Bab 188: Chapter 180: Going to school?
While Eren and Roel were talking, Erick, who was standing behind them, felt a bit left out. He thought to himself, 'This is a good thing, right?'
It was then Eren had a shocked look on his face as if he just realized something. He then turned to Erick with a frown and cleared his throat. "You have a good brother here," he said, patting Roel on the shoulder.
"Uh, thank you, sir," Erick said, looking a bit confused. His thoughts screamed, 'Aren't you supposed to be praising me?'
Eren then turned to Roel and said, "Hope to see you again, son. Perhaps we can talk more about this. I've been into car repairs lately, what with my late father's old car, which I'm trying to fix."
Roel nodded politely. "Yes, sir. Once my brother is well, I can introduce him to you as well," he suggested.
"That would be great!" A huge smile appeared on Eren's face, making Erick look shocked. He had never smiled at him like this.
Then when Eren turned to Erick, it was as if the light had gone down from his eyes. He harrumphed and said, "I still won't let you near my daughter, though."
With that, he brought the items that he wanted to buy and went straight to the cashier. After paying for his purchases, he went out of the store, without looking back.
Erick could only watch after him, dumbfounded.
Roel then turned to the shop rack where numerous tools were displayed and grabbed one of them. "I should probably buy one of these," he murmured, ignoring the shell-shocked young man behind him.
Erick walked over to Roel's side and asked, still looking confused, "What just happened there?"
"I got in his good books," Roel simply answered, without looking at him, still looking at the displayed items, comparing them in his mind.
Erick crossed his arms across his chest with a small pout on his face. "Some help you are. I should have brought Hamish, instead."
Roel cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, you should," he agreed. "Who told you to bring me?"
Erick shrugged. "I thought he would soften a bit once he knew I have a brother who knows about cars and all," he said. It was a coincidence that he found out about Amber's father's sudden fascination with cars when he saw lots of car magazines in the Keene's living room.
And then Amber mentioned her father bringing over her late grandfather's car and how he became engrossed with it, washing it if there was a speck of dirt on it. And recently, she also mentioned that because the car hasn't been attended to for a long time, it has some broken parts that he needed to replace.
That was when Erick thought of a great idea. Although he couldn't bring along Latham since he was still in Cairin Oaks, Roel was also good with cars. Perhaps if Roel was to soften the man up by buttering him with talks of what he loved, he would soften his attitude towards him!
But apparently, things went differently and not what he had expected. While Erick was thinking where he had gone wrong, Roel fought the urge to not roll his eyes. He then smacked Erick's head.
Erick looked at Roel with aggrieved eyes, clutching his head because of the pain. "What's with that?" he exclaimed, feeling wronged.
"Although you're very good in your studies, you're kind of lacking in the EQ department," Roel said.
Erick frowned in confusion, while holding his head. "What do you mean?"
Roel finally rolled his eyes and did not bother to answer him. Instead, he picked up the items that he wanted and went to the cashier to pay for them.
Erick, once again, was left, still at loss.
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Amber's mother, Syden, was in the kitchen where she was sitting down at the kitchen table, a thoughtful look on her face. On top of the table were several papers spread wide, that read 'Student Registration Form'.
Amber had just walked in the kitchen to grab a glass of water when she saw her mother lost in thoughts, her eyes on the paper.
Curious, she walked over and was surprised to see the form. She picked one of the papers up to have a closer look and asked, "What's this? Are you thinking of sending Remi to school?"
Syden nodded, letting out a sigh. "But I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not…" she said slowly. "I feel like I'm holding him back in his education. Just homeschooling is not enough. But then, I'm worried about his health too."
Amber tilted her head and said, "But doesn't Erick's parents know of a way to cure him? Since they know what's the cause of it?"
Syden froze. And then she said, "We should never get involved with them, Amber."
Amber frowned. "But why?" she questioned. "I've told you that they are nice people! It doesn't matter whether they are a shifter family or something. It's not like they are the one who bite--"
"Amber!" her mother cut in angrily.
Amber stopped. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
Her mother gave her a weak smile and grabbed her hand. She pulled her daughter closer and hugged her. "It's fine," she reassured.
"But he's really a nice guy!" Amber argued as she pulled back from her mother's embrace. "You've known Erick for months now. You should know how he is like and he's not what you and daddy thinks of him!"
Syden smiled weakly again. "I know, sweetie. It's just…"
Amber hugged her mother and said softly, "I know that it's going to take everything in you and daddy to accept him. But I hope you still take it positively, okay?"
Syden hugged her back and nodded. "We will."
Just then, Eren had walked in, apparently returning home from his shopping with his hands carrying shopping bags. A smile appeared on his face when he saw his beloved two women sharing a hug with each other.
Both mother and daughter pulled away from each other and greeted him.
"Where did you go, daddy?" Amber asked as she walked over to him, helping him with the bags.
Eren passed her the lighter bags while he carried the heavier ones and placed them on top of the kitchen island. "Just going around the shops and buying some stuff," he replied.
He then looked at Amber and said with a cocked eyebrow, "Your boy is quite persistent, isn't he?"
"Erick?" Amber guessed with confusion.
Her father just murmured his agreement as he unpack all the things from inside the shopping bags onto the counter. After he went to the hardware store, he went to the supermarket to do some grocery shopping for Syden.
"Where did you meet him?" Amber pressed as she stood next to her father. Although she just saw him yesterday at school, it was quite despondent that she wasn't able to see him during the weekends.
"At the hardware store. He has such a good brother. Nice young fellow," her father answered. He then turned to her. "Why don't you dump that Erick and go for that brother of his?" he suggested.
Amber's eyes widened in surprise. "What brother?" she asked.
"Roel," Eren answered. "Quite a nice fellow. Although there might be a large age gap between you two, it should be fine."
Behind Amber, Syden giggled as she watched the shocked look on her daughter's face as the latter listened to her father's teasing.
"Daddy, seriously?" Amber said, her face still shocked.
Eren chuckled. "I'm just joking, dear," he said once he put the items away.
He then walked over to the table where Syden was sitting. After dropping a kiss on her head, he took the papers from the table and looked through them. "So you're planning to send him to school?" he enquired, looking down at his wife.
Syden nodded. "Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked.
"I think that would be a great idea but let's ask Remi about it on how he thinks about going to school," Eren suggested.
"Ask me about what, dad?"
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