"No," Wolf said, guessing what Alexis was thinking.
"But, Wolf, it's for charity," Alexis pleaded. "It'll be donated to the Golden Homes, a home for the aged that really needs our help."
"I don't care, Alexis. I'm not doing it." Wolf stood up and wore his shoes and was about to leave but Alexis stood and blocked his way.
"Do you know how many abandoned and neglected old people live there? One hundred and four. If you join the team, you'll be helping one hundred and four people," Alexis pleaded once more.
"My answer is still no."
"Why?"
"I just don't want to play anymore, okay?"
"That's not a valid excuse!"
The door suddenly opened. Chandria had come back from the bathroom. She was shocked to find the two standing up, facing each other closely.
"Uhh, what's going on?" Chandria asked.
"Nothing," Wolf replied. "Aren't we leaving yet?"
"Oh my gosh, Wolf! Are you okay?" Chandria asked, remembering that Wolf passed out.
"Yes," Wolf said.
"Are you okay, Ria?" Alexis asked. "You look like something's bothering you."
"Yeah, something weird just happened," Chandria said. "But anyway, Wolf, Uncle just texted me and said he's out front. The car with your stuff is already on its way to your house and Uncle is here to take you home with him."
"Fine, fine. Thanks. I'm going. Bye," he gave Chandria a quick peck on the cheek and left the room hurriedly.
But before he completely got away, Alexis shouted after him, "I won't give up, Wolf!"
Wolf stopped walking and looked back at Alexis, "Good luck then." He smirked then finally left.
When Wolf arrived in front of the building, he saw his father and half-brother already waiting for him there.
"Wolf," Mr. Paulo called. "John tells me you two already met."
"Yes," Wolf said through gritted teeth, ignoring the sore pain on his jaw.
"I'll leave first, Dad. See you at home," John looked over at Wolf with a smug smile before he got in his black Dodge Challenger and sped away.
Wolf and Mr. Paulo went inside the SUV and drove off. There was silence at first.
"I don't really expect that you and John will get along at first," Mr. Paulo said, finally speaking up. "But I hope you can someday resolve your differences. You're brothers, after all."
Wolf didn't reply and kept staring out the window. Mr. Paulo changed topics and handed Wolf the latest iPhone, and a few credit cards, "And here, it's the key to your new car. It's a black Porsche 911 Targa 4S. You can only drive it after you get your driver's license here. In the meantime, one of my men will drive you wherever you need to go. You can use the other SUV."
"Thanks," Wolf monotonously said, taking the phone, key and credit cards.
They then arrived on the Ford's driveway and Wolf saw the house he would now be living in. It was expectedly huge, with white walls and a red roof. There were large glass windows everywhere and you could see the beautiful designs and antique furniture in every room from the outside unless for those which were heavily curtained. When they entered, they were greeted by Mr. Paulo's wife, Mrs. Devon Ford.
"Wolf," Mrs. Devon greeted him then kissed him on the cheek. She was smiling warmly at him.
Wolf had braced himself for the anger and wrath he was sure his father's wife would send his way so he was surprised with her seemingly warm welcome. He wasn't about to let his guard down though so he hid his surprise behind a stoic facade.
"Welcome to your new home, Wolf. You can call me Aunt Devon."
Wolf just nodded in response. Mrs. Devon kissed her husband then turned to Wolf again, "I know this must be weird for you, Wolf, so I just want to address the elephant in the room. I've already forgiven Paulo about what happened. It was a long time ago anyway. And you didn't do anything wrong. There's no use getting angry at you for something that wasn't your fault."
"It was Devon who suggested that you live here with us," Mr. Paulo added.
"Of course. He's your son and I wouldn't allow having him live in a condominium alone."
This surprised Wolf even more but his only reply was, "Thanks."
"I'll show you to your room," Mrs. Devon said, leading the way.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was comfortably seated in Alvin's dark blue Hummer, but she was quiet and was hardly talking to Alvin. Alvin tried talking to her, but as usual, she was cold as ice. Up until before they were in second year high school, Alvin really got along with Elizabeth. It was also the same year that Alvin became a notorious ladies' man and it was why they drifted apart.
The radio was on and a DJ was speaking. Alvin was going to turn it off but the Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice started playing so Alvin started singing along.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long. And wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong," Alvin sang.
Alvin was a little off key but he continued singing along. Elizabeth looked at him with an amused look on her face.
"You know it's gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and staaaaaay together."
Elizabeth laughed and teased him, "Your voice is really amazing, Alvin."
"I finally made you laugh. I thought you'd ignore my mini-concert," Alvin smiled.
"I'm... sorry. I was just a little agitated over what happened."
"Let's have dinner."
"But..."
"It'll take your mind off whatever you're stressed about," Alvin persuaded.
"Fine, okay."
Alvin took her to a quiet restaurant. After ordering, they sat there for a while, talking about school, the embarrassing moments they did when they were kids, and whatever else they could think of. When the food arrived, they ate and the conversation slowed down.
"Bee," Alvin called after a moment of silence. "I have a question to ask."
"What? And don't call me Bee."
"I have this friend, and you see, he has had a crush on this girl since forever but he's too afraid to ask her out," Alvin explained. "Any advice?"
"Do I know this guy?"
"Ah, no, you don't. I met him through my team mate so you don't know him."
"Just tell him to man up and ask her out. That's just it."
"But he's scared of getting rejected."
"If he really likes the girl, he'll muster the courage to tell her or he'll lose her forever. Besides, how will he know if he doesn't ask, right?"
Alvin smiled, "You have a point."
"Why are you even asking me for advice, you should know that by now."
"I just... ah... wanted to know what girls think," was Alvin's excuse.
"You're the expert in girls, aren't you Mr. Ladies' Man?" her face turning sour as if she got annoyed by something.
Alvin just laughed it off. After Alvin paid the bill, he took Elizabeth home. And the whole ride home, both of them were quiet, and both of them were in deep thought. When they arrived in Elizabeth's house, Alvin opened the door for her.
"Tell your friend, good luck." Elizabeth said before going inside. "And you drive safe, okay?"
"Thanks, Bee," Alvin replied. He went back to his car and sped off.
At that same moment, in Chandria's house, Chandria was sitting in a stool inside her art room trying to draw a requirement for the next Arts Guild meeting when she heard her phone ping, signaling a new text message.
From: Unknown Number
"Hey!"
To: Unknown Number
"I'm sorry, but who is this please?"
From: Unknown Number
"Ouch, you don't know my number. This is John Ford."
To: John Ford
"Sorry. Do you need anything?"
From: John Ford
"Yes. You."
To: John Ford
"What?!"
From: John Ford
"I meant, you. I need your help. You're head of the Arts Guild, right?"
To: John Ford
"Yeah, so?"
From: John Ford
"I want to change the design of our team's uniform, and I need your help."
To: John Ford
"Shouldn't you hire a professional designer instead?"
From: John Ford
"Why, you can't do it?"
To: John Ford
"... FINE. I'll do it."
From: John Ford
"Then I'll pick you up tomorrow so we can talk about it."
To: John Ford
"No need. We can talk at school. Just go to our club room."
From: John Ford
"I insist. I'll be there at 7am sharp. Thanks, Chandria. Good night!"
Chandria didn't reply after that. What was the use of doing so when she was sure that whatever she said, John would be there in front of her house tomorrow morning. Chandria was annoyed. She didn't know what John's problem was and why he suddenly wanted to be friends with her. Besides, it wasn't polite of him to challenge Chandria that she couldn't handle making designs for the team's uniform. She wasn't the head of the Arts Guild for nothing - Chandria could draw, paint, sculpt, and even sew! In her annoyance, she didn't notice that she splattered paint all over her painting, ruining it.
"Ugh, you are going to pay for this, John Ford! I promise I will find out whatever is is you are planning," Chandria said to herself.
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