Requital hope

Thirty

Zhan's pov.

On my way to drop Yibo off I caught a couple glances at his peaceful face. I couldn't tell if he noticed I was looking at him but I didn't really care. After following his directions we made it to his neighborhood. To be honest it didn't look very safe and looked kinda run down. I was really questioning if this is where he lived, it didn't suit him at all.

"You can drop me off over there." He told me, pointing to a brown brick building.

"You live there?" I asked, skeptical. It really didn't suit him.

He stayed silent for a moment before speaking his reply. "No, I live in the area though."

"Why don't you let me drive you to your
home." I offered.

"Bye." He said, quickly getting out of my car. He ignored me and hurried away. This kid can be weird sometimes. Why didn't he want me to take him home? Is it messy? Better yet, does he have a home? He most likely does, with the amount of books and clothes he has though.

I sighed and pulled off the curb, driving back to my house. Spending the evening with Yibo was amazing. I'm sad it had to end but happy it happened at all. He really is like a breath of fresh air. The same can't be said for his neighborhood however. I don't even mind being abducted by my parents, I had a great day and nothing could ruin it.

After pulling up in the driveway near the gate of our house I walked up the garden and to our front door. When I got inside my mother stood from the couch and pulled me in.

"How was your day sweetheart?" She asked in a motherly tone.

"It was great actually." I smiled at her. She gasped, probably surprised at my calm reaction. I'm usually pushing them away or resisting them but today I replied normally.

"It must be a girl." She assumed, gasping.

"No mom." I denied.

"It's a girl, isn't it!" She continued, with her gasps growing louder.

"Mom, it's nothing like that." I sighed. "Remember how I was telling you about the trip yesterday? Well, I neglected to tell you that I made a new friend, and he's a cool guy." I explained.

"If he can get you in such a good mood I'd love to meet him. He must be a real angel." She said while pulling me further into the house.

"So you do know you can be annoying don't you." I snickered. She just scoffed and went back to being... her.

"Honey, our son made a new friend!" She yelled. I mentally and physically sigh. Why does she always have to make my life a public announcement? She didn't do this to my brother or sister. It's like she and dad are always trying to humiliate me.

After a ten-minute conversation with my parents, I staggered off to my room. I dropped my school bag next to my cream queen-size bed and plopped my back on the soft sheets, what a day. I hope Yibo
enjoyed it as much as I did. That got me thinking about my friends and how they ignored him for most of the day. That was awful. They didn't drop their attention from me for a moment and blatantly ignored Yibo. If they kept it up they wouldn't be my "friends" for much longer.

Later I grabbed a snack from the kitchen and headed off to bed. When I woke the next morning I prepared myself for school as usual. As I was making my way down the stairs to the kitchen I caught my brother glaring at me. I frowned in response. He's never seemed to like me very much, but I don't know what I did to make him dislike me. He's a pretty cool guy too, so it's a little sad with the way he treats me.

I grabbed a bowl of cereal before heading out to my car. I would take my brother to school but he refuses every time I offer. I guess he prefers taking the bus. I pulled out of the driveway and drove off to school.