Ch 18: Birthday

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Felix's POV

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For better or for worse, after the Convergence, the world was so fucked up that there was no concept of schooling anymore.

For the kids, it was a lot of happy free time, but for the parents it was dreadful as their children were becoming more uncultured by the day. A good education system instills discipline and good moral values in the kids, but after that disaster, parents finding time to educate their children was rare enough. I didn't live long enough to know what the long-term effects would be of this, but I could bet on my two family jewels that it would be anything but good.

Anyway, back to the topic. Melena, Irene and I were sitting in the drawing room, getting taught by the tutors.

Melena was being taught separately by a teacher who specializes in teaching children who are educated late in age. Of course, yours truly had already 'Compelled' the teachers to give their all to teach us and to not be a creep.

The best thing about being homeschooled was that, after we had understood the lesson, we could move to the next subject. There was also no need to copy lessons, as we already were given all the notes.

For kids who were irresponsible, this was a gateway to failing class. Thankfully, I was an adult inside and Irene was surprisingly very serious about her studies. I've never seen her with late homework or grades below ' A- '. She might not seem like it, but she was a very responsible and caring kid.

Melena was very enthusiastic about being taught at the start, but I could see that enthusiasm wane at a visible rate….

Irene and my classes could have ended a lot sooner, but we had a tacit understanding to only do it after Melena was done with her lessons.

The class finally ended, and I bid all the teachers goodbye.

Irene ran back to her home after the lesson. She was a big worrywart for Aunty Martha. I could see that she would be the same until Aunty Martha could speak properly again and the patch on her surgery site was removed.

I dressed up and went to the driver. I had a lot of new employees to brainwash.

4 days had passed, and it was Friday now.

'Pãy-trêê-ôñ' had officially launched, and the response was quite positive.

School was off on the weekend and a creator's convention was on Saturday. Dad booked flights for us to go there. Our objective was to 'Compel' big content creators to apply for our services. We had brought Irene and Silia with us as well.

The convention was very rowdy, to say the least. I fully used my 'cuteness' to talk to all the creators while 'Compelling' them secretly. The girls also met some of their favorite creators. It was overall a fun and profitable day.

September, 2010

A month had passed now.

'Pãy-trêê-ôñ' was in full swing now. A Lot of smaller creators joined the bandwagon of the big creators and applied for it.

The increase in revenue was simply in the multiples now.

Geralt and his crew had also come to Ertonville now and were busy with their jobs. They seemed very satisfied that Dad arranged housing for them in an apartment, even though it was not in the contract.

Employees from other countries had also started coming in. I had a lot of work to do to brainwash them.

Mr. Myers had also made his move and shifted in our neighborhood. Silia was 14 and was studying in the highschool near here. From how Mr. Myers had bragged about her, it seemed that she was quite popular in school but her cold attitude was making it quite difficult for her to make friends.

Mr. Myers urged her to visit our home to at least start socializing. Although Silia was reluctant to pass her time with little kids from her perspective, she did so at her father's urging.

We 'kids' had a bit of a rough time getting along with her, as she just didn't speak much. It was different from how Melena was in her early days. Melena didn't have a choice at that time. Silia, on the other hand, was very conservative by her own choice.

At least, there was one place she was interested in, the gym.

Melena had just recovered from her injuries and Silia had no experience in training whatsoever.

Irene and I laughed our butts off when they failed to dodge the balls. And when they finally started to get the hang of it, we applauded them.

Melena was already enthusiastic to train with us, but surprisingly Silia seemed to enjoy it as well. She was quite competitive and didn't want to lose to anybody, especially kids. This was a crack that could slowly break her 'ice'. It was much welcomed by all of us.

Silia felt a bit awkward sitting with the 'kids', watching shows and playing video games. But her competitive nature won over her when she lost a streak of 5-0 against me in 'Alley Fighter IV'.

I didn't give her any chances, and neither did Melena. She lost against both of us completely. She only got a 2-3 with her match up with Irene. Although she didn't win, it gave a little solace to her. In her eyes, Melena and I were just monsters.

Things like these would take time to get settled. The day she agreed to move into this neighborhood was also the day she had vowed to try to change herself. It was slowly showing in her progress.

Back to the present. It was 3rd September now. My birthday was on 4th. I could see the whole family sneaking around, probably preparing for my party. Dad knew that I knew what was going on, but he awkwardly played along his role.

They all seemed to act like they had forgotten about it, but Melena and Mom's occasional smirks had given them away.

I also played along and pretended to be none the wiser. There was no need to spoil their fun.

Finally at night, dad awkwardly brought me out of the house so that they could prepare for the party.

We didn't say anything during the drive. Dad was mad awkward and I was trying my best to hold my laughter.

When we finally returned home, it was blacked out completely.

'I really want to scare them as soon as I enter, no, no, keep your intrusive thoughts out today, Felix….. Maybe just a little…..'

I opened the door in an awkward crouched pose and screamed.

"BHAAAAA!"

"AAAAA!" X2

"Hiik!"

In return, I heard three screams.

Thankfully, the adults didn't get scared enough, went with their plans and opened the lights.

"Happy Birthday Felix!!!~"

"Feeleee you badie!"

"Hahaha…"

The unexpected scare seemed to liven the mood even more. The three girls were staring daggers at me.

"Did you know about the party, baby?"

Mom asked me, but was looking at Dad.

"You guys were pretty obvious from the afternoon, so don't blame dad, he didn't tell me anything."

I could feel Dad feeling gratitude towards me through telepathy.

"Happy birthday little Fel!!! Come here!"

I was yanked by Aunty Martha and brought into a heavenly hug. Her neck was completely healed by this point and didn't have the patch on the surgery site.

'Haaaa… this is good….'

"Let go! You're suffocating my son again!"

I was pulled out of my paradise. I adjusted myself and looked over at everyone. There were quite a few people here. From my extended family like, Uncles and Aunts to my neighbors like, Ranford family, Myers family, and others who were good friends to Mom and Dad.

I greeted everyone and went towards the cake. There were still a few minutes for the clock to hit 12. They put on sparklers on the cake and held confetti and foam sprays in their hands.

The moment the clock hit 12, they sang the birthday song, and I cut the cake.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Felix! Happy Birthday to you!"

I had turned 11. My eyes were threatening to get moist, but I controlled it. This warmth was what I wanted to experience again ever since I lost it.

'I'll most definitely make sure that my family's happiness stays the same. I'll crush every one of them, be it the gangsters, the radical Etherians or 'them'. If it means I can secure this warmth, I'll do anything for it.'

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

The noise took me out of my reverie. It was time to enjoy, not to make inner monologues. The confetti went off, and the girls took their revenge on me for scaring them by covering me in spray foam. The confetti fell on my foam covered self and made me look like some kind of shiny rainbow orangutan.

"Hahahahah, serves you right, Feelee!"

"Mhm" X2

I had guessed about Melena and Irene but didn't know that Silia would also be pissed at me.

Silia especially participated in making a beard out of foam on me.

'Hehe, it seems like I embarrassed her a bit too much, huh?'

Mom brought some kitchen towels and cleaned me up as much as she could. There was still some confetti stuck to me but at least I was clean enough to eat.

They all brought me gifts, and I opened them. The gifts were all age appropriate for me. I really appreciated them all even if they were below my mental age. It was the thought that counted.

Dad brought three seemingly heavy and large cases to me. When I opened them, everyone in the party was astonished.

In the first case, there were all kinds of small weapons like short swords, daggers and kukris and so on. They were all made out of wood and polished impeccably.

The second case had bigger weapons like swords, maces without spikes, spears and staffs. They were all wooden as well, but their craftsmanship was mesmerizing to the audience.

The third case had all kinds a of protective gear for all sizes.

Mom seemed a little irked about it, but it seemed that Dad had already convinced her before giving the gift.

With these, I could finally train properly.

The gifting ceremony ended, and all the guests talked and dined together. The girls wanted to have a look at the weapons, but I told them to wait for tomorrow.

The party was very fun and me scaring them at the start definitely made the whole event more memorable for everyone.

'Maybe letting myself be controlled by intrusive thoughts was not a bad idea…yeah no, I'll probably pay for the consequences tomorrow morning.'

The party finally ended. They all bid us farewell and all the ladies gave me kisses on my face. Irene snuck over and gave me a kiss on the cheek as well. Needless to say, Mom, Aunty Martha and Melena were dumbfounded. I was too, to be honest. I wanted to keep my distance from her, but she keeps getting closer…

Irene's face turned red, and she ran out of the door. She escaped the teasing today, but who can say the same about tomorrow? The same couldn't be said about me, though. There wasn't just Mom and Aunty Martha, but an army of women, all lock and loaded with sly smiles, ready to unleash the Teasaggedon on me.

'God help me survive this…'

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In the end, all the guests left for their homes. The mess from the confetti was too much, so they notified a cleaning service to come home tomorrow.

I climbed upstairs and walked towards the door. I had been ignoring a stare since the guests had left, but from my telepathy I could feel that Melena was gonna burst into tears pretty soon.

'*Sigh* kids….'

I turned around and looked at her.

"Haah, alright you win, come on now…"

Her green eyes seemed to light up, and she ran towards me. She pecked me on my cheek and zooop….. she vanished into her room...

*Sigh*

I shook my head and went to my room. There was still confetti sticking everywhere on me and I had to take a shower just to get it all off of me.

I changed and fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day.

(A/N: This chapter is the starting point for massive time skips and progress summaries. It will only slow down for specific events.

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Thank You all for reading this chapter!!! )