2 First friend.

" You're finally here. Come sit and eat your breakfast first so you can take your bath later. " Christina said right away after seeing her son, Leon arriving at the dining room.

Leon didn't move immediately, he can't help but stare at his mother for a few moments. He's not used seeing to her like this. She's way too young and more cheerful than what he can remember.

Although his mother only has an above average appearance, Christina has this elegant and kind aura around her that makes her look approachable to anyone she met. In Leon's opinion, his mother belongs to the 'cute' type of woman.

" What are you standing there for, Leon? Have seat already and eat your breakfast else you'll be late. "

" Eh... Okay. "

Christina once again reminded him after seeing Leon just standing there looking at her, doing nothing.

Leon embarrassly scratched the back of his head before he began walking towards the table and sat down there. In front of him was fried rice, eggs ( boiled ) and some dried fish. This should be their breakfast for today, which isn't that bad all. For his drinks, there's a cup of warm chocolate Christina personally poured for him.

Leon then began eating but only a small amount of the food before going to the bathroom to take a bath.

Leon's family wasn't wealthy. His father was working at the Capital as a carpenter while his mother on the other hand stays at home taking care of him. Leon was their sole child and although their financial status was a bit low, they can still managed. Christina is also able to save small amounts of money for rainy days, emergencies and also for Leon's future studies.

Finished bathing, Leon returned to his room to get some clothes. Looking inside his small cabinet, he can't help but smile wryly, shaking his head helplessly.

How can he not?

He just saw that almost ( if not all ) of his clothes inside his cabinet have cartoon characters printed on them and as a boy with a 20 years old soul, it was of course very embarrassing for him to wear these kind of clothing. He scanned and scanned around the clothes flipping them all up before finally choosing the black T-shirt without prints on it, a black short pants and a pair of black shoes.

Standing in front of the mirror looking at his appearance, Leon realized that he is rather cute with his chubby cheeks, round face and pale skin.

" Not bad, I didn't expect that I can be this cute while I'm still young. " he shamelessly murmured.

He stayed like that for a few more moments before finally picking up his small bag and went out of his room.

At the dinning room, Leon saw his mother there preparing his food. When Christina saw her son, smiled at him.

" Ready? Wait, why are you not wearing your favorite Spider Man T-shirt? Hmm... but you also look good in this. I'm sure my son will grow up as a handsome young man in the future. " she commented in a satisfied tone.

Leon can't help but feel embarrassed hearing that.

" I'm not a child anymore, mom. I don't want to wear those clothes anymore. Very childish. "

"...."

Christina was stunned, but only for a few moments. She never expected her son to say those words sincerely they bought those clothes just a week ago and Leon choose them himself! What caused such sudden changed?

Christina reached out both of her hands pinching Leon's chubby cheeks before asking in a playful tone. " What part of you is not young anymore, hum? Why can't I see it? "

" Hii..hiwts hurts mooom. Pwese.. shtop iwt. " Leon complained. But seeing his mother smiling like that, he also felt happy.

Only then did Christina finally let go of his cheeks. " Alright. Did you bring all the things you need for school? "

" Yes mom. I put them all inside my bag. "

" Very good. Let's go then so you won't be late. Make sure to behave there and make a lot of friends you can play with in the future. "

" I know mom. "

" Okay then. Let's go. "

Christina grabbed his hand and the two of them went out of the house.

*

The school wasn't that far from their house. It's only around half kilometer away but since his mother was a bit in a hurry, they still ride on a jeepney and it only took them a few minutes before they arrived.

Gregorio Del Pilar Elementary School.

As its name says, this school used to be purely for elementary students but the Department of Education decided to also put a kindergarten class here around 7 to 10 years ago.

Outside one of the school classrooms, Leon and his mother, Christina were standing there, waiting for their turn. Christina is currently talking with his soon to be teacher along with the other parents around that also came here with their children.

After awhile, his mother once again looked at him. " Leon, I already talked to your teacher and she seems to be nice so you better behave here and enjoy your day okay? "

" Okay mom, I understand. I know what to do. "

" Good. Here's your snacks for today. You can eat this later whenever you're hungry and along with this juice here. " Christina reminded him as she took out another lunch box from her bag and handed it to Leon. " This one is for your breaktime. You can eat it at that time. Make sure to eat everything okay? "

" Thank you mom. " replied Leon, smiling. Perhaps his mother think of him as a pig? How can he even finish all of these food?

" Okay, go inside now. I have to leave. I'll go back later to get you. "

" Take care mom. "

Leon gave his mother a short hug before he finally went inside the classroom and sat down at one of the front chairs. He prefers sitting in front because it's easier for him to see what's written on the board. Looking back to his mother, Leon saw that she's still there looking at him. He smiled at her and wave his hand. Only then did Christina finally left and went home.

He's not alone there, Leon can see many children similar to his age sitting on their chairs nervously. It seems like they are still scared being away from their parents for the first time. Some are even crying outside hugging their parents, refusing to enter the room no matter what.

Seeing all of that, Leon simply shook his head before looking at the little girl sitting beside him.

" Hello there, I am Leon Reyes. You are? "

The little girl didn't expect him to talk to her all of a sudden so she panicked. " I... I'm Carla. Carla De Guzman. N... nice to meet you too, Leon. "

" Mn. Nice to meet you too, Carla. You're very cute, let's be friends okay? " Leon said again as he smiled at her.

Hearing him calling her cute, Carla's face turned red due to embarrassment and shyness. " Th... thank you. L.. let's be friends, Leon. "

" Great! You are my first friend then, Carla. Hmm? Are you nervous Carla? "

" Y.. yes. Was it.. that's obvious? Because.. it's the first time I'm away from my mommy. How about you, Leon? Are you nervous too? "

" Me? Nope, I'm not. What's there to be nervous about? "

" Huh? How.. how can that be? You.. you are brave, Leon. "

" Am I? "

" Yes. "

" I see. But I think you are brave too, Carla. "

" Me? How? "

" Because... look. " Leon pointed outside their classroom. " Unlike that boy over there, you are not crying and willing to come here on your own. That's already impressive, you know? "

Carla looked at the direction he was pointing and saw that it was indeed the case. The boy outside was very reluctant, not wanting his mother to leave him so he's clinging on her tightly.

* giggles *

Carla let out a cute giggle.

" Thank you Leon. "

She look more calmer now than before.

" No problem. Since we are friends now, then you can come to me if you have a problem. I will do everything I can to help you. "

As he said that, Leon stood up.

" Mn. But, where are you going Leon? " replied Carla, confused when she saw him stand up all of a sudden.

" I will go talk to that boy outside. Want to come with me? "

" Me? Sure. But why do you want to talk to him, Leon? "

" Hmm. I just want to help. "

" Help? Oh, I see. You're a good person, Leon. "

" Hehe. Let's go? "

" Kay. Let's go! "

Leon then helped Carla to stand up before the two of them made their way towards the crying boy outside.

*

" Mark, haven't we talked about this already last night? Your father even bought you your favorite toy, so why are you crying again now? " Stella asked her son in a helpless tone. She didn't expect him to be like this after arriving here.

" But.. but mom, I'm.. I'm scared. " replied Mark.

" Scared? What's there to be scared about? There's only you, your teacher and classmates here. You can make friends with them too. "

" I... I know but.. but.. I am.... I don't know them. What... what if they don't like me? " Mark held onto his mother's hand as tight as he could.

" I'm sure they will like you, Mark. Why would they not like you? Unless you do bad things to them, they will surely like you. "

" R.. really? "

" Of course. As long as you're not a bad boy, we can be friends. "

Before Mark's mother can reply to her son, a youthful voice suddenly came from behind them. Looking back, the two of them saw a boy similar to Mark's age with black hair and... silver eyes? It looks very beautiful..

Standing beside him was a girl similar to his age walking towards them. The two kids are of course, Leon and Carla.

" Hello auntie. My name is Leon and the cute girl here beside me is Carla. " Leon introduced himself and Carla to Mark's mother.

Mark's mom was a beautiful woman around 25 to 27 years old with black hair and black eyes. She seemed to be from a wealthy family based on her clothes and the way she acts.

Stella was quite surprised when seeing how mature this boy in front of her was but she still smiled at them. " So you two are Leon and Carla. Hello, this is my son, Mark. I hope the three of you can get along. " she paused and turned to her son before adding, " Come on Mark, introduce yourself to your classmates. "

" I... my.. my name is Mark. Mark Smith. N... nice to meet you Leon, Carla. " replied Mark nervously as he wiped the tears on his face.

" Smith? Oh.. is your father a foreigner, Mark? " asked Leon curiously.

" Y... yes. H.. how did you know? " replied Mark, a bit confused.

" Because of your last name. Usually, only people from overseas have that kind of last name. " Leon explained shortly. " By the way, since we already introduced ourselves, then can we go inside now? "

Mark seems to be not that nervous anymore. " O.. okay. Let's... let's go inside. "

" Good. There's still a seat available over there. You can take that seat. " Leon pointed at the three available seat near the place he and Carla was sitting before turning his head towards Mark's mother. " We will go now, Auntie. "

" Okay. Thank you Leon, Carla. Please take care of my son. "

And with that, the three of them went inside the their classroom. Leon and Carla returned to their seats while Mark on the other hand took a last glance to her mother before also sitting on one of the chairs available.

O.-.0