childhood and gift-giving

(Abigail POV)

Olivia and Leo soon returned. Leo looked pensive, which wasn't much of a change from usual. It was only with the movement of his hand towards her lips that Abigail considered what might have happened, but it made so little sense that she automatically dismissed the idea.

Here the conversation had veered. It had gone from having children to the childhood of each person present. Maria had talked about her studies, which for her didn't go back very far. Then Eric went on to make innuendoes about how easy it was and how smart he was. Now it was Daphne's turn, and everyone was rather curious.

"I went through elementary school pretty hard," began Daphne.

It was hardly surprising. Without wishing to offend Daphne, she had exactly the profile of the child who was being picked on.

"A number of my classmates didn't like me. I don't know if it was because I had skipped classes or for some other reason, but that's the way it was. As a result, I was mistreated throughout elementary school and in 6th grade. I'm obviously not talking about physical ****. The girls didn't use it very much, even if there were a few crushes or a few times when they pulled my hair. Most of the time, it was just insults, mockery and destruction of my belongings," says Daphne.

It was very sad. Daphne continued to add detail after detail, pointing out a large number of events, the lack of reaction from the other students, the denial of the teachers. Clearly, her childhood must have been difficult.

"It wasn't until I was in 5th grade that things really started to change. I had changed schools because my parents had noticed that I was being harassed. I arrived in a class of 25 people, 20 of whom had already been together the previous year. That's where I met Leo," says Daphne.

It was then that Leo was close enough to hear and entered the conversation.

"Are we talking about me?" asked Leo, who seemed to have snapped out of his thoughts.

"Daphne was about to tell us how you met," said Jessica.

_"I remember that moment very well. I admit it's easier than remembering when I met Abigail or Eric. In the same way, I remember how I met Felicia. Do you remember Felicia?" _asked Leo.

"I remember that. It was after deconfinement and before the second wave of COVID-19. I'd arrived a bit late and you sat down next to me and started making small talk." said Felicia.

Abigail couldn't help but be surprised. Leo wasn't the type to go chatting to strangers. Why had he struck up a conversation with Felicia? Felicia wasn't ugly, but she wasn't sublime enough to quell Leo's shyness. So why?

_"For me it was almost the same thing except it was during a Latin class. We sat next to each other and debated with the teacher. After that we became friends," _says Daphne.

"And then what happened? You must have some anecdote about Leo," asked Jessica, always keen to gossip.

"Please leave her alone. You can see she's embarrassed. Jessica, why don't you tell us a little bit about your childhood," says Leo.

"You don't want us to know all the dirty secrets you're hiding, do you?" said Jessica mischievously.

Abigail had to admit that this possibility had also crossed her mind. But unlike Jessica, she didn't particularly want to know all Leo's little secrets. Everyone's entitled to their secrets. It's neither wrong nor shameful.

"No, it's not that. I just think she's talked enough and in all honesty I don't have much to learn." says Leo.

"Well, never mind. Daphne, you can tell me what you know later. Then about my childhood... Well, you remember we were in the same class until you moved out at the end of fourth grade. My childhood was nothing like Daphne's or Eric's. I was neither a victim nor a victimizer. I was neither a victim nor a bookworm. I had friends, and boyfriends on a few occasions, even if I didn't stay with them for long. My middle and high school years were uneventful. I went to law school before ending up in a harem on an island paradise. All the usual stuff," says Jessica.

Abigail sensed that Jessica wasn't telling the whole story. She probably hadn't lied, but there was a gulf between telling the truth and not.

"Thank you Jessica and don't worry there's no shame in not having a tragic or full story. A simple life has its virtues," says Abigail.

"Do you want to tell us about your childhood Abigail, it must have been different then?" says Jessica.

_"Ah yes, go ahead, Abi. I want to know your story. What was it like growing up in the last century?" _said Hanna.

Abigail sighed inwardly. It made sense for her to tell her story.

"My father was in the military. I spent my childhood traveling. I went from barracks to barracks, changing countries every year. That's how I got to know most of Africa. It wasn't until I started secondary school that we came home and stopped moving around. My father was getting a bit old for a field job and my mother was worried about my education. We'd never stayed in one place for more than a year and a half. So I went to school for the first time in junior high school. That's when I met your mother Leo," says Abigail.

_"And you became friends and had sworn to always stay together." _says Leo.

_"Absolutely not! We couldn't stand each other. Your mother thought I was a brat, which in all honesty I was. As for me, I found your mother haughty and deeply unbearable. I had no desire to be friends with a teacher's daughter," _Abigail explained, remembering her meeting with Leo's mother. It had been so long ago. Her memories were hazy.

_"But then when did you become friends?" _asked Hanna.

"We became friends in high school when we both lost our friends who had gone to other high schools. We had matured and grown up. We were different people then," said Abigail.

_"And what happened next?" _asked Eric.

_"We moved to the capital for our studies and have remained friends ever since. The conclusion I draw from this is that people change, and the future will always hold its share of unexpected surprises," _said Abigail, who didn't really know what else to say.

With this conclusion, the group ate lunch before splitting up into smaller groups. Everyone needed some space to think. She saw Eric leave with Felicia towards the south of the island. They were probably discussing the evening ahead with Leo. Perhaps she should do the same with Maria. After that, they could wait until the end of the week. Besides, Maria had gone off to talk with Olivia.

Abigail was really proud of her daughters. They were very different, but they were honest and fair, kind and strong. They would overcome any obstacle life threw at them.

Right now, however, she had to find a present for Olivia. The problem was, she'd never been very good at finding presents, and even less so for Olivia. Of course, Olivia always thanked her with a smile, but she doubted she'd really like it. Maria's advantage was that she was much simpler when it came to gifts. All they had to do was get her something to do with horse-riding and they were all set.

What could Olivia possibly want? What did she need? Out of spite, Abigail looked at the tablet again. Perhaps a suitable gift would appear on its own.

Olivia's shopping themes were: Lesbian, International, Spy: Lesbian, International, Spy, Sister and Other. For lack of any other ideas, she decided to start in that order.

_'Fertility Reaction' _was eliminated from the start. It was out of the question to allow Olivia to get pregnant with other harem girls. It would be far too risky and would probably not help her. Besides, Abigail doubted Olivia would want to get pregnant.

Abigail continued to browse the various theme options. There were various options for changing the sexuality or increasing the pleasure of the different members of the harem, but this wasn't really what she was looking for. Out of spite, she decided to go for the second category.

First of all, there were the options of making Olivia speak with a pronounced accent from different countries. Despite the fact that it would have been particularly funny to see, Abigail put aside her options. She wasn't there to please herself, but to please Olivia. Likewise, there were various options for changing Olivia's body into its Japanese, Chinese, Native American, African Black and other equivalents.

It wasn't all that interesting, or at least it was Olivia's choice, not hers. If Olivia wanted to change her appearance, it certainly wasn't up to Abigail. She looked at the rest and came across the international bodies.

Harem criminal courts: Olivia can play the role of a prosecutor and accuse a member of the harem of whatever she wishes. If she succeeds in convincing the other members of the harem of the guilt and seriousness of the crime committed, then she will have the opportunity to carry out a sentence guaranteeing that the crime will not be repeated. (One use)

What the hell was that? It was far too dangerous. Why had Nola made this available to Olivia?

Harem bank: Olivia can now act as the harem's bank. She can lend her BP against a 15% interest rate for one week. In the event of an outstanding debt of over 10,000, she can cancel the debt by transferring one of her transformations permanently to the person in debt. Olivia's BP also naturally increases at the end of each week by a rate of 3%.

Now that was practical without being too dangerous. All you had to do was not borrow from Olivia, or pay it back immediately, and you'd be in the clear. It was interesting, but not exceptional.

Alliance: Olivia can now create a treaty of alliance with another member of the harem. The two people are supposed to help each other no matter what. If they're competing against each other, they're allowed to give it their all. On the other hand, if they're competing with the whole group, they must help each other as best they can. If either party breaks the treaty, a penalty will be applied. (One use)

It was interesting. Olivia's clever use of the treaty meant she could take cover.

War: Olivia can choose to go to war with a member of harem X. Each time the selected member is defeated or fails, Olivia gains a different benefit. Conversely, if she loses to this harem member, she will suffer temporary compensation.

Still very interesting, but far too risky for Abigail's taste. She decided to look at the espionage category.

The Mask: Olivia receives a mask from the person she chooses. She can imitate the person's appearance to perfection as long as she wears the mask. The mask only works for 6 hours at most.

Very practical, and Abigail could think of a dozen possible uses, which would no doubt please Olivia.

Pleasure ****: Olivia is given a secret and locked in a **** chamber. She will be tortured for 6 hours. If she wishes to leave, she can tell the secret or wait until the 6 hours are up. If she makes it to the end, she wins a reward and BP.

There was no way she was going to put her daughter through that. It was just impossible. But what was she going to choose?