Having spent the majority of his first day between spending time with Clara and buying property, Joe quickly made his way back to campus. Ignoring the rather desolate walk back, he quickly arrived at his dorm room.
After packing all his belongings, he arranged for his uniforms and other class materials to be transferred to his off-campus property. He also purchased a couple essential items such as a bed and wardrobe for the master bedroom.
All those items would arrive there long before he would. As he left the gate, Joe turned his direction back towards the home he had not visited in five months. Fearing a stern discussion where all he could do was nod in agreement, he quickly picked up the pace.
As he approached a busy street, Joe kicked off the ground. Landing on the rooftop of a local shop, he began sprinting from building to building. Once he had reached his turn, he planted his feet firmly on the ground before taking off in another sprint.
Within a few minutes, Joe had reached the familiar neighborhood. The neighborhood that he had spent the last eight years of his life living in. A sense of nostalgia began to sink in as he passed various places.
He could still remember the sounds of the laughter between himself, Sarah, and Laine. In one spot, Joe remembered the fight he'd started with a few of his classmates the year prior.
Their ringleader was notorious for messing with the female classmate's hearts. For a while, Joe ignored it because he never associated with the group. That was until their sights turned to Laine. In Joe's mind, it was unforgivable to mess with those he held dear.
Although every member of the group ran off after they were beaten senseless and never dared to look towards Laine or Sarah again, Alice got word of what had occurred from one of the boy's mothers. She reprimanded Joe by confining him to his room for an entire week.
After taking his little walk down memory lane, Joe now stood in front of the house he had countless memories within over the past few years. Expecting an earful from Alice for arriving a day late, he hesitated. Although she had a heart big enough to treat him and Sarah as her own children, she was terrifying when you were the cause of her anger.
With a turn of the doorknob, Joe carefully stepped inside. Attempting to make no noise, he closed the door with the utmost care.
"You only ever acted this sneaky when you'd done something you didn't want me to find out about. So, what'd you do Joseph?"
Alice's stern voice could be heard from mere feet behind him. The tone immediately made the man shudder. He was reminded of all the times he had failed to do his chores or failed a test. Meekly, he turned to face her undecided on what to say.
"Not another step until you explain why you arrived home a full day later than Laine."
After careful consideration, Joe concluded it'd be best to divert her attention with something she couldn't ignore.
"I had dinner with High General James and ended up spending the night in their home."
"Why would the High General have you spend the night in his home?"
Feeling that this was a simple excuse, Alice's tone turned more sinister to scare the truth out of the boy.
"Well, truth be told, it was his wife that offered to allow me to stay over."
Rage began to build behind the eyes of the woman as she was losing the last shred of her patience with the boy.
"So, the wife of the highest military official offered to allow you to spend an entire night and most of the next day within their home? You must have really pleased them during that dinner."
Sensing the anger was about to burst out of every pore on the woman's body, Joe knew this was the ideal time to drop the news that would force her thinking to overload. Thus, his escape would be guaranteed.
"I believe she had the idea after I told them that I was already engaged to their daughter."
The moment the word engaged had left his mouth, he could see all the emotion on her face come to a dead halt. This was precisely the outcome he had hoped to achieve. To not miss his chance, Joe quickly stepped passed the women who had become frozen in place.
As he entered the living room, two stunned faces could be seen staring at him. It was evident that both Laine and Sarah had heard the entire conversation. Neither appeared to be happy.
"You go off to the academy for five months and you come back with a fiancé?"
Sarah was the first to speak her thoughts. Joe thought he had escaped the boiling water when he froze Alice. Little did he know that there was another, far larger pot, boiling right where he had jumped.
Seeing as Sarah was the only one speaking to him, Joe attempted to explain in a way that would calm the flames.
"A lot happened in those five months. I even managed to earn enough to buy my own house just outside the Academy gate."
His attempted to divert her attention failed miserably. She clearly saw through his intentions, and it only served to pour gasoline on an already lit match.
"I don't care how much money you've earned or about the house you bought. Explain how it is you managed to get engaged before your first year even concluded. Now!"
Seeing no other way around it, Joe set his bag against the wall before making his way to the sofa. As he sat down, he noticed Alice coming into the room. Her eyes were glued to him as if demanding the same explanation as Sarah.