"Kevin," the call to Kevin made him open his eyes. He saw a woman looking at him.   Kevin didn’t understand why he was being woken up from his afternoon nap.
Today was Sunday, so there was no school, and Kevin had no activities planned for the day. He decided to try doing some school assignments, and answering some practice questions.  
Unexpectedly, he had fallen asleep at his study desk. This was something that made people who knew him think in awe.   What happened that made Kevin open a book and study? To even study until he fell asleep on the desk?  
Come on, Kevin is a diligent kid, right? Diligent in his work, for example. This behavior should be appreciated, even though he wasn’t exactly the type to study hard.  
The truth was, that Kevin hadn’t managed to finish any of the questions from the assignment. Well, it was fine, at least Kevin had tried.  
Back to Kevin, who groaned as he felt the stiffness in his neck. He sat up slowly, rubbing his neck while also noticing the gaze of the person who had woken him up.  
Of course, everyone would want to know why they were being woken up, but Kevin didn’t understand why he had been woken up because he couldn’t guess the expression of the person who had done so.  
From that expression, Kevin tried to figure out why he was being woken up. It turned out, that Kevin’s thoughts went that far.  
"What’s going on?"  
"You woke up as soon as you heard my voice. I’m impressed, your hearing is sharp. Is it because you’re used to hearing sounds sharper than usual, and that’s why you’re such a noisy person?"  
"Are you praising me or mocking me?" Kevin shook his head. "Kevin, that’s not important." He said to himself, trying not to get affected by those words.  
The person laughed upon hearing Kevin’s words, whether it was because of Kevin's question or because Kevin was talking to himself.  
"Jessie, seeing you laugh like that, it seems like the reason you woke me up isn’t important. But, maybe you’re worried about how I was sleeping, so you want me to lie down on a bed instead. If that’s the case, I thank you." Kevin smiled.  
The smile looked silly, but Jessie froze up and fell silent.  
"This is important. Someone has come looking for you."  
"Huh?" Kevin was confused to hear that, especially seeing Jessie’s expression.  
"You need to meet them now," Jessie said. After that, Jessie left Kevin’s room.  
"What’s going on? Ugh, my neck!"   Kevin quickly entered a room with only two people inside. They were Mrs. Clark and a man.  
"Kevin, come sit here." Kevin nodded.  
"Let me introduce you. This is Albert Chavez."  
Kevin looked at the man sitting across from him. He seemed older than Kevin but younger than Mrs. Clark.  
"So, you’re Kevin."  
Kevin nodded in agreement.  
"He wants to take the role of looking after you from now on," Mrs. Clark smiled.  
"What?"  
"Usually, not many people are willing to adopt a child your age. Most people adopt younger children," Mrs. Clark continued.  
"Nice to meet you, Kevin. From now on, you’ll be my little brother," the man said kindly.  
"But..."  
"Are you surprised? It’s okay, this is a happy thing," Mrs. Clark said.   They both smiled, but Kevin still looked deep in thought.  
"I understand," Kevin said, making the smiles of the other two widen even more.  
"But, may I ask something?"  
"Hm, what’s the matter?" Mrs. Clark asked. The man also turned his gaze toward Kevin.   "About this, can I refuse?"  
"What?" Mrs. Clark asked, making sure she hadn’t misheard. Albert even stopped smiling.  
"I want to stay here," Kevin continued.   Mrs. Clark looked at Kevin in disbelief.
"How could... Why are you refusing?"  
"I said I want to stay here, so this is my decision," Kevin repeated his words.   Mrs. Clark shifted her gaze to Albert, then back to Kevin.  
"If you need time to think, it’s okay. You can think about this carefully. I’ll wait." Albert decided to take over and said that.  
Mrs. Clark seemed at a loss for words.   "No, I don’t need time. I’ve made up my mind. You can choose another child. I’m sorry."  
Albert fell silent. Kevin looked certain of his decision. Albert and Mrs. Clark exchanged looks.  
"It was my father who wanted to adopt you. I was only sent by him to represent him because he’s busy."   Kevin furrowed his brow.  
"So, I can’t choose another child because I was only told to pick you, whether you agree or not." Albert continued, making Kevin even more confused. Kevin was once again baffled.  
Albert raised one hand to check the watch on his wrist.  
"Sorry, if there’s nothing else to discuss, I’ll be leaving. I’ll let you know if I come again. Or you can contact me if there’s anything you’d like to discuss." Albert stood up from the sofa and said his goodbyes.  
Kevin and Mrs. Clark stood up to see Albert off. Meanwhile, Jessie and the other children were peeking from behind the wall.  
"Is there something you want to say?" Mrs. Clark spoke up once Albert was out of sight.  
Kevin shook his head and said, "Isn’t it supposed to be you saying something?"   Mrs. Clark sighed. "I don’t know what to say. If you don’t want to explain, then that’s fine. I don’t understand why you’re rejecting it when this is what every other child here has been waiting for."  
Kevin was grateful for Mrs. Clark’s non-pushy attitude. She left Kevin’s side. Kevin then saw the other children who had been spying.  
"What are you guys doing there?"  
Asked like that, they came out of hiding after making sure Mrs. Clark was gone.   "Is Big Brother Kevin going to be taken away?" one of them asked.  
Kevin was taken aback. "How did you know?"  
"Isn’t it obvious?" Jessie replied.   "Alright, the man did want to adopt me, but I refused."   "Huh? Why?" A surprise was evident on their faces.   "Well, because I don’t want to." They pouted upon hearing Kevin’s reason.   "Your reason!" they exclaimed. Of course, refusing meant not wanting to.   "Hehe, how could I leave my troublesome little siblings?" Kevin pinched the cheeks of the children within reach.   They were happy to hear that, even though they were called troublesome.   At least they could still feel at ease because Kevin had refused to leave.   But who knows what will happen when Albert returns?  
*****  
Dr. Claudia explained Diana’s current condition. David listened attentively to everything she said. After she finished, David thanked her and left.  
He then opened a door to a room where Diana was lying on a bed. Diana sat up and looked at him.  
"Get some rest. You need to rest."  
"Hmm." Diana lay back down.   "Diana..." David made Diana look at him.   "What is your dream?" Diana seemed to think for a moment.   "Why?" she asked.   David shook his head. "It’s nothing. I just wanted to know if you still want to be a doctor."   "Yeah, it hasn’t changed." Diana nodded.