Liona was proud of her school, despite not wanting to attend more classes. After she recited off just a few of the many opportunities one could take advantage of to afford this school, her dad patted her head in approval. She smiled up at him. It had been taught and drilled into her that education was a right, and even those that were less fortunate in life still had the right to choose what kind of education they could get.
"Liona is right, Erik. This school and my family have made it their mission in life to help those less fortunate. We pride ourselves on accessibility to everyone, no matter where you stand socially or economically." Liona's mom added.
After the tour of the school campus, they all returned home. It was strange to Erik to think of the Bartley's house as home, yet; he was slowly becoming accustomed to this thinking. Although he was still stiff around Lia's parents, he was adapting to the humor of her siblings, especially after spending the entire day with them messing with him. Lia said that they only mess with the people they like and that he was like a big brother to them now.
The day after the grad ceremony, Dr. Bartley had to go back to work, but Mr. Bartley was working from home. It was sometime in the afternoon, after he had been hanging out with Lia in the living room, that he was summoned to the room Lia's parents used as an office.
"Erik, my dad wants to see you." Liona couldn't keep the grin off her face, so that made him relax a little bit, but not completely.
Entering the office after a quick knock, Mr. Bartley turned around in a large office chair that somehow reminded him of a throne. "Ah, Erik. Come here for a sec." Complying nervously, he was beckoned over to stand next to the man. "Put your hand here." He was instructed and did so without a second thought. One did not argue or ask why to the man that was feeding and housing him and his family.
"Good. Good. Alright. You are now registered as a guest in the house's security. You won't have full privileges, but at least the alarm won't go off if you try to enter the house without one of us present." Mr. Bartley gestured to the multi-screen display of a diagram roughly outlining the house. "These are the entry areas that you can access as a guest, and these here will deny you access." The explanation of the off limits areas and a basic rundown of the security measures of the house were made clear to him. After he was done, he walked back to Lia in the living room in a slight daze. Mr. Bartley had just given him permission to come and go from their house as he pleased.
Erik hadn't been able to work since the day his grocery manager had been arrested for his assault on him. Supposedly, it was for his own good, and this was considered medical leave. His other boss and his co-workers had also been informed of this, so he strangely found himself with a lot of time on his hands that he wasn't used to.
"Why the face, Erik?" Liona could tell by Erik's pheromones that he was a little worried or confused about something.
"I don't know what to do until summer school starts, Lia." He confessed as he sat down. "Your mom has basically all but forbidden me from going to work and I don't even know if I'm still employed at the Grocery Market."
"Oh, that job? While you aren't actively working there anymore, you weren't fired. At least from what I can get out of my parents, the grocery market is closed until the owner can come back from overseas. I guess that means you're on an indefinite leave of absence?"
"If I'm not working, I can't begin to pay your family back for all their kindness, Lia. I don't want to be in their debt." Erik was fretting.
Liona tried her best to reassure Erik, but wasn't succeeding as well as she had hoped. It still seemed that Erik needed more time to understand that this charity from her parents wasn't meant to be paid back monetarily. It was to be paid by doing well enough in summer school, and to pass all the mandatory tests, as well as the ones that were laid out in the contract his mother had agreed to.
"You know what? We're going on a trip tomorrow. It's going to be nice at the beach and since summer school doesn't start until the first week of July, we have an entire weekend to just have fun before we have to start thinking about boring things"
"A trip? Where? To the beach?" Erik had been all over the states, but he had never seen either of the oceans. Traveling was a necessity rather than a luxury his mom could afford when he was growing up, so this was an interesting opportunity.
"Yeah, it'll be fun! We'll get Chloe and Alli to join us at the bungalow, we'll BBQ and spend the night watching the stars and the sunset over the ocean!" Liona was already mentally ticking off everything she would need to prepare.
"Bungalow? You have a beach house?!" Erik was astonished, although he knew he shouldn't be with everything he had witnessed from this family before.
"Yeah, we have a large beach bungalow right on the coast with private beach access. It's great for those hot days in the city that make you feel all icky and lethargic. The cool sea breeze, the feel of the sand between your toes, and the soothing sound of the ocean as your backdrop. What could be better?" Liona was already there in her imagination.
"What do I need for the beach?" Erik was curious since he hadn't been to one before.
Liona listed off a few things that he would need to take with him that weren't available at the beach house.
"I don't have any of that…" Erik fretted.
"Well then, let's go shopping!" Liona was giddy about picking out things for Erik.
Erik had no choice but to be swept up in his mate's excitement. It was quite infectious as she giggled and called her friends up to explain the plan. It made him curious how the two other girls always seemed to have time to spend with Lia, no matter how spontaneous the occasion was.
"Come on, Erik, we need to go and get you some beach clothes and accessories before we leave!" Liona tugged at her mate's arm to get him off the couch.
"Dad, I'm going out!" Liona called out as she passed her dad's office.
"Alright. Mind your curfew!" came the muffled reply from the office that was open a crack.
Erik then found himself on yet another shopping trip because when he had gotten clothing the last time, it had been with practicality in mind, not fun. It was all too heavy and would be uncomfortable at the beach, according to Lia.
The mall was their destination, since it had everything under the sun, according to Lia. The shopping took the rest of the day as Liona piled a cart full in every location they went to of fun or just quirky beach accessories. A bunch of new clothes, despite his protest, were added, along with new shoes. He was given sandals, boots, sneakers, and everything in between. He did not know what or where he would even wear half of this stuff after his summer stay at The Bartley's house.
Cramming everything into her tiny car, Liona then set their destination for the burger place for a quick dinner and to let Erik catch up with his friend and his co-workers since he hadn't seen them in a while. She knew he had made friends with at least two people he worked with. One at the burger place and the other at the coffee shop.
Over dinner, Erik talked with his friend Georgie, who took his break while another co-worker manned the register. It was good to see him again. He hadn't realized how much he had missed seeing and talking to his friend over the last couple of weeks.
"Hey, it's good to see you doing better, Erik. We've all been rooting for you to make a full recovery after the boss told us you had been put on medic leave." Georgie was full of support and it was comforting in his presence. Between him and Lia, he felt relaxed and a lot more talkative than he usually was.
After dinner was over, it was back to the house where Liona helped Erik put their haul away and then set to work sorting what they would need to take to the beach bungalow for the next few days. With everything packed and ready to leave first thing in the morning, she and Erik then retired to their rooms for the night. They would leave at daybreak for the two-hour drive to the coast.