"Yes, Simon said he would ask his father to buy him a talking parrot." Then, Josh took out a gold invitation card. "Mommy, he also invited us to his birthday party."
"Uh…" Carla was taken aback. Both of them were at each other's throats the last time they met. When did they develop such a close relationship?
"Mommy, Simon does not bully Venus anymore." With a serious expression on his face, Randy continued, "Every day, he brings different types of food for Venus. For lunch, he even gave her his chicken wings and strawberries."
"Exactly, he isn't as rude as he was before, " Josh agreed. Then, he started to mimic punching motions and boasted, "Recently, he even asked me to spar with him, and I taught him a few tricks."
Ignoring her brothers, Venus tilted her head and asked innocently, " Mommy, can I forgive him and accept him as a friend?"
"Of course." Carla nodded her head with a smile. "I will not intervene with the people you want to make friends with."
"If so, can we attend Simon's birthday party then?" Josh did not hesitate to ask.
"Well…" Carla pondered then came up with an excuse. "His family members will probably be at the birthday party too. Although all of you have cleared the misunderstandings and developed a new friendship, his family members may think otherwise. I think it will be best if all of you don't attend his party. Anyway, you can celebrate with him in the kindergarten."
"I thought so too." Randy, the most mature one, nodded in agreement. He added, "Simon's mother and grandmother are so fierce. We should skip the party instead."
"Okay."
Disappointed, Josh pursed his lips and looked down. I won't be able to see the Transformers figurines at Simon's house anymore.
On the other hand, Venus seemed unaffected. In a serious tone, she stated, "I will draw a picture and send it to him as a birthday gift. Will that be alright, Mommy?"
"Of course! All of you are such wonderful friends!" Carla pecked on each of their cheeks.
"Mommy! You are a girl. Please do not me all the time, " Josh pouted and ran away.
"Oh?" Carla was surprised by his reaction. In the past, he was always jealous of his sister and complained that I was biased toward Venus. He even protested that I had to give them the same number of kisses each time. What's wrong with him now?
"Josh likes a girl, " Randy snitched. Squeezing his chin as though he knew everything, he divulged, "He is always peeking at her."
"Is that true? Who is it?" Carla curiously questioned.
Inching to his mother's side, Randy whispered, "He likes our new music teacher."
"Haha, really?" Carla chuckled. "Well, do you like her too?"
"Of course not!" Her eldest child immediately puffed his chest and patted it. "I am only interested in my studies."
"Haha, you have the right priorities, Randy, " Carla praised and gently ruffled her son's hair.
"Mommy, Simon also gave this to me…" Venus took a bracelet out of her bag. "He gave me this because I helped him to eat the strawberries that he hates."
"This…" Carla took a closer look at the bracelet and frowned, "Venus, you should not accept such gifts from others in the future, okay?"
"Why?" Her daughter widened her eyes and queried.
"This bracelet is expensive, and it is their family heirloom…" Carla trailed off before she thought of a simpler way to illustrate her point. "In any case, you should not accept such presents in the future unless your friends made them personally. Do you understand?"
"Okay, I understand, " Venus reluctantly nodded and agreed.
"Mrs. Borah, " Carla called out and instructed, "When you send Venus to school tomorrow, will you pass this bracelet to her teacher? Tell the teacher to return it to the student who gave this to her."
"Alright." Mrs. Borah acknowledged while cooking.
Carla was about to continue, but Dori was making noises to signal that it was hungry, so the children rushed to feed their pet parrot.
At that moment, the security guard knocked on their door to remind them to pay their utility bill. He also threatened to cut off their electricity if they did not pay.
Instantly, Carla lost her trail of thought.
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