Rewritten Past

I was being serious. Like, if Mama Yue had posted up pictures in the 2020s they'd think she was an AI. She literally had 'that' look.

What was it... the ABG? Asian Baby Girl?

I didn't remember the lingo, but she was objectively beautiful.

Which, again, made me worry for her...

Mama Yue paused and then gave me a teasing smile, though her eyes were filled with warmth. "Careful now, Tiger. At this rate, you're going to make April jealous when you start stealing hearts."

I blinked. "Tiger?"

Mama Yue finished her make up and chuckled, patting my cheek. "Right. My fierce little Tiger." She flicked my forehead and said, "Be good with Serena and April, okay? I'll be back for dinner."

I frowned and said, "Promise?"

Mama Yue smiled and said, "Pinky promise." She held out her pinky.

I wrapped it with mine and said, "You'd better be back. No later than 7 PM. If you don't, I'll hunt you down."

Mama Yue laughed and ruffled my hair. "Fine, fine. Promise." She pinched my cheek and said, "You've been getting fierce, huh? My little Tiger."

I puffed my cheeks out and swatted her hand. "I'm just worried. You're too pretty, Mom. Like, really, really pretty. And guys give you weird looks."

Mama Yue looked touched. But then she gave me a serious look and said, "I'll be fine, Alex. Unlike your Mommy, I'm not defenseless, you know?" To emphasize, she flexed her arm, revealing her toned muscles even through her loose clothes.

"It's not a fight I'm worried about..."

Mama Yue looked confused. But then she let out a teasing smile and said, "Aw~ Is my Tiger worried someone's going to steal me away?"

"Yes."

Unironically.

Mama Yue froze. Then she knelt down and cupped my cheeks. "Hey. Alex." She gently caressed my cheeks and said, "I promise. I won't leave you. It's us, okay? So don't worry." She smiled and said, "I love you. I won't let some idiot come between us, okay? Even your parents."

I sighed and leaned against her. "Fine. I'll trust you, Mom."

"Good." She gently patted my cheeks and said, "I'll be back." She stood up and said, "Serena has a pager and my pager number. I'll have it on me the entire time." She smiled and said, "I heard that some stores are starting to sell portable phones too. If you're that worried... how about I pick some up for us? So you can always call me?"

Huh? Cell phones were out at this time?

Hm...

Oh, right. Nokia and stuff should be starting up. Flip phones too.

I completely forgot about those.

I quickly nodded and said, "Yes!"

That would definitely make me less worried.

To be honest, I had lowkey been getting anxious about lacking a means to reach people at a moment's notice.

If April had a cellphone before the incident, for example, we could have been there even faster.

Mama Yue laughed and lightly tugged my ears. "You greedy little brat. Always getting me to buy the fancy new technology, huh?" She gently kissed my forehead. "You're lucky your auntie spoils you."

I beamed and said, "And I'll spoil you with lots of hugs and love!"

Mama Yue let out a genuine laugh. Then she picked up her bag and turned towards the other room. "I'll be back for dinner, Serena. Watch the kids for us. If anything happens, you know how to reach me."

Miss Serena peeked out from the bedroom and smiled. "I will, Yue! Good luck!"

April peeked out next and waved her hands. "Break a leg, Miss Yue!"

Mama Yue laughed and then waved back at us all before leaving the room.

And then it was just me, April, and Miss Serena.

The moment that the door shut, April ran over to me and grabbed my arm. "Come on, Alex! Let's jump on the bed! It's bouncy!"

I sighed and said, "April. We can't jump on the bed. It'll bother the other guests."

"Huh? Other guests?" April furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Miss Serena walked over and gently took April's hands. "Sweetie. The walls here are thin. We share a space with other people. You don't want to make them upset, do you?"

April blinked, still a bit confused. Then she said, "Oh... so no jumping?"

I nodded. "No jumping. But I think there's a pool. Right, Miss Serena?"

April gasped. "A POOL!? Mommy!" She turned to Miss Serena and said, "Can we? Can we?!"

Miss Serena laughed. "Alright, Sweetie. Let's go play in the pool then."

"Yay!" April clapped her hands. "Pool, pool!"

Great. Distraction successful.

...Wait.

We'll be here at least a week.

...How am I going to deal with someone as energetic as April for that entire time period?

...Well. Guess I'll find out.

===

The hotel had a pool on the first floor, so we took the elevator back down after changing.

Since Miss Serena was chaperoning... and probably to avoid any questions since she was still healing a bit from her injuries, she wore a full outfit. Dark blue blouse with long sleeves, jeans, and sneakers. Basic mom outfit.

...She also put her hair up in the 'dead mom' side ponytail at first, but I insisted that she looked prettier with it let down, so she kept it loose instead.

I was NOT about to risk any death flags. I might just be superstitious, but considering that I was in the past again after commenting on a random gif over X (formerly known as Twitter), I was not chancing ANYTHING.

April had changed into a cute black one-piece swimwear with shorts.

It seemed that Miss Serena was VERY aware of potential dangers with creeps, so she went out of her way to prep one that didn't draw any eyes.

Not that it mattered considering me.

You see.

I had forgotten.

Because I was always around Mama Yue and dressed up, I never really paid attention to what my physique looked like.

But the moment that we arrived at the pool and I took off my shirt to swim...

"DAAAAAMN!" A built black guy on the other side of the pool who had just been relaxing called out and said, "Them kids really be built like that in China? Holy shit!"

A few of the other guests glared at the black guy for his comment.

Miss Serena looked like she wanted to say something. But she was staring at me too, clearly shocked.

And, well. I understood why.

Because I'd kept up a very persistent and routine training regimen, as well as being attentive to what I ate, I was shredded. Not only that, my training naturally reflected on my body.

Which led to me basically looking like a kid out of JoJo with my muscular arms, abs, and all that jazz.

April stared at me and then giggled. "See! I knew it! Alex is a superhero! You're just like Spiderman!"

I blinked. "How am I like-"

Wait. Thin, lean, muscular... Hm. That makes sense. I was pretty athletic like him too. And I DID know how to swing around using a rope...

"...I guess so. But then that would mean you're Gwen Stacy, right?"

April tilted her head. "Who's Gwen?"

"...Never mind."

Comparison WAY too on the nose.