Friend 2: "Hey, dude, you going to let us in or what!"
Friend 1: "Come on, we haven't seen you all month!"
The Young Boy: "What do you all want? How did you find my house?"
The young boy was drowsy and standing in front of his house, confronting his best friends, well, two since his other friend was not present at the moment.
The Young Boy: "Ohhh, wait, why are you guys here?"
Friend 1: "Why are you confused? I thought we all decided on going to Haoyi's house starting last month?!"
The other friend yelled out, then the young boy responded.
"Huh."
Friend 2: "You can't just act all confused on us after we spent a long time....."
Friend 1: "Wait, why are you looking at us like that when you clearly?!"
Friend 2: "You forgot both our names again, didn't you?..... This can not keep happening, you do this every time we hang out at school!?"
"Sorry."
"So-Mang."
"Sorry."
"Haoyi."
"Sorry."
Those words were the only thing that came to mind, as no other word can work in this situation. The young boy deep down did not know how to make excuses, and even if they did, it would make this situation even worse.
So-Mang and Haoyi looked on at him, disappointed, and then simultaneously came to the realisation of something and then asked.
Haoyi: "Hey, what about.....Do you remember Ren?"
"Ren?"
So-Mang "Our friend who left with his family on a vacation."
The young boy let out a sigh, feeling guilty just by looking at their faces.
So-mang: "Why do you even...?"
"Sorry."
Haoyi: "Enough waiting now, So-Mang, we need to question him now."
So-Mang: "Yeah, answer us, why don't you hang out or talk to us anymore? Did we do something wrong to you?"
Both of them began to question the young boy, who could not come up with a good reason other than that he felt this sudden urge to stay at home, as well as his throat feeling tight and his breath coming out shaky whenever he thought of them because of the thought of them coming over to his house during the summer break worry him a lot.
"I wanted to hang out with my...parents and cousins over the summer break.....yeah, we plan for that...to happen now."
The young boy let out a response, stuttering with the same shaky voice he had during the first month.....he felt the tightness of his throat and a knot in his stomach being tied, he did not understand the feelings and did not know how to express them, so he came up with a half-truth.
Haoyi: "Okay, fine, we forgive you, but just say so next time."
So-Mang: "Yeah, so you fine now....."
"Yes...."
The young boy thought back to earlier that day when his mother came into the room with a concern.
Mom: "You keep staying at home every day and not hanging out with these boys for a while, and your friends thought that too, and their parents called me saying you do not hang out with them anymore."
"Sorry"
Mom: "Is there anything wrong that is happening to you?"
The young boy, without realizing or having a sense of shame, responded with a...
"Nothing is wrong mom....."
Deep down in his heart, the young boy lied because the look in his mom's expression was scary....it was not of rage or disappointment, but was out of worry for him.
The weight of his mother's concern pressed down on him like a heavy blanket, which made him feel like crying because of his mother's tone that matched her looks.
The young boy was weak against his mother's worries, and he could not disobey his mother because of how much he treasures her, alongside his dad, in his life.
His mother looked on at him with a sense of worry and concern, which the young boy wanted to remove, believing that if he just kept on being nice and following her no matter what, this could help her feel reassured and calm.
The young boy did not think this in his mind, but his body had this instinct to go along with what she said, no matter what.
Mom: "Listen to me, son, you've got to hang out with those friends of yours...okay.....and if you have any secrets, do not keep them from me, okay."
"Okay."
The young boy answered confidently, not noticing that his words that came out of his mouth were a lie, as neither the mother nor the boy noticed or understood.
Haoyi: "Hey, dude, why are you spacing out for?"
The young boy then snapped out of his thoughts, finding himself walking with Haoyi and So-Mang, who seemed to be worried about him, their earlier anger replaced by concern for their friend.
"So, where are we going?"
The young boy asked, feeling bored from walking.
So-Mang: "We are heading for Haoyi's house."
Haoyi: "Yup, just like we planned, dude."
Is what the two of them responded, and there they walked for a few minutes towards the house of Haoyi.
Haoyi's house was just a short walk, so they did not need any cars to get there.
Haoyi's house for the young boy was similar to Ren's house, with many rooms and different furniture.
He could not understand the beauty or the art of interior design, so the only thing he would notice when visiting other people's houses was how similar rooms are and the random furniture present that seemed to always be there to complete a certain purpose, as if it was essential to have one.
The young boy wondered if the furniture was present to fulfil some aesthetic or design purpose.
Woman: "Ohhh, so this is the boy you all talk about."
There stood a woman who looked to be a mother based on her height and the motherly aura she was emitting.
She was Haoyi's mother, who seemed to be in her mid thirties having a pony tail, with glasses.
Haoyi's Mother: "Would you guys like to eat lunch?"
Haoyi: "Sure thing mom.....come on, So-Mang, let's eat."
So-Mang "Okay, come on, dude, let's go, then we can go swimming later."
"Okay.....wait, swimming where?"
Haoyi: "It is a surprise, now come on, I am so excited."
Mother: "Haoyi! You need to calm down! Or else you might get a stomach ache later on."
Haoyi: "Okay."
The young boy watched in silence and let out a smile without even realizing that anyone else noticed besides the mother, but she did not comment on it.
The smile on the boy was a natural one, not forced or fake....a genuine smile that was filled with happiness and excitement as if he felt so bad for ignoring these two friends who were with him through the whole school year.
During the car ride going to their destinations, the young boy sat there unable to interact with the others.
He sat there with the only thing on his mind was the nagging guilt that twisted his stomach as he could hear both Haoyi and So-Mang laughing together.
Their laugh made the young boy reminisce about the countless fun times they shared, along with Ren, and the thought of him abandoning them made him feel unbearable.
He was grateful they forgave him, but it did not mean the nagging feeling would go away.
His thoughts then drifted to his mother's concern, remembering how that look in her gaze made him feel so guilty, inspiring him to make her happy and to swallow any negative indescribabale feelings that exist within him.
In the afternoon, the young boy looked on, watching his two friends splashing in the water along with the siblings of Haoyi and his father, who was watching over them.
Haoyi's mother sat with the young boy who looked on at the others.
"What is the matter, young man?"
Haoyi's mother suddenly asked him since she noticed him watching and not participating in what they were doing.
"What are you doing here....ma'am?"
"Huh, well, just resting....Haoyi and his daddy are kind of rough."
"Yeah, they do that."
"So I heard from Haoyi, So-Mang, and Colette, your mother, that you have stayed at home the whole month for summer break.... Why didn't you go out during that time?"
"I am fine, madam.....I enjoyed my time at home.....I just enjoyed it a little bit."
"You can not stay at home all the time....I heard you are an only child.....so you probably do not have anyone at home other than your mother and father."
"Yeah, that is correct."
"What is bugging you, little guy?"
"Nothing is bugging me because I just want to stay home."
"Let me give you some advice, kid...you do not live on an island....you were not made to be alone but to coexist with others."
The young boy looked at the mother of his friend and did not understand her words, but he pretended to answer with a nod; he did not know why, but his heart was telling him to do so.
Throughout his time spent with them, he enjoyed swimming, eating, drinking, singing karaoke, and dancing with them. He was walked home with the father of Haoyi while the parents of So-Mang came to pick him up.
He thought back to what Haoyi's mother said; however, he remembered her saying more things, but did not remember, or rather, his mind wandered elsewhere unintentionally while she talked on and on.... She was saying something important, but the young boy did not consider it important to him.
The young boy and the father of Haoyi kept on walking in the direction of the young boy's house.
Haoyi's Father: "Thank you for hanging out with Haoyi, young man."
"Huh?"
Haoyi's Father: "Haoyi, So-Mang, and Ren are good boys who seemed to be inseparable from each other...and we wanted them to make friends other than them, and yet the many boys they brought him are just well.....they came, but some of them are just well spoiled and rude."
"That is a mean thing to say, sir....I am sure there were good boys."
Haoyi's Father: "Young man, I will agree with you there.... not all of them are spoiled and rude, but other friends they bring home.... decent and friendly as they are seem to not become close to those boys, and I understand that those guys either change schools or want to make new friends....or perhaps they are not interested in making friends."
"Sir...."
Haoyi's Father: "The point is, thanks for being friends with them and humoring those guys, hehehe, all three of them are such great friends."
The young boy looked on at the father touched by his gratitude yet not understanding after all the term wanting to make new friends is pretty much what the young boy has been doing too and the idea came up if he would still be friends with these guys in the start of the fifth year at his school since the class would change and he would have new classmates.
The father managed to drop off the boy at his home, and when he arrived at home, he was introduced to his parents, along with a woman and a child who seemed to be discussing something with them and only stopped to stare at him when he entered.
The young boy was silent, not expecting new people to be in his house, and then his parents mentioned it.
Dad: "Son, welcome home.....wait, who dropped you off?"
"Haoyi's dad brought me here and is leaving now."
Dad: "Ohhh, good, well, allow me to introduce these people who are our new next-door neighbours."
The older woman then waved and said.
The Older Woman: "Hello, nice to meet you, young man.....hey, come on, you should say hello too."
The older woman turned to her daughter beside her, and then the young girl, who was her daughter, began to speak with a soft and nervous tone.
The Young Girl: "Hello n-nice to.....meet....you...I-I-I am uhhhhh....mmmmm"
She hid behind her mother, and the three older people laughed while the young girl and I seemed to stare at each other with a nervous expression and feeling.