Part 3

Aiden carried a tray with four cups of tea. Since he was off today, he had to prepare afternoon tea for the family.

Arsher, who was lying on his stomach while playing on his phone, made Aiden shake his head.

"Arsher, sit properly, will you? And stop grinning like a monkey," Aiden said, giving him a sharp look.

Arsher smirked and sat up straight. He slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Poor you. Handsome but your own dad calls you a monkey," Ash, sitting beside Arsher, shook his head in mock pity.

Arsher glared sharply at him. "Shut up!"

"You two are always fighting," Ashley interrupted. "Here, have some garlic bread I made." She placed the container of garlic bread on the table.

Ash looked at her suspiciously. "What dream did you have that made you cook garlic bread? Isn't this something you're not good at making?"

"I called grandma earlier to get the recipe," Arsher answered for her.

"Speaking of grandma, the last time we saw her was three years ago, right? How's she doing? Is she well?" Ash asked.

It had been a while since they last saw Ashley's mother. Their grandmother lived in Italy with their grandfather.

"She's fine. Currently vacationing in France with grandfather since last week," Arsher replied, taking a piece of garlic bread.

"Wow, that’s a long vacation. Is it a vacation or a honeymoon?" Ashley asked while sipping her tea. Her mom going on holiday without informing them—classic.

"Healing," Arsher answered curtly.

Ash looked around. Where was their dad? He was just here, calling Arsher a monkey earlier.

"Where’s Dad, Mom?"

Ashley pointed to Aiden, who was sitting on the sofa. "He’s playing with Mochi."

Arsher facepalmed. "Dad, can’t the cat wait? Come and eat first."

Aiden, happily stroking the orange-and-white cat’s fur, shook his head.

"Go ahead and eat. I haven’t seen Mochi for a week. This cat missed me too, didn’t you?" Aiden said while scratching Mochi’s head.

"Meow~~~" Mochi purred, as if answering its owner.

Aiden loved cats, but they only had one because Ashley didn’t allow them to have too many. Even getting Mochi was only because of Arsher’s persistent requests.

"Umm, Ash. What happened with the manager selection? Did you get it?" Arsher asked, biting into a piece of garlic bread.

Ash snapped his fingers. "Guess what, Arsher."

Arsher raised an eyebrow. "What? You didn’t get it? No luck, huh?"

"They’ll announce who gets appointed as the manager in two weeks," Ash replied, sounding resigned.

"Huh? Why two weeks? That’s a long time," Ashley interjected.

"Because next week is a holiday, Mom," Ash explained and then reached into Arsher’s pocket to grab his phone.

"Oh," Ashley said, dragging the word out. She was the type who couldn’t even keep track of the dates, let alone holidays.

Arsher looked at Ash. "What are you doing with my phone?"

"I want to play Candy Crush. What level are you at? 300, right?" Ash scratched his head.

"I’ve never played that game, Ash. How would I know what level it’s at?" Arsher grumbled, continuing to chew his food.

Not that he’d downloaded the game—it was Ash who had sneakily messed with his phone.

Candy Crush, he could still tolerate.

But changing his wallpaper to a photo of a chicken—an actual live chicken—last week? That was too much.

They sat in a circle, waiting for Amanda to appear. They had come to her house specifically to discuss the appointment of the school’s badminton club manager.

"This girl, seriously. Knowing how hot it is today, she still insists we meet outside in her yard," Velvet rolled her eyes.

Rayn chuckled. "It’s Amanda we’re talking about. No way she’d let us inside her house."

Felix and Alan exchanged glances. "Where is Amanda? She said 4 PM, and it’s already 4:05. Typical of her, never on time," Alan said, crossing his arms.

Right then, Amanda appeared with some papers in her hands. "I’ve read through all the resumes of the candidates you suggested."

She sat next to Camilia, while the nine other pairs of eyes stared at her intently.

"Have you decided who’s suitable to be our manager?" Ehsan asked, brushing his hair back.

"Yes," Amanda replied, curt and simple.

"Wait, I want to hear too!" A voice came from behind. Everyone turned to see who it was.

Kevin, Amanda’s younger brother, showed up with two jars of chocolate cookies.

"You’re so nosy," Amanda muttered, snatching one jar from his hands.

Kevin huffed. "Whatever, I have the right to know too."

The Form 2 boy sat beside David and offered him the other jar of cookies.

"Oh, thanks," David said, accepting it.

"So, who did you choose?" Felicia asked, bringing them back to the topic at hand.

"I’ll give you a clue," Amanda said with a sly smile.

Felix groaned. "Clues? Just tell us already! I hope you didn’t pick the wrong person."

"First clue: he’s not from the premier class," Amanda said, pausing dramatically to create suspense.

Kevin furrowed his brow. "What? Did you choose someone from the special education program as your manager?"

"Relax, it’s just the first clue. Be patient," Amanda said, shooting him a sharp look.

"Second clue: his younger sibling is in the same batch as me," she added, pointing to herself.

Rayn scratched his head. "That’s the most useless clue ever."

"Third clue: he’s a guy," she revealed, shocking everyone.

"What? No way!" Riana exclaimed.

David made an "X" sign with his arms, while Alan and Felix groaned in unison. Rayn facepalmed, while Evan and Velvet were left speechless. Only Camilia shook her head, and Felicia showed no reaction.

"If she weren’t my sister, I’d have thrown her into the ocean by now," Kevin muttered while munching on a cookie.

"Shut up. Now, I want all of you to guess who our manager is," Amanda said, her sweet smile betraying her mischief.

While the others remained stunned, Kevin spoke up. "If you guys won’t, I will. Let me guess."

"He’s a guy and not from the premier class. Does that mean someone from Form 6?" Kevin asked, popping a cookie into his mouth.

Amanda nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"His younger sibling is in your batch. There are three Form 5 students with older brothers in Form 6—two girls and one guy," Kevin continued, sounding like a pro.

"Is his sibling a boy or a girl?" he asked.

"A boy," Amanda replied after a moment’s thought.

Kevin snapped his fingers. "Guys, I know who your new manager is."

The nine others turned to Kevin. "Who?" they all asked in unison.

"Ash Daniz Vionzi, Arsher’s brother."

"Mini Prince?!"

Mini Prince—the nickname for Ash because he was slightly smaller than his younger brother, Arsher.

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