"Hi," Adam said, smiling at the girl.
"This is Roland, Alexa, Christofer, Dima, and I'm Samantha." She said, introducing the group,
"Nice to meet you guys."
The other children nodded at him in response. Adam looked around the group he had joined. Samantha had introduced them based on rank. Tugging at his shirt collar uncomfortably, he thought about how he needed to get a feel for their personalities and the bound—
"Is that a new shirt from Talis?" Roland asked, rubbing his fingers on Adam's collar.
"Yeah..."
The group burst into laughter. Adam's face flushed beet red. Was that rich people code for something? Did he become their punching bag? Did Aurora set him up? Adam looked over to his parents but their backs were turned to him.
"I knew it!" snickered Dima.
"Bonding fibres," Alexa said, rolling her eyes.
Adam looked at the children, confused.
"Don't worry, we're not laughing at you." Christofer reassured.
"Talis shirts are annoyingly itchy the first few times you wear them." Samantha supplied.
"Oh," said Adam sheepishly.
"Yeah, our parents think it's a fun to make us uncomfortable on our first outing." added Roland.
"Congratulations on your debut, Adam." They said, patting him.
Adam settled in with the group, and the children talked at length. Despite appearances, Roland and the others were easy to get along with. Not that Adam had much to add to the conversation, but they didn't leave him out either, especially Sammy.
Prior to Adam's entrance the children had started a discussion on their clubs' scheduled activities during the vacation. Roland was part of the chess club, Alexa was in the equestrian club, Christofer played the clarinet in the orchestra, Dima played football and Samantha tennis.
"How about you Adam, what club are you in?" asked Samantha.
"None."
"Then what do you do for fun after school?" Roland inquired.
"I usually just roll around on my skateboard."
"You have a skateboard?!" The boys exclaimed.
"My parents refuse to get me one."
"I put aside money for a month. Bought one and my father threw it out."
"You have to let us ride on it one day, Adam."
"Sure." Adam said with a big smile.
As the general conversation gave way to smaller talks, Samantha stuck with Adam.
"What's it like having Aurora as your mother?"
Her question caught Adam off guard, but looking at her, he saw her eyes gleaming with genuine curiosity. Adam knew the stark differences between his mother and Aurora.
"Normal? I mean, it's not like I have experience with another mother..."
"I wish she was my mother." Samantha quietly admitted.
"Why?"
"She's a lot nicer than my mother and has a real motherly feel about her."
Adam knew that feeling Samantha talked about. It was a warm feeling, one that made you feel safe, accepted, loved, it felt like home.
"I heard that she's really sick."
"Yeah. She spent most of this week in bed. We weren't sure she'd be able to make it today." Adam said as he glanced over at his parents.
Aurora was also looking at him. When their eyes met, she smiled and winked at him. Adam waved back in response.
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