Julian woke up and didn't rush this time. He checked the time and it was 4:16 AM. It was four minutes before his alarm set off. Well, he did wake up earlier and it was a good thing. He went to the bathroom to wash off and donned his pants and a white shirt. He tucked the shirt in and hurriedly went down the stairs. He turned on the light in the kitchen and went over to the refrigerator.
He took crusty bread slices and spreaded melted butter with minced garlic on the bread before grilling. As the breads were grilling, he washed grains twice, measured the water and put it in the rice cooker. He took out his phone for the timer and went to unfreeze the salmon in the freezer before deboning it. When he was done, he baked the salmon. He would flake it after it was done baking. Then, he went to brush the grilled bread with buttered garlic before turning it over then brushing it again.
He almost screamed when he heard a whisper beside him.
"What are you cooking?" Nerida whispered as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "You are awfully early, Julian. What's wrong?"
"Well… I just thought to lessen your work here. You're just fourteen, Nerida… you should take as much rest as you need. You are still growing after all."
"Wouldn't that be the same for you?" Nerida tiredly said as she yawned.
"Well… I can't argue now," Julian said as he scratched his cheek with his index finger.
"So, what are you cooking?"
"I am just making lunch boxes for us and also food for you. I will begin the main dish after this. Go sleep some more, Nerida."
"Didn't you take care of Liam at night? You're the one who needs sleep."
"... five hours of sleep is good for me."
"Go to sleep, young man."
"No. I already started cooking, so go to sleep."
"... okay, I'll just watch here," Nerida muttered as she pulled a chair for her to sit down. However, when she felt the comfortable chair, she immediately closed her eyes and Julian caught her head almost colliding with the wooden table.
"Jeez…."
Nerida must have been so tired to doze off right after relaxing her body. Was it her work? Julian was concerned. Anyway, he finished preparing their lunch boxes and settled it on the table and began preparing for his choice of breakfast for today. Since he felt like eating pasta, he decided to cook spicy capellini through the internet. He followed the instructions, but the amount of serving would be enough to last through lunch. When he was done cooking and cooling the pasta off, the boys went down with a yawn.
"Good morning….."
"Eh? Why am I seeing Nerida sleeping…."
"Anyway, go and get food," Julian said as he took a serving for himself and removed the apron from his body. He sat down quietly and ate with gusto. He cleaned his plate as the boys were still eating. Julian went upstairs to put on his uniform and took his school backpack. When he arrived downstairs, he said, "I'll be off now."
"Hey, wait!" Aaron yelled and it made Nerida sit up immediately. "Ah, I'm sorry, Nerry."
Nerida shook off her sleepiness and went to Julian in her pajamas. She sleepily took his sleeve and said meekly, "Be careful," then yawned before going to her bedroom for more rest.
Julian just stood there dumbfounded. He didn't move until his friends admonished him.
"Hey, aren't you going to leave us again?"
"Oh, right. You guys should hurry up."
"You're the one who should hurry up. It's rush hour now."
"... oh. Then, I'll just go with you guys," Julian muttered as he sat down on the sofa.
Suddenly, he remembered that Liam had to take medicine by 6:30. He immediately stood up and went to get a warm glass of water. He entered Liam's bedroom and searched through the cabinet of medicines he was currently taking under the dim light. Liam groaned as he was uncomfortable not being able to turn over and he opened his eyes. Julian was relieved that the treatments and sessions for his mental health progressed ahead with no problems. He reclined Liam's bed before turning the bright light on.
"Good morning," Julian greeted.
"..."
"Oh, well… Nerida is tired, so I am the one who came to wake you up for now."
Julian knew that Liam was quite uncomfortable when the first thing he saw in the morning was a guy. It gave him memory relapses about the time of his injuries. However, since Nerida was out of commission right now, he had no choice but to wake up the patient himself.
Liam shook his head as his fingers trembled.
"It's fine…."
"You need to eat before taking the medicine."
"Thank you."
Julian waved his hand and came to get the leftover medicinal soup he reheated earlier. He scooped it up with a ladle then poured it into a bowl. He took the bowl on a tray to Liam and spoon fed him. When Liam finished taking the medicine after eating, Julian readied a pitcher of water in Liam's bedroom.
"Hey, Jul, we're going now," Julian heard Reed calling him from the doorway.
"Coming! Okay, Liam, I'll be back later."
"Yeah, have fun."
Julian nodded then quickly took his backpack and wore his black shoes. He almost ran since his friends were already inside a car. He opened the car door and sat inside. He could feel his sweat drying off on his skin by the air-conditioning of the car. He became worried when he thought of Nerida sleeping alone with a patient at home. He turned to look at the cabin that was disappearing from his sight. He took his phone out from his bag and messaged Nerida. When he finished texting Nerida, he sighed then pocketed his phone. He was actually glad that his pockets were deep, so he could put anything inside.
"Hey, so, Jul," Aaron called from the passenger seat.
"What's wrong?"
"That girl from yesterday that came to you."
"... just on with it, man."
"Are you two dating?"
Julian facepalmed then said, exasperated, "What makes you think that? I just met her yesterday!"
"That doesn't seem so to me."
"Yeah, same here," Reed added.
"Same," Jahleel said as he nodded.
"You guys… are you all idiots?"
"You're the idiot one!" Aaron exclaimed as he twisted his body to look behind his seat. "Can't you see the look she gave you?! She was so focused looking at you when you were eating your sandwich, man!"
"Uh… okay?"
"So, what's her name?"
"Aela Berkley."
Aaron thought for a moment before exclaiming in realization.
"The loner of class C! I've always seen her alone in lunch breaks and when going home. Poor girl," he said as he shook his head.
"How come you knew her when you didn't recognize her up close?" Julian asked as he raised his eyebrow.
"Well… I don't know?"
"Lies," Reed, Jahleel and Julian replied.
"Why are you guys agreeing when it comes to that?! I really don't know! Leave me alone!"
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"Yeah, he forgot."
"Poor guy."
"Hey! I'll make this car stop, so we can be late together!" Aaron threatened.
"Go on," they all replied.
"Hugh, stop the car!" He exclaimed as he looked at his friends smugly.
"Sorry, I only received instructions to send you to school early. If I made you all late, then I have no choice but to tell the madam what you ordered."
"....."
"Heh."
"Serves you right, man."
"Maybe I should call auntie now?"
"What?! No! Put that phone down, Reed! No, Julian, stop taking out your phone! Jahleel! I said stop! My allowance will be cut next week! Seriously, stop! Julian, no!" Aaron almost snatched Julian's phone when the latter swiftly evaded his attempt.
"I am replying to Nerida, dumbo."
"Oh. Really? You swear?!"
"Here," Julian showed his messages with Nerida and that was where Aaron sighed in relief.
"Man, don't scare me like that, okay? I am currently saving up to buy something important."
"A figurine," Reed said.
"Yes, a figu--no! What do you mean?!"
"We already saw your secret collection, Aaron."
"Yeah."
"Mhm."
"What?! How?! I definitely hid it!"
"So, you are admitting that you have figurines," Reed mumbled.
"You guys are not coming to my room anymore!"
"You should have hidden it in a different room, you know? You have a lot of unused rooms in your home," Jahleel suggested.
Aaron wilted then admitted defeat.
"Fine… I am collecting figurines…. And I can't really do that… we have visitors almost every day and others would decide if they will stay for the night or not. What if they found it like you guys? I can't... even… imagine it…."
"Do you also have gravure magazines?" Jahleel raised a question.
"......."
"Yeah, he has them."
"If we visit Aaron's room next time, we know what to look for."
Julian grinned widely.
"Wait! I said you won't go to my room anymore! I can't trust you guys now! And you!!!" Aaron pointed madly at Julian. "You were supposed to be the topic here, so why did it come to this?!"