บท 23: Riders of Pop (1)

Skyler had already left, while Malcom was still standing in front of Mabel's ranch while in deep thought.

Who knows how long he was standing there before remembering that he still has a bunch of stuff to take care of.

So Malcom left the ranch and walked towards the strange commitment that he had to attend every month.

He walked calmly. Under his footsteps, the afternoon turned into night, and when he reached the building he was going to, he saw two friendly faces waiting for him at the door.

"You really took your time!" Violet yelled while looking at Malcom with distaste.

Malcom gave her an innocent expression. He grinned before speaking, "Well, I'm sorry?"

She scoffed, "Hmph! Never mind. You are now a big shot and have the right to be late," Violet claimed as she leaned against the wall of the building that everyone knew so well.

Ben looked at Malcom with a half-smile. He seemed to be silently agreeing with Violet.

"What did the witch tell you?" Ben asked instead.

"She gave me the location," Malcom responded before showing the dungeon's information.

"Are you sure about this man?" Ben asked while deeply frowning. He then continued, "You just fought so hard yesterday. Do you think you can handle it so soon?"

"Someone will go with me," Malcom had an awkward expression when he said that, which confused them.

"What? Mabel is kind enough to go with you?" Ben asked, suspicious.

"Yes… What!? No, of course not! Why would Mabel go with me on an exploration?" Malcom thought that idea was even more impossible for him than having a pet dragon.

"I don't know," Ben shrugged before he asked, "Then who will go with you?"

"Skyler."

Hearing that name, both of them looked at each other's faces.

With a cold smile, Violet said with seriousness, "That girl does not stop..."

"What you mean?" It was Malcom's turn to be confused.

"Yesterday at the end of the fight, she was going to go to your dressing room," Violet said, separating from the wall and patting Malcom's shoulder. "It seems that she managed to tell you what she wanted after all."

"She will pay double of what Mabel pays just to take her with me," Malcom justified himself by feeling Violet's cold and judgmental gaze. Who cared what Skyler has to say to him?

At the end of the day, he was still not the acknowledged winner of their fight.

If she continued to apologize about it, he would eventually feel that she was just brushing salt to his injuries.

Ben snorted before he gently pushed Violet's back to direct her toward the building.

"Enough speaking about the stupidly rich girl!" Ben yelled.

Violet nodded in agreement.

Then changing the subject, Ben said, "We have to enter. There may be a lot of people today."

The three young men entered the Nation Heroes Care Center, or as people recently called it, the Marked Building.

Every month all those Marked had to attend the headquarters of their City for a physical examination.

They wanted to make sure that the magic circle on the Marked individuals was still intact. This was being justified as a way to keep the peace.

Nevertheless, it was one of the obligations of people who had to bear the burden of society.

When they got to the fourth floor, they saw a commotion in the room when many patients and some nurses were surrounding a person.

One of them watched the young people enter, and without containing her emotion, she screamed, "Malcom!"

The young woman separated herself from her admirers by lowering her head, smiling and then going enthusiastically in the direction of Malcom.

He smiled at her and waved his hand in greeting.

"Nora, I have not seen you for a long time," He said with a clear, pleasant surprise.

Malcom embraced her lovingly, and she lost herself in that embrace attracting the rumors and the murmurs of all those present.

She was happy and did not care what the rumors could say.

Seeing Malcom was one of the reasons why she was fine with going to the examination.

"Let me correct myself. Technically I have seen you somewhere. You're in all the news," Malcom jokingly added.

Nora giggled before she looked up at Malcom, "Well, you are no different! The man who nearly broke Skyler's straight winning record! You do represent us," Nora said happily before gently hitting his chin.

"Ben, you too, don't be jealous," Nora added while looking at Ben. She greeted Malcom's friends with affection.

All eyes of the place were on the boy who felt like the assistants of that office were wondering how he knew one of the four Riders of Pop. It was the most popular musical group recently.

At that moment, a man with glasses and a white coat entered the room and, observing everything with curiosity, he said, "I see there are several of the patients here. Why don't we all go to our posts to do what they pay us to do?"

And by clapping a couple of times, he dispelled the crowd.

Malcom and the rest sat in the waiting chair while they were occasionally talking about random stuff.

Selma, who was finally able to shake off her admirers, walked towards Nora with an arrogant air.

"This place is exhausting," Selma said before she glanced at Malcom. She was not giving him a hospitable look as well.

Malcom got curious but remained silent.

"Is this the guy who was your boyfriend?" Selma questioned with displeasure.

"Selma! Why don't you go to take the test first?!" Nora demanded unhappily as well. She already stood up from her chair. Her cheeks were red instantly from embarrassment.

Selma watched her with indifference and slowly approached Malcom. She slowly and arrogantly said, "You don't seem like a big deal."

Malcom smirked, "Well, I have the same Mark as you."

Just as he said that the girl's expression immediately changed. She now has a bright, pleasant smile on her face.

She then stood up before, caressing her lower lip. Selma then muttered sweetly, "I like him."

And with those words, she left in the direction of the office.

Nora watched her walk away with a rigid posture trying not to look at Malcom, who was still smiling and sitting.

At the counter, the person in charge of bringing the Marked people into the office slowly nodded to everything that Selma had said to him.

'Weird chick,' Malcom thought to himself before putting the woman at the back of his head. He looked at Nora with a teasing smile.

"So I was your boyfriend?" He asked curiously.

Nora took a seat once more next to Malcom, still avoiding looking at him.

"I'm sorry," Nora answered softly, ashamed, "I said that in a moment of weakness... It was silly."

"It's not silly," Malcom said, sitting comfortably. "Before, when we were children, you followed me everywhere."

"Well, I didn't have many options. That time, only five of us were Marked of the same age. I had to play with someone," she said, feigning indifference.