A family dinner

It was dark in Michael's street and he was currently standing in front of his house as he looked at his phone and as he looked at his phone, a sigh escaped his mouth. It was currently 6.30 pm and he knew his parents would shout but he was oddly calm as he stared at the door. Soon he opened the door and walked in, immediately upon entering the house, he could feel the hostility in the air as he stared at his parents, his father didn't waste a second as he shouted

"Why are you home so late? What were you doing-" but he soon stopped talking upon smelling a certain heavenly aroma, he paused as he wondered where the sumptuous smell came from and his eyes soon landed on Michael but not exactly him but the plastic bag in his hands, immediately saliva dripped from his mouth as he stared at it, his eyes gleaming

"Ahem" Michael coughed releasing Nathaniel from his trance as he stared at Michael with a cough he asked "hmm, what's that in your hand?" Hearing his question, Michael mocked inwardly 'as if you don't know' before he moved to answer "oh this is just a little something I bought for you guys" as he moved towards the dining table and began stacking them up. Seeing the various dishes present at the table not so far from them, both parents were mesmerized. Michael seeing this smirked as he said inwardly 'mission success' this was the reason for Michael's fearlessness.

Michael was well known for coming home late and every time he did, it was always the same scolding session, so on a certain day he tried coming back with food and unsurprisingly on that day, he wasn't scolded. Upon discovering this, he used it completely to his advantage, anytime he was invited by his friends for an outing; he always made them buy him something which he used to avoid his parents scolding and today that a super-rich girl took him out, he decided to go all out leading to the current turn of events.

"Oh wow, how did you get your hand on all this?" Aurora asked, shocked by the sheer amount of food on the table. Though her son usually brought them food but the quality and quantity of food brought today was something else, it was just too much. Michael seeing his mother's shocked expression, Michael felt happy as he answered "well I went out with some friends and they got me some things so I kept some for you guys"

Both his parents were still gob smacked as they kept staring at the food, saliva dripping from both their mouths. Michael seeing this smiled as he said "take a seat, I'll dish it for you guys" they were released from the trance by his words as they sat down, while Michael wore an apron as he took the various dishes and began heating them and dishing them.

Moments later he was done and the table was filled with various dishes like: vegetables, shrimp, omelets, and other delicacies. Seeing the various dishes before them, both parents found it hard to believe this was all real as their face was filled with disbelief.

The Watts family was what one who called a family which was well-off, they couldn't be considered too rich or poor, they were just an average family which had enough money to get them by the day. Due to this, they rarely ate at restaurants so only Michael gave them the joy of eating outside food, which usually happened when he went for one of those his 'outings' but the sheer quantity and quality of today's food was something else as they wondered 'was it his money or his friend's own' as they stared at him.

Seeing their expression, a smile appeared on Michael's face; though at times he behaved as though he hated them but truthfully speaking he loved them a lot and wanted them to be happy that's why he usually made sure to extort his friends just so he could see the satisfaction on their face. With blinding smile, Michael said "don't worry, it's not my money so you can dig in"

His words broke every doubt or pride as they dug in but Nathaniel stopped halfway as she stared at Michael before saying "aren't you going to join Michy?" Michael immediately refused saying "I bought this for you guys, so enjoy" hearing this, Nathaniel decided to end the matter but Aurora didn't sit still as she said "no way, you brought this so join us and eat, for once in a while let's have a family diner" hearing this words, Michael began questioning whether he should join or not but he soon came to a decision upon noticing his dad nodding at him, with a smile he joined them as they dug in together.

As they were eating, Nathaniel decided to ask a question "how's school these days, Michael?" Hearing this question, Michael decided to answer honestly "it's been pretty good"

"Ohhhh" both parents gasped surprised by his answer as Nathaniel decided to ask "why's that?" Michael thought about it for a moment before answering "well classes have been less hectic and I got a friend" he said the last part remembering the events of the day. Nathaniel hearing this, was greatly surprised as he knew his son quite well so wondered what was who was this friend, so curios he asked "oh is that right, who's that friend of yours"

"It's a girl-"

"Oh a girl you say…?" "Yeah and she's awfully rich"

"That's my boy!" Nathaniel said with a smirk, he was quite proud his son made a girl his friend and to add to that, she was rich. This was exactly what he wanted from him but his mind soon froze upon hearing her name

"Yeah, I think her name was Arianna Neumann"

"Neumann…!" "Yes" immediately, a look of fright appeared on both faces as they stared at each other before they said hysterically

"The daughter of Phillips Neumann, the richest man alive!?"

"That girl who gets anything she wants, she basically called a princess"

To everything, Michael just nodded and soon a sigh escaped their mouths as they slumped against the chair, they felt upon the revelation they had just lost almost 10 years of their lives. Noticing this, Michael asked "is everything alright?"

"Yeah" Nathaniel said as he stood upright, trying to regain his composure, he stared at Michael intently as he called his name "Michael?"

"Yes dad" Michael answered he was still dumbfounded by their reaction but the next words confused him even more

"Son take care of that girl, cherish her and make sure she's happy. Do you understand?"

"Uhh… yeah…?" Michael said still trying to understand the need of such words. A sigh of relief escaped Nathaniel's mouth as he continued "as long as you understand then everything's good" with those words he resumed eating as though nothing happened. Michael was still trying to process the situation as he glanced at his mother, who had a worried look on her face but it soon turned to one of acceptance as she also focused on the food before her.

A confused expression was written all over Michael's face as he stared at the two wondering 'WTF?' But he soon dropped the matter seeing that they weren't planning to continue the discussion.

With that, the family continued their dinner as if nothing happened.