Finding Augusto

At 4:40 pm, after the last classes were finally over, Arthur grabbed his backpack, which hadn't been opened all day, and got up. He went to Beatrice's desk and spoke low in her ear:

"See you tomorrow..."

After that, he said goodbye to Aline and left the classroom. Beatrice froze in her chair, feeling the same shock running down her spine and staring at the door intently. Her heart beat faster and her cheeks were flushed.

'Why do I feel that way every time he talks to me? I don't even like him!' That thought ran wild in Beatrice's mind and made her feel confused.

By this time, Arthur was already getting on his bike and walking to the gate with it. As it was the end of the day, there were many students leaving the classrooms and a small crowd was seen forming slowly. As he walked, Arthur spotted the figures of the three girls together and calmly approached.

"Even from miles away I can recognize you three!" Arthur spoke as he approached.

"Why? Because of our beauty?" Madison said as she made a joke.

"Yes!" Arthur replied without the usual smile on his face.

That answer immediately caused the three girls' brains to go blank for a moment before coming back. Even though they were constantly being praised, being praised by Arthur seemed like a new experience for them.

"Anyway, Emily, are you going to go out with us?" Arthur sensed the situation and quickly changed the subject.

Emily couldn't speak because of a nervousness that came from God knows where and just nodded.

"Excellent! I hope Saturday is a great day. Well, I'm leaving! Bye!" After saying goodbye to the girls, Arthur left with his bicycle.

"He praised us…" Sara was still a little shocked.

"Are you guys nervous too?" Emily asked suddenly, startling the other girls.

"Emily, don't tell me you're…" Madison looked strangely at Emily.

"I'm what? I'm nothing! Hunf!" Making a very cute angry face, Emily looked away from the questioning eyes of the two.

'Why do I feel this way?' Emily thought as she looked at that figure leaving through the gate.

After leaving school, Arthur mounted his bicycle and headed towards Thomas' school. The schools ended their classes at the same time, as both were full-time.

Shortly thereafter, Arthur was already waiting in front of the school gate. From where he was, he could see at least part of the interior. The students had already been released too, so it didn't take long for the small figure, for Arthur, of Thomas to show up. He had an indifferent expression and was also carrying his bike beside him.

"Shall we?" Arthur nodded.

Thomas also nodded and climbed onto the bike.

The two had a silent journey home. Arthur knew that after such a long time with a room full of people, Thomas' mood was altered. He might look normal on the outside, but his unwillingness to talk showed he needed his space for a while.

After arriving home and storing the bikes in the garage, they both went to their own room to shower and change. It was a quick shower, since they weren't really dirty, and it was just for cooling off.

Pernambuco, the state of Brazil in which they lived, was part of the Northeast Region, which is naturally hot all year round, with exceptions only in winter. Because it was the beginning of the year, it was still summer, and the heat was always too much to bear without a bath.

After changing, Arthur left his room and went to Thomas's room. Silently opening the unlocked door, he saw that Thomas was already at the computer. His hair was wet and he wore a comfortable outfit while working on the computer.

Arthur closed the door again and went down to the kitchen. He opened the huge doors of the fridge and looked at the food and products he had there. He grabbed an orange juice for himself and grabbed the ice cream box from the freezer. As he drank the juice, he placed Thomas's favorite strawberry ice cream in a small bowl and garnished it with some cherries and cookies.

As soon as he was done, Arthur went back upstairs to Thomas's room and walked silently over to him. Placing the ice cream on the counter, Arthur waved his hands to let Thomas know he was there.

Looking at Arthur indifferently and then at the ice cream, Thomas said, "Thank you." and continued tinkering with the computer.

Arthur didn't say anything and just pulled out the card that had been given to him by Augustus some time ago. He placed it on the counter beside the ice cream and waited for Thomas to look at him.

"100k..." Arthur said calmly as he sipped his juice.

"Okay!" Thomas got the message and opened some tabs on the computer. A short time later, he said, "It's done."

Arthur took the card back and ruffled Thomas' wet hair before leaving. In that dark room, lit only by a few LEDs and the monitor, a hand reached out to the ice cream and took it.

Arthur was already downstairs at the time and sat down on the sofa. He turned on the tv, the ps5 and put Gran Turismo 7. He might not have any cars in real life yet, but at least in the game he might have. Without taking away the feeling of driving, which in current games was already very realistic.

After many drifts and runs, two hours had passed before Thomas came down the stairs with the ice cream bowl in his hand.

Still playing, Arthur asked, "Want something for dinner?"

"It could be" Thomas replied. It was possible to see that his expression was less indifferent. He went to the sink and washed the bowl and spoon before putting it away.

He went to the couch and sat down near the arm of the couch.

"What's dinner going to be?" Thomas asked as he watched Arthur play.

"I don't know, I'm too lazy to do anything. We can order by app." Arthur ended the current race, although it wasn't over, and put it in Multiplayer mode. He went to the bookshelf where the ps5 was and took the other controller. "Choose the lane and the car while I order here."

"Okay!" Thomas got a little more excited and started making his selection. He was quite fascinated by the realistic car options.

Meanwhile, Arthur downloaded and opened a delivery app and started looking for a restaurant. For the sake of Thomas's health and because they'd already bought a lot of junk food, the order would be a normal meal.

After much searching, Arthur found a restaurant with options that pleased him. The app also noted that the restaurant was recently opened and because of that, delivery was free. He then ordered 6 lunchboxes, 2 for now and 4 for tomorrow morning when he finished his exercises.

The lunch box was made up of milk rice, pasta in the sauce, string* beans (without broth), green salad and vinaigrette, in addition to accompanying two pieces of meat in each box, that was steak and chicken breast. The 6 lunchboxes in all gave a value of R$72. After ordering, a few seconds later the order was analyzed and was already in production.

'Quick...I liked it'

Arthur then continued playing with Thomas, and from time to time he checked the status of the order. It didn't take 30 minutes and the order was already being delivered. 10 minutes later, possibly because of the distance, the bell was heard.

Arthur paused the game and went to the door with Augustus' card, which now had R$100,000.00. The moment he opened the big door to take the order, he looked at the delivery guy and the delivery guy looked at him.

"Augusto?"

"Felipe?"

...

The two looked at each other for a while in surprise before Arthur flashed a smile on his face.

"Come on in!" Arthur said calmly. He also went to the motorcycle and helped Augusto to bring the lunchboxes.

Augustus followed behind Arthur with a slightly shocked expression. After taking off his helmet, he surveyed the outside of the house with wide eyes. The shock was even greater when he entered the house and saw the impressive interior.

"Sit down!" Arthur offered the leather armchair beside the sofa. He also sat on the sofa. "He is my brother Thomas. Thomas, he is an acquaintance of mine Augusto." Arthur took the opportunity to introduce the two.

The two said nothing and just nodded. Thomas was out of indifference, whereas Augusto was out of account that he was still shocked.

"How are you?" Arthur asked as he placed the lunchboxes in the center.

"V-very well. In fact, I have to thank you deeply!" At that moment, Augusto got up and went to Arthur to shake his hand. After that he continued: "Since that day my life has been quite right, Mr. Felipe. Thanks to the money, I was able to help with my mother's treatment and she made impressive improvements. Since then, we've decided to open a restaurant with the money left over, as she's a great cook." Augusto's expression was much more relaxed and happiness was filling his heart.

"You do not have to thank me. I basically bought you back then, so I didn't help you. Besides, you can just call me Arthur. I was lying before." Arthur spoke with a relaxed expression. He really didn't care if he helped someone or not. Augusto was someone he used for the last month, and that's all.

After talking a little longer, Arthur said that every night he would want the same amount of meal. If he had money then he wouldn't hesitate to spend. He paid for the order and Augusto left with a smile on his face. He also left his number with Arthur in any case.

Arthur then went inside again, went to the kitchen and got some silverware. He also took advantage and kept the other 4 lunchboxes in the fridge. He then went into the living room and handed one of the lunchboxes to Thomas while he took the other. Pressing a few buttons on the remote, the tv was already on a cartoon channel.

Just as Arthur was about to put his fork in his mouth, the house bell rang again.