Chapter 120 Another Encounter
Chapter 120 Another Encounter
“Does this kind of thing happen to you a lot lately?” Freya couldn’t help but ask Aiden.
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“It’s not that bad,” Aiden replied. “Before the break, people would come up to me all the time, running their mouths, acting like they knew everything–saying the Graham family had gone bankrupt or whatever. I thought they were just making stuff up, but turns out it was true. Oh well, doesn’t really matter. It’s not like Uncle Louis is going to stay down forever. Let ‘em talk. They’ll regret it eventually.”
“Did it ever hurt you, though?” Freya pressed gently. She knew how cruel kids could be–how vicious and unbelievable some school bullying could get. When children turned on each other, the damage could last a lifetime.
“I’m not the one getting bullied,” Aiden scoffed. “It’s all I can do not to start bullying them. You’re underestimating me, Freya. Don’t worry–I’m not that dumb. If anyone ever crosses the line, I won’t just take it. And the school wouldn’t let things go that far anyway.” He patted her hand reassuringly, telling her to stop worrying.
The three of them continued strolling through the science center. No one else approached them. Now and then, Aiden would glance at some passing kids and roll his eyes–Freya could guess they were ones who had turned their backs on him too.
She couldn’t be sure if Aiden truly didn’t care as much as he said. If it had been her going through that at his age, she’d have been devastated. And if a little kid like Aiden had already faced this much nonsense, she could only imagine how much worse it must’ve been for Louis–at the center of it all, unable to hide, forced to deal with the fallout alone. The rejection and cold stares he must’ve endured… it couldn’t have been easy.
Sigh… There’s no such thing as an easy adult life. When you’re successful, you’re buried in work, constantly stressed. When you fall, you have to keep pushing forward, holding yourself together while enduring all kinds of social scorn and cold shoulders, hoping for a comeback. Freya glanced at the two people beside her with a quiet swell of sympathy. She was even more certain now: she was perfectly fine being a regular nobody living a peaceful life with just enough to get by.
Aiden, meanwhile, was totally oblivious to how far her thoughts had wandered. He dragged her excitedly up to the fourth floor, where the kids‘ invention displays were set up. It was a whole collection of creative student projects–honestly pretty fascinating.
Pulling her toward his display, Aiden looked up with bright eyes. “This is what I made last semester! Isn’t it cool?”
It was a hand–cranked power generator hooked up to a small fan. Freya didn’t quite understand the mechanics, but when Aiden pressed a button, the machine whirred to life and the fan started spinning.
He tilted it so the breeze hit her and Louis. “Feels good, right? Nice and cool?”
It was just a palm–sized fan–barely strong enough to make a difference–but Freya didn’t hesitate to hype him up. “Yeah! Super refreshing! What’s the science behind this? It’s awesome!”
Aiden lifted his chin, full of pride. “It uses electrolytes to generate energy and power the fan. Our teacher said mine was the best in class.”
“No it wasn’t! Mine was the best! You’re such a liar!”
A loud, familiar voice cut through the air. Freya turned and saw none other than the same chubby kid they’d run into back at the playground.
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