A Hero I Look Up To

The Start of Plan B

Tobio arrived at home with the words of Loid being stuck in his head. He didn't think about finding a lawyer to help him accuse his parents of child abuse since he was more focused on winning the option to stay with Chris, which would be impossible for him to handle. Tobio wondered why Loid had to mention it now and not before, but decided to put it aside.

Tobio knew his parents wouldn't make him anything for dinner once he came home. He went downstairs, trying to not make any noise to head to the kitchen to get what he needed to make a ham and cheese sandwich. As he opened the fridge, he saw some moldy food lying there. When he turned to his mother, who was also looking at him with a stern look...

"Take out any moldy food lying in the fridge for us," she asked, smiling with only her lips.

Tobio accepted without hesitation, but wondered one thing: why was his mother acting strangely around him? Just now was the only time his mother ever said a word to him. He grabbed the nearest things for his ham and cheese sandwich, one of them being half a loaf of white bread, and moldy food to dump into the trash. One of the moldy items was a slice of blue cheese. Tobio remembered the pungent smell of moldy cheese since he had dealt with it before. He held his nose and silently walked to the trash can to throw it away, and rushed back to the kitchen counter to receive the rest of the items bring the ham and the slices of cheddar cheese.

Tobio took a plate out of the nearest drawer and placed it on the table. He remembered the directions on how to make a sandwich, starting with the bread, then the toppings. Considering that it's Tobio, he'd put the ham on first, then cheese, then topped it off with bread. After he finished, he took the bread and opened the fridge, gently putting it back to where it belonged. He did the same with the other items, trying not to let it fall onto the ground.

***

Tobio arrived back upstairs and suddenly saw his phone then on. As he saw his phone, Loid sent a link to a website. As Tobio picked up his phone, the phone started to vibrate again, showing another text message.

I thought this would be good for planning.

Tobio was surprised that he'd sent a website. He also saw that he was added into a group chat, which surprised him. Before he was able to put his right thumb onto the link, Alana sent something.

Woah, this website is super duper useful!

That's when Tobio decided to type, let me check it out!

Tobio clicked the link using his right thumb. The link led him to a website about the best ten ways to defy a parent's demands, written by someone who had experience with it. He scrolled through the article to find number ten to be, "Tell your parents how you really feel!"

Suddenly, a text came from Loid in a whim.

Tobio, did you finish the article?

Tobio took a quick read on that notification and went back to reading the article, with notifications from Loid and Alana still running. Tobio remembered Loid was planning a plan B during a time Alana was absent from school.

***

Three months earlier after starting plan A, Tobio's parents couldn't pick him up, and on that same day, forgot about picking up Tobio, which frustrated Tobio. Before all of that, he and Loid stayed behind at school for a while. Tobio met Loid at that usual place—the tree in the school's courtyard. Loid was waiting for Tobio, digging through his bag as if he was looking for something extremely important.