Meanwhile at the boundaries of the field…

Eva took a big sigh. “Seriously this girl. Here she goes again.”

“What do you mean by that, Eva?” asked Han Geng.

“Well it’s her own way of playing her games. She’s a very mischievous child. Alice’ll act all weak and helpless, but then bam! She just tricks you right underneath your nose. And the fact that no one even notices, is what makes her do it even more. Heck, it makes her happier!”

“Wow…. Never knew she was like that….”

“Don’t judge her. She hates it when people do that. It’s just the way— never mind.”

“Eva, please tell me. I want to know,” he pleaded. I don’t know why, but I feel so attached to her! I have to know! Han Geng thought.

“It’s not my story to tell. She’ll tell the person, IF she gets really close to someone. That’s when she’ll trust you. So don’t go pestering her about it. Alice’ll get really angry if anyone knows.”

“Oh…. I see…. By the way, Eva, what’s wrong with her knees? It seems like there’s bandages wrapped around them…”

“Oh yeah… Another one of her problems… You see, she has weak knees for some unknown reasons. So if she strains her knees, it hurts like hell, but by now, she has a way of hiding the pain. Alice doesn’t like for people to be worried about her, you see. She had surgery for it, but that still didn’t help. If she really, I mean really, strains her knees, she’s out. Literally.”

“What do you mean by ‘out’?”

“She just breaks down. Drops to the ground, starts sweating like heck, says that she’s okay but squeezes her eyes in pain, and then passes out. And then after, she goes to the hospital sometimes to be checked on. She’s been living with the pain too long, so it just messes her up, you know? But the kid doesn’t listen to me, no matter what I say. So what can I do? Just watch and hope for the best.”

“Seems like you know her very well, Eva.”

“Heh. I guess.”