"From now on, Mom will be keeping an eye on him," Athena said, her voice tinged with dryness.
Aiden remained silent, gazing out the car window.
Last night's heavy rain had cooled the weather.
On the streets, sanitation workers were sweeping away the fallen leaves covering the ground.
Athena glanced at Aiden through the rearview mirror, her heart heavy.
Soon enough, Athena dropped Aiden off at school, just like she used to.
Just like before, his friends from the camp were waiting for him, gathered together and excited to see him.
"Aiden!" Lamia spotted Aiden and waved enthusiastically.
She and Donny ran over.
"Good morning, Mrs. Crawford! My grandma made you a giant pizza. It's so delicious!" Donny declared, pulling out a white plastic bag from his backpack and handing it to Athena. He then said, "She made one for Aiden too. Here, put it in a container!"
Donny showed Athena what was inside his backpack.
A top student with no book in their backpack, just a container filled with warm pizza.
Athena smiled warmly and took the hot pizza, saying, "Donny, thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Aiden greatly helped me last semester. I improved and even won the prize. My dad even got me a robot as a reward!"
"Stop showing off your robot, Donny. Aiden's event is almost over. Let's go inside!" Lamia said, urging them.
Aiden looked at Athena, who simply waved her hand and said, "Go ahead."
Aiden nodded and followed the other kids.
Athena stood there, watching her son being enveloped in the camaraderie of his friends.
Everyone had so much to say to him.
Even if Athena could only see his back, she could imagine how helpless Aiden must feel now.
Athena walked back to her car.
Dorian was sitting in the driver's seat of the car behind her.
Athena got in the back.
She had two pizzas in her pocket, probably because Donny had thought she and Byron would come together to drop off Aiden.
She took a bite, and the taste was divine.
The pizza had a perfectly crisp crust, and the meat topping was incredibly flavorful.
The car was now filled with the delicious scent of pizza.
Dorian in the front couldn't help but feel his mouth water.
The pizza was large, and Athena was full after just one piece, so she handed the other to Dorian.
Dorian devoured it in no time.
"Delicious! It's much better than the one I bought this morning!" Dorian praised as he munched on the pizza.
Inside, he felt a pang of regret.
If they had dropped Aiden off first, Ottilie might have had a chance to taste it.
After dropping the kids off, Athena headed to Chelsea Investment Company, but she hit the morning rush hour.
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