Chapter seventy-four: "Newbies First"
The kid was grumpy that Cloud was teasing him that he already has me as his girlfriend "At least she likes me!" He answered
The kid was referring to what I said that I like them all after class, Cloud squinted his eyes and was ready to roast the hell out of the kid. I stopped him before he could even start "If you even try to make the kid cry I will personally beat you myself" I told him through a happy face with a threatening voice
He groaned then glared at the little guy "Alright then, what duel do you want?"
The kid grinned and pulled out a deck of card
Why does a young kid have a deck of cards?
"Whoever matches the most cards before the timer runs out wins!" He said loudly, Cloud was holding his proud smile back
He ruffles the little kid's hair "Aight buddy, what's your name, and what is the prize if I win?" He accepted the box of cards and we moved to an empty table so he could lay them all out facing down
"I'm Astro and I want the kiss of Miss Angel as the winning prize!" He hugged my arm and stuck his tongue out at Cloud
Cloud wouldn't go all out on a kid, right? RIGHT?
He nodded his head then landed his eyes on me then smirked, I leaned closer to Astro's ear and whisper "You better win this one champ" I pleaded and he gave me a thumbs up and a toothy grin
We set the timer to 2 minutes for each player to find all the cards, they either need to match the number or the letter to gain points. I will be the referee in this game, when they both gave me a small nod I hesitantly said "Start"
Cloud was up first because Astro said to him "Newbies first" as he gave Cloud a smug grin, I don't think this will end well but I hope it does. Astro managed to face up almost half of all the cards on the deck
"Nice one, now it's my turn" he rubbed both of his hands together and I said "Start"
It was going smoothly at first but then I started to notice that he kept forgetting where the other number is and before we knew it Cloud only managed to face up a few, he didn't even reach Astro's score. I was thrilled that I squealed in delight and kissed Astro on the forehead
We both jumped together while Cloud just sat and watched us with a grumpy look, well, it's not a grumpy look actually. His face didn't show much emotion and was just giving off the "I'm disappointed in myself" vibe
He was sullen, that's the word. I felt someone tug at my pants and I turn to see Sushi pointing at her forehead, I took a closer look to see nothing is wrong "Is there something wrong with your forehead Sushi?" I asked worriedly but she shook her head and spoke "Kiss"
She saw me kiss Astro's forehead and she wants one too
I chuckled and kissed her on the forehead, soon, more and more kids started to see I was giving out forehead kisses and they started to form a line. They hopped away happily after I kiss them on the forehead
Soon the line was almost finished and the little girl that I thought will be the last one already walked away, I watched her small body ran to be with her playmates that are playing on the swing. I turned my head to see someone tall standing in front of me, it was Cloud who was at the end of the line with both of his hands behind his back "So...where is my kiss?" He teasingly asked me
I laughed a little at him that I have to cover my mouth with my hand "Wait a minute, were you standing in line too?" I asked him with a bewildered face and he said "Of course, you are giving away free kisses that I have to get one myself"
My hand went to his chest and shoved him back "You are not qualified to have my free kisses Marshall, you're not a kid in this kindergarten" I put a strand of hair behind my ear and took the pleasure of watching him acting sullen with his mouth formed into a pout
Before he could even speak I can hear the parents of the children are all waiting at the gates, I helped the children get their things to meet with their Mommies and Daddies. They ran immediately as soon as the gates open
They all waved goodbye to us before holding their parent's hands to walk home, Sushi was now the last to leave and manage to see what her parents looked like. She looked so much like her Mom while she got her hair from her Dad who now has dark eye bags under his eyes
"Thank you so much for watching over Sushi" the Mom apologized and gave Miss Flora extra money for the hassle of watching over their daughter past school hours, Miss Flora didn't accept it but the parents insisted
Me and Cloud watch the interaction from the swings, a small smile formed on my face. Teachers are important yet underpaid people
I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was a drop from the rain, my hand reached for Cloud's and I pulled him into the building. We waited until Miss Flora finished her conversation with Sushi's parents in her office while we were hanging out in the playroom
She let us borrow an umbrella because Cloud managed to park his car at the building parking lot in front of Miss Flora's school, before we could step out into the rain I tugged Cloud's jacket
He might start having a panic attack mid-way to the car
I didn't have to look at him in the eye for him to find out what I was thinking, he glanced up at the sky. It was a sunny day yet it was raining at the same time, he patted my head "it's not gonna happen here don't worry Angel" he assured me
I don't believe him when he said it to me at first, I was worrying too much. Just the sight of seeing him having a panic attack was something I don't even want to describe, we stood at the other end of the street and waited for the cars to pass by. Cloud unknowingly put the umbrella on his other hand and went to hold my hand as we all cross the street
What am I? 5!? His hand is warm and big though so I didn't lash out at him, today because it was a bit cold so something like his hand is cozy to me
He let go of my hand when we finished crossing the street and the warmth from his hand disappeared as my hand was met with the cool air again, I was a bit disappointed he let go but I wasn't gonna embarrass myself by asking to hold his hand again
We hopped into his car and he started the engine before he drove to my home, I ran out and knocked on the door because I was eager and excited to tell everyone what I did today. Aunt Laborè answered the door with a sleepy face and she was confused when she saw me "Penelope dear?" Asked me in a lazy voice and I nodded as I threw myself in her arm for a big hug
God, it felt like I haven't seen my family in a long time even though it has only been a few days since the dinner
She gave out a small hearty laugh and her eyes landed on Cloud who was at the driveway to park his car, her eyes went back to me and pinched my cheeks before letting us both inside