"Okay then."
The next morning, as Arthur was having breakfast, he couldn't help but steal glances at Natalia involuntarily while he shoved small pieces of sausage and eggs into his mouth.
Since Arthur sat at the table, he noticed that Natalia was busy on a phone call, which stretched until he finished eating.
"Who is she talking to for so long?"
Arthur mumbled to himself as he washed his hands and checked his bag again.
"Ready?"
Arthur turned to Uncle Kevin, who swirled his key around his finger and leaned against the doorframe with a cool pose.
"Yeah, let's go," Arthur replied, hanging his bag over his shoulder as he followed him.
"Hey! Wait!" Just as they were about to leave, Kelly came rushing in, a big smile on her face.
"Arthur, sweetie."
"Mmm?"
"You don't have any plans tonight, right?"
"...What plans, Aunty? Aren't you making fun of me? You know I don't have any friends to have any plans." Arthur pretended to be sad, but he smiled and comforted Kelly when she hugged him, feeling guilty.
Feeling out of place and lonely had made Arthur quite depressed in the past. But not anymore, because he had gotten used to being alone and actually preferring it too.
Alas, he could have all the fun with Kelly and Kevin, after all.
Anyway, despite being chatty and very likeable, Arthur had no one close enough that he ever called a friend. Arthur refused to let anyone get that close to him, hesitant to bond with others.
Kevin even sent him to therapy regarding his fear of getting attached.
But he never fully recovered.
"Well... you remember Lily, right?"
"Lily? Aunt Carol's daughter?"
"Yeah, yeah. She and our Natalia are best friends. So after finding out she is back, she invited us all to dinner at their house tonight. We're going there, okay?"
Arthur watched as Aunty glowed with excitement, waiting for him to say yes as if he would refuse.
He never would refuse.
He wasn't fond of gatherings like this because he had a few bad experiences at family gatherings on Uncle Kevin's side before.
He knew Uncle Kevin felt hurt and betrayed by their cruel words at the time, which resulted in him cutting ties with them. As a result, there were no family gatherings anymore since Aunty Kelly didn't have family either; she grew up in an orphanage where she was mistreated and when let out at 18, promised to never return.
So, they were basically a little happy family.
"No problem, Aunty."
"Really? If you feel like you don't want to go, I can stay home with you."
"No, no! I'm in. Don't worry."
Arthur tried to sound convincing, and after a moment of observation, she accepted his answer.
"Okay then!" Kelly gave a thumbs up and walked back home.
But she paused, walked toward them again, and kissed Arthur's cheek.
"Have a very nice day, sweetie."
Arthur smiled and waved as Aunty Kelly went inside, and Uncle Kevin dragged him to the car, and they drove off.
"Come on, old man. I know you repeat the same thing every day. I promise I won't talk to strangers, I won't get involved in situations I can't handle, I won't be an idiot, and I will stay right at the gate, not a single step outside while you come to pick me up. Good?"
"Yeah, good."
Arthur scoffed, and Uncle Kevin laughed as he noticed Arthur's usual pout.
"We just want you to be safe, mm?"
Kevin rubbed the little guy's head and chuckled again when Arthur pouted, trying to stop him from messing with his hair.
Kevin often forgot that the little guy styled his hair every morning.
This had become a routine, which is why they always kept hair spray and a comb in the car.
"Old man, your head is seriously getting worse. How many times have you messed with my hair right before I step out of the car and enter the school?" Arthur asked dramatically, and Uncle Kevin sighed while adjusting the mirror for Arthur's convenience.
"Like you said. This old man's head is getting worse, I might forget your ice cream order too if this goes on."
Kevin could see Arthur's piercing gaze directed at him, but it wasn't him that looked at Arthur.
"Come on, Uncle. I know your head is fine. You will remember to buy me ice cream, right?"
Kevin chuckled and slapped the back of Arthur's head, causing him to scrunch his nose.
"Get off, you brat. I'm not forgetting that damn ice cream."
Arthur and Kevin ended their conversation there and waved goodbye before going their separate ways with smiles from where Arthur now stood in front of the big school gate.
Arthur entered through the open gate, with students standing there smiling widely at him as they wished him a good morning.
Actually, a lot of students liked Arthur.
And, some just liked him too much and even grabbed his ass.
Yeah, but he had remedies for those.
Most of the students studying there came from middle-class families, but there were some, mostly alpha students, who came from wealthy backgrounds. That's why the school gained attention as the place "every rich kid goes to," even though that wasn't entirely true.
But Arthur wouldn't complain.
As more students joined the school, especially rich kids, the staff received significant raises, and everyone was very happy.
So, even though they dealt with more entitled little brats now, they were also enduring it all for the sake of their handsome salary.
"Good morning, Teacher Arthur."
"Good morning."
Arthur smiled and greeted back the teacher who spoke to him as he took his seat in the teacher's lounge.
'I can't wait to go home...'
Arthur repeated his usual thought and yawned, getting distracted by a vibration on his phone.
He grabbed his phone and almost lost his breath when he saw who had sent him a message.
'N-natalia! Natalia sent me a message! Yay!'
Arthur was so giddy and felt a bit silly when he realized he was getting excited over such a simple message.
[Arthur, this is Natalia. Save this number.]
That's it. It was bland and so simple, but Arthur was happy he had at least received something from her.
'Auntie must have told her to give it to me... It's okay... At least I have her number now.'
Arthur sent a thumbs up emoji and immediately went to save her number.
The beautiful Alpha
Number saved.