Chereads / Divergent check new / Chapter 18 - GOODBYES

Chapter 18 - GOODBYES

[A/N: This chapter mostly focuses on Stare's goodbyes to his family and although most might see it as irrelevant I feel it's important. so it's really not a necessity to read although I'll advise you to still give it a read]

Stare wearily rubbed his eyes as he slowly rose from a hovering couch. He stretched his tired limbs, yawning, and glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. "Oh, it's already 3 pm."

"Wait, what? Fuck! It's 3 pm already?" The drowsiness vanished as Stare rushed into the bathroom.

'How did I sleep so long?'

'Even the alarm clock failed to wake me. Was I that tired? Maybe it's a side effect of the Algos.'

"Enough with this pointless inner monologue. I'm already late, and thinking won't change that."

"Since no one has come to get me yet, it means that man isn't here either. I need to hurry up now; I can't mess up today."

In no time, Stare emerged from the bathroom, and donned himself in a black T-shirt and black trousers. He then checked himself in a wall mirror.

After all, there was a chance he could meet his counterpart today and he wasn't planning on looking anything less than his best when they do meet.

After confirming his appearance, he turned to his wardrobe, this time holding a deflated bag. He quickly packed his essentials, and as he did, the bag inflated. Satisfied with his packing, he zipped up the bag and adjusted its gravity for easier carrying.

With the bag slung over his shoulder and his phone and media player in his pocket, he rushed to the room's door but heard a soft rumbling from his bed. He turned to see a Himalayan cat rolling around on the bed.

"This stupid feline." Stare muttered with gritted teeth.

For some reason, Stare really felt like trying out the credibility of this cat's nine lives.

'But not today.' Stare muttered with his eyes closed while taking in deep breaths to calm himself.

After getting some level of calm back, he quickly opened the door and walked out of the room.

In the living room, he was surprised to find Just A Guy chatting happily with his parents, while Doush and his little sister, Aila, sat nearby.

They all noticed Stare's presence and greeted him with smiles. "Oh, Stare, you're finally up. Looks like you were really tired; luckily, you got some good sleep as you tend to accidentally sleep when you don't get your rest," his mother said with a smile.

"...Yeah, like that time we took him to a dental office and he 'accidentally' slept off while the dentist was removing his broken tooth, or that time when he 'accidentally' slept off while doing the number two." Stare's father added with a grin.

"Didn't we give it a name honey?" Stare's mother asked, obviously engaged in the discussion.

"Yeah, we named it the Stare's Accidental Napcurrence." Stare's father answered, also as engaged in the discussion as his wife.

Laughter erupted from Just A Guy as he stared at Stare. "You're quite interesting, kid."

"Ahem." Stare cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed, "Those happened a long time ago."

'Bearing the knowledge of hundreds of thousands of years wasn't an easy feat for a kid at that age with such a level of brain capacity, the only way he could cope with the load was his excessive sleeping habit."

Seeing their son's embarrassed expression, Mr and Mrs Johnson didn't continue with their taunts and just smiled at their son. Just A Guy also stopped with his laughter and replaced it with his signature smile.

However, Stare couldn't help but feel annoyed by that smile. He had grown to dislike it in just one day, which for him was a remarkable feat given his long life of meeting countless characters.

He wanted to punch him on the face, but instead, he forced a smile and asked, "Aren't you taking me to the Academy for my full enrollment?"

"Ah yes, the full enrollment. Come to think of it, you were also meant to attend the convocation for newly enrolled, about four hours ago."

"F-four hours ago…why didn't you wake me up sooner? Stare looked at the smiling man with a mix of annoyance and shock.

Just A Guy chuckled. "I didn't want to disturb your sleep, and your mom made a delicious breakfast."

"...Don't tell me you're worried about missing a convocation? You're the guy who missed The Public Testing without flinching; a simple academic convocation should be nothing for you."

Stare was at a loss for words, staring speechlessly at Just A Guy.

"You don't need to worry; your enrollment into the academy was an oddity from the beginning. No one would really bother about you missing the convocation. But if you insist on going now, I can still take you."

Stare relaxed upon hearing that. He thought the sooner he got this over with, the better for everyone.

However, his relaxation didn't last as Just A Guy suddenly spoke again. "First, you eat. You can't go to the Academy on an empty stomach."

Stare cursed inwardly at the prospect of more delays. 'Is this guy trying to pit me against my parents?'

"I'm not that hungry; it might be a side effect of the Algos," Stare quickly offered as an excuse.

Just A Guy, however, was persistent. "I can't remember any case of such-"

"Alright, I'm already running late!" Stare shouted, cutting him off.

Stare's parents, Doush, Aila and Just A Guy all stood up from the respective couches they had been sitting on.

Stare looked into the eyes of his parents, sister and friend as he felt a tinge of reluctance.

His mother grabbed a plate of pancakes close to her, she then approached Stare and forcefully stuffed the pancakes into his mouth.

"We can't let our hero go about doing his heroics with an empty belly." Stare's mother said with a smile.

Although Stare resisted at first, he eventually let his mother feed him.

After she was done feeding him, she hugged him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and then hugged him again.

"Stay safe."

Stare nodded with a smile as he reciprocated the hug.

After many minutes of keeping him in her clutch, Mrs Johnson eventually released her beloved son from the hug, as she wiped her teary eyes.

After being released from the hug, Stare smiled and approached his younger sister, who immediately stretched both hands asking to be carried.

Picking his sister up, she immediately snuggled into Stare's chest.

"Big brother promises to come back right?" She asked.

"Mhmm, and he also promises to spend most of his time playing with Aila as well." Stare replied with a smile.

"Johnson promise?"

"Johnson promise."

Evidently satisfied with her big brother's promise to her, Stare carefully let Aila down and approached his friend Doush who was already making wheezing sounds from his nose."

"Are you crying?" Stare asked with a tinge of amusement.

"What? an amazing figure like me doesn't have the liberty of shedding tears for his companion?" Doush asked in an annoyed tone as he cleaned his teary eyes and running nose.

Stare's smiled at his friend's response to his taunting as they both hug out and then fist pump.

"Remember don't replace me with those cool heroic brats at the academy and if you miraculously get a girlfriend also put in some good words for me to her pretty friends."

Stare could only briefly stare at his friend with amazement, although he had gotten used to the excessive behavior of his friend, he was still sometimes stunned by the words that came out of his mouth.

Turning his attention to his father who seemed to have the most collected expression, he smiled and opened his hands wide open for a hug.

"You don't have to act cool headed dad."

Mr. Johnson looked at his son with wide open eyes for some seconds, before rushing into his arms.

"I promised myself I won't cry on the day my son starts his journey into manhood, who knew it would be this hard." Richard muttered, as a single teardrop fell from his eye.

He soon released Stare from his hug and looked into his eyes proudly.

"Go make us proud son."

Stare nodded, as he tightened his grip on the bag he had hung over his shoulder.

With their goodbyes done, Just A Guy and Stare headed for the door.

They had both walked toward the apartment's door when Just A Guy suddenly paused and looked back at Stare.

"I just remembered, there won't be any need to pack clothes and accessories alike. The Academy provides for such necessities."

"Huh?" Stare looked at Just A Guy confused.

"Yeah, now that I think of it, even phones aren't allowed as well."

Stare felt a vein throbbing in his head. It seemed this man was determined to test his patience.

"Why didn't you mention that earlier?" Stare asked, annoyed.

"I just remembered." Just A Guy responded with a smile and then opened the door of the apartment.