"What is this?" Alexander asked aloud as he was holding a worn and torn old piece of paper filled with blackish-red splash marks.

Alexander's abrupt query jolted his father from his reverie, catching the attention of Aven and their mother. They turned towards Alexander, who held an aged scroll adorned with numerous blackish-red stains. Confusion etched across their faces as they beheld the enigmatic object.

Aven was the first to reach Alexander as he and Alexander were scrutinizing the scroll, they were looking at the scroll like a teenage boy looks at the naked body of a woman for the first time in his life. At a distance, it bore a resemblance to paper, and when rolled, it took on the appearance of a traditional scroll. However, upon closer examination, its composition revealed itself to be more akin to a fabric or cloth-like material, discernible to anyone with a keen eye.

"Oh, that thing! I've been wondering where it got to," Alexander's father remarked, his gaze lingering on the worn paper as if recalling its significance.

"What's is it?" Alexander inquired, studying the scroll intently.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," his father admitted.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, actually. I don't know what it does, but I do know what to do with it."

"What's that?" Aven interjected.

"I may not know its function, but I do know that your grandfather instructed me to pass it on to you upon my passing, or rather, to the eldest son," Alexander's father explained somewhat awkwardly, looking at Alexander..

Actually, he gave this to me way before that, back when I was in fifth grade. I lost it later on, despite his instructions to pass it on to my firstborn son. But I never found it after misplacing it," their father reminisced. "I was supposed to give it to you, Alexander. Now that you've found it, you can do as you please with it. Keep it, toss it, use it as toilet paper for all I care."

"Alright, I'll hold onto it," Alexander replied, tucking the paper into his pants pocket carefully.

"Now you know the story. Someday, you'll pass it on to your own children. But for now, let's finish up this task," their father directed, resuming his cleaning of the watch.

Alexander and his mother returned to their chores as well, while Aven, lost in thought, continued with the cleaning.

Eventually, as the cleaning neared completion, Aven suddenly exclaimed, "Look what I found!"

All eyes turned to him as he held up an album.

"Oh, there it is! I've been searching everywhere for that," their mother exclaimed joyfully.

"What's the point of physical albums when everything can be stored online?" their father remarked casually.

"Remember who forgot the password to the online account? It's a good thing I listened to my mother and made a physical album," their mother retorted, shooting a pointed glare at their father.

Realizing his misstep, their father fell silent, understanding the gravity of his error.

Their mother then requested, "Aven, bring the album here."

Quickly complying, Aven handed the album to his mother, hoping to avoid becoming the next target of her ire.

Inspecting the album page by page, aven murmured to himself, "These are all pictures of your brother. Where are mine?"

Aven questioned, noticing the absence of his photos.

Ah, the photos aren't in the album; they're in the cloud storage account, which, unfortunately, your father managed to misplace the password for," she exclaimed, her voice escalating on the last part.

Aven's expression softened at this revelation. From the corner, their father chimed in, "Not to worry, I'll recover that password soon, and if not, there's a new tech whiz in the office I can ask for help." As this conversation unfolded, Alexander approached his mother, hoping to jog some old memories.

"Say, don't you keep a notebook in your office? You might have jotted it down there," Aven suggested, making his way towards their father.

"No chance, that one's strictly for office matters."

"This picture was snapped when you were just two months old, and this one when you took your first steps, and this one..."

While Aven and their father debated the possible whereabouts of the password, Alexander's mother reminisced with him, narrating stories behind each childhood photo.

"Who's this?" Alexander inquired, pointing to a little girl in one of the pictures, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

His mother studied the photo for a moment, as if trying to recall, then turned to their father, "Do you recognize this girl?"

After some contemplation, their father responded, "She's the daughter of our beautiful neighbor from our old place in the western part of the city."

"What lovely neighbor?" Alexander's mother questioned with a flat expression.

"Don't you remember the ones who lived next door, Mrs. Adela?" he replied, noticing the sudden silence in the room and the cold stare from his wife, sending shivers down his spine.

"You can't recall the password to our family account, but you remember a woman you met almost a decade ago," Alexander's mother uttered each word with a deliberate pause.

"No, no, you've got it wrong, it's not like that," their father stammered, realization dawning on him that he had slipped up.

"Then explain it to me," she challenged.

"Well...uh..."

Observing their parents' squabble, Alexander and his brother exchanged knowing smiles and slipped away quietly.

A memory resurfaced in Alexander's mind. "Hey, come sit next to me," a little girl said, her ponytail bouncing.

"No, my mom told me not to," a boy replied.

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At this, the girl's expression darkened momentarily. But then, she smiled and said, "Okay, no problem. Let's play."

Another time, when some kids were teasing the same boy at school, the girl went to get the teachers.

"She was kind to me," Alexander murmured with a sigh.

The next few days passed by in their usual rhythm. He also met Ana a few times, but she was tired and busy with the rehearsal for the play.

And as expected the role of Romeo fell on chase. Though alexander could not have a conversation with Ana he did meet with chase. The handsome son of a devil looked handsome as always.

“Hey, how are you? Long-time no talk.” A voice that was quite manly sounded as Alexander was about to leave.

He turned around and was startled to see Chase standing there. But he soon came to his senses and answered, “Well, I am fine.”

Most of the girls around the vicinity were sneaking a pick at Chase but Chase did not notice it. Witnessing this, Alexander grimaced.

“What?” Seeing the peculiar behavior of Alexander Chase asked with concern.

“No, it’s nothing, I was just trying to see how you guys are rehearsing.”

“Oh! Don’t worry about it. It's going smoothly. We will teach the seniors, why they should not underestimate the 1st years.”

“Ok.” Even though he wanted to see Ana he did not say that out loud.

“And if you want to see the rehearsal, you are late. Most of the rehearsal is finished, now the girls are just practicing on their own, they even threw me out.” Chase said with a chuckle.

“No, they are not practicing they are chatting in there and mostly about you.” A man as tall as 6 feet 6 inches, skin as black as ink, said from the side as he handed a bottle of water to Chase.

“Ha… ha…ha… yeah, I wish.” Chase took the water bottle from him and said this in a self-mocking tone.

“Bro I am telling you, girls are crazy for you.” The huge man said.

“Well, I don’t see any,” Chase said with a sigh.

“No, Grady is right, I am sure with the face that you got girls should form a line.” Alexander chimed in.

“Oh, Alexander I did not see you there.” The man named Grady was at first startled and then seeing Alexander, he fist-bumped him.

“I hope you guys are right. I mean look at jack, I do not mean to brag but if he could have a girlfriend every one of us deserves one. I mean the two of us.” Chase said pointing at Alexander and himself.

“Why, what did Gready do?” Alexander asked.

“You don’t know then, he already has two girlfriends.”

“What!”

“No that is not right. You should add another one.” Gready said with a triumphant smile.

“What another one. Man, you are a legend.” Said Chase with a sigh.

‘They are not that different from me.’ Seeing this back and forth Alexander thought to himself.

“I am telling you, man, all you need to do is ask, every girl will be dying to be your girlfriend,” Gready told Chase.

“No man, I will get laughed at.”

Alexander then sighed and said, “Well then, I have some work to do, see you on the day of the play then”

Days past by and nothing seemed particularly out of place except for Michael. Normally sharp-witted and quick to banter, he was strangely subdued, often lost in thought, gazing at the empty sky as if wrestling with some inner turmoil.

Alexander chose not to pry, sensing that if it were something significant, Michael would have confided in him anyway. He did pock at the subject a few times, but Michael skillfully diverted the conversation each time.

Alexander stopped his alarm right before it could sound out. Well, the reason was simple; he could not sleep all night. Today was the day of the play, and Alexander decided to ask Ana out today?

He thought about it long and hard. This should be his best chance. If the play went well, Ana would be in a good mood, and if it did not, then at least his confession might cheer her up.

In any case, this would be his best chance. He even talked to Michael about it, and he agreed. But in reality, this was way harder than he thought. Not only was he unable to sleep today, but also, he could not concentrate on anything this week.

Tons and tons of watching coaching videos, reading dating advice online, and everything he could do. But even then, now he was shaking. Doing all these things in his mind, and actually facing the reality that he would have to do that were completely two different things.

He dragged himself forward and took out all the money he saved along with the best dress he could find in the closet. Washing his face more times than is normal, Alexander got out.

The money was for a gift. And, of course, it was his first time giving a girl a gift. It did not take him long to reach the university. He found it odd, for some reason, Michael looked completely out of it today.

Throughout the journey, he did not talk much, just nodded and agreed, which was strange, especially for his personality where he had to refuse almost everything Alexander said. It was as if his mind was somewhere else.

In their university, which was the only one in the city, the freshmen receiving ceremony happened all at once for all departments. So not only the play, but there were also many things today.

There were rows and rows of tents set up with goods to sell. Of course, all of them were set up by the seniors in different departments.

Some were even recruiting people in different clubs. With the colorful tents, bustling people, and music blasting through the giant speakers, it was truly a festive atmosphere.

Alexander and Michael looked around. At first, Michael looked a little out of it, but it did not take him long to get in the spirit of things. But even after moving around for almost two hours, nothing caught Alexander's eyes. Well, that would be a lie. His eyes were caught, but then it wasn’t actually what he was looking for. The things did not resonate with his heart.

The play was in the evening, so Alexander and Michael had lots of time to waste. As a result, they looked around for a bit more.

At this time, suddenly the already heated surrounding became more rowdy and then abruptly halted. And following everyone else, Alexander and Michael moved to the side.

It was a young man, most likely a senior with white long flowing hair, passing through. But he was not alone; it was actually a teacher who was with him, but it more looked like the teacher was escorting him.

“It's, it's, Evans Van Dyke.”

“Evans Van Dyke, He truly is as handsome as I thought.”

Alexander, as usual, was oblivious to this man’s identity, but from the conversation around, he understood who this person was. And he knew this man, well by name at least.

Evans Van Dyke, one of the three geniuses of the Astronova city, who had the most chance to get into the Elysium Excellence, the most prestigious and renowned university in the capital city and by extension the world.

It is said that this guy broke through Xoe 3 when he was 8 years old. And who knows how far he came at this time.

On the other hand, Alexander killed all his dreams and desires of being in a place like the Elysium Excellence even before they had a chance to fully grow in his mind so he had no interest in that.

Though the majority of the girls were quietly sneaking glances at him with engrossing eyes, there were boys too, and Michael with his practically glowing eyes was a prime example of this. His eyes were practically sparkling.

Alexander was not frustrated at first, but seeing the guy being talked about even after he left, Alexander was a bit pissed off.

So he and Michael went to a less crowded area, and yet still, there was no gift. Alexander was about to give up and look for something expensive in his budget, but at that time, he decided to look a little deeper in a less crowded area.

The stalls were a little sparse and bland here, and as usual, he found even less appealing things here. And the last of the stall was still more audacious. The stall was open, and there was nothing behind the counter not even a person.

He was about to turn around,

“Hey, hey. I am here. I am here.”

Suddenly he heard a voice and looked behind. A girl or rather a tomboy burst through the back with one leg up in the air.

As she talked, she splattered all the things she was carrying on the table. On the table, things were all over the place. There was no salesmanship to speak of.

But suddenly something caught his eyes. It was a pearl necklace made from part pearls and part clam shells. All of the things she displayed were homemade jewelry of some sort, and frankly, they were quite well made. But Alexander liked this one more.

Especially as this was made from sea materials which were quite far from Astronova city and behind the city walls, the paths were not that safe either. In simple terms, this was one of the most unique things here.

“That's a nice choice, brings back memories.” Before Alexander could say anything, the tomboy said with a sigh.

But the price she asked, 3500 du, was too much for Alexander. He tried to haggle, but the devilish tomboy had already seen the glint in his eyes, so she was not budging at all.

He was about to turn around when suddenly, Michael said, “We will take it.”

Alexander was about to refuse as he did not have enough money. Suddenly, Michael pulled out 1500 from his pocket and threw it to Alexander.

Alexander hesitated for a moment, but he did take it. This was his one chance, and he wanted to give it his all. He also looked at Michael with gratitude.

There was still time for the play to start, so he and Michael looked around a little bit. There were many things to eat as well, and as Alexander was flat broke at this time, all the money came from Michael's pocket.

As the sun started to set, as alexander and Michel quickly made their way to the middle of the university.

Beside the VC’s bungalow, there were two buildings and one of them was the famous blue auditorium where the play was about to be held. The teachers of their department were quite powerful and active in the university so they were able to get this place. For any other department which would be next to impossible.

From the outside, the place looked like a domed building and from inside it was an opulent opera house auditorium. As the performance was from their department, they got the first seats right after the teachers of their department. And except for some seats recessed at the sides for special students the rest were at a first come first serve basis.

Alexander and Michael made themselves comfortable. It did not take long before the play started. Time passed and by this time, the play was almost done. And in the first two kissing scenes, nothing happened so Alexander was not too worried either. As time went on, everyone was more invested in the play, even those who knew the story inside out was having a good time as the boring lines of the originals were changed with lines that carried similar meaning and emotional impact. At a sudden point, the whole house fell silent as they were fully invested and lost in the acting. It was as if some invisible hand of fate was guiding them. So all Alexander's thoughts were on how he was going to pull it off after the play.

And Michel was right; he had a lot of competition, after the makeup and the gorgeous dress, most of the boys here were watching Ana rather than the play.

And then it happened. On the stage, an intense scene was going on, as both Romeo and Juliet or Ana and Chase were looking intensely into each other, suddenly Ana playing the role of Juliet stood on her toes as wet lips touched that of Chase's. The surprise in Chase’s eyes added a natural feeling to it.

At this time the sun was also setting, and through some clever kids quacking by opening the right windows the golden hue of the sunlight scraped into the building painting the whole hall in a golden dream-like color. And in the midst of them, the two kissing were like a painting of immortals. And everyone just watched in silence. And understanding down on chase as he also tightly griped Ana. It was a scene from a fantasy.

The hall burst into cheers and whistles and everyone was franticly leaping from their seat, especially the girls. Everyone was practically going crazy as they knew it was a genuine confession. Except for two people, Alexander was seating like a corps on his seat as Michel was looking at him in horror.

There was no emotion on Alexander's face, he was looking at the two couples on the stage like a living breathing statue. His world turned upside down.