"You are going to work tomorrow, right?" Uncle Kevin asked after the four of them had finished dinner and hung around in the living room.
"Yeah," Arthur replied, nodding as he flipped another page of the book he was reading.
"You better not be late waking up, okay?" Uncle Kevin said, and Arthur felt the need to say something back.
"At least I would be showing up unlike your friends, Uncle," Arthur replied, earning a giggle from Auntie and also a thumbs up from her.
Um... yeah. Shawn didn't even show up.
"Seriously, Arthur? Okay, but if you are late, I will not drop you off tomorrow," Uncle Kevin said, sounding offended.
"It's alright. I can go by bus," Arthur pouted, challenging Uncle Kevin, but Auntie wasn't happy about that option.
"No, no. You are not going on the bus ever again." Arthur sulked, but deep down... he didn't want to take the bus either.
Auntie had never been comfortable allowing him to go on a bus alone after he once tried going alone and got lost in a random town. Thankfully, a quick call to Uncle Kevin had him rushing to pick Arthur up.
That incident traumatised both Uncle Kevin and Auntie, and he was never allowed to go by bus alone since then.
He swore he wouldn't go either because he himself was scared.
But now it's quite funny, and this was proof of why Kelly and Kevin always were very attentive to him.
Arthur giggled and secretly looked at Natalia, who was relaxing on the sofa, maybe listening to the background noise while watching TV.
Arthur let out a breath and looked down at his hands, fidgeting as he dazed off about random things.
"Will you at least go to town tomorrow?" Arthur sheepishly asked Kevin, sitting next to him with a mischievous smile.
Even though Uncle Kevin had said he was going to town that day, he didn't go since he had been planning to go with Shawn. Since Shawn didn't come, Uncle Kevin stayed home.
Arthur wasn't upset about it, but he did think he was going to get some special treats if Uncle went to town.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, you brat. I am going, and I won't forget you," Uncle Kevin smacked him playfully, and Arthur grinned like an idiot.
"Good uncle."
Kevin rolled his eyes and chuckled as he watched Arthur walk over to Kelly.
Of course, the little brat was going to ask Kelly if he could have ice cream.
Alas, Arthur was given a very limited amount of ice cream after lunch by Kelly, which made Arthur quite unhappy at the time and eager to quickly eat more.
This guy seriously loved ice cream so much.
Kelly had him under control about this obsession with ice cream because if not, Arthur would have eaten it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Thanks to Kelly, Arthur had started to control himself with ice cream since it obviously wasn't healthy to eat that much.
Kevin shook his head and chuckled as he turned to Natalia, who he thought was watching TV, but was actually staring at Arthur.
"He is quite shy. He will soon get comfortable with you," Kevin said.
Natalia turned to her dad, feeling embarrassed that she had been caught staring at him. She nodded like she didn't really care.
"When are you planning to visit the factory?" Kevin asked.
"I will go around this week," Natalia replied.
"Mm... do you want me to inform them about your arrival?"
"No. I want to do a surprise visit. We can then see if things are as good as every time you see them."
"Yeah. That sounds good."
After some more talk about business, they turned to look at the two people giggling and talking about who knows what.
"It's already 9. Arthur, you have to wake up in the morning," Kevin warned Arthur who then glanced at the wall clock.
"Ah... I should go to sleep," Arthur murmured. He always tried to sleep before 9:30 because if he stayed awake any longer, it would be harder to wake up in the morning. He still felt sleepy, maybe because he was used to this routine. Whatever the reason, he wanted to go to bed.
"Good night, Auntie!" Arthur kissed his aunt's cheek and rushed to his uncle, repeating the same gesture.
But then he paused, realising Natalia was also there next to Uncle Kevin, still staring at the TV.
"It would be rude to ignore her. But... she isn't looking at me. Will she ignore me?" Arthur pondered, worried she might feel left out if he intentionally failed to acknowledge her. It's not like he interacted with her much, but he was taught good manners.
Arthur would be upset if he didn't receive a good night from someone who wished it to everyone around him, so he figured that it might upset Natalia too.
He didn't want that.
"G-good night," Arthur muttered, his heart racing as he knew that if Natalia acted like she didn't hear him, he might be very hurt.
"Good night," she replied.
That also looking at him.
Arthur couldn't help but smile as he left the room, feeling more satisfied than ever.
"Aaaah! She said good night too!" he thought as he curled up in a ball, resting his palms on his cheeks to warm them.
He was happy. Really happy.
He felt so excited that the little need he had to sleep was now nowhere to be found. But as soon as he saw the books on his desk, his smile dropped as he came to his senses.
"I have to wake up the next day. So, sleep, idiot. I can't embarrass myself in front of her. I am going to wake up early tomorrow!"
Arthur closed his eyes as he switched off the only light in his room, which was the nightstand lamp.
"God... life is so fun!"
Spoiler; No...he didn't wake up early the next day like he thought. He will be lazy in the morning no matter what.