In a few minutes they arrived at Arthur's house. She parked the car in front of his house. They came down from the car. Arthur knocked on the door. His father opened it.
His father, Michael Johnson, was in his mid-to-late 40s and was an electrician. He did house calls, repairs, and small contracts.
"Hey, Allison." Michael greeted Allison. Letting her and Arthur in the door. His focus immediately shifted to his son.
"What happened, Arthur? You look pale and covered in sweat." He asked, as he was concerned about Arthur.
Michael and the family already knew all about Allison, so her being there was normal.
"It's nothing, Dad. I just got back from the library." Arthur said that, sat on a chair, and drank two glasses of water, as he was very thirsty and his heart was still pounding from the incident at the library.
Michael frowned, clearly not believing him.
"He's just stressed about packing and stuff, Mr. Johnson. I thought I'd come over and help him finish." Allison said, reassuring him.
"Okay, Allison. Thanks for coming. His room is just down the hall." Michael said while closing the front door.
Arthur went straight to the bathroom, as he was soaked with sweat. He took the phone and money bag out of his pocket and placed them in a safe place and turned on the shower and stood under it with his clothes still on. His mind was stuck on that terrifying moment at the library. His body was still shaking.
I clearly felt myself burning… And I felt so much pain… But here I am… Still alive… I got a second chance… And this system. I won't waste it. I'm going to do everything I can to become successful and take care of my family.
He finally stripped off his wet clothes, finished showering, dried off with a towel, and got dressed. Then, he put his soaked outfit into the washing machine. After that, he went to his room.
Allison was folding his t-shirts and packing them into a suitcase. Arthur sat on his bed and thought, 'System.' The semi-transparent panel appeared in front of Arthur.
[New Information is still in process.]
[Processing…]
What the fuck!! This thing is still in process!
Seeing that Arthur closed the system, he then opened his laptop. It was a low-end model his parents had gotten him for his eighteenth birthday. Just as the laptop was booting up, his mom came into the room carrying two glasses of orange juice.
"Art. You still have packing to do. Why are you on your laptop?" Linda asked while she handed one glass to Arthur and the other to Allison.
"Mom, just give me half an hour. I need to check something out." His laptop finally booted up.
"Check what?" Linda asked curiously.
"Just checking the dormitories where I have to live." Arthur replied to her while typing on his laptop keyboard. Linda sighed and started helping Allison.
Half an hour later Arthur was surprised by himself, as in this short half hour, he managed to hack into the systems of several banks, corporations, and private organizations. In fact, he was pretty sure that if he wanted to, he could hack into anything connected to the internet.
"Alright, playtime is over. Pack your stuff now. You need to get to bed early tonight." Linda said in a serious voice.
"Just give me a few more minutes, Mom." Arthur said while typing on the keyboard.
"No can do, Art. Finish packing first, then you can play around."
"Ugh, fine, Mom." Arthur sighed and shut down his laptop.
"Art, it's getting late. I should probably head home." Allison said.
"Oh, stay for dinner, honey." Linda offered.
"I can't, Auntie. It'll be too late by the time I get home." Allison replied.
"Okay, I'll walk you to your car." Arthur said and took Allison to her car.
Allison was hugging Arthur, both of them in tears.
"I'm going to miss you so much, babe. Don't you dare forget me, or I'll kill you. I love you. Take care of yourself… And call me every day, okay, love?"
Finally they controlled their emotions, and they kissed one last time.
"I'm going to miss you too, babe. I promise I'll call every day. You take care of yourself. Drive safe, and text me when you get home, okay, love?" Arthur said, his own voice thick.
He opened the car door for her. She got into the driver's seat, gave him one last, sad wave, and drove away. Arthur watched her car disappear down the street. He let out a long breath, turned, and went back inside to finish packing.
A few hours later, Michael knocked on Arthur's open door.
"Are you done packing?" He asked.
"Almost, just a few more things left." Arthur replied while folding a t-shirt.
"Okay, well, come and eat with us. Dinner is ready." Michael said with a smile on his face.
"Okay, Dad." Arthur stood up and went to the bathroom to wash his face and his hands. A minute later, he joined his parents at the small dining table in the living room.
Arthur was surprised to see that his mom made his favorite dishes. It was fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and buttered corn. Seeing that Arthur's eyes became moist. He didn't say anything, but he knew he would miss this—the smell, the moment—more than anything. Arthur sat down across from them.
"I made your favorites. Art." Linda said while she served mashed potatoes onto Arthur's and Michael's plates. Then he served chicken fries and buttered corn to them.
"Thank you… Mom, I'm... I'm going to really miss this… Not just the food, but… This moment." Arthur said with a cracked voice. He couldn't hold back his feelings and started to cry. Hearing this, Linda reached across the table and gently touched his hand. She couldn't hold back her feelings either. Her eyes filled with tears, too.
"I know, Art. We're going to miss you, too." Linda said with a low voice.