LB 23

"Moww.."

Iory's grandfather looked down to see what was rubbing against his legs.

"Oh, it's Ve's cat. Let me see..", he took out something red from his mouth and crouched. "Um... Pizza? Wait, Pepperoni? Is it Pepper? Pie? Pancake?", he stated each word while looking at Paste in the eye. He was attempting to call Paste but he forgot its name.

"Hold on... is it Pasta?", he asked with a wide smile. He looked at Paste and it was yawning. "Not it huh?", he sighed. "Well, I'll call for you as soon after I remember your name again", he said as he stroked Paste head. He stood up and munched on the red thing again.

"This thing isn't all that spicy", he muttered. Just then, he heard a motorcycle exhaust. "Hold on tight little guy!", he heard from a distant. He looked at the road to his right, as if waiting for the motorcycle to pass by.

Finally, a black motorcycle came to view along with two people on it. The driver was an adult and the one behind him was a child.

"George! George! You can drop me off right here", said Rem while patting George's back. "Right here? Hold on!", said George as he pulled the brakes. Rem carefully got off the motorcycle and thanked George for giving him a lift. George drove off as Rem waved at him goodbye. While waving, he noticed Iory's grandfather standing near the mailbox. He walked up to him and greeted, "hello".

Iory's grandfather pulled out a chilli stem from his mouth and dropped it on the ground. Rem recognised the stem and looked at him with astonishment. "Did you just ate a chilli?", the boy asked with his eyes widened. Iory's grandfather nodded and took out two chillies from his right pocket.

"Want one?", he asked Rem casually. Rem shook his head and politely declined, " no thank you."

The old man gave him a small smile and ate both of the chillies at the same time. The sight of it made Rem stunned.

"Well then, what's your name?", asked Iory's grandfather. Rem told his name and the old man nodded in response. "I see, so you're Remon", he said while nodding slowly.

All of a sudden, they heard someone screaming. The scream sounded familiar to Rem but he wasn't sure who it was. "What the?", the old man paused. He looked at Rem and said, "come on, let's go at the back".

The boy nodded and the two of them went behind the old woman's house.

When the two of them reached at the old woman's garden, Rem saw Iory pulling Mellow by the legs. "If I'm dying, you're coming with me!", Iory yelled while defending himself from Mellow's kicks.

"What are those two rascals doing?", Iory's grandfather sighed and went to the old woman, who was sitting at the table. "Ve!", he called. "What's wrong with them?", he asked while pointing at Mellow and Iory, who were now rolling on the ground.

"Nothing, they were.. ", the old woman noticed Rem behind Iory's grandfather and welcomed him. "Remon dear! Did you just got back from school?", she asked as she helped Rem to put his bag on the table.

"Yes, George dropped me off", said Rem. He looked at Mellow and Iory and turned to the old woman. "Hm? Oh, them? Iory told that there was a bee chasing him so he ran away and left his basket among the plants."

Rem tilted his head and asked, "basket?" The old woman nodded and replied, "Iory wanted some tomatoes so I asked the two of them to pick for themselves."

Iory's grandfather took a seat at the table while Rem went closer towards the two childish men. Both of them looked at Rem instantly.

"Rem!", Mellow said while smiling, dimples shown.

Mellow pulled Iory's left arm to help himself up, making Iory tripped a little. "Welcome back, buddy!", he stroked Rem's hair. Iory stood still while staring at Rem without any expression until all of a sudden, he screamed.

"I forgot about Ariy!", he yelled while shaking both of Mellow's shoulders. He sprinted past Mellow and Rem along with the two elders. "I have to go now, thank you for having me!", he said in a rush.

"Iory, what about your tomatoes?", shouted the old woman. Iory turned to her and looked at the garden. He face palmed himself. "Ugh.. that bee better not sting me"

He quickly ran to the garden and came out a few moments later while holding two baskets in both of his hands. He ran and put the basket in his right hand on the table. "Take the other one with you", said the old woman as she dragged the basket closer to her. Iory told her, "Okay!" and went to the front of the woman's house. He got into his car and quickly drove off to school.

"Sheesh, he left in a hurry", said Mellow while folding his arms. Rem looked at him and questioned, "who is Ariy?"

Mellow looked at him and replied, "oh, that's Iory's youngest sister. She goes to the same school as you. He probably got panic after seeing you just now. He must have thought that his sister had waited him for so long", he snickered at his last sentence.