior, the same grade as him, in theory, it means that he is the same age as Geo, and Geo is older than Gracie. The question is, how come Carter called someone younger than him "big sis?" Did Carter not know that Gracie is younger than him?
Geo was confused and he did not keep this question in his heart. He did not hesitate to ask aloud.
"That? Whoever's cooler is the bigger one!" Carter answered in place of Gracie. His tone full of confidence.
'You can play like that?' Geo thought to himself. He felt that he had been too narrow-minded before.
"Besides, the older one leads the younger one. If big sis doesn't lead the way for me, I would probably never get out of this hospital." Carter then went on to tell Geo about him getting lost in the hospital before bumping into Gracie.
"Wow."
"If it weren't for Gracie, I would still be wandering around the hospital like a headless chicken. He he." Carter laughed without caring that he insulted himself.
Geo was happy for Carter. He smiled and said, "It's great that you found your way in the end." Then his smile became strange, his tone shifted. His voice turned into a mumble. "You two are both lights in someone's life."
"What did you say?" Carter asked, he saw Geo's mouth moving but didn't hear what he said.
Geo raised his head. He repeated his words in a louder voice, not afraid of them hearing what he had to say, "I said, you two are both lights in someone's life."
"Huh?" Carter and Gracie both made sounds of confusion.
"Carter, you may not remember, but you also saved me once," Geo said with a smile as he recalled the circumstances of that day.
"I did?" Carter was surprised. He scratched his head. How come he didn't have any impression of it?
"You did. It happened outside of school in an alleyway. It was quite some time ago and you were busy fighting those gangsters rather than looking at their victim so it's no wonder that you don't remember me," Geo explained.
It was really a surprise and a coincidence that he happened to bump into both of his saviors outside of school.
Carter still looked confused. A bit stubborn, he started digging through his memories for the said incident. Carter believed Geo's words, not for anything else but that it really sounded like something Carter would do.
While Carter was wandering through a sea of memories at the side, Geo turned to look at Gracie.
"Gr… Gracie," he hesitantly called her.
"Yes?" Gracie didn't know why Geo called her, but she could still guess a thing or two.
"I know," Geo started, pondering over his choice of words, "you tried your best to help, although you couldn't help me in the end, at least you tried. Unlike others who directly sentenced me to death because they are scared of Manl. Your help hurt, but you cared and I want to say thank you for that. And, although you might not have done it completely for me or for the injustice, I still want to tell you that your actions mattered."
Gracie had expected it, but hearing those words in person still made her tear up. She sniffed harshly, sucking in her tears, snot, and emotions. When did she become such a crybaby?! No, she refuses to cry.
She managed to hold back her slipping tears, but that did not stop her from feeling as though her guilt had lightened.
She smiled. Geo smiled. Even Carter smiled, infected by the harmonious atmosphere.
Unbeknownst to the three people, yet another encounter occurred but was hidden in the shadows.