Though I could sense that the condemning looks had returned after yesterday's little event, where the third-year had bumped into me and then acted as if it had somehow been my fault, I didn't mind them much.
Simply the fact that the humans around me were more than willingly taking a step back when I walked through the hallways was a godsend. Or, devilsend? Anyway, the point was that I was glad that I didn't have to be tortured more than necessary.
Even the ones from my class who had spent almost a whole week earlier had decided it wasn't worth it, with the only exception being one student. A student who, although he kept pestering me, wasn't acting nearly as impudently as before.
"Yo, Aarick."
"..."
Though his face was still painted with an obnoxious smile, it wasn't as if I would forcibly push him away to make him stop walking next to me in the hallway. My new ability was [Pull], after all.
"Doing anything fun now after school? I was thinking we could..."
"I'm not joining."
"Haha! It was worth a try, wasn't it? Just make sure to be careful though. I think you also realize that the only reason why you got to attend school for a whole day without an incident was that I am sticking close to you."
Walking out to the courtyard, with the smiling man still walking close enough that I had to focus so that I wouldn't accidentally sink my teeth into his neck, I wasn't sure what I was going to do about him.
On the one hand, I didn't feel any sort of need to stay around the ones I couldn't help but view as food, but on the other, I knew that Dona wanted me to get along with them. And if there was something I was not ready to do right now, was to give Dona any sort of reason to abandon me.
Rationally, it wasn't hard to figure out that she probably wouldn't just push me away unless I did something completely out of line, but emotionally, I knew I wasn't ready to take that chance. Because I couldn't even fathom what I would do if I lost her as well.
"But... I didn't think about it until now, but didn't you get a lot taller?"
"I guess."
Honestly, it was pretty weird that he hadn't noticed until now. It wasn't that I had gotten super tall, but more the fact that I had been so short previously that my current height was just so different. From only reaching his chest, to my head now being closer to the level of his chin, it wasn't something I could keep a secret even if I wanted to.
Out of nowhere, Astor just stopped, making me inadvertently follow his lead, acting like a dog waiting for his owner to start walking again. Which could have been incredibly awkward if not for the fact that he had suddenly become serious all of a sudden.
"Shit..."
Trying to figure out what he was looking at, I allowed my eyes to follow his line of sight, only for my gaze to land on the gate up ahead, or rather the two people standing just outside of the gate.
Strangely enough, it wasn't hard to realize who the two people were, as both of them carried the signature appearance of their children. Two middle-aged-looking men in suits, one with yellow hair like the sun, and the other adorned with a fiery red mane.
'I... I don't even know anymore...'
Everything just kept piling on, with the world not giving me even a single moment of rest it seemed, and at this point, I was more than over it. Sadly, just when I was about to turn around, the two men who I assumed were the fathers of Astor and Will noticed us. Or rather, Astor's father noticed him.
"Astor. What are you doing, just standing over there?"
Not even the distance made it possible for me to ignore the embarrassingly bad acting he was putting on. From the way he was forcing a smile to his 'joyful' tone that was infused with an aftertaste of disagreement, there was no way that someone like me who had survived purely based on reading the room would be fooled.
Needless to say, I didn't think the pair of father and son liked each other very much.
Despite this, Astor still walked up to the one who had at least partly brought him into existence, trying to look as calm as possible.
"I was just a bit surprised, Sir. I didn't know you were..."
"Why are you so stiff, Astor? Just call me father or dad like always! Hahaha!"
"Ah, yes, father!"
Still standing a bit away from the cluster of problematic characters, I had no idea how I was going to proceed. There was no way I could just run away, but at the same time, I didn't feel like it was a good idea to stay either.
Because, for some reason, these two men didn't look like blood banks to me. No, if anything, I knew that it would be the other way around. Not in the way that they would regard me as food, but in the way that I felt like in terms of being a monster, I couldn't even compare.
Then again, I didn't have anything to do with Astor's father, and in terms of Will's dad, I doubted that he would risk trying anything. Because there was no way he didn't know about what had happened in the past.
So, with them talking, I knew it wouldn't take long until...
"Who's your friend? Greetings, my name is Alexander. Alexander Loxley."
"... I'm Aarick."
It didn't take more than a moment until I was dragged into the conversation, something that wasn't too surprising. Even during their conversation, I had seen how Alexander had given me a couple of looks every now and then, showing me his intent before he even approached me.
He wanted to know what kind of punk his son hung out with.
And to some extent, I was fine with it. It wasn't strange that someone like him, who was obviously a big shot of some kind, would care a lot about who I was, as he had seen me walking around with his son.
However, what I didn't find okay with this situation was the fact that there was still the red-headed man standing just a couple of steps away, waiting at his expensive-looking black car. So, knowing that if I stayed too long, he would also have no choice but to come up and make small-talk because of social pressure, I quickly tried to come up with an excuse to leave.
With that, I took a breath and readied myself to show Alexander how an actor truly performs.
Turning around to Astor, I quickly bowed, making sure that his father would see the dynamics of our relationship, and got to it.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Astor! I know I asked for your help but I forgot that I still have to retake that exam that I failed!"
Quickly understanding what I was doing, as Astor didn't seem to be a stranger to the arts of acting, he played along.
"No worries, I didn't have anything planned anyway. Just get going and I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Yes, see you! It was nice meeting you too Alexander, I'm sorry I have to leave like this."
"Haha! I don't mind! It's just good that you are trying your best at the academy, after all!"
With that, I was off to the races, half-jogging past the yellow-haired man, unable to take another look at the red-haired lion on the side. Yet, it appeared that he didn't care about me at all, just looking down at his watch while impatiently waiting for Alexander to finish his business with his son.
****
[Astor's Pov]
"So ya met your old man? How was it?"
Sitting in the park, Lucy and I was currently talking about my 'beloved' father, and how he had suddenly shown up at the academy.
Then again, it wasn't too weird that I didn't know about his visit. Mostly due to the fact that it wasn't me he was coming to visit.
"Nothing special. He pretended to like me, I pretended to like him. You know, as it has always been."
"Hmm..."
Looking up at the sky, I did remember one thing that was different about this time though.
"However, he seems to be interested in Aarick. Interested to the point where I can't help but feel a bit uneasy."
"Do you really think he would try something? It's one thing if it's between students, but your father got a bit of a reputation to uphold."
Feeling the contrast between looking up at the clear blue sky with the fluffy white clouds and reality, I couldn't help but remember all the things he had already done in the past.
"Why would he worry about his reputation when he always makes sure no one finds out?"