The moment Arthur uttered her name, Stella was surprised.
At first she had been prepared to give the staring man a piece of her mind, but then changed that thought after realizing he was familiar with her.
'Do I know him?' Stella wondered.
"You're… Stella, aren't you?" Arthur asked directly this time.
"Yes… Do we know each other?" Stella questioned in confusion.
"Haha, yeah… we do, or rather we used to." Arthur wondered if it could even be called a friendship at this point.
It had been many years, after all. For him, it was literally over fifteen years since he had last seen her. It was more than enough time for most people to forget, especially if they had only met at a young age.
"We did?" Stella furrowed her brows.
She glanced at the young man again, trying to remember. His slim build looked like he hadn't gotten to eat well, or perhaps he was simply someone who didn't gain weight. Regardless of what it might be, she could tell from his look that he had genuinely known her and wasn't pretending.
"Yes." Arthur was doubtful about telling her about it again but reckoned he should do it. 'What use would it be for me to return to the past, if I don't take the chance to change it?' Arthur questioned himself.
"We… used to play together once upon a time. About a decade ago." Arthur replied. "I am Arthur from the orphanage." He introduced.
Hearing that, Stella had a visible reaction.
"Arthur?! The child from the playground!" Stella said out loud enough that the others in the restaurant looked over at her.
"You remember?" Arthur said, also noticing that the others were looking at them now.
Stella felt the looks on her too and thought of something. "Come over here. The table is half empty." She gestured to the seat in front of her.
"Alright," Arthur said with a smile, thinking that it was better to eat with someone. "We won't have to talk out loud this way, haha." He said.
"Yeah… the people should stop staring now." Stella chuckled before looking at Arthur. "So it really is you… it has been a long time." She muttered.
"I'm surprised you still remembered me." Arthur said genuinely.
"How can I forget? It was one of the best times of my childhood." Stella replied.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm "I guess I can say the same." Arthur agreed.
It was one of the happy memories he had from his childhood and he would have never suppressed them if not for the pain associated with abandonment. Then there was the fact, he had been busy with his life's struggles, not having much time to think about others.
"It sure has been a long time though… I never expected I'd get to see you again." Stella stated, with a hint of melancholy.
"Me neither," Arthur replied before a challenging thought appeared in his mind. "Why did you… why did you stop coming to play?" he finally asked the question that had been bugging him.
"I…" Stella hesitated for a bit before speaking. "I moved away." She stated.
"I see… well that is normal. People move away all the time." Arthur justified it for himself.
"Though I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before leaving," Stella added, knowing that it was not the right thing. "But it all happened so suddenly, I didn't even know about it before Dad said we needed to move right away." She revealed.
"It's okay." Arthur didn't mind her reasons for moving. "I'm just pleased that I got to meet you again. That's all that matters." He said with a smile.
Hearing that, Stella didn't know why but she felt calm.
'Was I harboring guilt all this time?' She wondered.
While she could admit, she hadn't thought about Arthur much over the years; it was also due to the fact that it had been a long time. Plus, she didn't even know much about him other than his first name and the fact that he had lived at an orphanage.
Being kids, there wasn't much that they cared about asking after all. It wasn't something that could be blamed on either of them.
"Well, considering we've met. Why don't I treat you?" Stella suddenly said, wanting to do something.
"You sure?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah!" Stella replied.
And as if on cue, the waiter had arrived.
"Uh, do you wish to eat on this table, sir?" The waiter was a bit confused.
"Yes! He'll be joining me!" Stella quickly said.
"That's right." Arthur also gave his approval.
"Alright, sir." The waiter said before placing the set meal that Arthur had ordered.
"Do you wish for me to cook, sir?" the waiter asked.
"Nah, it's fine. We'll do it ourselves." Stella interjected. "It'll be more that way." She added.
"Yeah, we'll just do it ourselves." Arthur agreed.
Originally he'd have let the waiter cooked, but now that he had a friend to talk to, this would indeed be better.
"Enjoy your meal then, sir." The waiter said with a smile before leaving.
"Let's get to cooking! You look like you need lots of meat." Stella said. "You're barely skin and bones." She added.
"Ah yeah… I hope to change that." Arthur was in agreement and wasn't offended.
"Are you one of those that don't gain weight no matter how much they eat kinda people?" Stella asked.
"Uhh… more like I just haven't eaten that much." Arthur replied.
"Good! If you were, I'd be too envious!" Stella said with a pout.
"Haha." Arthur couldn't help but laugh seeing her expression.
"Come on, let's get to cooking." Stella said as she picked up a few cuts of the pork before placing it on the grill.
Arthur also did the same, and the two quickly embroiled in it. They also talked along the way, telling each other about how things had gone in their life.
"What happened after I left?" Stella asked while flipping a piece of meat.
"Well… life continued as usual at the orphanage till last year." Arthur replied. "Once I turned seventeen, I had six months to leave the orphanage and find a place to live." He added.
"You didn't try to a college?" Stella asked curiously.
"If I could, I would have." Arthur shook his head. "Unfortunately, it wasn't for me."
"Don't orphans get fully paid scholarships for college too?" Stella wondered if it was a matter of being able to afford.
"Those are limited… to the best performing orphan students," Arthur told her the truth. "I am not one of them. And besides… the number of those scholarships is already stretched thin." He added.
"I'm sorry…" Stella didn't know what else to say.
"It's fine. I've gotten over it." Arthur replied. "Besides, I have a different plan for myself." He added before flipping a piece of meat and adding it to Stella's plate.
"You should eat first." Stella said, seeing that he had served her.
"More will be ready in a few seconds. Don't worry." Arthur said, changing the topic.
But Stella wasn't one to back down and gave Arthur some of her own beef. "You should try this too. It's good!"
"Sure!" Arthur wasn't one to deny free food.
The two got to eating, and the conversation stopped for a minute.
"What do you do now?" Arthur asked, feeling curious.
"Ah, I'm just in University," Stella replied.
"University? This early?" Arthur was surprised.
As far as he could tell, most students first went to college for two or three years, depending on their field of study. Then they could enter the University for higher studies. Considering that most students finished college at eighteen or nineteen, he was usurped that Stella was already in it.
'She was the same age as me. If she's already in a University that means…' Arthur thought of something.
"I finished college early when I was sixteen," Stella confirmed Arthur's thoughts.
"You're surely smart." Arthur couldn't help but say.
"Of course!" Stella proudly said. "Like father like daughter."
"Oh?" Arthur was intrigued by that. 'Now that I think of it… I never asked what her father did,' He recalled.
"Yeah, since Dad finished his college and university early too, I gotta do the same. I cannot lag behind him." Stella said with confidence.
"That reminds me… what does your dad do?" Arthur asked.
"He's a researcher," Stella replied.
"Makes sense now." Arthur nodded his head. "A daughter of a researcher is bound to be smart." He had wished to ask more but reckoned it wouldn't be appropriate to pry into personal matters this early.
It was better for it to happen later on since they had just met. Arthur didn't wish to sour the friendship that had just started to be rekindled after all.
"What do you do while on the same topic?" Stella asked, feeling curious. "If it is fine for you to say."
Arthur thought about what he should say to her, as he couldn't just say he was playing a game for money.
"I'm a game strategy writer." He said, after thinking for a bit.
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