Chapter 13
Bookseller and Mia
As he watched the girls blush,he just smiled and turned his attention back to the argument between Mia and the bookseller, intrigued.
Before long, police sirens echoed through the air, sending the bookseller into a panic. He attempted to flee, but Mia blocked his path, her eyebrows raised in challenge.
"Where do you think you're going, old man?" she asked, her voice firm.
The bookseller's anger was palpable, but fear seeped into his expression as he glanced at Mia.
"You!" he exclaimed, trying to compose himself.
"Which eyes did you use to see me running away? I was just going to the toilet," he claimed, feigning calmness.
Mia nodded along, her devilish smile growing.
"Are you done, or do you still need to keep talking?" she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.
"Why is it that when you heard the police siren, you suddenly needed to use the toilet?" She stood firm, refusing to let him pass.
The bookseller realized he was trapped and began to think of an escape plan before the police arrived. As he looked at Mia, he knew she wouldn't budge, so he shifted tactics and started playing the victim.
"Aigooo, aigooo, aigooo, I'm such a pitiful old man," he wailed, feigning distress.
"I just want to relieve myself, but this young lady won't even let me pass. Oh, what a life!"
The bookseller's theatrics tugged at the heartstrings of the onlookers, who had initially suspected him of wrongdoing.
They began blaming and pointing fingers at Mia for being disrespectful to an elder.
"Young lady, is this what your parents taught you to disrespect your elders?" customer A scolded.
"Do you know this old man is old enough to be your grandfather? How can you behave like this towards him?" Customer A continued scolding Mia.
"Young people these days have no respect for their elders," Customer B chimed in, shaking his head.
"If she were my child, I'd have disciplined her for such disrespect, no matter what," Customer C added, pointing his finger at Mia.
The old bookseller smirked, still pretending to be pitiful.
Mia's eyes widened in shock at the crowd's sudden change in demeanor, but she wasn't surprised.
"What a bunch of chameleons," she said with disgust.
"Did you just call us chameleons?" Customer B shouted.
"Yes, I called you all chameleons. What are you going to do about it?" Mia replied confidently, still blocking the old bookseller's path.
The bookseller grew angrier as the police sirens drew closer, realizing he was running out of time. He didn't want to get caught, but this stubborn girl wasn't letting him go.
The crowd erupted in anger, shouting insults and accusations at Mia, but she remained unfazed, looking at them as if they were fools. Richard, who had been observing the scene, chuckled and said,
"What an interesting feisty lady," smiling as he sipped his drink.
Before Mia could respond to the crowd, the police arrived, asking,
"Who called us reporting a case of extortion?" Two officers, a male and a female, stood at the scene.
Mia immediately raised her hand and said,
"I did; I'm the one who called you."
The police approached her and asked,
"Who is the person you're reporting?"
The old bookseller's face turned pale, and he began shaking with fear when he heard Mia's words. Mia pointed at him and said,
"This is the person I'm reporting. He's been extorting money from people by increasing the price of books. When I tried to talk to him, he started shouting, and when I argued back, he began crying and displaying this award-winning acting."
Mia's anger and irritation were evident as she continued,
"To top it all up, they're all not helping the matter. I told them that he's extorting from them, but do you know what they said to me?" The two police officers looked at each other, puzzled by the situation.
When they didn't respond, Mia told them,
"They said I don't have manners and started calling me all types of names my parents didn't call me."
Mia bowed her head and pretended to cry, smirking to herself while saying in her mind,
"You're not the only one who can act here, old man. I can also display my award-winning acting."
Unbeknownst to Mia, Richard was watching her and noticed her acting. He shook his head and said,
"What a scheming young lady," laughing as he continued to watch the drama unfold with great interest.
Mia held the hands of both police officers and said,
"I'm so heartbroken right now. I was just trying to help everyone here, but they all turned me into a sinner. All I want is for you to arrest that extortionist and give me justice because I don't deserve all this."
Tears fell from her eyes as she looked pitiful.
The two police officers nodded sympathetically and said,
"Don't worry, we will arrest him." The female officer reassured her,
"Yeah, don't worry." The male police officer chimed in,
"Thank you, thank you. With police officers like you, we civilians have nothing to worry about."
Mia faltered them both while putting on her cutest smiles.
The two police officers left Mia's side and approached the old man, their voices firm and authoritative.
"You are under arrest for extortion," the male officer declared, his hands securing the handcuffs around the old man's wrists.
"You have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer. Anything you say will be used against you in court."
The old man's face contorted in desperation as he shouted,
"No, no, nooooo! I did not extort from anyone! Leave me alone! I'm just an innocent old bookseller trying to earn a living!"
He struggled against the officers, his eyes darting towards Mia with a mix of anger and fear.
As he glanced back, he saw Mia smiling sweetly, her tongue darting out in a playful gesture. The old man's anger boiled over, and he began cursing her,
"You slut, bitch! You did this to me! I won't spare you, just wait and see what I do to you!"
He thrashed about, his words tumbling out in a venomous torrent.
"Look, she's smiling at me!" the old man exclaimed to the officers, his voice rising in indignation.
When the officers turned to see what he was referring to, all they saw was a tear-stained Mia, her eyes red-rimmed and her face etched with sorrow.
The old man's eyes widened in outrage as he took in the scene, and he shouted again,
"That bitch is pretending! Don't believe her!"
But the officers didn't respond, their faces impassive as they dragged him away.
As soon as the old man was out of sight, Mia's face transformed, and she smiled with satisfaction.
"No one messes with Mia Heros," she whispered to herself, a triumphant glint in her eye.
Unbeknownst to Mia, Richard had been watching her with great interest. As he approached her side, his voice dropped to a low whisper, audible only to Mia.
"What a scheming young lady you are."
Mia's eyes snapped towards him, her face shocked and surprised.
She spun around quickly, but her feet tangled, and she lost her balance. Before she could hit the floor, Richard's arms swooped in, catching her with ease. Mia's eyes locked onto his, her face inches from his chest. Richard's lips curled into a devastating smile, and he gazed at her with an intensity that left her breathless.
As they stood there, frozen in time, the wheel of destiny began to turn, setting in motion a chain of events that would change their lives forever.