Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Traizle

"He is now starting to make and gain new friends!" Marco screamed.

"That is good to know. If you need something too, do not be shy to approach us. I know Sunny explained to you already about our motto here." Vice said, almost complimenting him.

Steven nods his head. "I understand. Thank you for helping me too." He replied. "I am not just talkative and I often get uncomfortable, I hope you understand that but I will try my best to communicate with you guys." he said, smiling warmly.

Tomorrow morning.

"Sunny!! Wake up! It is already afternoon and you are still sleeping!" I hear my mom yelling outside my room.

I lazily find my phone under my pillow and glance at the time.

I pouted the moment I saw the time. "It is nine in the morning and she is telling me that it is already afternoon," I complained. "I do not have class today and I am supposed to sleep however I want." I added.

I slept late last night watching dramas on my phone. I sleep at almost three, and I still need to sleep.

"SUNNY! GO DOWN AND EAT! IF YOU DO NOT GO OUT AFTER FIVE MINUTES, I WILL COME AND PULL YOU OUT OF YOUR BED!" Mom warned me again.

ARGH!

I stood up from my bed and went out of my room. "Mooom! Why are you doing this to me? I am still sleeping and I do not have any classes today. Why?" I asked calmly, my eyes closed from the sunlight that came from our window. "I slept late and I still want to sleep. Can I just eat it later?" I asked.

"Open your eyes and find the truth." Mom replied.

I opened my eyes and saw Steven sitting in front of the breakfast table. I rubbed my eyes to clearly see if he was really in our house.

"Why am I seeing you in our house the first thing in the morning?" I asked him. "Are you just an illusion or my hallucination? Can you just go back to your house and sleep too, or just read in your room?" I asked and was about to return to my room when my mother pushed the door open, pulled me out, and pushed me towards the table.

"Go and eat. After that, fix yourself and help him." Mom said that made her glare at Steven.

"Auntie, she is glaring at me." he reported to my mom.

"I will kill you later." I whispered and received a hit from my mom at the back of my head. "MOM! I am your daughter here! I just want to remind you." I complained.

"Oh yes, I forgot, but stop threatening Steven and start eating. He has been here for half an hour." Mom explained.

I will just deal with him later. I do not want to receive any hits from Mom again.

"Why are you glaring at me?" he asked after drinking water. "Do you want me to report you again to Auntie?" he warned.

"Do you want me to kill you for real this time?" I asked, smiling.

He stopped eating and looked at his side. "Auntie, Sunny said she would kill me." he reported.

I showed him my fork and acted as if I was going to stab him. "Do not even bother starting me, Steven. I might kick you now." I explained myself, not forgetting to smile at him.

"You are this scary in the morning?" he asked back.

"Yes, especially when someone tries to ruin my beauty sleep." I replied. "I slept late last night, you know?" I added.

He shrugged his shoulders. "How would I know? I just knew this morning and after you told me." he commented that made me want to kill him.

Why is he annoying me first thing in the morning?

"Tell me the truth. You did not come here to annoy me, right?" I asked him. "Why are you annoying me so much? I want to stab you with this fork I am holding already." I added.

"I want you to come with me. That is why I fetched you." he replied, explaining the purpose of why he was here.

"Do we have to be there this early? Why did not you text or message me last night?" I asked again. "So that I will be able to prepare myself and won't sleep late. And lastly, I would not have this urge to salvage you first thing in the morning." I added.

"Well, I thought―"

"You only thought." I interrupted him.

He sighed and nodded. "I only thought that you always wake up early and I did not want to bother you late. That is why I decided to just go here first thing in the morning." He explained his side.

"And?" I asked.

Creasing his forehead, "And what?" He asked back.

"And what is the reason for wanting me to come with you?" I asked his purpose.

"First, I want you to come with me to buy some materials I need." he shared. "I do not have materials in my room now, and I think I need to go out and stock get some." he added.

"And why do I need to tag along with you when you can buy them on your own? And where is your brother? Why not ask him to come with you?" I asked him again.

He sighed again. "You know, he is not someone you can go to the mall with." He explained. "And I am afraid some of them talk to me, and it is making me uncomfortable. I tried to do it before and it did not go well. So, I thought you were the one who could help me. You are more useful than my brother." he added.

After our breakfast, I quickly took a bath and wear comfortable clothes. Mom talks to Steven as I fixed myself.

"Her grandmother went out with her friends. They said there was an event for every senior citizen." I overheard my mother talking about it.

"Ahh, I see." he said. "It's good to see that she is still active despite her age." he added.

"Mom does not want to stay at home every day. Some of the seniors do not want that, they love moving and she is one of them." Mom shared laughing.

Grandma is very active and does not want to stay at home. If she is at home, she is busy cleaning the house or doing something.

"I am done! Let's go now." I told him.

"Auntie, we will go now. Thank you for the breakfast, it was good and yummy." he told mom.

Mom smiled. "Thank you too. Do not hesitate to visit us here if you guys are busy or you need some help." Mom replied. "Take care. Sunny, do not forget to message me." she added.

We went out of our house and walked to the bus stop.

"Is Mavin at work?" I asked as we walked. "I rarely see him in your house lately." I added.

"He is," he answered. "I think there is a problem in his work. He has been staying late for a week already. He has been in a serious mode lately." he added.

Mavin being serious is not likely for him. It must be really serious if he did that.

"I hope they can think of a solution to their problem." I wished. "He must be exhausted from work. Anyway, are they trying to touch you in the mall? Why is it making you uncomfortable?" I asked.

When I was at the mall, I was able to shop peacefully. No disturbances or anything that could hinder me from buying what I need to buy.

"Some...of them."

"SOME OF THEM?!" I asked him again, and my eyes widened. "Why the hell are they doing that to―ahh, I know one of the reasons why." I sighed in defeat.

But I cannot understand it still.

"Why?" he asked, looking curious about the reason.

"It is because of your..." I answered and pointed at my face. "They must be attracted from you and want you to try their foods or see what they are selling." I explained. "If they tried to do it again later, make sure to say sorry and fled out from the scene immediately." I gave him a tip.

"What if they are not giving up and holding me?" he asked.

"Tell me who they are! I will scold them for you. They should not do that to their customers. That is harassment already." I told him. "You should have glared at them if it is making you uncomfortable. You know how to glare at me but do not do it to the others?"

"Why are you so pressed today?" Steven asked.

"You know the reason why, and I am not that mad anymore. You have to treat me too. This is what friends do, right? The moment you hesitate to buy me what I want, I will leave you in an instant. This is a warning." I told him with my forefinger swaying.

He nodded, defeated.

When we arrived at the mall, we quickly headed to the school supplies store and let him buy what he needed to buy.

I was busy pushing the cart and stopped at the cute pen stand. There are many types of pens and cool pen highlighters.

"This will look good for designing my report."

I started to look for Steven to see if he was done or not, but he was still out of sight. So, I put down the pens and looked for him. I saw him reading a book in the book sections.

"Literally a bookworm." I commented that this made him look at me. "Let me guess, you just passed this section but that book caught your attention and you started reading the first page. Am I right?" I asked him. "Just buy it. Read it in your house for you to understand and feel it more better." I added.

"I think you are right." he replied and put the book in the cart. "How about you? Have you seen something you want to buy?" he asked back.

My eyes widened. "Will you really buy me?" I asked, making sure.

"You warned me a while ago." he answered.

"I was just joking that time. Why would I force you to buy me? I am not that evil to do that." I said. "But if you insist, come with me. Let me show you." I said, holding his arms and pulling him towards where the cute pens are. "Look at the pens. Their highlighters are good and cute." I told him.

"Get them. I will buy it for you." he replied. "Payment for this day." he added.

"THANK YOU!" I exclaimed with glee and got the set. Putting the pens happily in our cart. "You can ask for help again next time. Just do not wake me up early in the morning." I told him.

"I am done. Let's pay for them now." He said, ignoring what I have told him.

Glaring at him, I quietly followed him to the counter.

After we paid for the items, we headed out of the store.

"Do you have any things to buy aside from this?" I asked.

He nodded. "There is still one more thing you need to do." he replied.

I looked at him and waited for him to continue. Instead of telling me, he started walking. We went down and were welcomed by the sales staff.

"Good morning, Ma'am and Sir! what are you finding? do you want to see our new product phones? Follow me, we have many new product that you will like." one of the sales staffs told us.

"How about phone chargers, Ma'am and Sir? headset or earphones?"

"We have cellphone covers, Ma'am and Sir. Keyboard and mouse, we have it here."

This time, Steven tugged on my shirt.

So this is what he is referring.

Why is he acting cute now? He looks like a kid tugging on his mother's shirt out of fear.

I held his arms and started to pull him out of the sales staff.