Semua Bab Nine Ungrateful Sisters: Bab 181 - Bab 190

"Why are you up so early?" Oscar asked.Rebecca was already sitting by his bed when Oscar woke.Yesterday, he had heard her come in. Today, he had slept through it completely. That would not have happened before. Living like a normal person was not the same as being one."I'm here to have breakfast with you, obviously," she replied.Faint red lines traced her eyes. She had not slept well, yet her face showed no fatigue, only a restless alertness.She held out his toiletries. "Go wash up first. I have something to talk to you about after."The seriousness almost made him laugh. "Why can't you just say it now?"Rebecca didn't answer. She only gestured toward the bathroom.When he returned, she sat at the table with her back straight. Two breakfast settings lay in front of her, with a few sheets of paper beside them.The pages in front of him were blank. Hers were filled with writing."What is all this?" He picked up one of her pages.She did not stop him.1) Write a will.2)

"Nice to meet you, Oscar Stone. I'm Melanie Greene. Greene like the color. Wait, with an extra 'e' at the end." She stuck out her tongue. "You're really good-looking. I think you could be our class heartthrob. No, the whole school's heartthrob.""Heartthrob?" Oscar blinked. The word did not register at first."It means you're handsome, bro. The best-looking guy in the entire school." Rebecca smiled and pulled him into his seat. "Sit down properly. The teacher will be here any minute.""Right, right. Our teacher does not mess around." Melanie propped a foreign language textbook in front of her face. Her lips began to move as she recited a sentence in an odd rhythm.Oscar almost laughed. He knew exactly what the word meant.He pulled out a classical reader and joined the low murmur of voices around him. He liked the rhythm of the language, the rise and fall of its tones, and the way a well-turned phrase settled into the ear.He lost himself in it. For a moment, he forgot why he was

The introduction drew genuine applause.Oscar returned to his seat with a smile.From that point on, the literature teacher and every student in the room treated him as if he belonged. He recited with them, studied alongside them, and answered questions when he could.Some material he already knew. Other parts he did not. A clear gap lay between the high school curriculum and what he had taught himself, and he felt it.When he answered correctly, the teacher gave a small nod, and the students looked at him as though he had done something impressive.When he couldn't answer, the teacher corrected him as he would any other student, and the class laughed in a good-natured way that felt more like encouragement than mockery.…By the time the final bell rang before lunch, Oscar leaned back in his chair with a quiet smile.It was a strange, entirely new feeling.'When you grow up surrounded by family, even constant praise does not quite reach you. They already love you. Their approv

Oscar walked across the school grounds.Students moved in every direction. They talked, played basketball, chased one another, and laughed at nothing in particular.They were doing small, ordinary things.Every face carried that energy.Oscar let out a long breath. 'Is this what life is supposed to feel like? No one to orbit around. No household to keep running. Just following your own thoughts wherever they lead, at whatever pace you choose.'You could waste an afternoon without guilt. Or throw yourself into something for no reason other than wanting to. Nothing owed to anyone. Just yourself. That would have been something.'Maybe Arthur should never have taken him in at all.How could a child unloved by their parents ever find happiness like everyone else? No matter how kind adoptive parents were, could they truly see the child as their own? Could the child rest peacefully in their arms, act spoiled, live without care?Probably not. Not unless they forgot their real parents c

The park Oscar had in mind sat beside an old residential block. The moment Rebecca stepped in, she understood why he said the Chamberlains would never go there.The buildings were worn down. The layout made no sense. The paths were cracked and uneven.Only a handful of people lingered nearby. Elderly men and women moved at an unhurried pace, playing chess and chatting, untouched by whatever was happening in the rest of the city.The world seemed to have forgotten them, and they seemed content to be forgotten. Perhaps the developers were simply waiting for time to do its work, ready to fold this place into Silverton's faster rhythm once the original residents were gone.Oscar had barely reached a bench when a large black cat slipped out from the shadows. It walked straight to him and pressed against his leg. Clearly, it was one of his old friends."Salem!" Oscar sat and lifted the cat onto his lap. "Did you miss me?"He raised its front paws and looked at it with a faint smile."