"Miss Meyenn. Dream Avenue, the guild founded by Cynthia and Mel is already a successful business with great fame on Falva Star. It is sponsored by big companies like Colville Constructions or Dourand Electronics. More than a hundred full-time employees depend on Cynthia.
I implore you to let Cynthia do her job."
Holly hid her thoughts. It was unsure if Liam's words helped to convince her. But judging from the gaze she was using to scrutinize Liam from top to bottom with, she didn't seem to hold his opinion in high regard.
Liam was quite frustrated. Holly was exactly the kind of person he detested dealing with. But he had to bite his teeth to help Cynthia out.
"Liam is right, miss. Please let Cynthia join us."
"The guild needs her."
The rest of the friends also tried to convince Cynthia's mother. But they felt rather bad meeting Holly's disparaging eyes.
Adrian balled his fists, hating the feeling of being looked down upon.
[Silent Acacia: Who does she think she is? Such an ugly attitude!]
[Quiana: Babe, please. Keep up with it for now. For Cyclone.]
[Silent Acacia: Yeah, yeah...]
Naturally Silva also noticed what was going on. She felt increasingly angry as her friends were looked down upon. Her eyes narrowed as she addressed Holly:
"Miss Meyenn. This is the last time I will ask. Are you willing to let Cynthai join us?"
Holly's hands trembled. She realized that Silva was becoming displeased. She definitely wanted to avoid destroying their relationship. Thus, she finally softened her stance:
"It's not impossible to let Cynthia continue her business..."
"Great!"
"Good decision."
"... but, she needs to prove that this actually has a future. I won't let her waste her time in a game!"
The friends locked eyes with Holly Meyenn. Despite being offended by her stance they tried to remain polite.
Mel felt greatly relieved as she mulled over Holly's condition. Cynthia, Sun's Knight, and her had already created a business plan based on some hints revealed by Liam. Hopefully this was enough to convince Holly.
Initially Cynthia had even made a sort of mini presentation with the business plan, which she could show her parents. Mel advised her to do so early, but Cynthia dreaded the confrontation and always delayed.
Her newest idea was to reveal everything to her parents right before moving to the guild house where her parents couldn't interfere. Unfortunately, her plan couldn't keep up with reality.
Boom!
Suddenly the sound of a door being violently pushed open could be heard from the end of the hallway.
Cynthai came running out with unkempt hair and deep, dark circles around her eyes, letting out a chocking shout:
"You're the best!"
Everyone was startled by her sudden appearance. Holly realized that her daughter had listened to the conversation. She held a hint of a sweet feeling in her heart hearing Cynthia say that.
She turned around and found her daughter run towards her with wide open arms. A faint smile tried to make its way to Holly's lips.
Just as she was about to accept the hug and pat her daughter's back, Cynthia directly passed by her and jumped at Silva.
Holly stood frozen in place, her thoughts turning chaotically.
Meanwhile Silva hugged her bestest friend, noticing Cynthia's quivering body. She was obviously holding back tears. Silva only gritted her teeth and hugged Cynthia tightly.
A few seconds later the two women let go off each other. Cynthia went through her friends one by one, hugging all of them tightly. Her emotions were a complete mess, and she didn't know what to say at all.
A strange atmosphere formed when Cynthia let go. She stood with her friends, trying not to look at her mother. She felt a mix of guilt but also anger and didn't know how to face her mother now.
"Are you ok, Cy? We were quite worried.", said Mel with a chocked-up voice.
"I... I'm fine."
For a moment no one knew what to say, especially with Holly still around. Thus, it was Cynthia who suggested quickly:
"Let's enter the game first. We have a tournament to win."
"Yes."
"Everyone is waiting for you."
"The guild needs its leader."
"It's not the same without you."
The friends hastily expressed their support trying to cheer up Cynthia. The young woman nodded, her heart embraced by a comfortable warmth.
Silva glanced carefully at Holly as she asked Cynthia:
"It would be a waste of time for us to drive home. Can we play from your room?"
"Sure. Come."
Cynthia's eyes lit up slightly. She was looking forward to having her friends around during such complicated times. Without asking for her mother's permission she took Silva's hand, dragging her away, and signalled the others to follow.
Holly's expression wasn't pleasant, but she didn't say anything. She watched the youngsters' backs as they entered Cynthia's room.
A moment later Cynthia and Mel came out, rushed into the living room, grabbed Cynthia's console, and disappeared into her room before Holly could stop them.
"Woah, did it.", sighed Cynthia as she slammed the door shut. Her eyes fell on her friends who were curiously scanning her room.
The room itself was rather sterile, held in black and white, with a few large windows opposite the door.
But one could see that Cynthia tried to make the best of it. Posters of famous players, but also singers, actors, etc, decorated the wall.
Large, stuffed animals sat on her bed, spending Cynthia company during troubled days. Two doors led away into a changing room and a bath.
Hearing the slamming of the door, everyone turned towards Cynthia. Their faces were still painted with empathy, even some worry.
Quiana looked Cynthia up and down, making the blond woman uncomfortable.
"W... what? I didn't have time to freshen up today."
Quiana chuckled lightly.
"Sorry."
Inwardly Quiana was relieved. Cynthia showed no signs of having been hit. This was something Quiana was secretly worried about.
In her old school Quiana had seen how tyrannical strict parents can be. The tuition was not low and if the children didn't perform, some parents lost their cool and became violent.
Quiana even once watched as a father slapped his son in the hallway. The father probably thought no one had seen him. He didn't know that Quiana stayed for training after school and overheard their argument.
Mulling over these old memories Quiana couldn't help but step forward and hug Cynthia again, caressing her back.
"It's good that you're fine."
Cynthia hugged her back but suddenly she froze as she figured out the meaning of Quiana's words.
"Guys, calm down. My mother is not a monster. She is just... stuck in her own world view. And I'm not without fault as well…"
"I feel she's going too far, though...", commented Dominic, drawing a sigh from Cynthia.
"I don't know. It was also wrong of me to lie. Now I feel like I can't confront my parents."
Mel silently patted her friend's shoulder as Quickstep let go of her. Cynthia was incredibly touched by everyone's support as she continued:
"Honestly, I just want to sink into the game all day now. It's a pity that it has to go offline."
"Well, you are old enough. If you find it difficult to confront your parents, you could move out. Then you could fully focus on the game.", suggested Adrian. He had moved out from home at an early age, living in a gaming house.
After the catastrophic season he went on holidays and is now more or less forced to live on Falva Star. He and Quiana are still stuck in a hotel, but soon they could move to Dream Avenue's gaming house.
Hopefully they could stay for a bit longer this time.
Adrian's suggestion made Cynthia visibly thoughtful. Seeing her like this, Silva came up with an idea:
"You could move into our gaming house if you need a place to stay."
"Well, of course.", agreed Cynthia. She was confused as she thought all the friends would move for sure.
"No, what I mean is: You could move earlier. Like even tomorrow. Although the construction is still in progress, some of the apartments are already finished as far as I know."
"Really? That's... possible."
Cynthia's eyes lit up brightly. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea.
"Damn, so cool."
"I want to move as well."
"Still two weeks to go..."
Most of the friends were jealous of Cynthia. They looked forward to living in the gaming house.
As young people they anticipated the future with pink glasses. Spending all day doing what they liked. Living in their own gaming house, which had all the commodities they could think of. Living together with their best friends. What more could one ask for?
And the one anticipating it the most was naturally Cynthia. Now hearing out of the blue that she might as well move in the next day, she was positively shocked and at a loss for words.