- Hey, are you sure this will work?

- Don't worry, this is easy for me.

- But...

- You saw it for yourself, didn't you? I know what I'm doing. So...just trust me on this one, ok?

[][][][][]

At the kitchen, everything was already planned in advance. Who the girl was, what was the best excuse for her to be there, a little background and it was done. Chris tried to tell her a story he thought but the girl told him a better one than what he had. In the end, the only thing he asked her to include was that he was her cousin and the name he gave for her.

Altho it was all sounding good in his ears, there was a feeling anyone has when hoping for something to happen, that something wouldn't go the way it needed to. If that was true, then...

But the girl surpassed all of his expectations. The conversation went on and on afterward, going from the topics of how it was to live away from home to her personal life, and each time she replied to his friends sounded so natural that would put many actors to shame if they saw it. For the first time, the situation was going according to his plans.

- Oh, snap. I almost forgot about the homework. - Lost in the middle of the conversation, David suddenly remembered the motive of their visit.

(There it is!)

As David searched in his bag, Chris almost couldn't stop his grin to appear. The moment they delivered the homework would be the sign of their departure. He could feel it, this was finally going to end.

And then...

Ring, ring, ring, ring, the telephone sings for the ones in the room. Everybody stopped listening to his song. As the time passed, everybody was frozen in place. His two friends were looking weirdly at him.

- One moment, I will be right back. - Breaking the silence, Chris got up from his seat.

That sound came from the house telephone, by the stairs in the hallway. It was a good location for the whole house to listen when it rang, but going there now would mean exiting the living and leaving everyone alone.

Things here were going well, and that was why he wanted to make sure no problems would arise, but if he didn't go there, then it could awaken his friends' suspicions once again. Besides, the girl was managing well on her own. There was nothing to worry about.

Thinking like that, he went out the room and left them.

[][][][][]

As his friend's voices were getting lower and lower while he walked through the hallway, Chris quickly arrived at the telephone and pick it up on the last rings before the call ended. He wanted to finish this soon and return back to the living without wasting any time.

- Hello, who is it?

His question was answered with silence, no sound was heard from the other side. Maybe there was some sort of intervention between them, so he waited a couple more seconds before talking again.

- Hello? Is anyone there?

But the silence persisted. The call was still on and there was nothing wrong with their telephone, so something must be happening on the other side.

- Hey, is anyone there?

No matter how much time he waits, nobody replied him. Even if there was some sort of connection issues between them, he would have heard at least one noise at this point.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

- Is this a prank?

But the silence continued to persist. Not wanting to waste more time, he was about to put the handset on the hook, when--

- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

A loud shout was heard from the other side, stunning the boy. Altho there were more noises mixed on it, he couldn't hear them. Only when the sound alerting that the call had been cut was heard was when Chris returned to his senses.

His first action was to quickly place the handset on the hook while looking intensely on the telephone as he tried to arrange his thoughts.

- ...Weirdo.

Was his impression of the person who called. Turning his back to the telephone, he walked back to the living room, a bit shaken by what he had just heard.

[][][][][]

- So it turned out to be just a prank call, did I missed some....thing?

As he entered the room, he found David looking at some papers on his hand. Probably it was the homework they brought, so that wasn't anything relevant for the boy, but the problem was: there was only David.

- Man, that sucks. - David said - Do you think it was that kid from class 3? I heard some bad rumors about him.

It was one of the topics since they started the second year. A first year that didn't stop pranking, be it his classmates or teachers, all of them suffered from his hands. Lucky, they were expelled after getting involved with the principal and never to be seen again, but it was said the kid was still pranking students.

- No...I mean, probably but...

He knew a little about that kid, altho he never thought about it being them in that line. There was a time the kid pranked Chris with a phone call when they were still a student, so it wouldn't be too weird if you think--

(No, that's not the problem here.)

- David, where are the two?

Max and the girl were missing and probably alone right now. It wouldn't be a problem if she was still on her character, but that was just a temporary measure. If, for example, the girl decided to act on her own and...

- Oh, they just went to get some drinks from the kitchen. They should be coming back.

For his relief, they were in an area near him. If something bad happens, then he could arrive quickly there. At least they didn't go out of his home.

- Phew, good to know.

Chris smiled as he felt like a huge height dropped from his back. But his friend, on the other hand, was a bit worry.

- Hey, Chris, aren't you being a little over-protective here?

- ...What?

- Yeah, for a while I wanted to ask you this. You always looked, I don't know, somewhat on guard with her around.

It was a feeling when someone didn't want you around. Like a bubble around them, no matter how much you tried to approach, you would stop before getting near.

- You know that she is the same age as we, right? Trust her a little bit, ok?

It was all he wanted to tell his friend. David did not know what their relationship was, but that wouldn't matter the way Chris acted towards her. It was difficult to scold someone you liked, but it was for their own good.

- ...Huh?

But his words didn't move Chris not even a little bit.

- Me? Trust her? Are you kidding me, David?

It was only one day, less than twenty-four hours since they meet, and that was all the time it took for the boy to know who the girl was.

- She didn't know how to use the shower, didn't know how to dress up, didn't even know how to eat with a fork for crying out loud!

It was too tiresome to watch over her, but it would be even more if he let her alone to learn on her own.

- This morning...this morning, David, she...she almost choked me while feeding me! You should have seen the mess the kitchen became. Honestly, if she didn't look sixteen, then I would say she is a child.

Technically, the game didn't even have one year of release, so the girl could be called a baby.

- Seriously, David, you don't even know how hard it's to teach her some manners. I bet even that pranking kid wouldn't let me have this much work.

Complains after complains, Chris released all of his impressions of the girl to his friend. "Overprotective" wasn't even funny for him to hear. At most, the only word he would allow to be next to "over" would be tired.

But after everything he said, David couldn't stop his laughter.

- Ok, ok. I see I see. You don't need to explain any further. Just keep it moderate, ok? - He said he understood, but his smile was telling the contrary.

- Whatever, man. What is today's homework? - There was no way of him winning back, so he switched topics.

- Sure, sure, here.

Without erasing his smile, David extended his hand towards Chris filled with papers. With that, finally, this would end. It took longer than it should, but at least now he could have some rest. Walking towards his friend, all that Chris needed to do afterward was to wait for the other two to come back and his friends decide to go. But when he was about to grab the papers--

- I like you, please, go out with me!

A friendly voice was heard coming from the kitchen.