Should get ready

The next day, Aster and his little sister Emma went to the cafe.

As Aster stepped foot into the cafe, he found Luna waiting for them. "What took you so long? The cafe is literally next door and the competition is about to start in 10 minutes." She said.

"Sorry I was tired and slept only to find out it's 7:30 already" he replied. Well, no one can blame him for being tired after college and work.

"Anyway, you should register for the event there with Amjad, he is dad's friend and he works here. Also, Chad, I think was his name? He asked about you" Luna said.

After finishing the conversation with Luna and going to the counter to register for the event, Aster was met with gazing eyes from the so-called Amjad.

"I assume you're here with that little girl and that guy sitting over there? Sorry, but you need 4 on the team to take place." Aster forgot about that and started scratching the back of his head. The strategy was to wait for someone to show up that doesn't have a team, but with only a few minutes left, he was worried to miss the opportunity.

"I will be on his team." Luna said. "But you're Conall's daughter, won't that be cheating? Never mind whatever do what you want young lady."

With that, Aster's team was complete and ready for the event. And as expected, they won. Emma seemed to know all the answers except one, which Luna helped with.

Luna and Emma already had the game. Chad and Aster were left for the prize.

"You can have it Aster, I know how much you have been dreaming to play the game." Chad said as soon as they received the prize.

Aster thanked Chad and promised to pay him back one day, which Chad brushed off saying they were friends and that's what friends do.

Back home, Aster prepared dinner for him and Emma, and they started chatting.

"Now that you have the neural implant, all we have to do is set it up and start your training for the competition!" Emma said excitedly, as her wish of participating in the school's competition was coming true.

"Can we leave it for tomorrow Emma, I really need to get some sleep, and since tomorrow is Saturday, we would have all day for that." Aster replied.

Emma didn't argue with that, there was no reason to do that after all.

The next day, when Aster woke up and went to the living room, he saw Emma, smiling and filled with joy, preparing for the game. Aster smiled at Emma's smile, remembered his promise to his mother, and swore to protect that girl's smile at all cost.