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"Oh you, Nina!...You and your barbaric ways that are unfitting of a maiden!"
Mrs Keller came forward and swiped away the broom away from my hand like a responsible adult would, which made all the ladies behind let out a sigh of relief since they too didn't want to see the young boy they favoured go around beating up a bunch of men. She then continued saying, as she handed the broom to another lady for safekeeping,
"No matter how brash you were ever since you were a child, who didn't hesitate to fight with any of the boys who picked on your friends and would always jump in fists, flying at the sign of any trouble. How could you suggest to a boy who's still in school to go and beat a bunch of people up like you're training him to become a hooligan?"
"Have you forgotten that you're already an adult now who should be guiding the younger generation to a better path and not the tyrannical teenager you were in the past, who didn't listen to anyone and would cause mayhem wherever you went in the name of helping out others..." Mrs Keller said in dismay and looked to be wondering when Nina would grow up to be mature and responsible and act her age.
She then sighed and said while clutching her forehead, "Sigh...Just thinking about the number of times your mother had to visit your school in the past because of some problem you created, there is enough to give me and every mother out there a headache."
Judging by her words, it seems like Nina was quite the fearless free spirit who went to fight against any injustice she saw from a very young age and looked like she hadn't changed much since then, which was rather intriguing.
She was similar to both my mother and Camila in the sense that she really hadn't really lost that innate innocence of hers and acted true to herself and her principles no matter how old she became, which was rather rare to see because of how easily the harshness of society warps an untainted mind and turns it into a soulless husk that follows what everyone else does just for the sake of living an untroubled and easy life.
"Auntie!...Y-You don't have to say such things when others are around!" Nina held onto Mrs Keller's hand and pleaded for her to keep quiet about her deliquent-like past, while eyeing me in particular since she didn't want a kid like me to look down on her.
"Hmph!
"...It also seems like your mother has done a great job raising you, as you really don't seem to mind shaking your hands with me."
"Why? Is your hand smeared in poison or something, and I'm about to kneel over in a few minutes time?" Nina smiled at my comment and was more interested in me when she saw that I was joking with her, which she wasn't used to young kids like me doing so with her quite often because of her rather intimidating gaze that would scare off anyone who didn't know her well.
"No, most men just don't like to shake another woman's hand since they think that it's a tradition that's only done between men.
And even if they do offer a handshake, you can clearly see on their face how much they dislike it, almost as if they're being forced to do it." Nina said as she looked deeply into my eyes and saw that there was no rejection and only appreciation, which surprised her since it was the first time she was treated with such respect by the opposite gender.
This made my image of her greatly increase in her mind, and it also made her directly ask the question on her mind.
"...But unlike those men, you clearly look like you don't mind at all. And for some reason, you also look a little happy about the fact that you're shaking my hand...Why is that?"
"Why, you ask?" I asked as if it were obvious while letting go of her soft and sleek hand, which felt the same as a normal hand even though her skin was a different colour.
I then said, as if it were a matter of fact, "Of course it's because I'm shaking the hands of a pretty lady like you...Like, what man out there wouldn't be at least a little excited to talk to a woman as beautiful as you but also have a chance to shake her hands as well?"
"Isn't that more than enough of a reason to be happy right now?"
I asked with an honest smile on my face, which took Nina aback, as she didn't expect such a straightforward answer from me at all. She also understood what I was trying to convey by saying such honeyed words about her, which made it even more strange since she wasn't used to being praised by someone who was old enough to be her son.
Nina even looked at Mrs Keller like she was asking if she also heard what I said, and Mrs Keller simply nodded her head with a wry smile, already having her own experience of my antics that she couldn't easily forget.