After Arwen had completely left Theo's yard, the two of them waved until the car disappeared from sight.
They then went back inside the house. The atmosphere became a little quiet, leaving behind an odd feeling that was hard to describe. Alvano took a deep breath as he sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the door that had just closed.
"For some reason… I feel like something's off," he murmured softly.
Theo turned, still wearing a wide grin that he couldn't hide. "What's off? I think she's awesome. And hey—new bike, Van! A new bike!"
Alvano lightly hit Theo's head with a small pillow in his hand. "That's enough. Stop with your excessive happiness."
Theo chuckled while dodging, then sat beside Alvano. But suddenly, his expression changed. "Eh… wait. Arwen Elvara…"
Alvano glanced at him. "What about her?"
Theo clapped his hands as if he had just remembered something important. "She's… isn't she the girl you bumped into back in the corridor on the third floor of the grade 10 building?"
Alvano was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yeah… don't remind me of that embarrassing incident again."
"You were really clumsy back then," Theo said, laughing softly.
"But the strange thing is… even then, I felt she was different. And today, that feeling came back. I never feel comfortable talking to any girl, but Arwen… I don't know why, she's different."
Theo looked at his friend with a teasing grin. "Wow, don't tell me you've fallen in love?"
Alvano snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."
But deep down, he wondered to himself—what exactly made Arwen feel… so unique?
The afternoon arrived, the sky turning reddish beyond the window. The two of them fell asleep on the sofa, exhausted after spending the whole day talking about many fun things. The living room felt warm and peaceful, with only the faint sound of the television breaking the silence.
At 3:35 p.m., a phone notification sound made Alvano frown slightly in his sleep. The vibration of the phone near his head slowly made him open his eyes. Seeing Joshua's name on the screen, he immediately answered.
"Hello…" Alvano said hoarsely.
"Hey, I just got home from school. I'm on my way to Theo's house now. You're still there, right?" Joshua asked from the other side.
"Yeah, I'm still here," Alvano replied softly.
"Good. I'll check on Theo too. Wait for me."
"Okay."
Alvano ended the call and leaned back on the sofa, eyes gazing at the ceiling. He glanced at Theo, who was still sound asleep beside him, his face looking peaceful. But in his mind, the image of Theo's pale face back at the hospital kept replaying. He clenched his hands tightly.
"So strange…" he whispered.
Everything felt like a dream. Just yesterday they had almost lost everything, and now Theo could laugh and joke as if nothing had happened. But somehow, his heart was still filled with unease. There was something he couldn't explain.
Alvano slowly raised his hand toward the table. He tried using his Telekinesis ability. The plate on the table trembled slightly, then slowly lifted and floated toward him steadily.
He did it.
But instead of pride, his heart was filled with regret.
"If only… I could've used this power back then," he muttered softly. "If only I had been faster… maybe I could've saved Theo before everything happened."
His fists clenched tightly. He stared at the plate filled with guilt.
"What's the point of this power… if when it's needed, I was weak?"
Yet behind that feeling, a determination began to form inside him—he wouldn't let it happen again. Never again.
But amid his troubled thoughts, Alvano lost focus. His telekinetic power suddenly shook uncontrollably, and crash!—the plate floating in the air fell and shattered into pieces.
The loud sound shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the living room.
Theo immediately woke up from his sleep. "WAAAH! What happened?!" he shouted in panic, eyes wide open, head darting left and right. Drool still hung from the corner of his lips, making his expression look silly and laughable.
Alvano quickly stood up from the sofa and looked at the floor. "Sorry, sorry… I accidentally knocked over the plate," he said while carefully picking up the shards.
Theo, still half-asleep, tried to process the situation. "A plate fell? How could that…" He rubbed his eyes and sat up, still dazed.
"It's fine, just go back to sleep if you want. I'll clean it up," Alvano said, trying to hide his own frustration.
Theo nodded slowly. "So weird… the sound was like an alarm," he mumbled, yawning and leaning back on the sofa again.
While Alvano fetched a small broom from the corner of the room and swept the broken pieces gently, his mind remained unsettled. He knew this wasn't just a simple accident. He realized his power still wasn't stable, and if he didn't learn to control it soon, something far worse than a broken plate could happen.
After finishing, he sat back down and looked at the window now bathed in orange light.
"How can I get stronger quickly," he thought to himself.
After about twenty minutes of staring out the window, a black car stopped right in front of Theo's house. He immediately recognized the owner—Joshua.
Without waiting any longer, Alvano walked out front and opened the gate. Joshua got out of the car, tossed his backpack onto the sofa, and dropped himself into the living room with them.
"Today's lessons were absolutely awful," Joshua grumbled, massaging his neck. "I couldn't focus at all. The class atmosphere was weird, noisy for no reason. Then Mr. Daejin didn't show up, and I got stuck helping the secretary handle attendance."
Alvano nodded slowly, feeling a little sorry. "Why didn't you just join an extracurricular instead? It'd be less tiring than coming straight here."
Theo immediately jumped in with a laughing face. "Maybe he came here to see my new bike!"
Joshua frowned. "New bike?"
Theo nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Arwen told me earlier. She said my old one was completely totaled, so she brought me a new one."
Joshua squinted. "Arwen? The one who helped you guys yesterday?" His tone was slightly surprised but also curious.
Theo nodded again, full of excitement. "Yeah, she even came here earlier. We talked for a while too."
Joshua crossed his arms and sighed. "Tsk, how could you just get a new bike like that… your life's way too lucky, Theo."
Alvano chuckled softly. "You say that, but you're clearly the most curious one here."
Joshua sighed again, glancing at Theo who was still beaming. Deep down, he also felt something odd about all of this. But for now, he simply joined in the warmth of that peaceful afternoon.