Later that morning, his sisters and brothers sat at the dining table to have breakfast while he and his dad sat on the couch in front of the tv. He didn't have to go to school today because of the accident earlier that morning.
"It's not fair… I want to stay home from school too…", the youngest of the triplets, Max whined as he munched on his pancakes, his brothers also complaining as well.
"Well you can't sweetie", their mother said as she gave the others some breakfast.
"Awwn, then why does Alrick get to stay home?", Cody, the second of the triplets, whined.
"Your brother is hurt, now stop asking and eat your food. You're going to miss your ride with the neighbors", they were shut down by their dad and had no choice but to eat quietly. The sisters were too busy on their phones to care about the conversation.
A while later the siblings had left for school and their dad for work, leaving Alrick and his mom at home. As he was flipping the channels, he kept on coming across a familiar name.
"Lonside Inc has launched their newest product, show the technological world"
"Bzzr… Lonside Inc foundation has just donated to fifty charities"
"Bzzr… Lonside Inc has… bzzr"
He switched off the television, the continuous use of the name was giving him a headache mostly because he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it before now. It's not like he didn't know about the Lonside Inc before.
It was a billion dollar corporation and also the leading giant in the technological infrastructure, everyone knew about them.
But he felt like he had a deeper connection with them, like it ran deeper than it actually should.
"... Alrick? Alrick! Goodness I've been calling you for a while now but you seemed dazed, what's the matter now? You've been like this lately", his mom called out to him from the sink.
He sat up straight, "Sorry mom, what was it?"
She shook her head and turned back to the dishes she was washing. "Go answer the door, I'm busy here"
The corner of his lips twitched as he heard her request, he was a patient! Why should he be walking around here?", but he didn't say that out loud and reluctantly got up and limped towards the door.
As soon as he opened it, someone had jumped him and hugged him tightly.
"What took you so long? I've been here for a minute", the short blondie said as she walked past him and casually strolled into his home. "Good morning Miss Rendall"
"Good morning to you too Eleanor", his mom smiled lightly at Eleanor as she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Alrick scoffed at her audacity and limped towards the couch, sitting right beside her.
"I heard you got hurt, you better now?", she asked, her eyes never leaving the TV. He just hummed which she took for an answer.
"You didn't go to school today?", he asked.
She shook her head and answered, "You just gave me the beast excuse not to attend… Wow, these Lonside guys really like to keep busy huh?", she muttered.
"Yeah, they're on almost every channel now…", he replied.
Just then, the door bell rang again and Eleanor volunteered to get it. She walked back in holding a couple of envelopes, handing it to his mom.
They continued watching TV when they heard his mom gasp, the both turned to see a look of pure excitement on her face.
"We actually won an all expense paid cruise trip!"
++++
On a sunny afternoon like any other in New York, a sizable crowd of people happily gathered at the port. They were either dressed in summer or beachwear which made most of them look extremely tacky and silly, confusing many passersby that made sure not to get too close too the strange bunch so they wouldn't look like they were anyhow involved with them.
These people didn't care about the looks and happily waited for their ship to dock.
Soon a large cruise ship sailed in, its size alone made many people's jaw drop from astonishment, passersby included. It looked brand new with a modern vibe to it, it was a mixture of mechanical and technological workings. A revolutionary beauty some might call it. As it docked, a huge banner was raised up for all to see.
-CONGRATULATIONS LUCKY WINNERS!!!-
The loud crowd roared and shouted in excitement as they were the lucky ones, others looked on in envy.
Alrick and Eleanor were part of the cheering crowd, their families included. They had both received a winning ticket to an all expense paid trip to a never before seen before cruise experience. The two were ecstatic and so were their families, nothing seemed wrong at all. Well apart from the fact that every single person in their community and daily lives had received one as well.
The two grew up in the poor part of the city where everyone knew everyone. They were all content with their lives though, even if it wasn't the best. They were simple people who didn't dare to take risks outside of what they were used to or seek adventure. That's why most of them remain in their small community without bothering to find greener pastures in other communities or cities.
The few brave ones have tried but it's mostly that they come back woefully or they don't come back at all, making everyone solidify their resolve to living a peaceful life.
Alrick had been carrying most of his entire family's luggage, not that it was light while she only carried a tiny purse. He had given Eleanor a few hints and knowing looks for help but she flatly ignored him and mostly looked elsewhere every time he did.
"Aren't we lucky?!", she squealed as her eyes were glued to the grand cruise ship.
"Too Lucky if you ask me, aren't you bothered by any of this?", he asked as he dropped the bags down, it made a loud thump in the process. He had always been stronger than most despite his lean figure which was strange but since it didn't bother anyone, no one thought much of it. Even his family made him do all the heavy lifting.
"Shut up you mule, why can't you just be excited for once and stop overthinking everything", she kicked his shin, making him groan in pain.
He had tried to dissuade everyone from going earlier, especially after he found out that Lonside Inc. was responsible for the trip. They all just ignored him and called him paranoid, telling him to relax. His parents were even getting worried about him so he had no choice but to drop it and go along for their sake.
He cursed at her before continuing, "Dammit... Must you always do that? I'm in serious pain you know? And of course I have to overthink everything, who in their right minds would give a bunch of low lives like us an invitation like this?", his words fell on deaf ears as the only thing she heard was his curses, receiving him another kick.
"Who the hell are you calling a low life you midget?", a middle aged man with a round belly and scruffy beard walked up to the two, he wore pineapple patterned red shirt with a straw hat, brown sandals and white shorts .He looked really tacky and comical but no one would tell him that. He put his arms over the two kids' shoulders.
"You know exactly who I'm referring to and who are you calling a midget old man", Alrick bit back causing old Sally to slap him hard on the back and laugh.
"The stupid brat is so honest, aren't you afraid of hurting people's feelings?", he said while scratching his beard.
"It's not like I'm lying to anyone, why should I mince my words? And don't give us lice", Alrick quickly pulled himself and Eleanor away from Old Sally.
"Tch... Rude kids", he said as he walked off elsewhere. Alrick just scoffed and sat on the bags he had placed on the floor earlier.
"Ellie... I have a really bad feeling about all this, why don't we try to convince everyone to go home?", he said but she wasn't really listening.
"Alrick, try to relax for once would ya? Can't you just see this as a good thing and stop second guessing everything. We all need this vacation", Her words didn't have the calming effect he needed.
"But-", before he could finish, the large speakers on the ship went off.