The Youngest Son

"I'm sorry, sis."

"We won't do this again. We promise!"

"Please don't tell anyone about this."

"Please, forgive us!" they exclaimed in unison.

A smirk formed on Maxene's lips when she saw them gulp as sweat rolled down from their foreheads. They exchanged glances and slowly looked down out of fear that she would tell the principal about them.

Students with bad behavior records can get kicked out of the university. Not only that, but other schools won't accept them if they have a record of being kicked out of Royale University. Maxene has only one reason in mind for why they did this, and that's because they know Michael won't rat them out.

"You should be asking Michael's forgiveness, not me," she uttered, looking at Michael, who seemed surprised.

Michael looked away and said, "I don't really need it." It seems like he doesn't care if other kids bully him, and Maxene can see the reason why.

Maxene sighed and replied, "Well, if Michael won't accept your apology, I guess I'll have no choice but to tell this to your principal—"

"What? No! Please!"

Michael's eyes widened because of what she said. Just like she thought, Michael doesn't want anyone to know about this. He doesn't want to make his family worry about him, especially his mom.

"Michael, please accept our apology!"

"Yeah, we will never do this again. If you want, you can punch as well!"

He heaved a deep sigh and looked at them one by one. For some reason, he felt some kind of satisfaction that they were pleading with him as if their lives depended on his answer. Michael never told anyone about them because he didn't want to look like the pathetic Falcon.

Michael smirked at him and replied, "Just don't show your face to me ever again."

The three looked at each other with a beam of hope, then responded, "Yes! We will never show our faces to you again!"

"Let's go!"

They all run away from them without turning back, hoping Michael won't change his mind. Meanwhile, Michael was left with a grin on his face while crossing his arms.

Maxene stared at him for a while and remarked, "Satisfying, isn't it?"

Michael froze and looked at her with an embarrassed expression. He didn't know how to respond because he felt bad.

Maxene walked towards him and smiled. "It's fine. It seems like they have been doing this to you for a while yet you don't tell anyone about it when you have all the power to kick them out of the school."

"I don't really want to do that. I thought these kinds of things were normal and I should deal with them alone since I am a man," Michael answered.

She chuckled upon hearing his statement. He reminded her of Matthew, who always acts big and tough in front of her but is still a baby who needs constant care and attention.

"How can a junior high school student be a man? I bet your family is worried sick and looking for you right now," she uttered while shaking her head.

Michael's eyes widened upon realizing that he'd been long away from home, and he mumbled, "Oh no. I'm doomed." He took his phone from his pocket and touched its broken screen. "It won't open. It's already broken," he stated, his face turning pale.

Maxene took her phone from her pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Here. Call them."

His face brightened when he saw her phone, but he was contemplating using it.

"But... I'm sure dad and my brother are mad at me now," he mumbled, but it was enough for Maxene to hear it.

"I can assure you they are more worried than angry right now. I bet they have been trying to call you. It's better if you ask them to pick you up here instead of going home alone. Besides, I don't think you can find a cab at this hour."

"I don't know, sis. My dad and older brother are scary when they are mad," he told her, gulping.

"Then would you rather stay in here while your mother is probably crying right now because they can't contact you?"

Michael immediately shook his head and said, "Alright, I'll call my brother now."

Maxene stared at him as he called his brother. He looks like the younger version of Ridger. The only difference is that he's far more carefree than Ridger. Meanwhile, It didn't take long for Ridger to answer the call; perhaps it was because he had been waiting.

"Bro?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Michael told Ridger where he was, but since it would take Ridger a while to get here, Maxene asked him to come inside the convenience store to rest. Michael looked at her as she walked to the counter.

"No one would've thought that you are a working student. My classmates really thought you were from a rich family," Michael uttered and sat on the stool near the glass wall.

"Just because I study at Royale doesn't make me rich," she replied, smiling as she fixed the containers of food. For some reason, she wanted to exclude Michael from her plans, but she knows that it is impossible. No matter what she does, Michael will get involved since he is a Falcon.

"So, how did you afford it then?" he queried with amazement in his eyes. "Were you able to make enough money through this job?"

Maxene smiled because of his innocence. He's obviously not aware of how little a cashier makes a month. It won't even make a dent in the tuition fee. She turned to the fridge, took a bottle of apple juice, and handed it to him.

"Here," she uttered.

He just stared at it for a second and said, "I don't drink apple juice."

"Oh, what do you want to drink then?"

Michael looked at the refrigerator and answered, "I want the orange juice," then pointed at a more expensive juice displayed.

Maxene took the juice and handed it to him. "Here you go," she said, causing him to smile.

"Thanks, sis. You are so kind." He took the juice from her hand and muttered, "I don't understand why brother is so wary of you."

Maxene's brows furrowed because she didn't understand what he said. "Huh? What did you say?" she asked.

Michael immediately shook his head and laughed. "It's nothing! Do you want to drink too?"

"No, I don't like orange," she responded, which made him nod.

"You and my brother will be friends. He doesn't like orange either," he remarked, which caught her attention. "Do you know him? His name is Ridger," he added.

Before she had a chance to react, a familiar car pulled up in front of the convenience store. Both of them looked outside as Ridger immediately walked out of his car while holding his phone as he scanned the area as if he were looking for someone.

Maxene met Ridger's eyes, which were full of worry. His shirt is almost covered in sweat, and it seems like he has been looking for Michael, which Maxene has anticipated.

As soon as the fear started to consume Michael, he stood up and took a deep breath. He prepared himself to face his brother because he knew that Ridger would get mad at him for being gone.

Michael stepped out of the convenience store to meet his brother, so she followed him to explain everything.

Ridger wanted to ask why Michael was here, but worry took over, so he immediately hugged his younger brother. When they broke from the hug, he automatically asked him, "Where have you been? Why are you here? And what happened to you? Why do you have these bruises?"

Michael looked down because he couldn't answer his brother. Ridger looked at Maxene, waiting for an explanation, so she sighed and said, "It's better if Michael will be the one to tell you everything." She walked towards them and tapped Michael's shoulder to encourage him.

Michael looked at him with teary eyes as he slowly nodded. Ridger looked at Maxene, confused, but he soon nodded as if he understood it and said, "We'll go home for now."

"I'm sorry, brother…" Michael mumbled as he tried his best not to cry.

"We'll talk at home, okay?" Ridger stated, then looked at Maxene. "Thank you for watching over him. We'll go now," he said with a warm smile.

He still doesn't understand what just happened, but he knows that Maxene helped his brother, and he's grateful.

—

End of chapter 21