Back & Forth | Book 1 of Back & Forth Series
Fourteen: The Test Pt. 2

I browse through a rack of floral dresses. A cute chiffon, mint-coloured floral mini dress with long sleeves catches my eye. I hold myself back from squealing, jumping, and grinning like a maniac. It’s not without reason I’m so excited to see the dress. It literally looks almost the same as the dress I have. The thing is, that dress was one of the most expensive dress I’ve ever bought with my own money. I’ve saved up my money for months so it really means something to me. That’s it. I’m absolutely taking this dress.

“Allura.”

On my left, Aunt Emilia is searching through the same rack for dresses. When did she get here? I thought she was on the other side of the store.

“Yes?” I say.

I have a feeling she wants me to do something. Doing something unholy~

Nah. I’m just joking. That damn song used to be stuck in my head all day long because it was everywhere. Anyway, I do feel that my aunt wants me to do something bad and possibly embarrassing.

“I will put you on a test now. I want to see if you can control people’s mind like me,

This feels almost malicious. At least that’s what I’m getting from my aunt. Mischievous energy is radiating off of her right now. What gets her into this mood? What does she want me to do? This will absolutely involve other people. Someone’s going to be our victim today.

“What do you want me to do?” I ask. Aunt Emilia moves to another rack of dresses and I follow her as I wait for my mission.

“See that woman over there? With short, straight blonde hair and a big-ass Louis Vuitton bag?” Aunt Emilia asks. The woman is now in my line of vision. She’s currently browsing through a rack of blouses on the other side of the store.

“Uh-huh,” I hum.

What’s up with her? Why does my aunt pick her to be my victim. There has to be something going on between them. Aunt Emilia’s hatred towards the woman is very apparent. I can feel it in my body.

“I want you to make her put anything in the store into her bag. Let her get called out and caught by the security guard,” Aunt Emilia says. Damn. I never thought someone as sweet-looking as my aunt could think of something that cruel. There’s definitely something happening between the woman and my aunt.

“That’s mean,” I say with a frown.

“I have a feeling that she’s bad so she deserves it,” Aunt Emilia says, shrugging indifferently.

My eyes narrow as I turn to her. She stays nonchalant as she pulls out a red short dress and observes it. There’s no way that woman is a random stranger to her. Something must’ve happened between them in the past.

“I’m feeling there’s something suspicious. You hate her so much. There’s no way you can hate a stranger this strongly,” I say. My aunt avoids my gaze as she puts the red dress back onto the rack and searches for something else.

“Why would I hate her?” Aunt Emilia asks.

“Zietta. You do remember I can read your mind, right?” I say.

“Yes. What about it?” Aunt Emilia asks, still acting nonchalant as she moves to a rack of cardigans and looks through the pieces there.

“I can read your mind right now and replace out what happened between you two,” I say. She stops what she’s doing and turns to me. A smug look is already on her face as she crosses her arms. She’s definitely challenging me to go through my threat.

“Do it. Let’s see what can you get about her.” Aunt Emilia says.

“Challenge accepted,” I say.

With my mind now focus on hers, I search for any memories regarding my aunt and the blonde-haired woman. I continue my search for other new clothes while doing so, browsing through the camisoles collection. After I get everything I need I turn to my aunt with a smirk.

“Her name was Carla Lombardi. She was one of the mothers at Alessandro and Alessio’s primary school. The woman’s daughter, Camilla, bullied Alessio once for liking her. You confronted her about it but she didn’t care. She even threatened to put you in jail for false accusations. She also always acted so snobbish all the time as if she’s the richest and most powerful person among other parents at the school. She was like that because she was the wife of the Minister of Economy and Finance at that time, Francesco Lombardi. However, Francesco wasn’t as powerful as his wife thought. Uncle Emiliano is more powerful than him. He has connections that can bring him down. In fact, Uncle Dmiliano was the one who got Francesco jailed for his involvement in human trafficking,” I explain.

Call me a hypocrite for having double standards but dealing drugs and weapons are better than trafficking innocent children and women. It’s good that my family have the same moral values as I am. At least we’re not involved in taking someone’s free will and freedom of choice.

“Carla divorced Francesco after he got into prison. A year later, she married another man who’s also a part of the high rank in the government. She’s now married to Aurelio Abate, the current minister of Health. Her name is no longer Carla Lombardi but Carla Abate,” I continue. Aunt Emilia nods at me, seemingly impressed by my mind-reading ability.

“Everything you said is true. However, I didn’t know about her divorce and current husband. That was definitely your claircognizance power,” Aunt Emilia says.

“It’s crazy that a minister like Francesco was involved in human trafficking. It’s not surprising though. I guess we’re not so bad after all,” I say.

“We’re definitely not,” Aunt Emilia agrees. “Now read Carla’s mind before you control her.”

“Okay.”

I look at Carla again. She’s now at the dress section with an obvious look of dissatisfaction on her face.

“What are these? I shouldn’t have walked into this store. Their designs are getting uglier each season. Vera said she her the blouse from here so, where the fuck is it? Whatever. Let’s see if there’s any good set of lingerie. Aurelio has been so busy. I want to surprise him,” Carla thinks to herself. My eyes follow her to the lingerie section. An evil idea pops into my mind. I can’t help but grin at it.

“We’re thinking about the same thing, aren’t we?” Aunt Emilia asks.

“Absolutely,” I say.

“Do it,” Aunt Emilia orders.

My attention is now focused on the grouchy woman. I make her move towards the display of the biggest and most basic bra in bright orange colour. It’s definitely something that she won’t be caught dead touching.

Carla grabs the bra and puts it into her enormous bag. I look around and no one seems to notice her suspicious movement. I hold myself back from laughing as I watch her running across the store with big steps and determination in her eyes.

Now Carla has everyone’s eyes on her. The determination still shows clearly on her face as she sprints towards the exit of the store. A tall security guard steps in front of her, blocking her way. She immediately dodges him effortlessly, still looking very hellbent on escaping. Another security guard catches her before she manages to leave the place. Carla is now in control of her body again. With confusion, she looks down at her gripped arm. The grasp causes her to glare at the guard as she attempts to pull her arm away from him.

“Sapete chi sono? Sono la moglie di Aurelio Abate! Toglimi le mani di dosso!” Carla shouts.

(Do you know who I am? I’m Aurelio Abate’s wife! Get your hands off me!)

One of the guards yanks her bag away from her and searches through it. It doesn’t take him long to replace the big, bright orange bra. The colour drains from her face at the sight of the bra. I cover my mouth, holding myself back from laughing. Everyone seems confused and amused by the situation unfolding before them. Pictures and videos are taken, documenting what seems to be a theft attempt.

“Perché è questo nella tua borsa?” the guard asks, holding up the bra right in front of Carla’s face.

(Why is this in your bag?)

Embarrassment and anger cause Carla’s face to turn red. She slaps away the guard’s hand and glares at him.

“Non lo so! Non l’ho fatto! Non lo indosserò nemmeno in tutta la mia vita! Qualcun altro l’ha messo lì,” Carla protests.

(I don’t know! I didn’t do that! I will never wear that in my whole life. Someone else put it in there).

“Tutti hanno visto cosa è successo.” The guard says, motioning around the store to state the obvious.

(Everyone saw what happened.)

Aunt Emilia laughs in silence. Her shoulders shake as we continue to watch Carla and the guard. Even the people outside the store stop by in curiosity, wondering what’s going on inside.

Carla whirls. Her rage causing her face to turn redder. She glares at everyone in sight, especially everyone who has their phone out and recording her. She then stops when her eyes meet Aunt Emilia. With the guards watching her every move, there’s nothing else she can do but to glare at my aunt. Enjoying Carla’s torment and embarrassment, Aunt Emilia only smirks at her.

“Devi venire con noi,” One of the guards says.

(You have to come with us)

Carla accepts her defeat, letting the guards take her away. While she’s being whisked away, she keeps her deadly glare on Aunt Emilia until they disappears to the back of the store.

“Anyway, that was me. You haven’t done your test yet,” Aunt Emilia says.

What? That’s not me? I thought I did that. Now that I think about it again, not really. I lost my focus on controlling Carla after she put the bra in her bag. Damn it. That would be such a fun story to tell my cousins and Luciano if I really did that.

“Aw man. I thought I was thriving,” I say.

“I’ll give another test later. Do you still want to search for anything else in here?” Aunt Emilia asks.

“No. I’ll just get this dress,” I say, showing the dress to my aunt.

“Alright. Let’s pay for it,” Aunt Emilia says.

Everyone is now back to their own business. It seems like they’re already forgetting about what just happened earlier. Now they’re searching for what they want from the store. I get in line with Aunt Emilia, waiting for our turn to make the purchase.

“Make the cashier pack your dress without asking you to pay,” Aunt Emilia says telepathically.

Ayo. Wait a damn second. Is my rich aunt seriously telling me to steal? Perhaps that’s one of the way to keep her riches.

“That’s shoplifting. She will be responsible for the loss,” I say.

“Allura, my dear. Did you serious think we’re stealing this? Why would we steal something this cheap?” Aunt Emilia asks.

Cheap? 80 euros is cheap? Dude. My part-time job’s monthly wage couldn’t even cover the cost of this dress.

“We won’t steal anything from anywhere. Just make her do it. I’ll put the money down afterwards, okay?” Aunt Emilia says. Thank God. I’d rather not be involved in such shitty crime.

“Okay.”

Now it’s our turn for the checkout. As I hand her the dress, I focus my mind on her. She scans the price tag and then place the dress into a paper bag. With a wide smile on her face, she hands me the receipt and the bag.

“Grazie per l’acquisto con noi,” the woman says.

(Thank you for shopping with us.)

Oh. That was easy. Way too fucking easy. Does this mean I can control people’s mind now? At least their bodies? Sweet. Now it’s official. I have two superpowers.

“Grazie,” Aunt Emilia says, handing the money to the cashier.

(Thank you)

I let go of my control over the woman and she takes the money in confusion. I quickly leave the store with my aunt and see Uncle Emiliano and our men where we left them earlier right outside the store.

“What happened in there? Was that Carla? Did you do that?” Uncle Emiliano asks.

“Yeah,” Aunt Emilia says, grinning ear-to-ear like she just received the best achievement in her life. Uncle Emiliano rolls his eyes at her shenanigans with a smile.

“That’s one of the best things you did so far,” Uncle Emiliano says.

“Thank you. I always strive for the best,” Aunt Emilia says, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Her grin has gone wider from the compliment. I can’t help but smile from witnessing their interaction.

They look so sweet together. No one would’ve thought they were the mafia don and donna. Look at them being all lovey-dovey. People wouldn’t expect the darkness hidden underneath those saccharine smiles.

“Anyway, what you did back there was an absolute success. However, I want you to do one more thing,” Aunt Emilia says.

What does she want me to do? I hope it won’t get me in trouble. I just got here and I don’t want to commit a crime in public even though my aunt and uncle could bail me out of jail.

“She passed the test?” Uncle Emiliano asks, seemingly impressed by the news.

“Yes,” Aunt Emilia replies.

“Great. Now we have a mind reader and mind controller in one person. It’s a deadly combo,” Uncle Emiliano says. It does sounds like it but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’ll only agree to that statement after it’s proven.

“Eh, not really,” I say, shrugging and smiling sheepishly. “Anyway, what else should I do?” I ask.

“I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s go to Versace.”

Hours have been spent in the mall with nonstop shopping. Almost every store in the building has been visited by us. Now, the three of us have tens of shopping bags in our hands and they’re mostly mine. Our men are currently putting the other bags in the cars. They’ll be back to put these away as well. With how many stuff I bought comes great responsibility. I have a lot of organising to do when we’re back at the house. My stuff won’t put themselves away in my closet. Or would they? I won’t be surprised if that actually happens. After all, I’m living in a reality where superpowers exist. At least for my family.

“What do you want to eat for lunch?” Aunt Emilia asks.

I don’t realise how hungry I am until my aunt mention lunch. It’s no wonder since we’ve spent our energy walking in the malls for hours. Right now, we’re walking in front of various restaurants. I frown as the scent of various food reaches my nose. It’s impossible to ignore my hunger now. The smell of food only makes me even hungrier.

“Honestly, I’ll eat anything,” I say.

“Including my shoes?” Uncle Emiliano asks. I send him an are-you-kidding-me look. He only smiles at me and I roll my eyes at him.

“No. Well, unless they’re made out of cake,” I say, shrugging. Anything could be cake. The mannequins in the stores are probably made out of cake.

“You said you’ll eat anything,” Uncle Emiliano says.

“Only anything edible,” I say, rolling my eyes jokingly again in response to his teasing.

“Let’s eat here,” Uncle Emiliano says.

Before we get into the restaurant, our men approach us and take our shopping bags. They leave for their duty once again while my aunt, my uncle, and I walk into the restaurant. Thank God they’re here right before we get into the restaurant. It would be inconvenient for everyone in the place to have tens of shopping bags in the way.

We decided to sit on one of the empty tables outside. I scan through the pages for something to eat and drink and my aunt and uncle are doing the same thing.

Hmmm. What do I want to eat now? Pizza margherita e basil sounds nice but I don’t think I can finish it in one seating. How about pasta? That would suffice. Which one? I guess I’ll go with spaghetti aglio e olio. For the drink, I want something fresh and sour so a glass of lemonade will do.

After placing our order, I stare mindlessly at the people walking past the place. The sight of Carla makes me straighten myself in my seat. She’s now walking down the hallway. A vague look of anger is on her face, probably because of what happened earlier. The woman suddenly notices us. She advances towards us with fury evident on her face.

Why the hell is she angry at us? She doesn’t know we use our power on her. Well, it turns out that she’s just angry at Aunt Emilia’s existence. My aunt laughing at her earlier only fuel her anger even more.

I focus my mind on Carla. Before she reaches us, I make her walk backwards out of the restaurant with the angry look remains on her face. Now she looks as though she’s rewinding as I continue to make her walk backward. Everyone stares at her in confusion. Some of them start laughing at Carla as they watch her odd behaviour.

I’m not sure where she is now but I can bet everyone around her is looking at her weirdly. That’s a good enough revenge for her past wrongdoing, I guess. She humiliated herself in front of everyone. Her videos from earlier must be already all over the internet now. It’ll definitely damage her reputation. Not a very good look for a minister’s wife. I bet her PR team is stressing over this problem right now. Well, guess what? Digital footprint is one hell of a bitch. There’s no way they can completely wipe out those videos.

“Did you do that?” Aunt Emilia asks quietly. I nod at her and smile proudly at my recent masterpiece.

“Yes,” I say.

“I’m proud of you. That’s a lot better than what I did earlier,” Aunt Emilia says.

Better? I don’t think so. What my aunt did was more impressive. The way Carla ran and dodged the guard with a determined look was an absolutely priceless sight.

“I don’t think so. You’re better than me. The way you made Carla dodge the guard was amazing,” I say.

“Alright then. We’re awesome,” Aunt Emilia says. We have the same power now. We’re twinning!

“The two of you will be the death of me,” Uncle Emiliano says, shaking his head at my aunt and me.

“If that’s so, you’ll die happily in our hands,” Aunt Emilia says. Uncle Emiliano only scoffs in response.

“Oh, by the way, because you did that to Carla, you don’t need to do the other test,” Aunt Emilia says. Thank God.

“What were you going to make me do?” I ask. I’m curious of it. I know I can just read her mind to replace out about it but I’d rather not do that.

“No need to worry about it,” Aunt Emilia says.

“Okay.”

I’m still curious but I won’t press her any further. I’m too damn hungry to make my aunt tell me about her plan. My energy is running low. I need my food and drink. I need to replenish it. Aunt Emilia says there are more stores we still need to visit. So, I better save my energy for later. I’m sure what she has planned earlier is nothing that important anyway. So, I’m letting her go this time.