Aurum turned around and saw the girl call out to him and became left flabbergasted. He didn't expect that the first person who would be talking to him was someone as beautiful as her. He actually thought that he would continue to be alone 'till he would be bullied again by other kids.
"Um, hello? Are you there?" the girl waved her hands in front of his face which brought him back from 'lala land'.
"I... uh... um... my name is Aurum Es-" his words was cut off when he bit his tongue because he was so nervous. He stopped talking while turning his gaze downwards while tears was forming at his eyes.
"Haha~ You sure are funny. Just calm down and tell me your name, okay? Oh, by the way, my name is Sarah." she introduced herself to show courtesy.
"I, um... name is Aurum. Aurum Est. It's nice to meet you, S-Sarah." this time he managed to introduce himself without biting his tongue.
Sarah just smiled at Aurum's reaction towards her. She thought that Aurum was just excited because he had made a new friend. However, little did he know that Aurum was captivated by her beauty.
Later on, when he went home, Vyvyan and Lior saw Aurum walking towards them with a huge smile on his face. Unlike his previous lonely smile, this one is full of genuine happiness at this moment.
"Hey, little buddy. Did anything new happened today? Your face shows that something must have happened, and I'm sure it must be quite good." Lior asked as he was curious with the sudden mood change from his son.
"My son, what's with the huge smile on your face? Did you perhaps meet someone whom got your attention?" Vyvyan actually said this as a joke.
However, when she saw her son lowering his head while his face flushed red out of embarrassment while nodding at her, she knew what it meant and her expression suddenly froze. Soon, she somewhat recovered from her shock and began to tease him about it.
"Hey, little buddy, care to tell how you saw this girl?" Lior asked.
"Hehe~ dad, mum, she went to me and asked my name earlier this morning when I went out. We talked and played after that before we went home." he said while beaming.
Vyvyan was worried that the girl who Aurum met today was only playing with his son's feelings, as a parent she can't help but feel somewhat anxious. Naturally, Lior noticed this and just tapped her shoulder as if telling her it's going to be fine.
The next day, Aurum was really filled with energy. He really can't help but look forward to their meeting again later. He hurriedly finished his chores then went out of the house.
When he went to the playground, Aurum saw her waiting for him. It was as if the girl was waiting for him for a long time and couldn't stand waiting anymore. When she saw Aurum, she immediately locked her gaze into him so that she went lose sight of him.
Aurum panicked as she saw her walking towards her like an angry beast that was ready to devour him. However, Aurum just smiled at her wryly as he was helpless on this situation.
"You're late!" she exlcaimed.
"Uh... sorry..." he apologized.
When he saw Aurum's dejected expression, Sarah sighed while shaking her head.
"Listen to me. You shouldn't make a girl wait for too long or they are going to leave you, okay? Make sure you come here at least five to ten minutes earlier than the time we agreed on. Even if you have to wait for how many hours, you need to be earlier than the girl, alright?" she looked at him to see if he understood what she just said.
"Thank you for the advice. I will be sure to do just that next time!" Aurum replied enthusiastically.
Sarah nodded in approval when she saw Aurum listening intently on her words earlier. They both played together in the playground, but Sarah noticed something.
"Hey Aurum... why are the other kids looking at us like that?" she asked.
"Oh... um.... I don't really know..." he replied sheepishly.
The other kids heard what both of them said and four kids went and approached Sarah casually.
"You must be new here in the neighborhood right?" a boy asked.
"Yeah, so what?" she nodded.
"I suggest you stay away from that mommy's boy or else you would get in trouble if you keep on staying around him." another boy said while giving a disdainful glance at Aurum while the others nodded in approval.
Sarah, who didn't know the story, looked back and forth between them and Aurum. She saw that Aurum was just lowering his head down without saying anything and just kept on enduring.
"Really... then thank you for the advice, but I don't think he is like that. I'm more comfortable hanging around with him than you guys." she ignored what the kid just told her earlier.
The four kids who approached her was stunned as they heard what she said. Their disdainful gaze towards Aurum was intensified while they were looking at Sarah like she is an idiot.
"Don't come crying later to us later when you get in trouble, okay pretty girl?" another kid told her as they left both of them alone.
As soon as they left, Sarah looked at Aurum and felt a little bit displeased as she saw that Aurum was still dispirited. Sarah gave Aurum a slap at his back, making him tumble.
"Why didn't you say anything back?" she asked with a hint of anger.
"..."
"Haaa... Aurum you are a boy. Someday you would become a man. Are you going to let them drag you down while they rise up? If I were you, no matter how many they are, I would fight back for what I believe is right!" she said as she saw Aurum not responding at her.
When Aurum heard what she said, he felt like he was saved from falling down deeper from the depths of hell. Aurum looked at Sarah with admiration and respect but there was still hesitation in his eyes.
"But I don't know how to do it, I can't even fight..." he said.
"Then tomorrow, I will teach you how to fight! When those guys would come after you, then you could just smack their faces to teach them a lesson that you are not easily bullied!" she said while looking at him confidently.
The next few days that they were together, they would go somewhere where there aren't many people around and she would teach Aurum some ways to fight, then they would spar. Each and every time they would do that, Aurum would always get beaten down by Sarah. After that, they would take a few minutes break and Sarah would tell Aurum what he is lacking at.
Aurum didn't frown nor complain whenever he was beaten down by Sarah. Instead, he would reflect back on his mistakes from their spar. He would also listen carefully on the things that she would say to him.
As time passed by, Aurum was slowly getting better and was even doing some counter attacks towards Sarah. However, he always wondered where Sarah learned how to fight. So he decided to ask her to satiate his curiosity.
"Hmm? Where I learned to fight is it? Well, my family owns a dojo back in my hometown and they would always tell me to learn how to fight, in order to defend myself whenever I'm in danger." she explained.
"I see... so that's why you are so good at fighting." he nodded to indicate he understood.
Right when they were about to go home, they saw the same four kids who came to Sarah a few days ago, blocking their way.
"Hey pretty girl, we meet again! How about you come with us while you leave that loser alone, eh?"
"Loser? I can't see any loser near me... hh wait! I saw one right now! It's just in front of me talking~~" she mockingly said.
The kid who said that earlier felt humiliated at what she said to him. He was about to grab the girl to teach her a lesson but was stopped. The hand that was reaching for her was grabbed by Aurum tightly and no matter what he did, Aurum's grip didn't loosen up.
"Aurum, you bastard! Don't blame me if you're gonna get it, beat him up!" the attention of the kids were now reverted to Aurum.
Sarah, who was watching everything unfold, felt her heart flutter when Aurum defended her. Although she could fight, she doesn't have the confidence to win against four boys all at once. Then she saw four kids rushing towards him while they are about to launch their firsts. However, instead of cowering, Aurum stood his ground and bellowed.
"COME!!!"
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Afterword
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Oh wow, back when I was kid, I would just run around, unlike Aurum and Sarah.
Anyways, some of you guys who read this before I cleaned it might have seen some confusing words and grammars or some typo errors, for that, I apologize on behalf of the author. I know he mentioned this before, but he usually types on his phone, making his task quite difficult yet convenient.
Thank you for your continuous support to the author and this web novel, and don't forget to power vote, we really appreciate it!
-Sic Parvis Magna