If Things Should Stay the Same

Chapter 16. Task

While it felt weird to speak Alex again as if nothing had happened last night, he knew it was better to keep it that way. The young master would never understand how much he meant to him anyway. Someone as privileged as Alex would never see things the way he saw them. The best thing that could happen between them now was for everything to return the way it was. Him returning to back to his role of being an obedient and skillful servant for a capable and competent master.

Besides, he shuddered at the reaction of all the other servants if they found out about what happened in the amusement park last night. Well, not just in the amusement park but at the observation wheel, to be exact.

At any rate, it reassured him that Alex was no longer giving him that kind of passive-aggressive silent treatment. Catching up to what Sev had been doing for the past few years, it had certainly been a fun topic. While the younger man was the first to make contact and claimed to have found Joshua's contact details by mistake, their correspondence over text messages had always been short and nothing more than simple exchanges of greetings. There were even times when Sev failed to respond for days, stating he had been too engrossed with finishing up things from work.

Joshua never realized what his friend had been through since they parted ways in high school. It must have been hard to suddenly deal with the loss of one's own parents like that. Without an explanation to boot. Then surviving college under the pressure to succeed, only to be nothing more than a homeless employee working for one of the more prestigious businesses in the town. It was hard to imagine what kind of fate was in store for Sev.

He and Alex had to eventually move on from the topic when Sev started to get teary-eyed and was sniveling all over his yoghurt. Even after all that getting into the character of a proper butler, Sev still had his limits. He had never been a confident and courageous person, often resorting to a difficult sense of humor and a penchant for eccentricities. But underneath all those shortcomings, no matter how aggravating they get at times, he had a good heart.

And then, it was Sev's turn to listen to what he and Alex had been up to. Mostly Alex because, whether they were talking about school events or social life, the young master had no shortage of things to disclose and discuss. Since day one after he had stepped foot into that college, he had been an active participant in whatever activities the institution held and, if that was not enough to get one slack-jawed from the awe of someone managing to keep up with such a schedule, he also had gone to countless social gatherings courtesy of his parents' social standing and connections.

The grand opening of a mall owned by a colleague of Sir Percival, a Midsummer Night's Harrowing event at a resort of Madame Henrietta's cousin, the debut of Mayor Fuentes's youngest daughter... Alex had been to more than a mere handful of major occasions which had made their way on being pinned as highlighted events in local news. More of than not, the young master had always been like a celebrity in these due to his looks, his reputation, his social standing, his mannerisms, his achievements. Often chased around by similar high-profile people to bask in his company, Alex seemed to be the epitome of a perfect young man.

Compared to his master and – to a lesser extent – Sev, Joshua felt... underwhelming. Plain. Unremarkable.

The other two were each taking steps to progress their lives to the next level; Alex was pursuing a career to become a doctor while Sev, on the other hand, was presumably climbing up the corporate ladder. Meanwhile, he was just stuck here, doing this same job since he was twelve. He was good at it and he liked it.

He enjoyed being a butler. But, at this rate, he was going to get left behind their accomplishments. He needed to do something somehow. He did not want to leave where he was right now but he had to if he wanted to stay in the same league with them.