Benedict looked around.
"So this is where I'm going to live from now on," he said.
Boom!
"Wow, that's heavy!" Felix exclaimed as he dropped a pile of books onto the table.
The doorbell rang.
"Could that be him?" Felix wondered aloud.
"What kind of kid is he?" Dale mentioned he was much more mature than other kids, even capable of surprising him.
"But am I really capable of raising a kid?" Felix thought as he walked toward the door.
When he opened it, he was greeted by three children.
"Hi, I'm Benedict. Are you Mr. Felix Hawking?" Benedict asked.
Felix's eyes widened in shock.
"He... he brought his friends! Mature? He's just straight-up shameless! How am I going to raise three kids when I haven't even raised one in my whole life?"
Thud! Felix collapsed from overthinking.
"Why aren't you answering? Hey, old man, are you okay?" Benedict's voice, along with that of a girl, echoed in Felix's ears.
Sweets...
"I think he's trying to say something!"
"Sweets... he needs something sweet," the girl said as she examined Felix's eyes.
"I'll go find something."
Benedict rushed inside and spotted a glass-encased box of sweets. He approached it, noticing a complex math problem written on the glass, with a box for the answer.
"Let's see what I can do!" Benedict said, confidence radiating from his eyes.
"No! I didn't mean for him to actually solve the math problem. There's no way an eleven-year-old can crack that code, especially since it resets in a few minutes!" Felix thought, but before he could say anything, Benedict was back outside with the box of sweets.
The girl took a sweet and fed it to Felix, then handed the box to her brother.
"He managed to crack the code! And it didn't even take a minute! He might actually be different from other kids! He's a genius," Felix thought, looking at Benedict, his eyes filled with admiration.
"How... how did you crack it?" Felix asked, still regaining his senses.
"Of course, I cracked it. With a chair!" Benedict replied, his tone proud.
"You broke the glass!" Felix shouted, furious. "Do you know how expensive that glass was?" He took another sweet from the box in the boy's hand.
"What else was I supposed to do? Did you really expect me to solve that ridiculous problem? Anyway, what happened to you? Why did you suddenly collapse?"
"Dale didn't tell me..." Felix muttered, swallowing hard.
"Tell you what?"
"That you were going to bring your friends with you. I'm telling you, I can't raise three kids!" Felix exclaimed.
"Don't worry, mister. We are not planning to stay here," said the girl.
"They're not my friends! Just look at their clothes! They're obviously not from this section," Benedict reasoned.
"These two were lost, so I brought them here until their family could come for them," Benedict continued.
Felix tried to compose himself, embarrassed by the misunderstanding.
"Sorry, that's on me. Let's go inside and talk," Felix suggested.
"Well, so much for the first encounter with the mad scientist," Benedict thought to himself.
Benedict helped Felix up. As they headed towards the house, the sound of a helicopter filled the air.
"They're finally here," the girl said as she stroked her brother's head, who was busy devouring the sweets. Hearing the helicopter, some residents of Section 22 came outside. A helicopter arriving here was a rare event.
The flashing lights from the helicopter distinguished this night from the usual darkness of Section 22's skies.
"Is that helicopter here for you?" Benedict asked, his eyes wide.
"Yeah, why?"
"Must be nice being rich," Benedict replied.
"Hey, Benedict, my eyesight's not great. Is there something hanging from the helicopter?" Felix squinted, trying to see.
"Yeah, you're right. Something's hanging... It's a person!" Benedict shouted in disbelief.
A man in an all-black suit was dangling from the helicopter by one hand.
"Do you know him?" Benedict turned to the girl and her brother, but they were nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm... where did they go? Hey, mad scientist... I mean, doctor, do you know where those two kids went?" Benedict asked, searching around.
"Call me Professor. And no, I didn't see where they went. Weren't they just here?" Felix replied while staring at the helicopter.
Both stared at the spot where the children had been. Only a box of sweets remained.
"They vanished? Two rich kids go missing in my yard... I need to flee the capital—no, the country, right now!" Felix spoke rapidly, his saliva scattering around.
"Relax. They won't bother us. The boy's Lumina can teleport them. That's how they appeared here in the first place," Benedict explained.
"I see. But we still need a story for them..." Felix gestured towards the helicopter, now over their head.
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Benedict said with a reassuring tone.
The tall man let go of the helicopter and jumped down.
"From that height!" Benedict shouted, unable to believe his eyes.
The man landed gracefully in the yard, unscathed. He was much taller than Benedict and Felix had initially thought. Adjusting his glasses, the suited man spoke.
"The last tracking signal led here." He began scanning the yard, ignoring Benedict and Felix.
"He fell from that height without a scratch! This guy is definitely strong. Judging by his clothes, he must be a butler," Benedict thought.
"Excuse me, are you looking for a girl around twelve and her younger brother?" Benedict asked, trying to be as polite as possible.
The butler approached Benedict, lifting him by the collar with one hand.
"Where are the young miss and the young master?" the butler demanded, his eyes burning with fury.
Benedict pounded on the butler's chest, struggling to breathe.
"Stop right now, or I'll ensure you can't use your Lumina ever again!" Felix threatened, his fingers encircled by black pyramids.
"I don't know... The boy's Lumina teleported them somewhere else," Benedict gasped, struggling for air.
Just then, the butler's phone rang.
"Yes... I see... Understood." He gently placed Benedict down and ended the call.
"It seems the young miss and young master have returned safely. I sincerely apologize for the disturbance," the butler said. He scaled the wall and disappeared, the helicopter following him.
"Use the door next time, you idiot," Benedict muttered, clearing his throat.
"Who was that guy?" Felix asked, helping Benedict up.
"Helping those kids almost got me killed!" Benedict cursed his luck.
"Let's go inside." Felix suggested.
A few hours after the helicopter incident, Benedict sat in a chair while a small, cube-shaped robot with mechanical limbs tended to his neck. He watched the robot in awe. It was his first time seeing a real one.
"How are you feeling?" Felix asked, placing a plate of steaming rice and chicken on the table, just enough for two.
"I'm better. Though I'd be much better if that crazy butler hadn't almost killed me!" Benedict replied, still playing with the robot. "By the way, did you make this?"
"Which one, Jessie or the food?" Felix responded with a question.
"Both," Benedict said with curious eyes.
"Both," Felix confirmed, serving the food to Benedict.
"This kid... he must have gone through so much... Dale, now I understand why you tried so hard to have your grandson live with me," Felix thought, observing Benedict.
"What an impressive person. Someone who can create such an intelligent robot will definitely be useful to me. Thank you, Grandpa. Muhahaha," Benedict thought.
"Eat up, you must be hungry," Felix urged as he noticed Benedict's stare at the plate.
With the first bite, tears streamed down Benedict's cheeks.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying? Does your throat still hurt?" Felix asked, concerned.
"No, it's just... it's been so long since I've had a meal like this," Benedict replied, wiping his tears with his sleeve.
After they finished eating, Felix showed Benedict around the house.
"This is your room," Felix said, opening the door to a small but tidy space. Inside was a clean bed, a desk with books, and a whiteboard hung on the wall.
"I've prepared some clothes for you, though I'm not sure if they'll fit. Change before you sleep. My room is next door. If you need anything, let me know. Good night," Felix added, his voice gentle.
"Okay. Good night." Benedict sat on the bed, savoring the comfort. It had been years since he'd slept on a proper bed.
As Felix was heading to his room, Benedict's voice stopped him.
"Professor..."
"Yes, Benedict? Do you need something?"
"No... I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for breaking your glass. And thank you for trying to protect me when that butler was choking me," Benedict said, his eyes sincere.
"Don't worry about it. From now on, I'm your family. Of course, I'll protect you," Felix replied, his expression calm.
"Mad scientist... what nonsense," Benedict thought.
"Okay. Good night." Benedict smiled and headed to his bedroom. That night, he had the best sleep he'd had in years.