C2

***

The sound of knocking on the door filled the room, Alex who had fallen asleep unconsciously opened his eyes again. Alex slowly wakes up from his sleep, the voice of his sister Gina who calls out to him makes Alex wake up completely and removes the lingering drowsiness. He opened the door and Gina immediately jumped at him then hugged Alex tightly with a face that was very happy and excited.

"Big brother! Brother managed to get another A! " said Gina very excitedly.

Alex smiled and hugged his sister because he was very happy with the praise given by his sister. Alex is always close to his younger sister Gina because Gina is a cheerful girl who likes to follow Alex and also invites Alex to play with her. Gina is also the only person who always asks Alex to talk even for trivial things, unlike his parents who only talk to him for important things.

Apart from Gina, Alex also has one younger sister named Diana. Diana and Gina are twin sisters who are born only five minutes apart. Diana and Gina are very opposites. If Gina is very talkative, cheerful and always passionate then Diana is very quiet and very serious. Diana is very closed to others even to her own family.

"Mother is calling for dinner." Said Diana with a flat face as she approached Alex and Gina.

Alex and Gina immediately followed Diana walking to the dining table. They also sat at the dining table enjoying a luxurious steak. Everyone enjoyed their dinner without saying a word. The silence that filled the room made Alex even more worried, he felt as if there was a storm waiting behind this silence.

Either he disappointed his parents or they had nothing to tell him. The silence felt so suffocating that it made him not feel calm until finally Gina spoke and broke the silence.

"Mother, father, can I be like a big brother? Brother is great, he always gets an A and even gets many awards from the math Olympiad. Brother is my idol, I want to be like you! " said Gina very excitedly.

Alex also smiled broadly and felt very happy then he glanced at his parents hoping to get praise, but once again Alex had to be disappointed because his parents only smiled slightly while looking at Gina and stroking her hair. At that time Alex realized that his parents didn't really care about him and only saw his grades and ranks.

When Alex saw his mother glancing at him, the look in those eyes that he saw for just a few seconds made him realize that what he achieved was nothing so he couldn't get praise. Praise is only given for a big achievement exceeding a set expectation, not for something that just crosses the standard line.

Everything he does is an obligation and a standard he must live up to as the eldest son of the honourable Maxwell family. If he succeeds in becoming a perfect son, he finally manages to meet the standards if he fails to meet the standards that have been set then he will make everyone disappointed.

Realizing all this made Alex start to feel empty. The life he had been living so hard suddenly felt in vain. Alex also glanced at everyone by just moving his eyes. The room that had felt so suffocating had now become empty as if he was the only one sitting there staring at the surrounding darkness.

The sound of the bell rings and distracts everyone. While the others were staring confusedly at the door guessing who had come to their house at night, Alex wiped his lips with a napkin and then stood up.

"It might be Drake, we have an appointment tonight." Said Alex while lowering his gaze.

Alex opened the door and sure enough, Drake was standing in front of him smiling at him, waving his hand. Even though Alex looked at him with a cold gaze, Drake still smiled broadly warmly and immediately embraced Alex's shoulder and immediately went into Alex's house even though Alex didn't tell him to come in.

Drake immediately said that he was going to take Alex to a house party held by their classmates. Mr and Mrs Maxwell don't seem very happy but Drake ignores it and assumes that he is allowed to bring Ale to the party because nobody forbids him. Drake immediately takes Alex away but their steps are stopped when someone calls Alex. They turned around and saw Mr Maxwell standing and looking at them with his stern gaze. Drake was afraid because he knew very well that the reason Alex never played with his friends and it. After all, Alex parents always told him to focus on his studies.

But Drake wanted Alex to experience what it was like to have fun like any other teenager. Enjoy life and laugh freely like everyone else that's why Drake has started to create several scenarios for him to do if his parents forbid Alex to go.

"Don't drink too much ..." said Mr Maxwell and Alex nodded his head.

Alex and Drake headed for Lerie's house. Once arrived Alex and Drake were quite stunned by the number of people who came to the house party. Even at the entrance, many people are queuing to cook. Colourful lights filled the room and even came out.

Once inside, they were again amazed by the number of people present. A festive atmosphere with colourful lights illuminating the room. Music playing loud and people dancing in the middle. Lerie the red master welcomed them and offered them a drink.

Alex stands in the corner of the room watching the people who seem to enjoy the party. Those who seem very happy with drinking alcohol and dancing to the beat of the music playing very loudly like a bar look very attractive to him.

Everyone can easily enjoy the party even Drake is busy dancing with the girls he seduces, only Alex himself looks gloomy and stands alone in the corner of the room. He seemed to be in a different world and couldn't mix with his other friends.

A pretty girl with shoulder-length blonde hair was watching Alex from afar. Alex who was standing alone seemed to pull his eyes. The girl took a glass of whiskey and walked over to Alex with confident steps. Without the slightest hesitation, she greeted Alex with a big smile while shaking her hair and it was obvious she was teasing Alex.

"Aren't you tired of standing here alone? Don't want to join the dance? " Asked the girl with a friendly smile.