Chapter XI – Nabi & Don

“Have you drank all the juice?” asked Arthur, his head deep within the fridge.

“Yeah, last night while I was watching TV!” yelled out Sophie from the living room, having finally finished with showering.

“I should start hiding it.”

“Like I wouldn’t be able to find it. . .”

Sophie entered the kitchen, leaning over Arthur’s shoulder to see the fridge, with one hand pressing on his back.

“I’ll buy something while you’re at school. Still can’t believe that I’m staying at home today while you aren’t. How the world has changed. . .”

“I told you, it’s best you stay and rest. It’s not easy overcoming what happened yesterday.”

Arthur took a step back from the fridge and sighed. There was barely anything edible in the fridge, enough for one person at most.

“Want me to make you breakfast while you take a shower? You might be late if you take too long.”

“Maybe if someone didn’t hog the bathroom for over twenty minutes, I’d have more time.”

“Guilty!” Sophie shamelessly admitted, with a winsome smile.

“You’re unbelievable,” Arthur commented, stepping away from the fridge altogether and heading towards the bathroom. “You eat up, there should be enough for you.”

“Wow, sacrificing yourself and risking death from starvation, I could get used to this special treatment,” she teased. “Seriously though, I don’t think there is a need for me to skip school. I already went running with you. Feeling much better now.”

Arthur turned to her. “Grandpa isn’t going to work today, and I’m sure he’d love to hang out with you. It’s just two days, you’ll survive.”

“Fine, fine. . .”

He didn’t expect her to be so eager to return to school after what happened. She was already back to her normal self, if not even more cheerful than before. Not many people can just move on when it came to these things. He was glad though, but still, he insisted on her staying. If anything, he wished to scout the situation. Last night, Sophie told everything to Arthur when they returned home.

With Sophie not coming to school, Hana and her friends would be exposed to the idea that she might tell on them. However, at the expense of safety, with a full day without fuss, they were bound to get a bit cockier. They might even get ideas such as harassing him, which he believed would just make things easier for him. If she did go to school, however, there was a high chance they’d try something right away. It was simply better to just wait it out a bit.

Having finished his shower, Arthur prepared to set out. Sophie walked him to the doors.

“Remember to not cause trouble, and make sure to answer your phone if I call you,” Sophie nagged him.

She cleansed herself of all doubt yesterday. Arthur could not help but chuckle.

“Alright.”

“Don’t forget that tomorrow we are having a movie night! Ari will be coming over as well.”

“Finally get to meet your best friend, huh?”

“Don’t get any weird ideas,” Sophie teased.

“Yeah, yeah. . .” Arthur mumbled, approaching her and planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’m off. You rest up.”

Sophie smiled at him and waved him off.

It was weird, going to school alone. Never in a million years did he imagine that this is where fate would lead him.

With Sophie’s mood significantly improving, his anger was quelled. Seeing as she didn’t wish to make a fuss over things, he too would keep tame for now. Besides, his instincts told him that it was far from truly over.

Arriving at school, Arthur sat down at the same seat as the day before. The classes continued as normal, with Nabi and him competing over who’d answer more questions.

“Gosh you were annoying all class,” Nabi commented during the short break between classes. “How did you learn all of that? There were some even I didn’t know the answers to and I’m at the top of the class.”

“You mean you were the top of the class,” Arthur teased, a few classmates chuckled in the back.

Hwang Nabi, the smartest girl in class. Now that he had a proper look at her, it was surprising she wasn’t more popular. Though her hairstyle could use a bit of work, she had quite a pretty face and a slender body. You’d assume her to be the shy type, but she was more open than one would expect. Her headstrong personality was probably what kept most guys away, not many could handle a woman like that.

“You think you can keep this up all year round? Tough chance,” Nabi grinned.

Even though her words were arrogant, she didn’t have that kind of tone. It was clear that she was partially just messing around, not much else to do during such a short break.

“Wanna bet?” Arthur provoked.

Nabi thought for a moment before grinning deviously.

“Fine, whoever gets more answers right next class wins. Loser pays for the winner’s meal during lunch break.”

“I accept your challenge.”

“Good luck.” Nabi chuckled, grabbing her bag and leaving the classroom.

“Wait, where is she going? What class is next anyway?” he turned to the nerd sitting next to him, being unable to recall the class schedule.

“It's computer science,” he answered with a low voice. “We are not in the same classroom.”

Arthur sighed. He wondered how he was so unlucky for it to be computer science of all things.

“Where are we going though?”

The nerd got up picking up his bag. “Follow me I guess. . .”

“What’s your name?” Arthur asked while the two were making their way there.

“Oh right. . . You don’t remember me. . . My name is Dang Dong-Sun, people call me Don.”

“Pleasure meeting you. So you any good at computers?”

“Yeah, I’m decent.”

“Mind if I sit next to you? I could use the help.”

“I don’t think Nabi would like it if I helped you. . .”

“Oh, that? Don’t worry about that. I’ve lost. I suck at computers. I’ll be satisfied getting a passing grade.”

“Well. . . Alright, I guess.”

Arthur found Don’s lack of confidence charming in a way. He seemed like a good guy. Could use a bit of exercise, and a makeover though.

His focus shifted back to the bet he made. Nabi’s devious smile was a clear sign of mischief, but how did she know he was bad with tech. They haven’t had a single class like that and Arthur was previously good at that sort of thing, or at least that’s what Sophie said.

“I’ll be right back,” Arthur said to Don, rushing forward to meet up with Nabi.

She was a bit harder to find than he expected. Everyone wearing the same uniform made it difficult, but the hairstyle gave her away.

“So, how did you know?” Arthur asked her from behind.

“Know what?” she pleaded ignorance.

Her smirk gave it all away though, and she knew it too.

“You win, I can’t match you in computer science. You can drop the act. I was dumb enough to accept it without knowing what awaited me. Still, how did you know?”

“Fine, fine. . .” she giggled. “I saw your sister explaining to you how to use a phone yesterday. Meaning, you’re completely clueless.”

“I see, unfortunate for me I guess. How did you know she was my sister?”

“You two look alike, and I knew you had a sister. There was no way you had a girlfriend that went to school with us. We’d all know it.”

“Damn, that’s harsh.”

“I say it as I see it. Words are all I got anyway.”

Nabi looked down for a brief moment, but then snapped out of it.

“Forget about the lunch, it was unfair anyway.”

“No, I accepted. It would be dishonorable if I went back on my word.”

Nabi burst into laughter.

“Just forget it Art, there is no need. Besides, consider it a reward for being a good older brother.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m a bit jealous of you two if I’m being honest. You made her laugh so much, it made me wonder just how nice it was.”

“You got siblings?” Arthur asked curious, thinking maybe she had a bad relationship with them.

“Nope. I’m an only child, and that won’t change since my parents can’t be asked to raise another kid.”

“Oh, I see. . . Well. . . If you don’t have any plans, why don’t you join me for lunch during the break anyway?”

Nabi froze for a second.

“What kind of question is that?!” she yelled out flustered.

Arthur instantly understood that it sounded as if he were asking her out. That was by no means the case though.

“Don’t get me wrong! I just meant as friends,” he tried explaining. Glancing to the side, he saw Don approaching. “Don can join us too!”

“I can?” Don looked confused. “Join what?”

“Lunch! Join us for lunch.”

Nabi just averted her gaze, clearly blushing. Sophie warned him about this. While dating was common at their age, many were still inexperienced and or shy about the idea. Needless to say, Arthur had too much on his mind to even think about dating.

“I don’t know. . .” Don hesitated.

“Oh come on! You’re going to sit on your own otherwise.”

“Hey. . .”

Arthur approached Don, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“I didn’t mean it like that! We’re all friends anyway, right?”

Arthur kept putting pressure on Don, who was clearly not good at social interactions. Eventually, he gave in and agreed to join the two for lunch. Nabi didn’t complain.

“I can’t believe how hopeless you are!” Nabi made fun of Arthur, meanwhile, Don tried his hardest to hold his laughs in. “After explaining it to you so many times, you still don’t get it!”

Arthur just looked at both with one eyebrow raised. Don kept adjusting his glasses and turning his head. While he did not make noise, Arthur could see Don bouncing up and down from laughter.

“Real funny. . .” he protested with a sigh, but a soft smile showed on his face regardless.

This was the first time he’s truly talked to someone other than Sophie.

“He even turned towards me and straight-up asked if his PC was broken, little did he know that it was turned off,” Don joined in on the teasing.

“How long do you think it would take him to plug his mouse back in if we removed it?”

This went on for a while. They had quite the laugh.

“Sorry Arthur, it’s just nice to see you’re still human in that head of yours,” Nabi explained. “You kicked my ass in every subject.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind joking around. Besides, it’s nice to see people around me smile.”

Nabi nodded. She never found Arthur fun to hang out with before, but now she could see them being friends, Don too. Don was always the quiet kid in class that everyone bullied, believing he was nothing more than an otaku pervert. While he did lack the confidence to speak up, once he relaxed a bit, he couldn’t stop talking. Especially about various fandoms that he kept being part of over the years.

“I got to ask Arthur, how did you manage to keep up with the studies? You even lost all your memories and were supposed to be heavily lacking,” she asked, but suddenly had a realization during which she leaned in closer. “Be honest with me,” she whispered. “You haven’t lost your memories, have you?”

“You got me,” Arthur confirmed, confusing both Don and Nabi for a second. “I’ve never had them in the first place.”

The two laughed. For a moment there they quote on quote fell for it. Even if Arthur was telling the truth, nobody would ever believe him. This world simply lacked that which defined his old.

“I too am curious as to how you got to know everything all of a sudden. Are you cheating?” Don asked, his curiosity has been rising since yesterday’s biology class.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. . .” Arthur sighed, Don and Nabi both as focused as they could be. “I studied.”

The two just sighed in unison.

“Why are you both disappointed? I’m telling the truth. Sophie, my sister, told me to be prepared. . .”

“Fine. . . If you didn’t want to tell us, just say so.” Nabi was actually kind of disappointed by the answer, it had no thrill to find out what he claimed to be the truth.

“He might just be mad at us because he doesn’t know how to turn the computer on and off,” Don reverted to taking shots at Arthur’s lack of tech skill.

“Good one!” Nabi said, shoving Don gently and bursting into laughter.

“I’m not lying, take out the book and ask me anything. I might as well get my knowledge tested. I’ve studied so much for nothing.”

“What do you mean by that?” Don asked, adjusting his glasses after wiping the tears out of his eyes.

“I’ve learned the whole books. Had I known that I needed just a few chapters, I’d save myself loads of time,” Arthur explained with an extended sigh of disappointment.

“What!?” yelled out both Don and Nabi.

“You’re kidding right?” asked Don.

“You’re not some kind of crazy genius, are you? I can’t compete with that!” Nabi was in disbelief. “No way, prove it. . .”

She took a moment to go through her bag and pick up biology.

“What is the name of the green pigment in plant cells?”

“Chlorophyll, that’s easy.”

“Fine. . . How about this, T-cells, B-cells, macrophages, and platelets are all part of which system?”

“You got to ask tougher questions than that. It’s the immune system.”

Don just observed as Nabi flipped through random pages.

“A sarcomere is the basic structural unit of which type of tissue?”

“Muscle. . .”

“Correct. . . Maybe it’s just biology. I bet you’re not as good at other classes. . . Social studies!” she yelled out, picking up a different book and scrolling through the pages. “Here, a random quote! Who said there is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance?”

“Socrates. He is mentioned pretty often in that book.”

“Maybe you just knew that one. . .” Nabi had a hard time believing this to be true. “Then how about this. Finish the quote, he who thinks great thoughts. . .”

“Often makes great errors, by Martin Heidegger. He was a 20th Century German philosopher.”

“Impossible. . .” Nabi was forced to accept the reality that he was telling the truth.

“I’m impressed. To the point where I’d be happy teaching you stuff on PC in exchange for you helping me practice for my midterms!” Don suggested.

“Hey, don’t leave me out of it. . . I’d love to pry your brain and learn how you memorized all that.”

“That’s fine by me. We’ll come up with something.”

The three laughed for a bit. Arthur wondered what Sophie would think if she saw him like this.

“I got a weird question. . .” Don began talking. “Would you guys mind us doing this again? Lunch I mean. . .”

Arthur smiled, and so did Nabi.

“I don’t know. . .” Nabi answered, clearly joking.

“Oh. . . Makes sense.” Don commented seriously.

“I’m just kidding, I’d love to. Three losers join together to form a group of misfits. Feels nice to have someone to talk to again though.”

“Is that reason you kept your distance from everyone this year because Myeong left?”

“Who is Myeong?” Arthur asked.

“My ex-best friend. . . Sa Myeong. However, everyone called her Mia.”

“What happened?”

“We got into a serious argument and I’ve said some things, but in the end, she left for the US without even saying goodbye. She didn’t even tell me she was leaving. I only heard from the teachers that she moved.”

“I see. . . Must have hurt. Think you’ll be friends again?”

“It sure did, and I do not know.” Nabi averted her gaze, she was sad and full of regret.

It was obvious that she missed her.

“You ok?” Arthur asked, placing his hand on hers.

Her gaze reverted to the hand. Initially, she wanted to pull away but felt comfort instead. With a sigh, she just nodded.

“I’ll be fine. Thanks. . .”

“You’re welcome,” Arthur said with a low tone.

“We should head back to class,” Don warned them.

Arthur and Nabi nodded, and the three returned to class shortly. For the rest of the day, the three hung out during small breaks and eventually even made their way home together from school. With their help, Arthur finally managed to navigate a little bit through his phone. Now he was capable of finding the contact list and even learned how to send a message as they made a group chat. Instantly he had to show off to Sophie by sending her a message, to which she replied with an emoji that Arthur spent hours trying to recreate on his own that night. Finally, he had friends.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading!