War Grounds

"What"s the problem, son?" Marina anxiously asked upon opening the door.

"Mom! You have just destroyed my "Battle Station"!" Al"s expression and tone were deeply agitated.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Just a.s.semble it back!" Marina snapped back. She entered the room and moved towards the disa.s.sembled parts on the bed.

The holder of the phone that served as the gaming helmet"s face s.h.i.+eld was detached, one could still see its wires and chips hanging loosely. Meanwhile, the gaming chair, handles, and console were taken apart piece by piece; the only good thing was that each part seemed to be polished and washed.

"I"ve cleaned all of these items. Shouldn"t you be grateful, Al Gentrix?" Marina shot a hard look at her son.

"Don"t tell me that you used water in cleaning the parts, mom!?" Al was getting a bad feeling.

"Just a little. Some of the dust particles could not be removed if I won"t use water." Marina innocently answered.

"MOM!?" Al slapped his forehead.

"Haha! You should be grateful to your mom, Al. She cleaned it for you. Don"t worry. My brother will be able to fix it." Sophia politely smiled as she calmed the situation.

Al almost felt helpless as he released a deep sigh of relief. "Geez. Thank you so much, mom. You"re the best...Anyway, in preparation for the coming Rookie Challenge, is it okay if I move into our workshop starting tomorrow?" It was already getting late, and while his mother was still in a good mood, the boy took the chance to ask some more favour further.

Marina was silent. She was doubtful as she shot a look at the smiling girl, Sophia. The two ladies immediately shared a quiet conversation with their eyes.

"Fine, but if you do anything stupid, I"ll have Sophia to send you home, immediately! Do you understand that, Al Gentrix?" Marina finally caved in.

"Yes! Thanks, mom! I promise that I"ll behave properly." The previously frustrated face of Al was now replaced with genuine happiness.

"Fine, fine. It"s already getting late. Sophia, dear, will your brother pick you up?" Marina dearly asked.

"Yes, Mrs Gentrix, I"ve already sent him a message. It"s also good that you have finally allowed Al to camp in my brother"s workshop for the next two weeks. My brother would be surely glad to have a short chat with you." Sophia politely answered.

"That"s good. I"ll prepare a dinner for us all, then. Let"s have a good chat over some delicious food." Mrs Gentrix smiled as she ushered her way out of the room, leaving Al and Sophia alone in the area.

The situation suddenly turned awkward.

"Ehem. Sophia, th-thank you so much for today." Al broke the silence, saying his thanks while scratching his head. He was blus.h.i.+ng.

"You"re welcome, Al. Thank you also for being honest with me. It seemed that our paths would be intertwined from here on." Sophia"s pretty face was smiling as she answered.

"Hehe. Yeah. We should thank our Advanced Algebra Teacher for bringing us together." The boy tried to joke to ease the uncomfortable scene before him.

"Yup. We should send him our thanks soon! First things first. You owe me some secrets." When Sophia mentioned the word "secrets," she seemed to transform from a cute-looking girl into an evil woman in the eyes of Al.

Trouble.

"Yikes!" Al gulped down. "Se-secrets? What are you talking about?" The boy pretended to be ignorant.

"Come on, Al. I"m no stupid gamer. How did you get your hidden cla.s.s?" Sophia"s eyes seemed to be a lie-detector machine.

"Woah. I"m grateful for your help, but hey! Isn"t this becoming a bit more personal? Do you have a crush on me?" At that moment, Al knew that he made a stupid decision.

Sophia"s confident look suddenly shattered. She was caught off guard. The pretty lady blushed.

The temperature in the room suddenly rose up.

"Ehem. It"s getting hot in here. Let"s go downstairs?" Al immediately changed the topic upon realising his blunder; he was sweating.

Silly things really tend to happen, when a boy and a girl are alone in a room.

"Ah, y-yes. I think that my brother is almost near." Sophia joined the alibi.

The two teenagers stayed in the living room for about ten minutes. There was an awkward silence between the two. Fortunately, the knock that they"ve been waiting for a long time had finally arrived.

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Knock. Knock. It was a gentle yet firm rapping of the door.

"He"s here!"

"He"s here!"

The two simultaneously perked up, running out of the suffocating living room. Both of them touched the doork.n.o.b at the same time. It was another awkward situation as Al felt a spark, sending s.h.i.+vers to his whole body.

Open.

"Hey! Al! Sophia! Is anything wrong?" Sol immediately sensed some abnormality as the awkward looks of the two greeted him.

"Nothing"s wrong, brother!" Sophia shouted.

"Woah. Ease up." Sol was taken aback by his sister"s raised voice.

"h.e.l.lo, Solomon! I"ve been waiting for you. Come inside, dear. I"ve cooked some delicious food!" Marina was previously toing and froing in the kitchen. She had finally managed to get a breather as she welcomed Sol.

"Hi, Mrs Gentrix. It"s a pleasure to meet you too. I"m Solomon Hestias, Sophia"s brother and founder of WisDOOM"s Workshop. Unfortunately, I"m afraid that Sophia and I won"t be able to stay as there"s an emergency at home." Sol bowed his head as he greeted Al"s mother.

"Oh, that"s a piece of sad news. At least bring this food that I"ve prepared, then." Marina hurriedly returned to the kitchen to pack the food.

"You"ve got an awesome mother, Al." Sol winked at the boy.

"You"ve got an awesome sister, too, Sol." Another stupid response. Al"s hormones were running wild.

"Excuse me?" Sol seemed to have heard it wrong.

"ahhh, I mean that Sophia is an awesome War Grounds" Player. You know, th-the Gerd! Yes, the Gerd! Her character is powerful!" Al stuttered as he spurted his excuse.

"Oh. Is that so? Yeah, how I wish that she could join us in the coming Rookie Challenge. Hehe. Oh, you"re mom"s fast. She"s already here." Sol bought Al"s justification, while Sophia just rolled her eyes in response to the lousy moves of Al Gentrix.

"Here. Here. I hope that you"ll like this potato salad. It"s Al"s all-time favourite. I"ve cooked it using my late husband"s recipe." Marina cordially handed the plastic container.

"Thank you so much, Mrs Gentrix. I"m already hungry just by smelling it. We"ll pick Al and his "Battle Station" tomorrow, then." Sophia received the food with a smile. Finally, the awkward ordeal was over.

After exchanging some pleasantries, the Hestiases parted ways with the Gentrixes.

Vroom!

Sol and Sophia were already inside their car when the former revved the engine.

"Ehem. So you"re not really joining the guild war in Alistor City?" The older brother suddenly asked as he showed Sophia his phone, in its screen was a blog, ent.i.tled - STAY AWAY FROM ALISTOR CITY - SIX PURGATORIES DECLARED WAR AGAINST THE GUILD, t.i.tANS!