After Olive and Victor arrived at their class, Sarah didn't waste any time and just bid them farewell and then headed to her class.
Olive and Victor had no time to waste their time also and went inside their classroom and sat next to each other. Despite Olive being a year younger than Victor, thanks to Olive's keen intellect, he managed to skip his grade and became the same grade as Victor.
After all, Olive was smart and was known as a prodigy once.
'A short prodigy.'
Noticing the teacher entering the classroom, he quickly shook his head to brush off the thought away. The teacher greeted the students as usual and, without wasting time, quickly took all of the students' attendance. One by one, the students' name was called, and not long after that, it was Olive's turn. But instead of Oliver Lockson, it was.
"Oliver Pennyson!"
Olive didn't say anything for a few seconds. He just closed his eyes, grumbling. Eventually, he raised his hand and answered.
"Present."
The teacher, hearing that, nodded and continued checking the student's attendance.
'God, couldn't it be another name?'
Jeffrey Lockson, a world–renowned millionaire, and his company, Lockson's Tech, were known all across the country — world, even — for its advanced technology. And that person was also his father. So, in other words, since Olive's last name was Lockson, and he attended public school, he was forced to hide his identity away with a fake last name, so that people would not take him for granted.
That was why instead of Oliver Lockson, people know him as Oliver Pennyson.
And unlike Esther — Olive's twin sister — she doesn't have to fake her last name. Because currently, she went to study in another state in a prestigious high school, where the students' parents were mostly wealthy — unlike the students here. So, she didn't have to worry about others befriending her for money.
Olive didn't know how his father managed to sign him up for school with a fake name and got away with it. So he asked his father to answer his curiosity.
His father assured him that he would be fine and that he had the government's consent, which made Olive felt relieved... But one question still lingered. How did he get the government's consent?
Olive once tried to ask his father about it, but he seemed reluctant to give him the answer.
He didn't know why, but he heard that his father worked with the government on special occasions — so perhaps that was how he got the government's consent. But at the end of the day, it was just a rumour from the workers, and it didn't come from the official source.
So Olive never knew. In the end, he trusted his father's gut and went along with it.
Not long after, the teacher finally finished taking attendance and started teaching. Noticing that, Olive took out his notebook and started paying attention.
No one knows Olive's real identity in the school, except for Victor and Sarah — only because they were his childhood friends.
At first, they seemed confused when Olive told them about the fake identity. But after he explained about it, they agreed to keep it a secret. After all, if he used a fake identity to enroll in the school, he would've gotten caught a long time ago — at the same time, it was also to protect Olive, and as a sign of gratitude to his father.
It has been six years since he's been living with a fake name. Olive was genuinely confused about why his father had picked Pennyson as his fake name. Was it really his father's doing? All various of questions loomed over his head. But one suspicion came to mind, a suspicion that it was actually, Eddie's doing as a joke, but somehow, someway, managed to get his father's approval. Of course, it was just a suspicion.
But knowing Eddie, it sounds like a shenanigan that he would pull off.
Somewhere else — at a parking lot inside a skyscraper — Eddie let out a graceful sneeze. Which is weird since there was no dust or pollen around him, and he didn't seem to catch a cold.
'Is someone talking bad about me?' He wondered.
***
Hours passed, and just like that, the school has ended. Olive felt exhausted more than usual. Because today the school kept giving him a ton of assignments without a single break. Well... except for lunch.
But still!
Olive had always been phenomenal when it came to doing schoolwork. But this seems a little too much! Couldn't the school at least give him a little break? Was there a need to hit him with a stack of homework?
After class, Olive gave Victor a gesture to exit the school first — because he needed to take his stuff from the locker. Victor didn't ask questions and just walked down the hallways towards the entrance.
It took a few minutes for Olive to retrieve his stuff from the locker. But after he was done retrieving his stuff, Olive exited the school.
He looked around as if searching for someone. Usually, Eddie would have been in front of the school right next to the sidewalk, waiting for him in the car. Sometimes it was Olive, waiting for Eddie. But today, he was not waiting for him. Because he was planning to go to a café with Victor and Sarah today.
So he messaged Eddie during lunch, telling him that he doesn't need to pick him up from school today. Oliver looked around for a few seconds, turning his head left and right until he finally spotted Victor and Sarah, chatting under a tree.
He descended a few steps in front of the school entrance and headed toward them.
Victor and Sarah were so engrossed with their conversation that they didn't seem to notice Olive approaching.
...It was only after Olive arrived a couple of steps from them that they finally noticed him. Noticing Olive, Sarah put on a smile on her beautiful aloof face.
"There you are. What took you so long anyway?"
Olive was about to answer her question when Victor suddenly interrupted:
"Whatever, I doubt that it was anything important anyway. Let's go."
Olive scowled, hearing that. But in the end, he remained silent and just followed his two friends to the café.
***
The café they were heading for was not far away and would only take a six or eight-minute walk.
With nothing to do, Olive decided to study the shopfront to chase away his boredom. While others tend to look at their cell phone during this situation, Olive preferred to study his surroundings. Oftentimes, he took a glance at a passing car, thinking about its brand or what kind of engine it had, he would also see a man selling hot dogs on the street. When Olive looked at this part of the city, it was brimming with activities.
While they were heading towards the café, they would pass a few shops with a display glass in front of them.
Olive studied the shopfront for a second. Looking at its product and design. But when his eyes landed on the prize, his eyes widened slightly.
A hundred dollars for a single item of clothing?! How preposterous!
People liked to buy expensive clothes. But for Olive, the idea of buying clothes so expensive was ridiculous! Even for him. Why would you need such expensive clothes? Was it for the brand? The design? Or was it for the quality?
If it were for the latter, that would certainly make sense out of him. After all, quality clothes were more durable, comfortable, and able to last longer than cheaper clothing. So he would understand why it was so expensive... But that was not the case for the clothes in front of him!
He was still studying the shopfront with wide eyes, disbelieved about its expensive price. When Sarah suddenly asked him.
"Olive..."
Olive turned his face away from the shopfront, chasing away the thought about the expensive clothes, and answered.
"...Yeah?"
Sarah hesitated for a second and asked Olive again.
"How are you going to get home? Since Eddie won't come and pick you up later there won't be anyone to pick you up later. Will you be okay going back home later? If not, I could accompany you."
Olive looked at Sarah for a few seconds. He turned his head away from Sarah and closed his eyes to arrange his next word. After a few seconds, he finally answered.
"Don't worry about it. I'll just take the cab later and stop a couple of blocks away from Lockson's Enterprise. After that, I'll just head toward the parking lot and take the lift. Since the security guard and the higher up know who I am. There won't be any problem. I think."
Hearing that, Sarah nodded.
"I see, alright then."
But she felt a bit uncomfortable about the last part though.
"Then what? Will you just stay at home doing your assignment?"
Olive sighed. Remembering the storage that he needed to assist Eddie cleaning, he couldn't help but let out a crooked smile.
Now that I think about it, doing an assignment doesn't sound too bad compared to cleaning the stores.
"Sadly, no... I promised my dad to help Eddie clean the storage when I get home."
Victor, who had been listening, raised one of his eyebrows, and asked genuinely confused.
"Clean the storage? You? Doesn't your house have maids? Why would he want you to clean the storage?"
Olive chuckled.
"I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting that question... Well, the maids are on their day off for your information. And since my father doesn't want to waste his money on another cleaner, he wants me and Eddie to clean it. Maybe it's for the best, since the maids could use a break –—considering how big the penthouse is –— and spending too much money on things other than company investment is considered unnecessary. To him at least, still, I could use a bit of exercise."
Olive's father had always taught him about responsibility. He had also taught him that as the person who established a company, it was also his responsibility to spend the money strategically and not spend it on unnecessary things. Olive learnt plenty from his father, and also learnt that it was also his father's responsibility to take care of the maid's well-being, since they were his father's workers.
They had cleaned the penthouse for as long as Olive could remember. So the least he could do is to help clean the storage... At least his father didn't ask him to help Eddie clean the entire penthouse. That would be one hell of a task for two people.
Victor looked at Olive for a few seconds. A poorly hidden look of pity was written on his face.
Eventually, he turned his head and whispered.
"Poor thing."
Olive couldn't help but agree. Victor had been in the storage after all, so he knew how large it was.
A few minutes goes by after their short conversation when they finally arrived at the café.
The café was located on a block connecting it to the other shops. There was a canopy connected to the café's wall to provide shade for the tables and the customers underneath it. The window took out most of the walls, making the inside visible to the outside world, and next to the window, a glass door stood with a bell hanging on it from the inside to announce the upcoming customers.
The café was by no means popular, nor did it have any outstanding food. But it was where they mostly hung out since they got into high school and the café had grown on them ever since.
After they finally arrived at the café, the three of them went inside.