The Little Boy Grew Up

<12 years later, September 2033 - Harrow Lane, England>

A knock was heard at the door.

"Aiden?"

No answer came from the bedroom. The elderly woman opened the door and barged in right away.

"Rise and shine!!!" she shouted cheerfully while pulling the window curtain aside.

The eighteen-year-old young man on the bed opened his eyes and closed them immediately with a groan when the bright sunlight hit his face.

"Grandma..."

Aiden rolled to the side so that his back faced the window and the grandmother. As if that were not enough, he pulled his blanket on top of his head and started to doze off again.

Unfortunately, Grandma Thompson was not planning to let her grandson sleep in for the day.

"Aiden, today is your first day in university! I already prepared your favorite breakfast: waffles with whipped cream, cherries, and maple syrup!"

Aiden pulled the blanket to reveal his sleepy hazel eyes.

"And hibiscus tea with almond milk?"

"Aaaaand hibiscus tea with almond milk!"

Aiden's lips curled up in a smile. He immediately jumped up from his bed to hug his grandmother.

"Grandma, you are the best!"

"Of course I am!"

Not twenty minutes later, Aiden and his grandmother already sat at the table nibbling on some breakfast while watching the morning news.

"... an accident on the highway, resulting in two deaths and one injury case. One car went over the railing and fell down the cliff while the other crashed against a tree. The police department is still investigating the cause of the accident..."

"Another mysterious accident," Grandma Thompson muttered with a disapproving tone. "We all know how these accidents happen. If they do not dare to name the culprit, then they should not even mention it on the news!"

Aiden bit into his waffle and threw a glance at the television screen.

Recently, vampires and werewolves had been involved in a lot of physical confrontations for the most trivial reasons.

While the two races could afford to engage in the craziest fights and still manage to fly or jump back home, the unfortunate human beings who found themselves at the wrong location at the wrong time often had to pay with heavy injuries if not their lives.

Naturally, this type of occurrence reaped a lot of critics from the Parliament, which consisted of representatives from all three races.

While the vampire and werewolf leaders spoke harshly against their own races for the abominable actions, they also remained adamant when neither witnesses nor evidence specifically pointed out the involvement of their races.

The presumption of innocence prevailed.

Aiden checked his wristwatch and gasped.

"It's seven thirty. Grandma, I have to go!"

Aiden snagged himself another waffle and ran toward the doors.

"Darling, your lunch!!!"

The young man made a U-turn to grab the lunch and press a kiss against his grandmother's cheek.

"Bye, Grandma!!!"

Aiden ran as fast as he could to the bus station closest to his house. Just as he made a turn around the corner, he saw the bus arrive at the bus station. Thankfully, around seven people were waiting to board the bus.

One of them was James Irving, Aiden's classmate of three years during high school. The bespectacled, bronze-skinned young man broke into a grin when he saw Aiden run like an olympic sprinter toward the bus. He kindly held the door open for his panting neighbor.

"Hey, Aiden."

"Hi there... James, huff."

"Hahaha, woke up late?"

"You can say that."

Aiden and James were the only ones from their high school who decided to study at the local university. Aiden wanted to stay at home with his grandmother while James had to take care of his four younger siblings who recently moved in with him.

James' parents died in a car crash three years ago. Afterward, the five children were put in separate homes.

As soon as James turned eighteen, he filed for custody of all of his siblings. Now that all five of them were living together again, James had a lot of things to do every day but he was happy.

"What major are you?" James asked after they found seats at the backside.

"I picked biochemistry," Aiden answered. "You?"

"Oh, I picked accounting. I need to be good with numbers."

Aiden smiled at James' reply.

"Aren't you already, though? I remember that you won the Math Olympics in your first year of high school."

James gasped and acted as if he were offended.

"Who, me??? Monsieur, you are sorely mistaken. I won in the second year."

Both of them burst into laughter.

"So, did you watch the news this morning?" James asked in a low voice while leaning in. "I just read that they had found some evidence against the vampires."