A Hero I Look Up To

Inherit

September 16, 2021. Tobio is now in high school as a freshman who's learning the ropes. His high school is Crawford High School, a big campus with a good music and home economics program. It is lunch time. He sat at a picnic table near a gray building and fixed the collar of his white turtleneck and stuffed his phone into his left pocket of his light blue jeans as he waited for Loid—who he and Tobio were not in the same previous class as him. Today was also Chris' birthday. If Tobio remembered, he was nineteen when he was in second grade. Around this time, he would've also graduated college and got his doctorate degree, meaning he is now twenty-eight years old.

Tobio let out a sigh. Today is Chris' twenty-eighth birthday and he can't be there with him to celebrate. If only he could've done so the last time he went to seek him out, this wouldn't have happened. He was also lucky enough to wish him a happy birthday on text before class. He tapped his fingers onto the picnic table as he looked around with his lunchbox zippered closed on the table, but felt a tap behind a shoulder seconds later.

"You alright there, Tobio?" A woman's voice asked.

Tobio glanced back and widened his eyes as a girl with shoulder length blonde hair with loose waves appeared behind him. "Lisa?!"

Lisa Huang is one of the seniors that Tobio befriended on the first day of high school. Although she's much older than him, making friends was a must for Tobio. He raised his eyes as he noticed a man with a light blue polo shirt and messy brown hair. He noticed it was another one of the seniors he befriended, Colson Aves—the captain of his high school's baseball team.

"Hey there." Colson tipped his baseball cap to Tobio. "Thought we might join you for a while, so Lisa and I came to stop by."

"Oh, um... of—of course!" Tobio nodded. "Take a seat!!"

Lisa and Colson took their seats across from Tobio as they both set their bags down to take out their home lunch. Lisa rolled up her sleeves of her gray jacket before setting her lunch box down and dusted off her ripped jeans to enjoy a delicious home lunch that consisted of rice, meat, and vegetables. When Tobio was opening his lunch box, she spotted a club sandwich for lunch. Her eyes sparkled the moment she laid eyes onto his home lunch.

"It's only an ordinary sandwich, you know." Tobio rapidly blinked. "You—You don't have to be so awestruck about it...!"

"I know, but it looks so good!" Lisa squealed. "Did you make that yourself?"

"Of course I did," Tobio smirked. "I got the finest ingredients from my parents and tried to make a club sandwich as good as this!"

Though... the sandwich didn't look as tidy as she imagined it to be. The moment Tobio fully opened his lunch box, his club sandwich was more like turkey, lettuce, and tomato sandwiched together with soft white bread whereas part of the tomato juices had soaked through the bread. Lisa scratched her head, concerned about Tobio's sandwich.

Colson nudged her on the shoulder to she could be quiet without her saying a word. Then he cleared his throat as he prepared to ask a question. "Was this your first time making a club sandwich, Tobio?"

"Mhm," Tobio nodded. "I just guessed what was in there until I found out in the middle of physics that the bread was supposed to be toasted..."

Colson chuckled. "It's alright. Maybe one day I'll teach you how to make a club sandwich just as good as the pros."

"Is this your way of inviting Tobio to watch a Detroit Yule Logs game on TV?" Lisa blatantly asked.

Colson winced the moment Lisa asked, but laughed it off as he was guilty as charged.. Tobio cocked his head to one side, wondering what they were talking about and what the Detroit Yule Logs were. Tobio had never heard of some unusual name before, nor has he watched any cartoons that mention Yule Logs. All he has ever done, was homework, help around the house whenever he has time, and hang out with friends.