( four )

“Come on! Come on!” Ara held onto Lay and Luhan’s hands and pulled them up the stairs excitedly. Sehun trailed behind them, both pockets snuck coolly in his pockets as he strode forward. The child was only capable of holding two hands with her two petite hands. No matter, that did not upset Sehun.

Being pulled along, the two males crouched down as they try to catch up with her. They did not bother the fleeting back pain of bending down as they themselves were too giddy about this event like their kid.

“Slow down kiddo.” Luhan muttered. She stopped on her tracks and let go of their hands as she faced them, giving Luhan a nod. He could not resist her cuteness as her head bounced up and down repeatedly with a flash of an adorable eye smile on her face.

Upon entering the room, she furrowed her eyebrows at the sight. Something was utterly peculiar with her classmates – more like, with her family. Each classmate of her brought a pair of humans of the opposite genders. It puzzled her how she got three fathers and no mother. In fact, she was not aware of what a mother is at all. Scratching her head, she lifted her head to face Luhan, the closest one to her. She tugged his shirt. The lad, feeling the sudden pull, turned his attention to the person pulling his shirt.

“What is it little girl?” He patted her head.

She pouted and furrowed her eyebrows forming wrinkles on her forehead. “How come they have a lady with them and I don’t?”

Shock jolted him by the unexpected question. He honestly did not know how to respond to this one. Without further ado, he called Lay and whispered Ara’s question to him. To his surprise, Lay was also staggered by this. Lay crouched down to Ara’s and gave her an assuring smile. As he was about to begin to speak, the teacher barged in calling everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, please have a seat. Our parents’ show is about to begin.” She announced.

“Well, that’s our cue.” Luhan stated. Lay shrugged and grinned at Ara. He looked at her and nodded his head to the seats, then stood up. She held onto his hand and they both sat down together.

Luhan looked around to search for any signs of Sehun. And by the door’s frame, he spotted Sehun with a bunch of high school girls giggling and asking him questions about school stuffs. Apparently, they were uninterested with school matters. They only wanted to talk to this freaking hot coach – and Sehun knew about it. However, he was not the rude type of person to ignore these young ladies.

Luhan dropped his hands on each side of Sehun’s shoulders which cause him to flinch a bit.“Hi there ladies! Sorry to interrupt but I need to borrow Sehun for a while.” He flashed a smile and tugged Sehun inside the room.

While taking their steps, they could still hear the girls’ voices gossiping. 

“Who was that?”

“Are they brothers?”

“He’s cute too.”

--

The parents’ show was all about family bonding. Some sang with their child in front. Some danced. Some even did a puppet show that surely entertained the viewers. The teacher was certain of that. Then all the waiting had come to an end, it was Ara’s turn.

Upon positioning themselves up in front, she could hear murmurs from people. Their eyes were strongly focused on her ‘parents’. Her eyes were switching from one place to another. The big question that formed in her head was why. Does having three appa is a crime? She ought to have answers to her questions. Some parents stopped their children from asking questions regarding Ara’s family because they, as parents, knew that there was something lacking in the child’s life – a mother.

Glad they didn’t stay there for long. Luhan made the quirkiest dance after all. The parents laughed as well as Ara’s classmates, when Luhan, Lay and Sehun performed a short dance number – a bear dance. It surprised Ara. She didn’t know that these three have a hidden agenda. Maybe they practiced it while she was into a deep sleep.

“I’ll just get the car.”, Sehun stepped away and headed towards the parking lot.

Lay looked at Ara’s face. She looks undefined. He worried for her and hoped that everything will turn out fine so he decided to ask Sehun about the plan. “Luhan, stay here for a while. I’ll accompany Hun.”

The other one had no choice so he agreed with a firm nod of his head. “Sure.”

Silence was there. They could even hear the soft breeze whistling in the thin layer of air. Luhan looked up at the sky. He was indeed very sorry – feeling sympathy for Ara that he can’t say anything to her. They have many secrets and they didn’t even make a back-up plan. When they adopted her, their main goal was just to succeed in raising her as a normal kid. However, this day was not planned. They didn’t know how it will affect Ara. Moreover, how it can affect them.

They continued to walk as Ara saw the playground. “Do you want to play?”, he remembered Chan-Chan when they played there and all the fun memories they shared. But looking at her back, the one who asked her was her father Luhan.

“Uhn.”, she nodded and he offered her a hand. She wrapped her hand to his as they went into the playground. The swings, slides, and the seesaw made Ara happy. The seesaw was Luhan’s favorite among the three. Suddenly, an ice cream truck went by, playing its catchy melodious tune. This called the attention of the two. Both heads turned to face each other; big smiles plastered on their faces, as the older one wiggled his eyebrows at the kid. “Ice cream?”

“Yeah!”, Ara shouted. “Wait for me here, okay? I’ll buy you your favorite.” Luhan said.

Before making his way to the ice cream vendor, Luhan turned to her as they replied in unison. “Strawberry Vanilla.”, This tickled their insides and both of them burst into laughter. Ara watched him jog to the ice cream man and then she realized that she was left again. She was left like the other day.

She removed her hands from the hand steel bars of the seesaw and went into the swings. But then much dissatisfaction came her way when two people occupied her favorite place. With the matter, she just turned her back and headed to the slides. Maybe it was free, she thought.

“Hey.”, one of the kids called her.

She stopped her steps to look at the person. “You’re the one who have three dad’s right?”, the kids behind that boy laughed. It made Ara feel worse. It made her feel she was different and it boggled her mind. Having nothing to do, she replied shortly. “Yes.”

The boy stepped in front. She felt coward and running away. But suddenly, her feet discontinued moving because she felt like this boy will give answers to her questions. “Ah. So.. You don’t have an umma?”, he questioned.

“Umma?”, she asked herself. ‘What is an umma?’

“You don’t know?” The kid furrowed his eyebrows in utter disbelief.

It questioned her even more. She felt her cheeks turned red of embarrassment as the three boys continued to laugh at her innocent face. “Go away.”, to her savior, there was a familiar voice that suppressed her fear – Chan-Chan. “Don’t have anything to do?”

“What is it to you?”, the bully said.

“Stop making a girl cry. My mom said if a boy does that, he’s gay.”

“What?!”, terrified that his allies will believe in his words, the boy pushed Chan-Chan that made him sit on the sandy ground. He looked downwards that his hair covered half of his face. He looked so serious, hurt, that even Ara can’t deny that she worried for him. “Guards! Guards!”, he yelled, but it was more of a joke to threaten these kids. The three made their way out of the place as they were frightened.

“You okay?”, he asked. Ara hadn’t noticed him coming her way but she nodded to assure him that she’s alright.

--

The two kids laughed as Chan-chan cracked a joke. He wanted to cheer Ara up and bring out her inner shine so she wouldn’t feel alone and different. They were busy telling each other stories while sitting under the slide’s slope and the metal ladder.

The apparent endless talk and joke kept them occupied. Luhan came back with two cones of ice creams enclosed in the grasp of each of his hands. He his own as he saw the ice cream melted its way down the cone. Tilting his head, he furrowed his eyebrows and questioned himself. “Where’s Ara?”

He scanned the area for any signs of the child he considered his own. Apparently, there were none – or maybe, just maybe, he didn’t look good enough.

Meanwhile, Ara and her playmate were still in the midst of their fluffy conversation. All the fluff ended when Chan-chan broke out a smile and spoke. “Bambi, you are so fun to be with. I wonder why they treat you differently.” Sincerity was obvious in his words that it touched Ara’s heart. Sure enough she was lucky to have someone like him as a friend.

She hummed for a few seconds. “Maybe because they didn’t take time to get to know me just like the way you do.” She smiled and pinched his cheeks. “You’re cute.” She giggled.

The boy felt his cheeks heat up and quickly he let his eyes roam around the area; avoiding her gaze. “T-thanks.” His eyes then landed at the back of the slide and an idea popped in his head. “Hey Bambi, do you have a pen with you?”

Ara tilted her head. “A pen?” He nodded. Then she searched her backpack, fishing for one. “Aha! Here you go.” She handed him a marker. But curiosity crawled up her spine, she observed his next actions. “What for?”

He turned to her and grinned, flashing off his pearly whites. “You’ll see.” He took off the pen’s cap and started drawing at the back of the slide. Ara watched him intently. There he drew a girl and a boy standing together. He pointed at the stick figure of the boy. “This is me.” He indicated his name under it – Chan-chan. His index finger shifted to point at the girl stick figure. “And this.. is you.” He wrote his nickname for Ara below – Bambi.

Ara’s poker face curved to a smile. “Wow.”, was all that she can say.

“Oh wait! I forgot something.”

 “What is it?”

A smirk formed on his face; having something devilish in mind. Soon after, he uncapped the pen and drew deer horns on Ara’s head. He laughed at the sight. “There. Now it’s completed!” Noticing this cheeky act, Ara snatched the pen from his grip and drew big elf-like ears on each side of Chan-chan’s stick figure. “Haha! Now were even.”

Little Chan-Chan scratched the back of his head.

The ice cream melted all the way and Luhan just had to throw them off the garbage can. He wiped his hands off with his maroon hanky and dug his pocket for his phone. Browsing through his contacts, he searched for Lay’s number and called him.

“Hello?”

Before he could answer, Luhan started. “Lay, there seems to be a problem.”

“What?”

“Ara. I think I lost her.”

“WHAT?!” Lay screamed and hung up.

He clicked his tongue and messed his hair in frustration. “Tch. Argh. Where could she be?” He furrowed his eyebrows and continued looking for her.

He cupped his mouth’s sides with each of his hands and yelled her name. “Ara!”

Ara stuck her tongue out to the boy and ran. She circled the slide so as to keep herself away from him. Chan-chan chased after her. They were both laughing while running, when a sudden voice intrusion hollered within the playground. Ara heard her name being called that stopped her from running.

His search was a success. The missing child he was looking for flashed onto his sight. He smiled so wide and sighed in relief as he approached the girl. “Ara.” He crouched down to carry her. “Where were you the whole time? The ice cream melted while I was looking for you. You got appa worried.” He said in a loud concerned voice.

“I was with Chan-chan.”

Luhan shifted his eyes from her to the little boy who stood near him. Chan-chan smiled and confirmed Ara’s reason. “Yup. We were playing under the slide.”

“And we had fun!” Ara threw her arms up in the air as she giggled. Luhan noticed her abundant happiness that this kid brought her. He smiled at the boy as he patted his head. “Thank you Chan-chan.”

Just then, two males came running to the playground. Their hair gusted by the wind and faces painted with worry – they came in a bit derpy than usual.

“Where’s Ar-” Lay stopped on his words as soon as he saw Ara in the arms of Luhan. He heaved a sigh as he almost fainted on the ground; lucky enough to be caught by Sehun who trailed behind him.

“Hi appa!” Ara waved as she smiled so wide, her eyes wrinkling to crescent shaped ones.

--

Back home, the three adults decided to have a deep talk regarding their secrets.

Luhan made his way downstairs as the other two awaited him. “She’s asleep.” He placed his finger on the middle of his lips gesturing them to keep quiet.

While Ara was sleeping soundly on her bed, the three had an intense discussion on the living room. “When are we planning to tell her about the real us?” Lay interrogated.

“She must not know of this or else she’ll freak out.” Sehun argued.

But Luhan countered him with his explanation. “We can’t keep this from her forever. Soon, she’ll figure out. It will only hurt her if she knew we are lying to her. I guess the best way for us to keep her unharmed is to tell her the truth.”

“What truth?” The three heads turned to face the staircase, spotting two little feet moved down each step. Rubbing her eyes, Ara stifled a yawn.

“Ugh..” Luhan began to panic. It was his fault. He let his voice be audible enough for her to hear.

Lay’s eyes met with Sehun’s. “It’s time.” Sehun muttered.

“Time for what?”

Lay approached her and started explaining everything. At first, Ara was shocked and thought they were only joking. She may be a child, but she knew that aliens were a myth. However, as her father continued speaking, she learned to understand them and respected their true beings. She nodded and hugged the three of them. “I still love you guys no matter what.” They hugged her back. Lay and Luhan suppressed their tears from falling. Sehun filled with happiness, that he can’t contain his smile from forming. They never thought she’d accept them so easily.    

---

Ara made her way downstairs, making the loudest noise in the morning. She was very excited this day and took only a sip of Lay’s prepared coffee  for her. “Hey, hey, hey miss. You’re forgetting to eat.”

“I’ll be late.”

“Bam-”, she wacked Luhan’s head and lowered her voice. “I said don’t call me by that. Please. If my friends will hear you, it’s..”

“Cute!”, he commented.

“No?”, she clung her bag onto her shoulders and tucked a lock of hair behind one of her ears as a question tone formed in her reply. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Let her be Luhan. She’s not a kid now.”, by Sehun saying that, it made Ara’s day complete. She flashed a grin. “Nawh.”, Luhan puffed air inside his cheeks because of defeat.  

Morning ceremonies. This was all of the students attend on the very first day of school. Compared to her old school, the student population here is higher. She bumped onto some other girl. It must’ve been because her feet dragged her to go into the aisle of the big place – the auditorium, where they conducted morning ceremonies every year. “Sorry.”, she apologized for being clumsy. It dirtied her shoe and she knew well that it is very annoying when one gets their new shoes messed already on the first day of school.

“Sorry I’ll just-”, she looked inside of her bag for a tissue to wipe it. “No. No, it’s okay.”, the girl insisted not to. “No it’s not.”

“It’s just okay.”, trying to reassure her, she paused and held her arm. “Are you also a freshman? I’m Miyoung.”

“Y-Yeah.” Ara speaked in a low tone of voice. She’s not quite into making friends but meeting her made her feel that she’s getting into the real world. She and three aliens were always transferring homes and as a result, she also transferred from one school to another, making her enclosed and not that attached to the others. But now that she’s in her high school, maybe it is about time to meet someone new. She looked at her closely and observed her. Her face features blends well to her sweet voice - all perfect as if there was nothing in need to improve.

“Yoo Ara. You can call me Ara.”

Miyoung smiled at her. “Nice to meet you, Ara.”

They went their way to get their seats. “Here. There’s still a few seats here." Ara is a good spy. She saw it in a midst of many people surrounding them. “Yeah.”

“Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry.”, their knees brushed into one another as the others who are already seated went to complain about them while getting into their preferred place. “At last.”, Miyoung heaved a deep sigh when they had their seats. “There’s really a bunch of people here.”

“You say.”

The welcome greeting of the emcee standing on the stage broke off their small talk. “It’s starting.”,Miyoung, by observing her facial expressions, was looking so excited. Then after it, Ara was too. It’s like a virus that cannot be helped to spread. But not for quite long, Ara had a problem. Not because she was unhappy about the speaker but because she can’t see the entire stage because of a guy sitting in front of her. He’s sitting isn’t he? The man moved his head continously with every of his reactions while he chatted with his seatmate that made her problematize even more. She can’t take it and how she also wanted to see what’s going on.

“Uh, excuse me.”, she tapped him in the shoulders.

The guy looked at his back to check if there was something wrong. And it was the same doe-shaped eyes he had seen before. Also, it was also the same shape of eyebrows, the same shape of nose and the same alignment of jaw. He knew he met her before. He can’t be wrong. No. He had left his mouth open because she cut his conversation with his seatmate. But either ways, he had to talk - to confirm that it was her. That it was really her.

“Ara?”