9 Sibling Bonds

Clark was about to sleep when he heard someone knocking on his door. Soon the door was pushed slightly opened and the head of his brother emerged from the doorframe. They both smiled politely.

"What's up, bro?" Clark casually asked James. Although the older brother sometimes provoked him by words, Clark would never fight back to him. He sees this older brother with a degree of respect similar to his father. This is not Clark being meek it's just that he knew that if he would be in trouble, his brother would come to his rescue.

"You are sleeping now?" James asked after seeing that his younger brother was already under the blankets. It was just past six in the evening. A strange time to call it a night.

"Uhm, yes. I know it is still six and nobody sleeps this early... but, I need to wake up before 7 am for a seminar. You know me, I might not be able to wake up at six if I don't sleep this time," Clark replied thoughtfully. After leaving Sofia's place, he was really planning on sleeping.

"The seminar? You mean that financial literacy or another seminar?" James curiously asked.

"That's the one. Well, Sofia and the squad will be joining the seminar tomorrow. This seminar is the light for us," Clark quoted Sofia's words earlier. He did not know that without discussing their goals, these words are too vague and could be misinterpreted.

"The light? It's just a seminar. We are also required to attend it," James responded to his brother.

"Hmmn, do you need anything, though? I might not be able to wake up if I don't sleep early," Clark sighed as he glanced at the wall clock.

Like most of the teens, Clark was too greedy of sleep. He could sometimes sleep for more than 8 hours. His body could even extend to 12 hours of sleeping!

Some gamers would extend their time playing games in public computer shops. But Clark's talent is to extend his sleeping time almost every day! This was why his gaming skills were below an average player. Because he did not pay attention to improving his gameplay and he did not spend nights playing games.

"Alright. Sorry for earlier if I snapped. It's just that, the squad that I joined in, we were having a practice in the game the whole day. And we encountered series of defeats. Our group was arguing too badly and my mood was affected." James rubbed his palms and pursed his lips as he explained his situation to his younger brother.

Clark nodded his head slightly in understanding. The game could be frustrating like this. It is enjoyable to have a winning streak. It is depressing if it is a lost streak. The conflict between teammates could rise drastically if each team member would blame each other instead of reflecting on their own gameplay.

Clark suddenly remembers his first game that day. His mage died several times during the early minute of the match. Those deaths of his mage made him realized that his skills were just below average. It was too far from his teammates.

If he would be teamed up by another squad, the members would have already yelled at his lack of skills. They would have trash-talked him. It was the usual response for most of the teammates who have a noob team member.

But, the group just told him that the deaths his mage procured were okay. Sofia's tank even assisted him to overturn his situation and gave him kills. They were helpful to him. Nobody in his squad blamed him for feeding. (A/N: Feeding is a term that means accumulating too many deaths in the game, allowing the opponent to have a great advantage of the entire battle. Mostly, this term is used when a player intentionally allows the opponent to kill their character.)

"Oh, it's nothing. Big bro, they are not thugs. In fact, I have played with my favorite squad. The Fab_Gamers agreed to have a practice game with us." Clark recounted with gentleness in his eyes. He had never thought that a day would come for him to face these members of top squads.

"What?! The Fab_Gamers? The famous one? Are you sure that they are legit?" James jumped in surprise. At first, he did not plan on chitchatting with his brother. But after the topic was mentioned, James pushed the door widely and entered.

Clark did not mind as James pulled his gaming chair and sat on it. He just leaned on his headboard and continued talking, "It was the legit squad. They even let us borrow two of their members. I think Sofia contacted them to play with us."

James' face showed a hint of admiration as he eagerly listened to his brother. "Ahhh... that tank user. With her skill, I am not surprised by the FAB_Gamers squad's decision to practice match with your group. They were probably curious about her tanking ability. How was it? They are good right?"

"Yes, we did not win on any match against them..." Clark mentioned, perhaps, to make his brother feel at ease on his losing streak.

"They are part of the top squads in server ranking. Even the top 5 global rank squad recognized this group. It is enough that you guys were able to play with them. You are lucky! If I did not act on my impulses, I could have also played with them." James mumbled as he reflected on his inappropriate reaction when he found out that his brother would be a mage in the squad.

"You really need to work on your temper, bro. Maybe you are right, the FAB_Gamers squad is probably curious about Sofia. That's what the others also said. Our goal was to develop our skills for the competition. Not to win yet. So it's okay if we lose on the match against them." Clark scratched the back of his head and yawned.

"That's nice. Good luck to your squad. Although you are not a skilled player. But the match is indeed a team competition. You have a reliable team leader." James stood from his seat and walked slowly towards the door.

"Good luck also bro. See you tomorrow." Clark stated while watching his brother waved a hand and exited his room.

A gentle smile formed on Clark's lips. He has a good brother but also a short-tempered one. James always reacts first before thinking of the consequences behind his action. This was the only fault he could see in his character. But then again, he is just a teen. So, his father always gave this attitude of him a leeway.

Clark decided to close his eyes as he drove his consciousness towards the slumber state.

It did not require Clark to wait for his alarm clock to ring. His body was fully awake at past 4 in the morning. It was too early but considering the time he slept last night, there was nothing unusual on it.

The boy quickly left his bed just in case his body would be tempted to go back to sleep. He has a 90% tendency of extending his sleep given the time he woke up. He took a shower and was done preparing after 5 am.

"Morning, dad!" his father nearly jumped in surprise as Clark's voice echoed in the silence of the dawn. The old man was on his usual spot, reading some news on his phone.

"You are so early!" his father remarked while his eyes were following the movements of Clark.

"Yes, I am! I have to attend a seminar this 7 am. It's about financial literacy," he replied while preparing his coffee.

"Financial literacy..." his father mumbled and cast a strange look at his son. He remembered this boy had told him that he will surpass his riches. He did not expect that his son was really serious about it.

"Yes, well... our group has big plans. But right now, we need to learn the basics of handling our finances. One day though, one day... our money will make money for us," Clark casually said.

"That's nice, son!" his father looked at the busy Clark with a gentle expression.

Out of a sudden, the telephone interrupted their interaction. His father answered the call while Clark proceeded to pour a lot of creamer on his coffee before drinking it.

"You're coming? Do you want me to pick you at the airport?"

"That's good, darling. I missed you too. I love you. See you later."

Based on his father's response to the call, Clark could guess that the other person on the line was his mother. His mother was in District 5, working as a private financial advisor.

Clark glanced at his father and saw a genuine smile on his lips. "It's mom? I should have talked to her," Clark pouted like a child.

"Ahh... Your mother is in rush. She is about to board on a plane going here. Right, you said you would attend a seminar. Your mother will be the guest speaker at the seminar. So, you will meet her at school later," his father explained.

"Really? Cool! My friends would be able to meet mom there!" Clark grinned while some thoughts were running in his mind. He wanted to see his friend's surprised reaction later.

The sun rays gradually broke into the dawn. Light sprawled from the opened windows of their dining area. The light breeze entered the room as James walked in.

"Do you want to go to school together?" his elder brother asked casually.

"Oh, yes!" the quick response of Clark followed. Excitement was evident in his voice.

The sun was fully shining up on the horizon, the two siblings shared a comfortable silence in their car. A driver was gently steering the wheels while they were sitting in the back seat.

Clark looked at his phone and saw a message.

From: Claire

I'm here in the venue. Where are you?

Clark paused and stared at his screen for a while before typing a reply.

To: Claire

Almost there, save me a seat next to you.

The entire music hall was occupied by the seniors when Clark and James arrived.

Clark looked around and saw his friends sitting in the front chairs. Joey and Stephen were sitting together. The two were leaning their heads on the table like they were sleeping. Sofia was occupying the chair behind them. She just sat their with a sophisticated posture and observed the students. Meanwhile, all of the chairs have bags and Claire was on the other column separated by the aisle.

"Hey, guys!" Clark waved his hands at them and walked towards Claire. Stephen and Joey looked up just waved their hands swiftly before they ducked their head back on the table.

Claire smiled at him but did not say anything. He had noticed that among them, she was the quietest one. But, she was not definitely a shy type. Claire could talk with confidence, but she just mostly did not want to speak.

"Glad you make it, Clark!" Sofia nodded her head with an approving expression on her face. Clark sheepishly smiled and noticed that it was just 15 minutes before 7 am.

"What time did you arrive, Claire?" he whispered and leaned closer to her.

"The school was not yet open when we arrived! Sofia went to my unit a wake me up." Claire murmured.

"There was an announcement that the students who would attend this seminar will be excused in every class for the entire day. So we are all free this afternoon." Claire added in between a yawn.

"So, do we have a scheduled match this afternoon?" Clark inquired.

"Sofia said we will be stalking and observing this afternoon, we won't be playing..." Claire answered.

"St--stalking?" Clark cautiously clarified if he heard what the lady said.

"Oh... she meant that we will search the other squads that have joined the tournament. Then, we will check their game styles and how they play. Knowing our enemy will give us an advantage. I think most of our opponents are also doing this," Claire shrugged.

Clark only nodded his head.

'Winning a tournament is not really just simple as playing the game with best skill! It also involved stalking,' he secretly noted.