8:00 AM the next day, and Liam was still sleeping.
It was Saturday, so there were no lectures today. He and his friends had stayed awake until 1:00 AM, gisting and occasionally roasting each other. It was a fun experience, and it made Liam realize that it had been far too long since he'd laughed genuinely like that.
---
Meanwhile, Mason, who was busy doing some work, suddenly paused to look at Liam.
For some reason, all he could think about was Liam recently, and he didn't know why. It even went as far as dreaming about him.
"Mason!" Joseph's voice rang out from his bed as he called the only person in his field of view.
Mason immediately left what he was doing and hurried over to meet him.
"Wake up Liam and tell him to gather everybody and assign portions for them to work. And also tell him to bring something for me to eat—I'm feeling hungry."
Mason immediately nodded as he went over to Liam's corner to wake him. He hesitated for a moment before ultimately continuing.
*Tap. Tap.*
Mason tapped Liam's leg gently. After a few taps, Liam opened his eyes. The morning ray of sun hit his pupils, causing him to squint. Directly in front of him was Mason.
For some reason, Liam smiled.
"How are you?" Liam asked, but soon realized that wasn't a question he was supposed to ask.
Nevertheless, Mason replied, saying he was fine, and proceeded to pass on Joseph's message.
"Senior Joseph said I should tell you to gather everybody and assign them work around the hostel. Also, you should bring something for him to eat."
Mason stood waiting after passing the message.
"Alright. What's the time?" Liam inquired as he opened his locker and brought out a striped straw bag. Opening its zipper, there were different snacks and provisions inside. He brought out two sachets of cereal, sugar, and milk before handing them to Mason and asking him to give them to Senior Joseph.
After Mason left, Liam sighed. He locked his bag before putting on a singlet and black shorts. Mason returned a few seconds later, telling him the time was 8:05 AM.
"You can go," Liam said before turning to look at the empty beds and corners.
Only a handful of people were in the hostel, so it was probably already too late for any sort of full labor.
"Senior Joseph, there are only a few people in the hostel, so I'm not sure there'll be enough. Maybe after dining?" Liam said to Joseph.
Joseph nodded. Just as Liam was about to leave, Joseph called him back.
"I heard you and Franklyn fought!" Joseph said, already laughing.
The sudden question almost caused Liam to choke on his breath. It was all too familiar—except what came next would be different.
After answering yes, Joseph would normally proceed to say, "I heard you lost!" Meanwhile, Liam, who had no other excuse, could only say the fight wasn't long and they'd drawn. Of course, that was already an excuse for the weak.
"I heard you won?" Joseph said, this time with a calm smile on his face.
The same smile could also be seen on Liam's face. It was a feeling of joy—seeing the script of his life change before his very eyes.
"Somehow!" Liam said with a bright smile on his face, causing Joseph to be taken aback.
For some reason, the past two days, Liam hadn't really been the same. But it wasn't his problem.
"You can go," Joseph said.
Liam nodded before turning to leave.
"Ah, that's right! It's around this time I fell ill and had to go home, wasn't it?" Liam said to himself as he took off his clothes and tied his towel around his waist. He grabbed his toothbrush, bucket, and bathing kit before heading to the bathroom.