"So, I'll be teaching you the basics. I expect you to do good." It was after Reina did a small set of push ups, sit ups, and other warm ups that Bruce decided to teach her. She was on the soccer team until yesterday, she quit. Bruce nodded of approval of her endurance, and started teaching Reina the correct way to punch after taking a water break.
Reina followed Bruce's instructions, punching the air. Bruce corrected her stance and posture once in a while, until he moved onto a new move. Reina was a good listener and obeyed to every instructions nicely. They worked on to the foot next, with Dick demonstrating a few punches and kicks now and then. After a few hours Reina was panting and she hoped her body won't be sore the next day.
"Good job, Reina." Bruce patted her shoulders. "Your progress is quite nice for a beginner!" Dick chimed, praising her. He held his hands up for a high five, "Thanks." Reina shyly answered, high-fiving him back while wiping her sweat with a towel.
"I hope you will do well onwards, Reina." Bruce smiled.
"Yes! I will not disappoint you!" She determined, and Bruce waved her off and let her go take a shower. It was already noon, and Reina had to get up early for school tomorrow.
Dick watched her as she left the room. "She's wonderful! She learned pretty fast, and if she grows more muscle—she's gonna have a mean left hook!" Dick said.
Bruce nodded, "She will," he said and went out to take a bath too.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Start with new positivity, I'm sure it'll do you good."
Reina slept tiredly that night, and she felt her body sore for a while, but it got better as she slept more. She guessed her body healed by itself.
She woke up when Dick knocked the door to her room.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty! School's in an hour, go take a shower and breakfast will be ready downstairs!" He shook her body.
"Ugh… ok…"
She took a bath after regaining back her consciousness and was greeted by Rover.
"Bark! Bark!" Rover greeted.
"Good morning to you too, Rover," She squatted to pat his head. "How's your morning?" She asked. Rover wagged his tail while barking, pointing out that he was happy.
"Good thing dad upgraded you with solar panels… so you can walk around longer without… your battery dying." She picked him up with a huff and cradled him. She walked to her dresser to see Gotham Academy's uniform already placed there. She took her underwear and towel and went to the bathroom.
Minutes later she was up and ready for school.
"I hope school's gonna be fun… It's my first time being in a large crowd." She breathed slowly.
Rover snuggled into her leg. She giggled and went downstairs with Rover in her arms.
The kitchen was filled with a sweet aroma.
"Good morning, Miss Reina." Alfred greeted her first.
"Good morning to you too, Alfred. And Dick. And Bruce!" she greeted all of them.
"Morning Rene! Got your favourite strawberry milk." Dick patted the seat next to him.
"Thank you." And they ate until it was time for Dick and Reina to go to school.
"Bye Bruce!" Reina and Dick chorused.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"I'm nervous for school…" Reina tried to calm her beating heart. Her heartbeat was erratic, beating more than the watch on her arm. She didn't forget to bring it with her. And of course, the necklace. She hid it in her shirt so people won't see it.
"Don't worry. It'll be fun! Well… most of it. Just watch out for jerks, and if something happens you can tell me," Dick said.
"Thanks, but I hope I can handle it on my own."
"Stay away from danger… and my fan club.." Reina listened. "Just.., stay safe, k?" Dick said softly.
"Ok." Reina nodded, and Dick replied with a small smile which made her blush. She looked away to the window.
"Don't forget the envelope that Master Bruce gave you, Master Dick." Alfred's voice was heard from the driver's seat.
"Oh yeah!" Dick fumbled through the pocket of his uniform, and took out an envelope. He gave it to Reina.
"Bruce gave this to me, to give it to you." Reina took the envelope and looked inside. It was money!
"Oh my! Dick—this is too much!" her eyes were wide as saucers after seeing the amount.
"It's your weekly allowance," as Dick spoke Reina gasped, "Weekly?! I can use this for a month!" She reasoned.
"Well, Bruce said that he trusts you to take care of it yourself."
"I need to talk to him about this…" Her head looked down.
"Hey, It's okay. I get money from him too!" He tried to cheer her up. "I feel like I'm leeching out from him…" She whispered.
Dick looked surprised by this statement. "Hey—look at me. It's okay, I leech from Bruce too. But this is small compared to his mountain of fortune, and I'm sure he doesn't think of you as a leech," He said softly.
"Rene, If I could say this myself, I think he thinks of you as the daughter that he never had…"
"Really?" she looked up,
"Yeah. Well, your dad was his best friend. And I'm sure Bruce will keep his promise to your dad."
She thought of it for a while, and concluded that it's not a bad thing to talk to someone and be listened, being alone for her early years, She was reminded of her mom and dad who was open to her. Problems she told them, and comfort she got.
Maybe this… Is worth a shot.
Reina took a breath and patted her cheeks.
"Okay! I'm going to start anew with positivity." She determined.
Dick smiled and noticed that they were near Gotham Academy. A few more distance and they were already there.
"Get ready, school is… here."
Reina looked from her window and saw a big building, with an amazing surrounding.
"Thanks Alfred!" Dick opened her door and Reina was gaping.
Dick chuckled, "I got the same reaction as you did when I started."
Reina snapped out of her gaping, and thanked Alfred and went to walk with Dick to the building.
"This school is big,"
"I know. Gotham's richest and finest goes here."
As they were nearing the school building Reina heard other students talking and whispering. "Who's that girl?" "She just walked with Dick Grayson!" "Oh my god, Dick Grayson!"
"Fangirls… a lot of them." Reina concluded and Dick sweatdropped.
"I know." He grunted.
They walked to the Administration office and took care of Reina's records, and the administrator gave her the time schedule for her classes, and a map to GA.
"Well, I got to go to the other side of the building! Sorry to leave you hanging, but I got a project that me and my friends have to get ready for." Dick apologized.
"No problem. Good luck on your project!" She waved, and Dick said goodbye and walked away.
She watched as he turned into a corner and her eyes darted back to her map.
"First class is History… Ugh." She winced seeing the word History. She was the type to forget something that's unimportant. History for her is going to be boring unless it's an interesting topic.
She read the map and started walking to the class.
She took turns every now and then, and exactly the same time the bell rang and she walked to the only seats left, the very front. And she heard the whispers again. 2 minutes after deciding to block out the voices from behind her, the door opened and the teacher came in.
Mr. Loren teaches History and started to call for attendance.
"I guess we have a new student in class," He scratched his head and I can feel everybody looking at me.
"Um, care to Introduce yourself?"
"Oh, yeah, ok." She breathed, and stood up, turned around to the class.
"Um… Hello I'm Reina…Knightley." She played with the hem of her skirt.
After the brief introduction they started to study. 15 minutes in and the door opened, and a girl with dark brown hair came in.
"Miss Fischer!" the girl just ignored the teacher.
"This is the fifth time this semester!" the girl rolled her eyes.
"Now go to your seat. I expect you not to do this again next time." And the girl just nodded.
She was pretty pert for someone just 9.
"What are you looking at?" the girl snapped as she sat next to Reina. Reina turned back to her book and was bored for the rest of the lesson.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Hey Rene!" Dick waved as he saw Reina waiting in the line from afar.
She waved back, and Dick motioned to sit with him and his friends. After she got her food she really came over to the table after much consideration.
Well, Dick was with his friends and Reina didn't want to bother.
"Guys, this is Reina." Dick introduced her to his friends.
Reina just nodded and sat down awkwardly. After listening to them talk and just nod once in a while, she finished her meal.
"Dick, um, sorry. I got to go to the toilet." She excused herself.
Dick, seeing her uncomfortable face got the message, and nodded.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"How did you get close to Grayson?"
Reina was shocked and turned around to see Cherry Fischer. She was washing her hands when said girl showed up.
"His adopted dad funds me?" she asked, the question more to herself.
"Good choice of words." Cherry stepped closer.
"Touch him and you die," Cherry threatened. Reina's eyes were wide. Is the Cherry Fischer, threatening her about Dick?
"Excuse me?" Reina said, offended.
"Get away from him, shortie. He's trouble." Cherry pulled her tie and after warning her, she went out of the bathroom.
"Shortie!? Am I that short!?" well yes, she's a half of a head shorter than the rest of the girls in her year.
"And that came out of nowhere…"
oOoOoOoOoOo
"How was your day?" Dick asked Reina. "It's fine, mostly boring." She said casually.
"Nothing happened?" Yes. Cherry Fischer apparently warning her because of Dick, and Reina is starting to think that Cherry liked Dick, as the rest of his fan club. Reina imagined Dick groaning, and laughed.
"No, it's pretty normal." She replied nonchalantly.
"That's good. Oh, Bruce said that you have to train almost every day to strengthen your stamina." He reported.
"Every day?" she sighed, "Well, you want to get stronger faster to control your power's right?" He tried to motivate her. "Well, yeah… I hope." And they went home.
Reina thanked Alfred for the ride and did her new homework assignment. She ate, took a bath, and started warming up with Dick.
By the time Bruce came back from Wayne Enterprises they begun training again. Hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks. She got better. And school is still filled with Cherry. The warning were ignored by Reina. She can be with Dick if she wants to? She doesn't see Cherry warning her about Dick again. But she's starting to hear whispers from the girls that she passed by.
One time they cornered her, and tried to get her to spill her 'relationship' with Dick. Honestly, they were so young, and Reina loves Dick as a brother. But she just said the same reason she said to Cherry.
When she was getting stronger physically, Lucielle came into her dreams and told her to meditate. She said that it will increase her mentality. Reina just nodded and did what she said.
One day she and Alfred were walking by the garden and saw that the tree was already her height, healthy and green. She told Alfred that she wishes it to have flowers one day, if possible. She was reminded by the hard work and progress she had made in these few time.
And then years went by, and everything eventually changed. She became a teenager. Dick's fan club harassed her one time and they slapped their hands away, and dodged, fleeing to the library which she knows those girls won't find them.
She was sometimes stressed by those events. Every time she had enough, she motivated herself with positivity, like what Lucielle said. Come to think of it, Lucielle hasn't appeared in her dreams for months. Even Reina started to forgot.
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Why am I stuck with you as my partner?" Cherry Fischer said grudgingly.
Reina's life had been filled with Cherry every time she went to school. Cherry was most likely keeping tabs on her. Despite being the rumoured naughty kid, Cherry was a normal snappy kid unless provoked. Reina didn't want to deal with scary Cherry so she let it go.
"Mr. Hollister said that you never had a science partner, and I need one."
"Doesn't mean that I need one. I'm perfectly fine without those idiots.." Cherry mumbled.
"I'll do my best."
There was silence as they worked.
"I told you to stay away from Grayson years ago. Why wouldn't you listen?" Cherry suddenly asked.
"Hm… I think of him like a brother more than a lover. That's why I don't care." Reina replied nonchalantly.
"Have you ever been in love?" Reina asked.
"That's effing bullshit." Cherry snapped. And yes, eventually Cherry had a foul mouth and tried to tone it down in every class to avoid detention. No matter how far she is from the teachers, they seem to hear every swear words and tried to correct her which Cherry was sick of.
"Have you?" Cherry asked back, surprising Reina.
"No… what is love even?" She shrugged, and Cherry took something from her bag. What surprises Reina more is that Cherry took out a teen magazine. She didn't thought Cherry as the girly type.
"…Thank you?" That came out more like a question.
Cherry just ignored her then.
Created 11/01/17, 10:08PM