Tetra Pact

Chapter 6

Asbjørn spent his second day at Noble Minds getting to know Holly, who was a lovely girl by nature. By the end of the night, he'd already established a rapport with her, and the four-year-old returned his high-five before she went home with her parents, who he also managed to have a brief conversation with.

"Ni shi zhong guo ren?" Holly's mother asked him.

"Ah, my dad is," Asbjørn replied politely. He couldn't help but think of how much more comfortable he was when meeting another Chinese person as compared to another Norwegian, even though he was half of both. It was most likely because he was brought up by his grandparents in a Chinese household with Chinese culture and customs, and could only speak Mandarin besides English. Which could also explain why he felt so out of place around his siblings.

Holly's mother proceeded to question more about the support centre, to which Asbjørn responded that he was still quite new to the place, but said he felt that the environment was pleasant and conducive. They ended off with Holly's mother thanking him for taking care of her daughter and wishing each other a good night.

That's what Asbjørn loved most about volunteering: the satisfaction of being to help others and make their day better, because no matter how small the impact was - it was there.

He caught the last bus to get home and collapsed at the seat at the far back of the vehicle. He gazed out of the window and admired the tiny bit of scenery he could see with the aid of street lamps, and nearly fell fast asleep if not for someone sending him a text message. Asbjørn wondered who could possibly have something to tell him at midnight on a school day, frowning at the unknown number that had texted him.

Unknown: hey Asbjørn, I'm Eden from Noble Minds. [00:02]

Unknown: we are having a little activity session tomorrow night with the kids. I was wondering if you have any ideas of games or things that are interesting that they can learn something from? [00:03]

Unknown: sorry to bother you, thanks for the help. [00:03]

Asbjørn's eyes widened. Then he quickly saved her number into his contact list, before hastily brainstorming for any ideas.

Me: Sure thing! I'll let you know when I've thought of one. [00:05]

Eden (Noble Minds): alright, thank you so much. [00:05]

Asbjørn tucked his phone into his pocket and became deep in thought of what activity they could do that they haven't done before. A skill? Could they learn something new that was fun and good at the same time? He racked his brains the whole bus ride, but couldn't come up with anything before he reached home, where he figured he could do some research for prompts.

Right as he inserted the house keys into the keyhole, his phone received another notification, and he swiftly switched it on to check.

Eden (Noble Minds): :) [00:34]

He was confused, but smiled at the message nonetheless.

~

"Here you go," Clyde said, placing their orders on the table. "One coconut ice and one regular juice." He sat next to Kay, signalling to his coworker that he was going to take a short break. "So, did you get called for the remedial group?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Whoa, no. Luckily. I'd hate to do more studying," Kay replied.

Eden scoffed to herself. "Well, I did."

"Wait, what?"

"For chemistry. I blew the last test."

"Oh, jeez," Kay said, sucking in a sharp breath. "It's alright. Do you need help with anything then?"