They watched as Michael walked away then decided that it was time for them to leave the school.
"I saw what happened," they heard and turned to see Diana. She wasn't wearing a frown but a smile. "Do you think he loves me?"
Peter exchanged glances with Claudia as he thought of what had just happened.
"I would speak to him," he said, and pulled Claudia to his side. Together they walked away and Claudia began to speak, "Do you think Michael is going to confess to Diana?"
"Yes, I do," Peter said as he thought of the reason Claudia would ask such a question. "He is probably shy."
"Shy!" Claudia laughed. "Alright, I should take it for that."
She continued, "What if Michael isn't shy but sad?"
"Sad!"
Claudia nodded confirming that it was what she said.
"Why would Michael be sad?"
"You played with the girl he likes," Claudia said. "He may have given you the go-ahead to play with her feelings but it doesn't mean that he wants it."
Peter stopped moving and touched his head like he was thinking about something extraordinary.
"I don't understand," he said and Claudia patted his back, saying, "You need to think about it. I would be leaving."
Peter held her hand as she was about to leave, and suggested that he follow her.
"You can't be a hero every day," she said, making Peter blush.
"I would like to see your mother,"
"You can't see her today," she said. "She might begin to suspect us."
"Then we would tell her that we are dating," he said making Claudia smile.
How was she to tell him that her mother won't like hearing that?
"No, we would do it another day," she said and Peter felt his hope crumbling. He also wanted to make it official at both their homes, but wasn't going to be in a rush.
"Alright, I will see you tomorrow," he said, and Claudia winked, making him smile. "I would also speak with Michael."
They waved to themselves and left in their various ways.
Getting home, Claudia sat on a couch and looked at the wall. Her mother wasn't back so she could read. While reading, she heard the sound of her father's old bicycle and rushed to the curtain where she saw her father.
"Welcome father," she said when he entered the house
"Thank you, Claudia,"
Mr Banks left for his room, and Claudia could feel that something was wrong. Then she went to prepare a cup of tea, which she handed to her father when he walked out.
"Oh, thank you, Claudia," he said and took his phone. He was scrolling through his contact list while looking for a contact.
"What's wrong, father?" she asked then sat beside her father. "You haven't come home this early."
Mr Banks looked at his daughter, smiling, and asked, "Where is your mother?"
"She isn't back,"
Mr Banks explained to his daughter all that had happened.
"The man would have lost his life," he concluded and Claudia decided to go with him since her mother wasn't at home. "Let's go."
Together, they decided to go out and climbed his bicycle. Arriving at the hospital, Mr. Banks requested to see the man he brought in.
"You can go without her,"
Claudia smiled and said that she could handle the hospital environment.
"Alright, you may go in with your father," she said.
They were made to change their outfit into hospital garments then left to the ward the man was.
"Do you know his name, father?" Claudia asked and her father shook his head then a card fell from the man's pocket. "Mr Rivers!"
"Is that his name?" Mr Banks asked and collected the card from his daughter. "I don't know his family so how would his medical expenses be paid?"
Claudia looked around and saw a phone by the side table, then picked it up. She scanned through the phone trying to unlock it, but couldn't.
"What are you doing?" they heard and turned to look at a nurse.
"Trying to reach out to his family,"
The nurse nodded and walked in to inject Mr Rivers who was sleeping. Remembering what she had always seen in the movie at her cousin's house, Claudia placed his finger on the phone.
"Not working," she said and tried all the fingers of his two hand. "None worked."
Her father walked to her and asked what the issue was.
"Why don't you use his face?" he said. "Wealthy people have ways to secure their privacy."
They watched the nurse as she advised them then left.
The phone unlocked after they captured his face then Claudia scrolled through his contact list.
"He saved a contact as my only one," she said and her father told her that it might be his wife.
"Continue searching,"
"My son," Claudia said, and her father nodded.
Claudia smiled at the thought of Peter then shook her head. There were many people with the surname, Rivers.
Peter, who was at home looked at the empty house.
"It's always been boring here," he said. He wanted to rest for some minutes before he would call Michael. "I should play a game."
Almost immediately as he took his phone, it rang.
"Why would Father call me at this time?"
Answering the call, he heard a female voice.
"Hello," he heard and felt like it was from a familiar female, but how could he feel like this from just a word?
"Who is this?"
"Claudia Banks,"
Peter was confused and asked how she was with his father's phone. It was only then that Claudia realized that she was speaking with Peter.
"Oh hi," she acted formally. "Your father was admitted to City Hospital."
Hearing this, Peter got up to his feet abandoning the idea of meeting Michael.
"I would wait for you at the entrance to the hospital," Claudia said, and ended the call, then told her father to take care of Mr. Rivers.
A smile crossed her lips as she walked out to wait for Peter.
Peter called his mother while walking to get a bus.
Mrs. Rivers was surprised to see her son's call at that hour, but since she was almost done with her work, she saw no reason to answer the call, so she declined it.
"My call has been declined," Peter said, and decided to send a voice message instead before entering a vehicle.
Getting to the road of the city hospital, Peter looked for the building after getting out of the vehicle.
"Sir, may I know where the City Hospital is?" he asked a passerby who pointed to a large building. "Alright, thank you."
After crossing to the other side, Peter's gaze met with Claudia's.
"Thankfully, you are here," Claudia said and led him into the building, and introduced him to the receptionist.
"You did a good thing by inviting his family member," the receptionist said as Peter registered his name.
Getting into the room where his father was, Peter greeted Mr Banks. They were reminded that the hospital only accepted two people to be in a room with a patient.
"Alright," Mr Banks said. "I would be outside."
Peter looked from his father to Claudia.
"Take your seat,"
Claudia shook her head and told him to sit because he was the one whom his father knew. His phone rang and he had to leave the room to answer it.
"Where are you?" his mother asked. "I just saw your voice message."
"City hospital," he said and sighed.
Knowing the distance between his mother's place of work and the hospital Peter chose to be with his father for some minutes.
"Who was that?" Claudia asked when he entered and he sighed.
"It was my mother," he said, and looked at his father. "I called her before coming here, but she declined it, maybe because of her work. Anyway, she called me back."
Claudia smiled then asked, "Aren't you going to wait for her?"
Peter looked at his phone before responding, "I would go after five minutes."
"She should be here in eight minutes," he added, and Claudia nodded.
Five minutes later, Peter walked out to wait for his mother. They entered the hospital, and Peter introduced her as his mother while she registered.
"Thank you for taking care of my husband," Mrs Rivers said to both the father and daughter and they left the room.
Peter watched as his mother walked to his father's side. His father was now awake, but needed to rest.
"How did you get involved in an accident?" Mrs Rivers asked and reprimanded her husband. "I always said that you should take your office car."
Mr. Rivers smiled and looked at his son.
"Is the girl your friend?"
"Yes, in school, and she is the smartest girl in my science world," Peter said, and his parent exchanged glances.
They didn't expect this from their son.
"I learn from her," he said, and told them the time she joined the school.
"She joined during her final year,"
Outside the room, Claudia received a call from her mother who asked where she was.
"I'm with father," she said making sure that she didn't tell her mother that she was in the hospital. Her mother was going to think that she was admitted to the hospital.
"I would like to know where you are,"
Claudia looked at her father, who was listening to their conversation, and he told her to respond to her mother's question.
"City hospital," she replied, and her mother became tense. "Mother, do not worry."
"Can I speak to your father?" Mrs Banks asked and she passed her phone to her father, who assured his wife that nothing was wrong with him.
Peter stood beside the door watching Claudia and her father. He saw himself wishing that he had a family like Claudia's.
"What am I thinking about?" he asked himself. "Claudia should also wish that she had a family like ours."
He turned away immediately he saw Claudia look at him.
Claudia helped her father up, and together they walked to the door.
"We would be leaving," Mr Banks said. "My wife is going to be worried if we aren't home in the next hour."
Mr Rivers smiled and asked if Claudia was Peter's mate.
"Yes, I am," she said.
After they left, Mrs Rivers turned to her son.
"Do you like her?"
"No," Peter said. There was no need to tell his mother the truth since Claudia wasn't ready to make it official, but one thing was that he was going to protect her at all costs, and maybe, take her on one of his adventures with Michael.
"I need to see Michael," he said and called Michael.
"Let's meet at our usual spot," Michael said then Peter informed his parents and left.
He finally spotted Michael dressed in a black hoodie.
"Michael!" he called and sat beside his friend.
With a satisfying smile, he picked some stones and began to throw them at the grass.
"Why did you ask to see me?"
"It's about how you behaved,"
Michael was surprised by how Peter spoke and asked if he had done something wrong.
"You didn't confess your feelings to Diana," Peter said and Michael laughed.
"Not everyone can be like you," he said. "Smart, Bold, and Deceptive."
Peter was shocked by the description that his friend used.
"What do you mean by that?"
Michael sniffled and then returned his gaze to Peter.
"I just faced a heartbreak, and dating a person who was once played by my friend isn't an option,"
"You approved this," Peter said.
"Yes, I did," Michael nodded. "She deserves it."
Peter couldn't understand what he meant and got to his feet.
"I need to think," he said and walked away.
That was a way of showing his dismissal. It felt like something had gone out of him. How could Michael say that?
"I promised Diana that he was going to confess to her," he said and slapped his cheek. "How would I be able to face Claudia and Diana tomorrow?"
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