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A young boy was sitting in an orphanage that he hated. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the cramped room, the other boy he shared a room with, or the fact he was in an orphanage in the first place.
The boy happened to be there for the past month, after his Great-Aunt died of a heart attack. The thirteen year old always seemed to be lucky so being here seemed to be if all the bad luck he didn’t have in his short existence came back all at once.
“Wilbur.” The boy looked up, fixing his posture from slouching on the bed to sit up, putting his hands behind his back. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, looking at one of the women who ran the orphanage. “Come downstairs, there is someone who wants to meet you.”
The boy hopped out of bed, walking up to her and, as they left, he tried to match their pace. His fingers were interlocked and sweating as the boy waited for this new person.
Phil was sitting in an orphanage, looking around the quiet room and noting how old the wallpaper looked as it was peeling in the corners. He had talked to a few kids today, and, though all in a shit situation, seemed like kids that wouldn’t fit into his household.
The door creaked open, the hinges making a piercing noise as the woman he was talking to came in with a new boy. He looked a little shorter than his son, with short and fluffy hair. Honey brown eyes stared him over, giving a polite smile. He looked stiff, Phil immediately noticing how straight his back was and how tense his shoulders were.
His eyes softened at the boy when he walked over, the brown haired boy immediately sticking his hand out, “Hello sir, I’m Wilbur Soot.” His tone was overly cheerful and polite, almost like this was forced. “Hello, Wilbur. I’m Phil Watson.”
The boy nodded and the two sat down as the woman left. “So, Wilbur, is it alright if I call you Will?” The boy nodded, “Yes, that is alright, sir.” Phil sighed, looking him up and down, “you can relax, Will.” The boy cocked a brow, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you are talking about, sir. I am relaxed.”
Phil sighed, “Nevermind. How old are you?” “Thirteen,” the boy said, softly smiling. “That’s cool, my son is also thirteen, he really likes reading and fencing. What about hobbies? Anything you like to do?” The young boy shrugged, “I study. I don’t know, my aunt said hobbies were useless in the grand scheme of things.” Phil’s brows raised, eyes looking at him with a mixture of sadness and relatability.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what was your aunt like?” The boy thought for a second, Phil could see him thinking every word he was about to say very carefully. “She was… She was quiet, she really liked her quiet. She was also very headstrong, and… and confident! She was very smart too, running her own business by herself.” Phil softly smiled, "you remind me a lot of myself when I was young.” “I do”, Will asked, a wide smile on his face. “Yeah, kiddo. May you please get Ms. Welsh for me?”
A handful of minutes later, Phil was now fostering this surprisingly tall child. Walking out to the car, Phil put Wilbur’s bags in the car. When Will sat in the back, Phil looked at him in surprise, “Wanna sit up front with me, mate?” He tapped his fingers as he looked, “I've never done that before. I was never allowed to sit in the front.” Phil smiled, looking at the kid, “well, you are now. Come sit with me.”
The drive back to L’Manburg wasn’t long but Will’s eyes never left the window where they could see the roaring waves on the ocean, “do you like it?” Phil noticed how Will had to force his attention away from the window, “yeah, we didn’t have the ocean or lakes where I used to live so it’s really pretty.” Phil smiled softly as the boy’s eyes returned to the rushing waves, making a mental note for later.
Soon arriving at the home Phil knew all too well, they walked inside to see a young boy, with long brown hair sitting and reading a book with a pink haired man on the cover. The boy had two large scars on his face, one across his nose and the other down his cheek and neck. “Techno!” The young man looked over to see his father, a small smile before he saw the other boy, his face shrinking into a scowl.
Following Phil’s example, Wilbur took off his shoes before walking up to the young man. Taking his hand from behind his back, he put it out in front, “hello, I’m Wilbur.” The other boy looked him over, a small analysis in his head before he simply stated, "Technoblade."
Wilbur nodded before putting his hand behind his back once again, Phil giving a soft smile, “hey mate, wanna go up to your room?” Wilbur nodded before following Phil up the stairs.
The house was huge, lots of side rooms and a study filled with books, plants, and foriegn souvenirs before it led to the hall of bedrooms. Following him down the hall, they eventually came across the room he would be staying.
It was large, larger than his room he shared at the orphanage but not as large as his room when he lived with his Great-Aunt. A bed was pushed up against the side of the wall, with grey and black bedding. A desk was pushed up next to the closet, and a bookshelf was on the other side.
“Well, it’s a bit bland but we can go shopping for stuff soon. We also have to get you school stuff.” Wilbur’s heart gave a small flutter before he turned to Phil, “I get to go to school? Like, a real, in person school?” Phil gave a small chuckle, looking the boy over, “That’s right, were you homeschooled before?” They boy gave a small nod, looking over the room. “Okay, you get settled in; I’ll be back later, alright?” “Alright, thank you Mr. Watson.” Phil gave a small sigh, “Phil is fine, mate.”
The next day Wilbur was wandering around the house, looking at all the knickknacks in Phil’s office since he couldn’t find either him or Technoblade. All were from different cultures, but most looked like they were Japanese in origin. What caught his eye was a guitar, all shiny and red with a black neck and accents. With a glimmer of curiosity to it’s sound, Wilbur reached up. “Hey mate, I’m back!”
With the surprise shout from Phil, Wilbur flinched, not wanting to get caught but accidentally fell on his back. With the sudden movement, his elbow hit a blue vase, causing the ceramic container and the plant inside to fall on the floor and shatter.
Wilbur was paralyzed with shock and fear, Phil’s footsteps and shouts came rushing up the stairs meant that he was gonna be mad. His first morning at this house and he already messed up.
Phil’s shaggy blond hair was seen turning the corner before rushing over to Will, pulling him away from the shattered vase. Tears started falling from the boy’s eyes that couldn’t look away from the mess he had made. “Are you alright,” Phil asked in a rushed breath, tired from having to move a boy almost his size. Will’s eyes looked at Phil in a panic before stuttering, “your vase.” “To hell with the vase, are you alright?”
At that, Wilbur looked even more shocked, but he nodded. Phil sighed, pulling Wilbur in for a hug, which shocked the young man before he accepted it.
When Phil pulled out, he looked at Wilbur before saying, “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before I hugged you.” Will nodded, “it’s fine.” Phil gave a soft smile before looking at the floor where the shattered vase was intermingled with dirt and leaves of the plant, “I’ll clean up and then we can go shopping for stuff in your room?” Will nodded before standing up and scurrying off to his room.
Twenty minutes later, Will was buttoning up his shirt when Phil walked in, immediately noticing Will’s limited selection of clothes, all of which lacked color. “Hey, Will, what is your favorite color?” The boy looked up at him, immediately stating, “yellow.” The man gave a nod before Will stood up and the two walked out the door and drove to the mall.
It wasn’t long before they got more stuff for Wilbur’s room, like a yellow comforter and black pillowcases for his bed and other bits of clutter. They also bought him some new clothes, the boy choosing a colorful array of autumn colored jumpers and even some jeans, after he questioned Phil if they were too casual.
Eating lunch in the food court, Phil couldn’t help but laugh at the excitement this kid had when he saw the variety of greasy mall food, looking around before Phil bought himself a sub while Wilbur munched down on a kids meal.
“Are you sure you don’t want something bigger, mate? You didn’t eat breakfast and not much at dinner.” Wilbur shook his head, “No, the portions are very large. My Aunt always made smaller portions for the two of us. I can barely eat all that.”
Phil looked down at the happy meal before overlooking the boy in front of him. “Alright but you have to try and eat more while you’re under my roof, alright?” Wilbur nodded and hummed in agreement as they continued with their food.
“Are we almost done, Mr… Phil,” Wilbur asked, carrying multiple bags which caused him to slow down. They walked through the mall, overlooking different shops with a variety of intrigue. Phil smiled as they marched them through, “yup, just two more shops okay?”
He nodded, following Phil into a toy store that was completely lined with plushies, “you get to pick one, alright?” Will cocked a brow at the older man before shrugging. They looked around, the wide variety surprising Wilbur. He remembered how when he turned eight his Aunt said that he was too old for toys, especially stuffed ones.
He looked around before something caught his eye. A sheep, more accurately a ram, with thick and curly blue wool. Picking it up it was soft and fluffy to the touch. Giving it a hug, A small smile came to the boy’s face. “That one,” Phil asked, looking at the plush. He nodded, causing Phil to grin before buying it.
The last stop seemed to be a bookstore, and Phil watched him very closely here. “As many books as you want,” Phil stated, his grin never seeming to leave which was both reassuring and worrying.
He didn’t pick many. Will was never a reader but he found a couple he did like. Two were about pirates, traveling the seas to live a life of adventure, and the last one was a cute fantasy romance, where the prince and princess saved each other from danger.
The selection was cute, making Phil smile and he immediately started planning in his head. The two walked up, Wilbur glancing to see if Phil would judge but he didn’t say anything, when he took the books. He couldn’t tell if he was judging the selection for the entire time but when they were walking out, he said, “you made some good choices, mate. Might have to borrow them from you when you’re done.”
The comment made Will’s heart inflate with excitement, squeezing the stuffed lamb as they walked towards the car. “What are you gonna name them,” Phil asked, looking at the boy as he placed the bags as Will did the same. “I don’t know,” he started, “all I know is that he’s my friend.”
It was starting to get closer and closer into the school year and Techno was not at home most of the day. Phil later told him that the other boy was at fencing practice, which he was doing most of the summer so he can be proficient at the sport before the season started in the early winter.
Phil also gave him a list of classes and clubs he could sign up for. Looking through the list, a lot of them seemed to be classes he wouldn’t expect, like math and science, but were instead music and the arts. When he asked Phil for an explanation, he said, “oh, those are electives. They’re like hobbies that you get work for and are mandatory to graduate.”
It wasn’t something Will really understood, but looking through the list he found the music classes interesting. Several options were available but he just decided to stick to the music theory class to learn the basics.
The full moon was shining down on the ocean coastline of L’Manburg, waves slowly crashing on the sand and moving the tides. The town seemed still, sleeping in the dead of night and enjoying the last few nights of summer vacation.
The Watson household was at least calm for this night. Phil was up typing away at his computer while both Wilbur and Techno were sleeping in their beds, the night letting them rest their heads.
That was, until Will was awoken by screaming down the hall, followed by the sound of rushed footsteps. Scrambling off the bed and following after, he found himself at the door of Techno’s room.
Walking inside, Will’s attention was turned to Techno, thrashing, kicking and screaming in his sleep, with Phil watching, trying to wake the sleeping boy. Wilbur stood behind Phil, watching in terror as he kicked in screamed. “Why aren’t we waking him up,” Wilbur asked, looking at him with wide eyes and grasping Phil’s robe.
“It won’t help, mate,” Phil said sadly and tiredly, like this was commonplace in this house, “it’ll only make it worse. We just got to wait for him to wake up.”
It took a couple minutes, but Techno shot up. Phil sat on the bed next to him, causing the young boy to pull him into a hug, sobbing into his shoulder. Will looked on in a state of ambivalence, watching the scene between the two, something he had never really seen before.
Techno rested his chin on Phil’s shoulder, his eyes looked almost red with the light in the hall reflecting onto them. When his eyes caught Wilbur, his brows furrowed. “Out,” he snarled, glaring daggers at him.
Phil turned his head to see Wilbur still standing there. With a soft expression and a sad smile, he rubbed Techno’s back before saying, “why don’t you go back to bed, mate?” Wilbur nodded, shuffling down the room and out the hall.
Wilbur rested his head on his pillow, not able to fall back asleep after what had just transpired. When he heard the shuffling down the stairs, Will peeked his head out to see Techno carrying something pink and a long maroon blanket that had white underneath draped over his shoulders like a cape, Phil following closely behind in his emerald robes.
When he came back, he went to his bed, stopping when a light shined through his window. Walking to it, he saw the lights of Phil’s car turned on, before the car left the driveway and went down the road.
Wilbur sighed, looking back at the bed. He didn’t want to sleep, thoughts running around in his head as he looked at the door. Could he watch some TV before they came back? Phil’s words rang through his head but he honestly only thought about the consequences for getting caught. Taking a huge sigh, Wilbur said, “time to be daring,” before tiptoeing down the hall.
Will ended up falling asleep on the couch, head resting on the armrest as a random Marvel movie played in the background. His body resting under the thick blanket Phil left on the couch and his hair a mess.
His eyes flutter open when he hears Phil’s car pull into the driveway, realizing how late it was to get away. He quickly turned off the TV, trying to dig himself into the couch and hide under the blanket. His heart raced as he sat still, waiting for them to climb up the stairs.
Wilbur sat there for about fifteen minutes, silent. He jumped when a person sat on the couch, placing their hand on his thigh. “Will, I know you are here,” Phil said softly.
The boy removed his head from the blanket, using it to cover everything but the upper part of his face. Phil’s opal eyes shined down on him softly, a small smile as his brow was cocked. “You’ve been caught, mate. Wanna tell me what you’re doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Wilbur said, looking down at the blanket. He rubbed his fingers over the plush blanket expectantly, ready for him to be reprimanded, much less watching TV at this hour.
Phil looked at him softly, the boy refusing to look him in the eyes. His eyes glanced over him like a hawk analyzing its prey, trying to see if there was any ulterior reason he was up. “I got some cookies in the kitchen, I can get some. Then do you want to talk about it.”
The boy’s eyes shifted up to his in surprise, his mouth opening slightly. He slowly nodded, causing Phil’s smile to grow. Reaching his hand up and stopping half way, Phil asked, “do you mind if I touch you?”
Will shook his head, genuinely confused on why he would ask that, “no, why would I?” Phil gave a soft smile, his eyes glancing at the stairs before cutting back to the boy, “it’s nothing.”
Ruffling the boy’s hair, Phil walked into the kitchen. The clattering of glasses and jars was heard before Phil came back with a plate of cookies and two mugs, one with warm milk and the other with coffee. Phil took the coffee before leaning his back against the arm rest, looking at the boy expectantly. “So, what are you doing awake at this hour?”
Wilbur looked down, hands behind his back as he tried to be quiet, but this wasn’t gonna get him anywhere. “I couldn’t sleep. Techno’s screaming woke me up and then you two left, I was so worried,” Wilbur started, his voice shaking and speeding up in worry, “I just wanted to watch a movie to calm down and I accidentally fell asleep, I’m so sorry I promise I won’t do it again.”
The boy was shocked when he was pulled into a hug, the last thing he was expecting when it came to this. It felt nice, and warm. Wilbur loved it more than anything; so, after the initial shock, Wilbur hugged back, a few tears falling down his cheeks.
Phil played with the boy’s fluffy and curly hair, a small smile came as the boy squeezed his chest. As much as he loved Techno, it was hard for him to express his love for the boy since his main love language is physical touch.
Looking at Will as he left his chest, Phil gave a soft smile, “would you like to talk about what’s really bothering you now? I promise you aren’t in trouble.” Wilbur bobbed his head, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Techno’s screaming came out of nowhere and it scared me and I was really scared for him.” Phil nodded as he moved, grabbing the remote before shuffling through his catalog of movies.
“Mate, that’s really sweet of you,” he said with a smile, eyes shifting to the boy before looking back at the TV, deciding on a sweet kids movie, “this one look good?”
Wilbur nodded, letting Phil put on the movie and it filled his ears. His eyes shift to the floor though before saying, “yeah, I don’t think he likes me though.”
Phil’s smile grew into a thin line, “he doesn’t really like anyone. He’s not much of a people person, kiddo.” He took a breath, eyes turned to Will as he spoke, “he’s quiet, and hates being touched.”
Wilbur shrunk at every word, head spinning with thoughts about the information Phil had just told him. “He will warm up to you kiddo, trust me,” Phil stated, wrapping an arm around him, “it took him months to get to where we are now and he is still learning how to deal with people. You will get there, don’t worry.”
Wilbur lighted up at those words, his smile meekly returning to his porcelain skin. Leaning into Phil’s side, they watch the film quietly.
“You know, like Mallory, Techno also does fencing,” Phil said, pointing at the TV with a small smile, “have you thought about any hobbies to do when school starts? He is also a part of the writing club.”
Wilbur thought for a second, pulling his legs to his chest as his eyes glanced at the flier on the table for the school he would be going to. He gave a small shrug, causing Phil to smile, “That’s alright. We’ll figure it out later.”
The next morning came quick and Wilbur was asleep on the couch, tucked in and resting as Techno came down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Good morning, Techno,” he said softly. The other boy gave a small glare before walking into the kitchen. Wilbur nodded, curling into the side of the couch as he waited for Phil to come down stairs.
The smell of breakfast was being made in the kitchen, making Will wonder if Phil was already up. To his surprise, he saw Techno, making bacon and toast. A small smile came to his face, smiling as he reached up for the plates, “I’ll set the table.” Techno glanced at him, sighing as he watched the boy try and grab the plates, scurrying back to the dining room and setting everything out.
Phil came down a couple minutes later, a small smile on his face when he smelled the salty meat and crispy toast and saw Wilbur setting the final utensils out. He quickly thanked Wilbur for his work before watching Techno carry out a large tray of bacon and toasted bread. “Techno,” Phil said, looking at the boy as he froze at Phil’s tone, “What have I said about making breakfast after those kinds of nights?”
The young boy sighed, hiding behind his hair as he finished putting the food on the table. Their eyes met for a split second but Techno averted his gaze, “Not to.”
Phil smiled as he said, “You don’t have to. You don’t owe me anything. Love you.” Techno’s cheeks turn a slight shade of pink embarrassed at getting lectured but he nodded, sticking his thumb and finger out before moving his hand in Phil’s direction and back to his own.
The three of them sit down at breakfast, all happily digging into the food in front of them. Phil looked at the two boys on either side of him before asking, “Do you boys want to go back to school shopping today?”
Wilbur’s eyes widened as he nodded vigorously. Phil’s smile grew as his eyes shifted to his son, looking him over as he picked at his food with his fork. “Techno?” The boy shrugged before looking at his dad’s excited eyes and sighing. With a small nod, Phil’s grin grew.
“Alright, you boys get ready after breakfast. We got some shopping to do.” Wilbur ate his small amount of food quickly, running upstairs to change. He decided on going with one of the brown sweaters over his white button ups. Matching brown pants and shoes made the outfit look coordinated, and Will look a little too grown up.
He walked downstairs to see Phil and Techno at the door, a maroon scarf wrapped around Techno’s face. Wilbur noted it, mostly due to the fact it’s late summer and absolutely the wrong time to be wearing such an accessory. Walking out to the car, Wilbur politely let Techno have the front seat. Talking the back left, his eyes stared out on the oceans of L’Manburg.
Arriving at the mall not long after, the three shuffled out of Phil’s Subaru and walked inside. The place had changed a bit since Wilbur came a week or so beforehand; shops changing their options of clothing to be more “school appropriate” and to better fit with the fall season.
When glancing at the clothes, Phil couldn’t help but chuckle. “Will, mate, your clothes will already fit in well at this school.” He gave a small nod, keeping close to his guardian, eyes shifting to Techno who was on the other side of Phil. Their eyes only met once but the look Techno had was almost murderous, eyes looking for the best place to stab him and with Techno taking up fencing, he wouldn’t be surprised.
It wasn’t particularly long till they found themselves finished with shopping, pencils and paper acquired for their studies and books towering high. The drive home was also quiet, the sound of Techno’s audiobook rang in his ears. When they did, they quickly ate dinner and went off to bed.
“Dad, please, it’s our spot!” Wilbur was on the couch, watching a movie when he heard a commotion from upstairs. Techno and Phil went up there a little while ago and Wilbur knew it was none of his business and he didn’t mind. His mind was rushing with ideas about what his first year of real and in person school was going to be like but Phil and Techno’s argument snapped him back to reality.
“Techno, it’s just a strip of land that is open to the public. You share it anyway,” Phil said, walking down the stairs, Techno following after him in a huff.
Wilbur straightened his posture from his relaxed position and put his hand hands behind his back as Phil walked over to him. “Hey mate. I was thinking since school starts tomorrow, we could go to the beach and have a fire pit?”
Wilbur’s eyes widened when he heard what Phil said, a smile stretched across his face as he imagined the crashing waves and the burning of fire. He quickly nodded, causing Phil to smile and looked at the two boys, “Go grab some beach stuff and we’ll head out in an hour or two.”
Wilbur quickly shot up and followed Techno to their rooms. When he went to open his door, he caught eyes with his foster sibling, and the glare was worse than any other Techno had thrown in his direction. His eyes turned dark and like the deep shade of blood, like he wanted to rip him apart piece by piece. Wilbur tried to shake it off as he stepped into his room.
He came out a couple minutes later in swim trunks, a jacket thrown over his shoulders, just in case he needed to go somewhere. He ran downstairs to find Phil in shorts and a jacket like him but Techno was wearing a t-shirt along with a jacket, still carrying the book he typically read. “Well boys,” Phil said with a smile, “Let’s go!”
The drive was long and twisting but it was always by the water so it was beautiful. They arrived at a small beach along the twisting road, not far from one that seemed to be more crowded.
Pulling into one of the parking spaces, Wilbur ran down towards the water, watching the waves crash as far as the eye could see. “Mate,” Phil shouted from the car, “I know you’re excited but we need to unload this stuff!”
He sighed but nodded, running back up the hill and helping Techno and Phil carry blankets, shovels, and some of the heaviest bags he had ever held. Opening it, he saw that it was piled high with rocks and wood. When he questioned Phil, the man kept a small smile before putting a finger to his lips, “You’ll see.”
When they were finally done Will, finally, got to go in the water. Throwing his jacket to the side, he went in head first. Some small fish stayed near him as he swam out towards the open sea. The salty water welcomed him with a cold embrace.
Once Will got far out enough, he looked towards the shore to see his foster family digging and someone else on the edge of the water. Swimming closer, he saw it was a girl, about his age with puffy red hair and pale skin. A smile appeared on his face as he swam over and, once close enough, he shouted, “Hello!”
Her emerald eyes looked him over before she said, “Hello?” He quickly swims closer, sitting in the water across from her. She seemed a little taller, her long red hair curled around in spirals. Her feet dangled in the water as he looked at her.
“Hello, I’m Wilbur Soot,” he politely greeted. She looked at his hand before putting her hand in his, giving it a firm shake, “Nice to meet you, Wilbur. I’m Sara Saal-Coughlin, but everyone calls me Sally.”
Wilbur smiled at her, asking, “What school do you go to?” “L’Manburg Prep, eighth grade. What about you? I’ve never seen you here before,” she stated, looking him over as if to make sure her statement was right.
“Oh, I’m also in eighth grade at L’Manburg Prep and that’s because I just moved here. I really like it so far. Do you have any hobbies,” he asks, head cocking to the side like a puppy pleading for an answer.
She was about to speak when someone shouted her name, causing her to jump out of the water, “I gotta go. I guess I might see you tomorrow?” Wilbur nodded, saying goodbye as she ran off to her family.
Wilbur stayed in the water a bit longer, watching the fish and trying to see how long he could hold his breath underwater. When Phil called him up, he saw the two of them, sitting by a large and roaring fire. Techno was reading, like usual, and Phil was smiling as he walked closer. “Will, mate, come dry off. I’ll go grab some food.”
Wilbur nodded, sitting on one of the towels and watching the fire roar. Much like the ocean, it moved back and forth and was almost mesmerizing. Eyes shined and shimmered, hand reaching out to touch it when Phil came back, eyeing him curiously, “What are you doing, mate?”
The young man snapped out of his trance, putting his arm in his lap he looked at the older man, “Nothing.”
Phil sighed softly, a smile on his face as he sat down in front of the fire, both of his boys either side. “Hope you like potatoes, Will. They’re one of Techno’s favorite’s.”
Wrapping them in aluminum foil, he placed them against the fire, letting them cook as the three, really just two, of them talked. Techno stayed silent, but his annoyance was obvious, eyes cutting from his book to Phil and Wilbur quite often as they laughed.
When the food was done, they ate quickly, Phil noticing Wilbur was eating more than he normally would, eating almost the entirety of the baked potato. When they were done, they relaxed for a bit longer, Wilbur gushing about how excited he was for his first day.
Once the sun had set, they boys put out the fire before cleaning up their space and heading back to the car.
When they arrived at the stone house, they wandered inside before Techno rushed upstairs to his room. Phil’s eyes didn’t leave the direction his son went when he said to Will, “You should go to bed too, big day tomorrow.”
Wilbur nodded before saying his goodbyes and running upstairs and into his room.
The next morning Phil dropped them both off at the doors to his alma mater, a soft smile on his face, “Now you two take care of each other and have a good day, alright?” Wilbur voiced his agreement but Techno gave a huff, before nodding. Hard to tell with half his face covered by a scarf.
Phil left the parking lot, letting Wilbur and Techno walk towards the doors, “Why are you wearing a mask, Techno? It’s, like, super hot outside.” Wilbur only received a glare before Techno started walking faster towards the doors.
Wilbur followed him into the building, the students flooding the halls made him lose his way. It took him several minutes to find his class but when he did he was happily surprised to see his class. Eighteen kids lined up in six rows of three, where he recognized Techno sitting in the back left, towards the windows and Sally sitting on her desk, talking to some of her friends.
When their eyes met, Sally’s gears turned her head before widening her eyes, “Hey, Will! Come sit with us!” He enthusiastically nodded, walking up and sitting with the collection of other students in his class. “Hello everyone, I’m Wilbur Soot!”
The first person to respond was a girl with bleach blonde hair and pale skin. Her dark brown eyes stared at him like warm chocolate which looked at him from behind glasses. “Hello, Wilbur,” she smiled, pulling a small plastic tupperware from her bag and opening it to reveal cookies, “I’m Niki, want one?” Will happily took one of the cookies, putting it in his mouth and feeling the warm chocolate and butter melt in his mouth.
“Thank you so much, Niki! These are delicious,” he said waiting till after he ate the cookie to tell her. Her face grew into a wide smile, a light dusting of pink covering her cheeks at the compliment, “No, thank you! That was so sweet!”
“Niki, you literally just met him so you don’t need to be falling for him yet,” the boy next to her said. His brown hair was cut extremely short, with a newspaper cap thrown on top of his head. His glasses were unique, half of the frames were red and the other half were blue.
“Shut the hell up, Jack Manifold,” Sally stated, snatching his hat from his head and tucking it around her red and puffy hair. He glared at her before lunging for the cap.
“I swear to god, Salmon. I will fight you,” he stated, making Wilbur step back in shock at the proposition of fighting but Sally only seemed open for it.
Stepping up on the desk, she smiled down at him with hands on her hips. She looked down proudly at the boy, a wide grin on her face as she stretched her arms out, “I’d like to see you fucking try, Manifold.”
Wilbur eyed her in shock, not expecting her swearing. A boy next to them sighed, looking at them with a small smile. His light brown hair rested over tired eyes and his colorful hoodie rested overtop of the school’s uniform, the shades of magenta, teal, and others clashed looking both tacky and wonderful at the same time. “Guys, stop. The teacher will get here soon.”
Sally seemed to take it as more of a challenge, turning her attention to the colorful boy with a raised brow, “Come on, Karl. There is no reason to be scared of me getting in trouble.”
He shrugged, looking at the two of them before saying, “It’s not worth it, Sally. Just give it back.” The girl huffed, plopping herself back down on the desk and looking at Jack, she ripped the hat off her head and placed it on his, “It looked better on me, anyway.”
Almost as if on cue, their new teacher came in, glancing at the entire class. “Miss, please get off the desk and everyone should find a chair to sit in,” she stated, eyes looking at Sally disapprovingly. The girl rolled her eyes, sitting in the chair and looking at Wilbur, gesturing for him to sit next to her which he happily did too.
After calling the role and setting up her rules for the year, she took out a stack of papers. “Alright, here are your schedules. I will only give you one copy so don’t lose it.” She passed around the slips of paper, going in alphabetical order.
When she arrived at Wilbur, she handed Sally hers before handing one to the boy. The red headed girl looked at his paper, then her own, scanning it up and down before saying, “Cool, we have choir and science together.” Wilbur nodded excitedly, and they turned around to see what classes he shared with his new friends. He had Jack in both science and math, Niki in German, and Karl was in his English class. He was glad he was in every class with them, especially the fact he was in gym and history with all of them.
When their history class was over, he walked with Sally and Jack to science which was weird. Their teacher was a woman in her fifties, with pastel blonde, almost white hair and piercing blue eyes. Something about her set some alarms off in his head. Maybe it was her smile that seemed to be permanent, or the numerous pictures of her daughter but either way, Mrs. Key-Tree was someone Wilbur didn’t really like.
Next was a class Wilbur wasn’t really excited, mostly due to the fact he had none of his friends in his class. When they stepped out of Mrs. Key-Tree’s room, Sally snatched the paper out of his hands and looked it over, “That’s weird.”
“What’s weird,” he asked, looking over her shoulder as she checked both of their papers with avid detail. “Our classes are in the same room. See?” She pointed to the fact that her next class, Guitar, sure enough was in the band room, same as his Music Theory class.
She shrugged, looking at him and handing him back his paper before walking down the hall, shopping halfway to look at him, “Well? Are you gonna move your ass or am I leaving you behind?” Wilbur snapped out of his trance, nodding before walking with her down the hall.
“Hey,” Wilbur said, looking at Sally carefully as she hummed, eyes glancing to him for a brief second, “Why do you swear so much. That’s not really lady-like.”
The girl huffed stepping forward a couple steps and choosing to walk backwards to talk to him, “Why does being lady-like matter so much? It’s a bunch of old and bullshit rules invented by society to put women down.”
Wilbur stuttered in surprise. He was most definitely not expecting that kind of response from her. Trying to sputter out an answer, he said, “Well, my Great-Aunt said-”
Before he could continue that thought, Sally smirked and stopped, letting Wilbur walk closer. “What”, he asked, the two standing there for a second before Sally reached up and flicked his forehead. “OW! That really hurt”, he said, rubbing the spot with a pout on his face.
“There,” Sally smiled, “Now forget what your Great-Aunt said, she’s wrong. As your friend, it is my job to teach you what is actually right and wrong. Now come on, we’re gonna miss class.” She grabbed his hand and, with her smile growing, she dragged him to their shared class.
The band room was on the other side of the school, a few buildings away in the school’s designated “Building of the Arts”. Just like the rest of the buildings, it was made of old stone, with a white trim along the edges with the building’s title hung up there on a metal plaque.
Walking in and finding their way to the class, they saw a short woman with brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked tired, but a warm smile sat on her face. “Sit down everyone,” she stated in a deep and commanding voice.
“So,” she started, sighing and looking over the kids with pity, “This is a combination of three classes. Guitar, Music Theory, and Percussion for the band students.” The band kids in the back complained the loudest but groans were heard from around the room. “I know, I know. I don’t like it either but there is nothing I can do about it. Here is how it’s going to go; Music Theory and Guitar, you are combining into one class I’m referring to as Guitar Theory. If you need a guitar, tell me I have some but I would prefer if you brought your own if you have one. This class is split in half, the first forty five minutes are Percussion, then you have lunch, finally Guitar Theory the second half. Any questions?”
Nobody argued with her, but she could easily see that the students were upset by this revelation. “As I said, I don’t like this either but it’s the only way to keep these classes in the program. Also means you get over an hour to goof off if you count lunch. Just work with me, and we will have a fun year. Guitar Theory, go relax and Percussion, get to your stations.”
The forty five minutes went by rather quickly and the kids were off to lunch. The building was large, with lots of space to let the kids eat. Luckily, all of the kids in their friend group had the same lunch.
Sitting just sitting down at the table, Wilbur saw Techno weaving in and out between the clusters of students with his lunchbox. “Techno,” he called out, catching the attention of the other boy who looked at him with wide eyes, “wanna sit with us?” Techno sighed before shaking his head and walking off.
“Stupid question, but why did you ask him to sit with us,” Jack asked, “I don’t mind him joining us but why him? He doesn’t talk to anyone and he’s really standoffish.”
Niki interrupted Jack, with a sweet voice, “I’ve talked to him before, a couple times actually. He’s really sweet, just not really talkative.”
Will softly sighed, “well, it’s because Phil asked us to look out for each other. Techno is actually my foster brother for the time being.” Gasps were heard from around the table before Sally’s face broke out in shock, “oh god, Will. So your Great-Aunt… Will, I’m so sorry for being brash about her.”
Wilbur gave a soft smile, “no, I think you’re right. She was very uptight and seemingly old fashioned in her mindset. Don’t be.” He smiled softly, making the glimmer of a smile return on her face.
The rest of the day went by smoothly, classes were fun and when Phil came to pick them up he asked, “how did the day go? Looked out for each other like I asked you to do?”
Wilbur nodded from the back, began rambling about his first day and the friends he had made. “That’s awesome, mate! What about you, Tech,” Phil asked, eyes shifting from the rear view mirror to Techno who was sitting in the front.
“It was fine,” he stated, eyes looking out on the road. Not wanting to push the issue anymore, Phil stayed silent as they drove back home.
When they arrived back at the house, Techno ran up stairs to get a start on homework. Wilbur was about to do the same, when he realized the house did have a guitar. Turning to Phil he explained the situation, causing Phil to laugh and smile.
Ruffling the boy’s hair, they walked upstairs and Phil took the guitar of the wall. “That was my first guitar from when I was in high school but it’s yours now. Take good care of it, alright?”
Wilbur nodded, eyes widened as he stared at the black and red guitar in awe, “thank you, Phil.”
Three weeks passed quickly, every day Wilbur enjoyed his classes, invited Techno to sit with them, he declined, and the rest of the day went about normally. His new friends were awesome, teaching him to relax and enjoy interests. His music classes ended up being his favorites. His band teacher, which he found out was named Ms. Paluzzi or Ms. P, was his most supportive teacher and taught him so much over the next couple weeks and his choir teacher, Mrs. Lensen was as sweet as sugar.
One day, while sitting in the lunchroom, his group of friends were talking about the clubs that were starting two weeks later. “What about you, Will,” Karl asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never tried any of these before,” Will said, looking through the pamphlet Niki had handed him, “I know Techno is in the Writing Club and on the Fencing Team. What are you guys doing?”
Sally smiled brightly, looking at all of them, Karl gesturing for her to take the lead in explaining. “Karl is also in the Writing Club, Niki is on the swim team, Jack is on the Robotics team, and I’m on both the Fencing Team and in Drama. We all are in the Dungeons and Dragons club though.”
Wilbur looked in amazement at his friends, surprised at all the amazing things they did. “Um, I’ve never heard of Dungeons and Dragons but I would love to join you guys.” Their eyes shined in excitement, talking about how excited for Thursday, when the first day arrived.
Thursday came quickly, and Wilbur found himself in the library, seeing two teachers and several tables stacked into two rows. Ten students were waiting for them to set up the tables with books, laptops, and dice.
When the tables were finally done, the groups sat down as the teachers began talking about what the game actually was about. An acting game, where they make characters and play as them while overcoming different challenges like fighting monsters. The teachers also went over the basic rules before teaching them how to make their characters.
The options amazed Wilbur, making him super excited as he looked through the countless books while the teachers, or as they called themselves “DMs”, went over the classes, races, and backgrounds they could choose from.
While working, Wilbur and Niki worked together on making their characters which caused them to make genasi siblings, Wilbur a fire genasi and Niki a water genasi. Niki decided on a druid, letting her shape the wild and her form into different animals while Wilbur decided to play a bard, letting music and magic control him.
It was fun learning about this new game with his friends, and when the day ended, he couldn’t help but ramble to Phil about all he learned. Phil laughed and smiled, “I remember playing in high school with a couple friends of mine. Glad to see you are having fun, Will.”
A month and a half later, Phil was rushing around the house and stuffing stuff into bags as Wilbur sat on the couch, watching a movie. “Are you alright? Do you need some help,” Wilbur called, pausing the film before standing to his feet.
“No mate, it’s fine”, he stated before a look of realization settled on his face, “actually, can you sit back down? I got something to tell you and Techno.”
Wilbur held his breath but did as he was told, sitting down on the couch as Phil ran upstairs, coming back with the other boy. Sitting him down on the couch, Phil smiled softly at them as he stood up. “I’m going out of town for a week.”
“Heh,” Techno said, looking at Phil who’s smile turned into a nervous grin. “Yeah, I’m going on a book tour, just hopping from town to town for the next week and you will be home alone.”
Wilbur and Techno looked at each other, probably the first time since Wilbur’s arrival that they agreed on something. “Mrs. Genine and Mr. Richard next door will drive you to and from school and check in every now and then, I’m going to fully stock the fridge and leave you money for takeout,” he rambled, “please don’t be upset with me, alright?”
His eyes were directed at Techno, who looked honestly pained about this. The boy looked rather upset, his eyes glaring at the floor before saying, “fine.” The boy jumps to his feet before walking off, the feet being heard as he stomps up the stairs.
Phil sighs, moving his body so he could take Techno’s spot on the opposite end of the leather couch. “What about you, how do you actually feel about this,” Phil asked tiredly, a kind smile on his face.
Wilbur took a breath as he thought through his words. “To be honest,” he starts, “I think Techno’s gonna kill me in your absence.”
Phil looked at Wilbur, who was watching him nervously before laughing, “no, he’ll probably kill me first for doing this to him.” Will gave a small chuckle at the remark, causing Phil’s eyes to shift into sympathy.
A couple of minutes later, Phil stretched, “alright, time to face the music.” With that, he stood up and followed after Techno.
Phil left that Saturday, taking the car with him before driving off into the night. Immediately afterwards, Techno avoided Will more than ever, not even tolerating being in the same room as him. Wilbur hated it. Even though Techno hated him, he hated being alone more. His mind ran wild so he spent most of his weekend on the couch with movies as background noise.
Sunday night however was different. Wilbur was sleeping soundly in his bed when, just like every other night when he woke up to sobbing a couple doors down. Wilbur held his breath; he normally stayed in his room when this happened and let Phil solve it but Phil wasn’t there.
Ripping the sheets off, Will ran down to his foster brother’s room. The boy was tossing and turning while kicking at the air. “No, please, please come back… I promise I’ll be good,” Techno muttered between sobs.
Wilbur watched, closing his eyes to try and remember what Phil told him to do when it came to this the first time it happened. “Don’t touch him,” Wilbur said, “let him wake up on his own.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, Wilbur waited for the other boy to wake up, which happened on it’s own after an excruciatingly long time.
Techno was a sobbing mess, and when he saw Wilbur, he glared at him with a murderous look in his eyes, “what are you doing here.”
Wilbur took a breath before stating, “trying to make sure you’re okay. You don’t need to be so rude about it.” The two glared at each other, Techno looking like an angry boar while Wilbur tried his hardest to be nice. “Why do you hate me so much anyway,” he asked in annoyance, “I haven’t done anything to you!”
“Yes you have”, Techno shouted in anger, pointing a finger and tapping against Wilbur’s chest as he spoke, “Phil just adopted me, and I said that he could get another kid! I didn’t expect it to be so soon! You’re good, you’re nice, you are so much more like Phil than am!”
Wilbur was taken aback by the words, but Techno kept going. “It doesn’t help that you are so outgoing! I have been at this school longer than you and I can barely speak to anyone while you already got friends! How are you so perfect! It’s not fair,” Techno shouted, looking at Wilbur in annoyance before mumbling, “I’m sorry I’m not good enough.”
Neither of them realized the tears pouring at each others eyes and the loud thumping of their hearts as the world outside stayed silent. “It’s not my fault Phil decided to foster so soon”, Wilbur stated, “but I get it. I understand feeling abandoned, and I’m sorry.”
Techno was stunned by the response as Wilbur smiled sadly, wiping the tears from his eyes. “What… What do you mean”, Techno asked, looking at Wilbur as he leaned back.
“I didn’t realize until after I got here, but my Great-Aunt wasn’t a good person,” Wilbur said, “I learned from Sally and living with you and Phil that silence is deafening, and locking me from the world wasn’t good for me. That her standards were too high and I have to learn that the rest of the world will love me for me.”
“Wilbur, I’m-”, Techno stumbled, “I’m sorry. I was letting my emotions out on you when I should’ve told Phil how I felt from the beginning.” Wilbur watched Techno try to peek out from behind his long hair, causing him to smile.
“It’s alright, just, can we get along? We don’t need to be best friends, just, friendly.” Techno nodded before Wilbur’s smile grew. “Now I can’t sleep. Want to watch a movie?” Techno nodded, before the two waddled downstairs to pick a film.
Monday was a different day when the boys found themselves asleep on the couch as Techno’s alarm rang from the upstairs floor of the house. “Surprised we can hear it from all the way down here,” Wilbur mumbled, glancing at the stairs.
The two boys start getting ready for the day, throwing on their uniforms and taking showers. When they were done, Mr. Richard was waiting outside with a sweet elderly smile, “hello you two! Ready for a great day of classes?” The boys nodded as they took their seats. Wilbur’s eyes widened as Techno decided to sit in the back, a small smile on his face as he did so.
The two boys thanked Mr. Richard before heading into class, only a few minutes to spare as they walked through the doors. The classes were fun for the day, Wilbur joking around with his friends as Techno focused on his studies.
When lunch came around, Wilbur was sitting with his friends when he saw Techno walking off, towards the library. Wilbur smiled, waving as he called his foster brother over. “What are you doing,” Jack mumbled, causing Wilbur to shrug in response. Techno looked over the group, eyes glancing at all of them before taking a breath and changing his directory to Wilbur’s table.
“Hey Will,” Techno said, taking the seat that was offered before nodding to everyone else. “Hey, Techno”, Wilbur smiled before they continued on with the conversation. It took a bit, but Techno managed to speak up, inputting his ideas into the conversation and quickly joining the group of friends.
At lunch on Wednesday, Techno was a bit upset and Wilbur immediately picked up on it. “Hey, Tech, what happened?” The other boy sighed, looking down as he said, “I was talking to Ms. Meslee about the Writing Club meeting tomorrow but it is getting cancelled tomorrow because she is going out of town. Now I have nothing to do tomorrow.”
Wilbur thought through it but Sally smiled next to him. “How about you come D&D with us?” Techno looked at them surprised as the rest of the group agreed with her idea.
“I don’t know,” Techno said, looking at them from behind his hair, “I’d be joining your game in the middle of it. Is that alright?”
Everyone nodded, smiling ear to ear. “I have Mr. Zan next class, I’m sure he’ll be happy to let you join for the day,” Karl stated, looking up to Techno from his homework.
“Alright then,” Techno smiled before Sally searched through her bag, pulling out a large velvet bag and dropping it on the table. “What… What is that,” Techno asked, looking at the bag.
“This, my long haired friend,” she stated with a smile, “is my giant bag of dice.” She passed the bag to Techno, letting the boy open it and see the tens of plastic, multi sided dice in almost every shade of color imaginable.
The rest of lunch was rolling Techno’s character, which when Techno was describing his looks, Wilbur noted looked a lot like the one on the cover of Techno’s favorite book.
The next day Wilbur and Techno walked into the library after school, their friends waiting for them as Mr. Zan and Mr. Ross set up the space. The game went on for two hours, Wilbur noticing how interested in the game Techno was, though not really acting as much as the rest of the table.
At the end of the day, Techno stretched and straightened his back before looking at the dice he was lent for the day. Putting them back into the small pouch and walking up to Mr. Zan to return them. The older man smiled, his red hair tousled in front of his face before saying, “keep them. You looked like you were having fun.” Techno nodded before running up to Will and heading out to Mr. Richard’s car.
Techno and Wilbur walked out the side door, not being able to spot Mr. Richard’s silver car. The boys wandered to the edge of the road but jumped back when they heard a car blare it’s horn.
The boys turned their heads, eyes shining at what they saw. A forest green subaru that normally sat in their garage, now waiting in the parking lot. The door opened to show a young man, with long and shaggy hair. His opal eyes stared at them with tears, making them look even more shiny. “Phil!”
Running up to him and giving him the biggest and tightest hugs they could. “Techno hugging me? Am I sure these are my kids,” he laughed, hugging them back with a smile, “hey mates, I missed you so much.”
Placing a kiss on each of their heads, he smiled widely before saying, “come on, let’s go get some milkshakes.” The boys sat in the back together, something Phil immediately noticed.
The shop was small and sweet, white with mint and pink accents. Chairs sat on the outside bustling with students of all ages. Walking inside, Phil and Techno took their orders, Wilbur looking over the variety of options before deciding on cookies and cream.
They sat down, Phil telling them about the book signing tour. “Besides that”, he stated with a smile, “I did some research for a new novel I’m thinking about writing.” He looked at Techno when he said that, making the young boy’s brows raise before shrugging.
“Maybe hold off writing that book for a little bit,” Techno said cautiously with a glare, “I like the idea but maybe a couple more months.” Wilbur looked at the two in confusion, not having the prior context but Phil’s eyes widened in surprise.
This was interrupted by a college girl stepping up to them with three large milkshakes, stuffed to the brim with different toppings. Wilbur’s stuffed with Oreos and other kinds of chocolate snacks. “Wow,” Will said softly, causing Phil to smile and look at Techno, remembering the first time he took him here.
Phil took his spoon to his sundae and took a bite, looking between the two boys, “did something happen while I was out? You two weren’t this friendly when I was last here.”
The boys looked at each other and the look in Techno’s eyes made it clear he was pleading for Wilbur to not tell the truth. “We just kinda started to hang out,” Wilbur bluffed before trying to change the subject, “Techno even came to D&D with me today because Writing Club was cancelled.”
Phil looked at his son in surprise. Techno couldn’t help but smile and nod, “yeah, it was fun. Wish it wasn’t in the way of Writing Club or I would join.”
Phil’s eyes widened at the idea, “I could write you boys a campaign. Shouldn’t be too hard.” The boys eyes widened in excitement, both speaking at once about how excited they were for the idea between sips of their shakes. Phil smiled, seeing how the boys got along so well after the week they spent apart.
Apparently, it was extremely hard. Drawing maps, writing a story, making characters, Phil felt like he was Tolkien. Languages were confusing and buying dice took quite a bit of time.
Wilbur came home one day with some books for him one day; a girl he talked about often, Sally, apparently lent them to him to write the campaign. “That was really sweet of her,” Phil said, graciously taking the books.
They turned out to be a life saver, making everything make more sense, to the point when he had to return them to Sally, he went and bought his own copies.
Two months of work later though made it worth it when they got to play for the first time. The smiles and laughs the boys had and the time they spent together made it all worth it.
In December, not long after they started the campaign, Wilbur was sitting on the couch watching a movie. Phil and Techno went to grab popcorn while the beginning of the film played but it was taking just a bit too long.
Standing up, Wilbur walked silently towards the kitchen. He kept silent like he usually walked, like a small kitten creeping his way to the kitchen where he saw Phil and Techno, talking.
“Dad,” Techno said softly, “You can start writing the book now.” Wilbur’s eyes narrowed as Phil’s widened.
“Are you sure, mate? Once I do it there is no turning back.” Techno nodded, a small smile on his face as he held the popcorn, “certain.”
They began to walk out of the kitchen, causing Wilbur to scramble to the couch before they could see him. What did that mean? It’s just a book...
Three months flew by quickly. Techno was busy with Fencing practice and competitions while Wilbur and the rest of their friends were there to cheer him and Sally on. Phil was quite busy writing, trying to keep pace with what his editors wanted but he always made time for the boys, like showing up to Techno’s competitions or their D&D games every other week.
One day, the Watson family was sitting at the dinner table, Wilbur and Techno looking at each other about how to come across this issue they had come across. “Something you boys want to tell me,” Phil asked, feeling the worried tension between the two boys.
“Yeah”, Techno started, looking at Phil, “we were wondering if we could transfer next year? To L’Manburg High?” Wilbur nodded, glad Techno was taking the initiative because his reasons were better than Will’s.
Phil looked at his boys, especially Techno in surprise. “Yes, you can but are you sure? You remember what public school was like last year, right Techno?”
The young boy nodded before saying, “Yeah but it’s one of the best schools for fencing, along with the fact our friends are transferring there next year.”
Phil nodded, looking at his sons. “Though I’d rather you put your education first; it’s your decision and you can go.” The boys looked at each other with wide grins on each of their faces. “I’ll call Sally,” Will shouted, jumping up and looking for a phone.
Phil was done with his book by May, placing a copy of it in Wilbur’s hands. When he tried to give a copy to Techno, the boy shook his head, “it’s not for me.” Turning to Wilbur he said, “I’ll never read your book if you never read mine.” Will agreed, not knowing the context behind Techno’s words but agreeing anyway.
Wilbur really enjoyed his book. It was about a man, William Gold, who was trapped under the iron grip of his royal title and a corrupt family. William ended up being captured by pirates, led by a strong willed woman named Sabrina, who had the ability to turn into a fish. The book was a romance, where she immediately freed him but he chose to work upon her ship. Eventually, they went back and freed Wilbur’s small sea town from the oppressive government.
Wilbur enjoyed the book, though he was a slow reader. Techno always seemed keen on knowing how far till the end he was, and Wilbur knew that this book must have meant something but he could never put his finger on it.
The day he finished the book, he found an envelope with a stamp. Carefully opening it, he read over the pages before running to the living room. Techno caught the pages first, eyes widening in realization. Phil looked at Will as he stumbled over his words, but the boy just ran up and hugged him. Phil smiled softly, caressing his hair before looking at Techno, reaching a hand out. Techno nodded, running up and joining his family in a hug.
A week later school was done and Phil was throwing a party to celebrate. Techno and Will were hanging out with their friends, watching a movie together. Sally got up to get more snacks for the group, meeting Phil in the kitchen. “Hey, Mr. Watson.”
“Oh, Sally, can I talk to you for a minute?” The girl nodded, stopping her snack run to talk to him. “I got to thank you. Wilbur was so tense and Techno was so shy. I don’t think anything could’ve brought them together, but you did! They are acting like normal kids and I really got to thank you.”
Sally smiled brightly, looking off towards the direction of the living room, “it’s no problem, Mr. Watson.”