The two ended up in a small place (a hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurant) located not far from the school. Seth noticed the old lady manning the place greeted Gilbert with familiarity.
“You can order anything you want…what’s your name again?” Gilbert said.
Seth felt a bit disappointed by the fact that Gilbert didn’t know his name. Though, he eventually abandoned the thought. Why would Seth be disappointed? He and Gilbert were not even friends.
“My name is Seth Wiley. Nice to meet you…”
“Okay, Seth…” Gilbert said nonchalantly. “Order whatever you want. Just look at that messy menu board. It’s my treat.”
“Thank you…” Seth started to read the names of the dishes offered on the menu board. Gilbert was right. The price of each dish was very affordable or borderline cheap.
“Are you ordering the usual?” The old lady asked Gilbert.
“Yes, auntie. Give me the usual, please. Thank you.”
Seth was surprised to hear politeness in Gilbert’s voice while talking to the old lady. Gilbert even gave her a smile.
“How about you, boy?” The lady asked Seth. “It’s so nice to see Gilbert bringing his friend here.”
Seth waited for Gilbert to correct the lady from mistaking Seth as his friend. However, Gilbert didn’t say anything and looked chill as ever.
“Ah…I’d like to order a plate of curry.” Seth told the lady.
“Anything else?”
Seth shook his head. “That’s it for me. Thank you, auntie.”
“Okay, boys. Wait for your orders.” The old lady left them while humming a tune.
“Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything else?” Gilbert asked. “Don’t be too polite.”
“It’s okay…” Seth replied.
“No wonder you’re thin and pale. Growing boys like us should eat like there’s no tomorrow.”
Seth smiled. “Is that your secret why you’re so tall?”
Gilbert didn’t say anything. He just winked at Seth.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Oh, boy… Seth thought. He was not ready for Gilbert’s boyish wink. Seth was caught off guard. He took a deep breath and decided to ignore the emotions building up inside him.
“Tbe vbc’a tjnf ab qjs obg ws wfji.” Vfat rjlv ab Xliyfga. “Cr j wjaafg bo ojma, P rtbeiv yf atf bcf qjslcu obg sbegr.”
Xliyfga gjlrfv jc fsfygbk. “Qtja vb sbe wfjc ys atja? Gb P ibbx ilxf rbwfbcf ktb mjc’a joobgv ab agfja sbe ab j wfji?”
“Ktja’r cba ktja P wfjc!” Vfat kjr fjufg ab mifjg atf wlrecvfgrajcvlcu. “P’nf jikjsr kjcafv ab atjcx sbe obg sbeg tfiq atf batfg vjs.”
Gilbert looked confused. “My help? What did I do to help you, Seth Wiley?”
Seth looked down in embarrassment. “When the whole class was laughing at me and mocking my capabilities, you told them to shut up. Your words helped me get through and for the first time in my life, I gained the courage to prove the bullies that I am worth something.” Seth looked up and he met Gilbert’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Seth Wiley. I didn’t butt in in your business because I wanted to help you. I just want those bastards to shut up because they were disturbing my sleep.”
Seth couldn’t help but laugh after hearing what Gilbert had said. “Regardless of your reason, you still helped me. Again, thank you.”
Gilbert sighed. “Don’t let other people’s dirty feet walk over you again. Don’t take any bullshit from anyone. There are many ways how to fight. You look smart. Think of different ways how to fight back without dirtying your hands.”
Seth nodded in agreement. He would take Gilbert’s advice to heart.
Seth was thinking of other things to say to Gilbert when their food arrived. The ‘usual meal’ for Gilbert that was mentioned by the old lady earlier was a set meal of burger and fries with milkshake. However, it didn’t stop there. The old lady returned to serve another set of dishes for Gilbert. It was a fried chicken platter with a huge bowl of steaming hot ramen.
Gilbert looked at Seth and said. “Don’t judge.” That made Seth laughed.
They ate their respective meals. Seth was in awe while looking at Gilbert eating with so much gusto. Seth had always been someone who didn’t have a huge appetite. He could eat his mom’s home cooked meals so much, but after his mom’s death, eating became Seth’s least of priority. Now, seeing someone like Gilbert who ate like a madman, somehow made Seth feel like he could eat all day.
Well, it was also the first time someone had been kind enough to accompany Seth for a meal. He had been alone for a very long time.
“Why are you being kind to someone like me?” Seth didn’t mean to ask that question. But, it was already out in the open.
Gilbert stopped eating for a minute. “Do you want me to punch you in the face instead of treating you to a meal? Well, it’s your choice.”
“No! This is okay…” Seth said in panic.
Gilbert laughed at his reaction. Then, he continued eating his meal.
Five minutes before the start of afternoon classes, Seth and Gilbert returned to school the same way they left—through the secret passage.
However, when they arrived, Seth saw Chuck and his two minions standing beside the trash bin. The three didn’t notice Gilbert and Seth.
“That stupid Seth didn’t even notice that his lunch was missing? What a dumb freak. I thought we’re going to see him beg for his lunch back. Let’s see what’s inside. Yuck! A poor person’s food. Disgusting!” Chuck said in a loud voice.
Seth saw his bully holding his lunch container. He also saw how Chuck throw the food inside in the trash bin.
Seth felt anger. It was his mom’s home cooked meal. His mom woke early just to cook for Seth. Now, some assholes were mocking his mom’s labor of love. Seth was so pissed. He was ready to start a war.
However, before Seth could start anything, Gilbert was already on his way to the bullies. Seth saw Gilbert kicked the trash can aggressively. The trash inside scattered like confetti and landed directly into Chuck’s head. The minions also didn’t escape the same predicament.
“What did you do?” Chuck screamed.
“Scram or I’ll kick your head the same way I did to the trash bin.” Gilbert said in a scary tone.
“G-Gilbert Hugo?” Chuck just realized the identity of the man who did him dirty.
Instead of fighting back, Chuck and his minion ran away in fear.
Only then Seth realized that he was crying. Not because he pitied himself, but because of the frustration he was feeling for his own weakness.
“Don’t cry.” Gilbert whispered in his ear. Seth didn’t notice that Gilbert was already standing beside him. “Remember what I said to you. Fight back in your own way.”
Seth wiped his tears. He looked at Gilbert and nodded.
A new sense of courage emerged within him.
*****
Later that day, when school’s over, Seth was seen riding on the bus on his way home. Except, he was really not going home. Seth had another agenda. He got off the bus and walked towards his destination.
For the past few days, Seth developed a new habit. After school, he would go to his mom’s company and wait for his mother to come out. Seth would accompany his mom on their way home. It was the first solution Seth could think of after hours of brainstorming on how to prevent his mother’s untimely demise.
Seth vividly remembered every details of his mother’s accident. It was a Tuesday night. Seth’s mom was on her way home when a drunk driver lost control of his car and hit Seth’s mom who was walking on the sidewalk.
When Seth was informed about his mother’s passing, he didn’t cry at first. Seth thought it was all just a nightmare. But when Seth saw his mom’s body inside the morgue, he realized that he was not dreaming at all. His mom had left him all alone. Seth wailed beside his mom’s cold body. He prayed and prayed and prayed repeatedly…over and over again…to God…to bring his mother back. But to no avail. That day, Seth felt that something inside him died with his mother. Life had never been the same since then. Seth knew there was nothing left worth living for after his mother’s death.
Now that Seth was granted an opportunity to save his mother, he decided to do everything just to keep his mother safe. Seth thought of many ways on how to do that. Aside from fetching his mom from work, Seth had another plan.
“Oh, my baby boy’s here again…” Seth’s mom had a huge grin on her face when she saw him waiting outside the building.
Seth’s mom was working as a secretary to the vice president of a large company.
“Yes, I am here again. Do you want to eat out for dinner?” Seth asked his mom.
“Oh, you’re going to treat your mom to dinner?”
Seth smiled. “Of course. Anything for you, mom.” His mom was giving him allowance and Seth was matured enough to save up instead of spending his allowance to buy useless things.
“Ah, I must have saved a country in my previous life to have a son like you. I should be the one protecting you, but here you are, acting like a knight in shining armor for your mom.”
“I already made peace with the things from my past that haunted me for a long time.” Seth held his mother’s hand. “So, don’t worry about me anymore, mom. I am a grown up now. I’ll protect you from everything.”
His mom hugged Seth tightly. “My son is already a grown up. Oh, I’m crying. I love you, son.”
“Me too, mom. You’re the only person in this world who loved—loves me in the truest sense of the word.”
In the middle of Seth’s tender moment with his mom, an unexpected intruder appeared.
“Monica Wiley? Who is that person with you?”
Seth’s mom let go of him. “Vice President Swan! Oh, sir, this is my son Seth.”
Seth looked at VP Swan. It was his mom’s boss. He could still remember this person when the old man attended his mom’s funeral. Seth didn’t know why VP Swan’s face stuck to him. He looked good despite his age (Seth heard from his mom that her boss was almost 50). The way the old man cried during his mom’s funeral left an odd feeling inside Seth.
“Seth, this is Vice President Ned Swan. He is my boss.”
“Good evening, sir.” Seth greeted him politely.
“Good evening, young man.” VP Swan greeted him back. Then, he returned his attention to Seth’s mom. “Are you on your way home? I can drive you—“
“It’s okay, sir.” Seth cut in. “We can manage by ourselves.”
“Sorry, sir. We’ll go ahead.” Seth’s mom smiled apologetically.
“That’s okay…” VP Swan said. He had a bright smile on his face. “You have a reliable son. See you at the office tomorrow.” The man left after saying those words.
Seth breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t tell why he felt uncomfortable talking to his mom’s boss.
“Mom, can you quit working?“ Seth told his mom.
His mom looked surprised.
*****
Hummm, the mystery deepens
The VP definitely did something
💚💚💚
Maybe he like her
So much food 🤤
🍱
‘Fight back in your own way’ is such good advice. Thanks for the chapter.
I wonder if the boss is the drunk driver who killed Seth’s mom🤔🤔🤔🤔.
Fuck cars