CHAPTER TWO: I AM A NORMAL GIRL

Rhea’s POV

The day after I woke up without any memories, I started working as a waitress in the club. I was willing to accept lower wages since I didn’t provide any credentials, but the owner was very sympathetic of my situation and offered to put me in the same pay grade as others as long as I was good in the job. The other waitresses were very friendly, and they volunteered to train me.

For the first few days, I was hopeful that my memory would come back any moment. But soon, I realized that it was not going to happen. Frankly, I didn’t care because this life was good. Strangely, I had a fear that it wouldn’t be entirely good for me if I remembered my past life. This fresh start may be just what I really needed. Sometimes, forgetting was a boon, and I felt that this new life was a boon to me.

The days went by and the workers and the boss of the club became my brand new family. We were a strange group of people, with different ethnicities and distinct characters, but we loved each other nonetheless.

So, here I was, two years later, in the same place that I walked into two years ago, though definitely in a better state. My shift was just beginning, and I sashayed away in my tight red shirt and black miniskirt, our uniform, to the table of a rowdy bunch of college kids. They were regulars here and caused trouble often, but nothing too big. Since they were a steady source of income, they were welcome here despite the troubles they brewed.

They were quick to take liberties with the waitresses, and I was the only one bold enough to handle their antics. So, as usual, when I saw that they were here, I volunteered to wait on their table.

“Hello boys! What would you like to order today?” I asked them with a sunny smile. Eric, the leader of the group, looked me up and down and licked his lips. His eyes were filled with lust.

“Are you on the menu, darling?” Eric purred at me.

His crude demand offended me, but I was used to it. So I just smiled at him as if I liked his attention. These types of guys thought that girls were just things to play with and they lacked brains. Challenging them would be like opening the Pandora’s Box and I just let them believe whatever they want. In the end of the day, I didn’t lose anything, and they left good tips. It worked well enough for me.

Men were always attracted to me. To be frank, not just men, but women too were. At first, I thought it was just my looks, but then I was not so sure. I was beautiful, but that didn’t warrant this much attention. People often went into trance-like states when they met me, and only those who were familiar with me and knew me well seemed immune. I even had men who were ready to be my errand boys just to spend some time with me and they didn’t even want to talk but just stare at me. It was creepy as hell.

At first I tried dressing down, wearing no makeup, dying my hair, everything I could think of, but nothing seemed to help and then I just learned to live with it. Thankfully, I never had stalker issues and the admirers usually left after they had their fill of gazing at me, but I began carrying a can of pepper spray and a pocket knife with me wherever I went, just in case. I also learned karate and I could take care of myself in a street fight. After all, you can never be too careful.

So, I just let Eric continue eye raping me and didn’t bother to defend my honor. It was a ritual by now and he seemed to be in the category of ‘barking dogs seldom bite’. But today, he seemed already drunk, as if he came from a party.

If he was already drunk, then why would he come to the bar again? It was strange, but I decided that it was none of my business.

I left with their orders and when I came back carrying the drinks; I saw that he was bullying Joanna, a timid new girl. She was like a scared bunny, and he seemed to enjoy tormenting her. I was about to go and rescue her when he took his bullying to the next level. He grabbed her and pulled her to his lap and began kissing her full on the mouth while his hands began roaming all over her body.

I froze and stared in shock. Though there were a few drunken men who liked to flirt with us waitresses and ‘accidentally’ touch places they were not supposed to, never have I seen someone assault one of us in such a blatant way. For a moment, I didn’t know what to do. Then, I felt rage like I had never known before. The girl just turned eighteen and was working here to support her family and pursue her studies. Though she was pretty with her blue eyes and blond hair, she was too shy to pay any attention to her looks. I treated her like a little sister and I was very protective of her. And now, she was being taken advantage of like this in front of all the people in this club.

I saw red, and I literally felt smoke coming out of my ears. I wanted him to choke on his own tongue and beg for her forgiveness. I wanted him to cry like a baby that he would never do this to any girl in his life again.

I swear I saw a black mist flying away from my fisted hands towards where he was molesting that poor girl. I shook my head to clear the fog that seemed to appear in my vision, but it didn’t seem to go away. I had heard of the term drunk with power, but I seemed to get drunk on anger. As I watched perplexed, I saw the black mist slowly entering Eric’s mouth and as it vanished inside him; I felt him stiffen. I turned to see if anyone else noticed this, but no one seemed to find anything more horrific than a stupid college boy molesting a waitress. I watched in horror as he let go of Joanna and began convulsing. He seemed to choke as froth began bubbling out of his mouth.

By this time, the people who were watching in horrified fascination came out of their stupor and his friends rushed to his aid. Joanna scrambled away from them and began bawling her eyes out like a little kid; maybe ashamed at being molested and also seeing him convulsing like he was going to die any moment. Wait, it really seemed as if he was dying!

I came out of my trance and rushed to Joanna and engulfed her in a hug. I started patting her back while murmuring comforting words. I saw that Eric had stopped convulsing, and he opened his eyes and peered in our direction. He seemed to be in agony.

"I am really sorry! I would never do this to any girl in my life again," Eric muttered in a strained voice.

I froze like a statue hearing those words. The exact same words I had thought. Was it merely a coincidence?

After saying those words, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted. I really hoped that he just fainted.

I relaxed when I saw his friends checking him and carrying him away.

The boys cleared the table, paid the bill for the drinks they never had, and apologized for the trouble. Then they left leaving huge tips and everyone went back to their lives as if nothing unusual happened.

I left all their tips to Joanna. She really deserved it after what she went through.

I had the nagging feeling that I was responsible for the black mist that caused Eric to convulse and apologize. But that couldn’t be right. Everyone else seemed to think that he was too drunk, and it was the effects of his drinking. That must be it. Because I was a normal girl and I didn’t have any powers to make someone choke on their own tongue. I relaxed as I repeated the words like a Mantra, 'I am so normal that the word ‘normal’ must have my picture near it in the dictionary'.