Chương 115: Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 19 : A Helping Hand

The next morning, Karim arrived at the depot. When Aldric walked in, he found him already standing near the truck with a cup of coffee in his hand, though his attention seemed to be elsewhere. Patrick was checking the schedule in the office while Lucas searched for something in his bag. Aldric set his things down near the locker room before turning to Karim.

"Everything all right?" Karim nodded.

"About yesterday…" Lucas immediately looked up.

"Ah." Patrick came out of the office at the same moment.

"You wanted to ask us something?"

"It's nothing serious. Yanis is going to be changing rooms soon. His current one is getting too small. We have another room that's mostly used as an office and storage, so Samira and I want to clear it out for him. We need to take apart two pieces of furniture, move a wardrobe, repaint a wall, put together a new bed, and install a few shelves. We can do it ourselves, but it'll take us several weekends."

"So you want us to come help?" Lucas asked. Karim shrugged.

"Only if you're free."

"We'll come," Patrick said.

"Of course we'll come. I'll ask Emma too," Lucas said.

"She doesn't have to."

"Neither do we." Lucas opened the group chat. Lucas: Karim needs a hand on Saturday redoing Yanis's room. Emma: Count me in.

"You didn't even ask how long it's going to take…" Patrick shrugged.

"It'll take as long as it takes."

"And nobody wants to know exactly what needs doing?"

"You just told us," Lucas said.

"Were you expecting more questions?" Aldric asked.

"A little…" Lucas raised a finger.

"I mean, if you suddenly tell us we have to rebuild the entire house, I reserve the right to reconsider." Karim gave a small laugh.

"Just one room."

"Then we're good." The following Saturday, they arrived at Karim's place at around nine thirty. Samira opened the door with a broad smile when she saw Patrick, Lucas, Emma, and Aldric coming in with bags, tools, and several protective coverings.

"You really brought half a workshop with you." Patrick held up a drill.

"You never know." Lucas looked at Aldric.

"He says that, but we all know he owns three different models."

"They have three different functions." Aldric nodded.

"That seems reasonable." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Of course." Yanis appeared in the hallway. The moment he saw the whole group, his face lit up.

"You're here!" Karim came out behind him.

"Yes. And you're going to have to let them work." The boy nodded before turning to Aldric.

"Can I help?"

"With some tasks, yes."

"The smaller tasks," Karim said. They went into the office. A wardrobe took up an entire wall. Two shelves were filled with boxes. A desk covered in documents stood near the window, while several more boxes had been stacked in one corner.

"Where's the wardrobe going?" Patrick asked.

"Into our bedroom."

"We'll have to remove the doors." Aldric set down his bag.

"I can move it once it has been dismantled."

"There. We already have the crane…" Lucas said. Emma took charge of sorting through the boxes with Karim and Samira. Each one was opened, its contents checked, then sorted into three categories: keep in the office, move somewhere else, or donate. Patrick began measuring the wall where the new bed would go, while Lucas dismantled the first shelves and Aldric handled all the heaviest items. Yanis followed them from room to room. When Aldric carried a box into the living room, the boy picked up a much smaller one.

"I can carry this one."

"Isn't it too heavy?" Yanis tightened his arms around the box.

"No." Aldric slowed down so he could walk at his pace. Karim watched them pass.

"He's not going to put down a box for the rest of the day." Samira smiled.

"Still better than the tablet."

"Mark the date. A parent just said a cardboard box is better than a screen," Lucas said.

"Get back to work."

"Yes, boss." In the bedroom, Lucas had just removed the first shelf from the wall.

"Who used this many screws?"

"Me." The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Why?"

"So it would stay up."

"It would've stayed up with four." Patrick leaned closer.

"He used six." Lucas looked at the mounting points.

"Eight."

"Maybe I was feeling motivated." A little over an hour later, the room was almost empty. The boxes had been moved, the shelves dismantled, and the wardrobe was ready to be taken out. Patrick removed its doors, then studied the passage into the hallway.

"It's going to be tight." Lucas looked at Aldric.

"How much do you want to bet he gets it out without touching the wall?" Aldric examined the angle.

"That depends on the clearance." Patrick and Aldric lifted the wardrobe while Karim protected the doorframe.

"To the left," Karim said. They turned it.

"A little more." Aldric adjusted his grip, allowing the wardrobe to pass through without touching the wall.

"I hate it when everything works," Lucas said. Emma turned toward him.

"You'd rather they broke something?"

"No, but it takes away all the suspense…" Once the room was completely empty, they started painting. Karim had chosen a light blue for one wall, while the others would remain white. Yanis watched the roller with great interest.

"Can I do it?"

"A small section," Karim said. Emma handed him a roller, which the boy immediately grabbed. The first stroke was almost straight, the second much less so, and the third ended on the baseboard. Yanis froze.

"Dad, I went over the edge."

"It's okay." Patrick came over with a cloth.

"That's why we protect everything." He wiped away the paint before it could dry.

"Can I keep going?"

"Yes, but you need to stay focused."

"At this rate, he's going to repaint the whole apartment," Lucas said.

"He likes it," Emma said. Lucas picked up a roller.

"I want to try too." Patrick took it away from him.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I know your history with bread."

"That has nothing to do with this." Aldric picked up a roller.

"I can finish the upper section." Aldric dipped the roller into the paint, removed the excess, then ran it across the wall. Each stroke overlapped the previous one. When he reached the edge of the area he had just painted, he stopped to examine the result before continuing a few centimeters higher.

"You know the second coat will even everything out, right?" Emma said.

"That does not justify an uneven first coat." Meanwhile, Lucas was dismantling the old desk. He placed the screws in a box. Patrick walked past him.

"You're organizing them?"

"Of course." Patrick looked at Karim.

"Cleaning his apartment really did change something." Lucas closed the box.

"I hate all of you." Once the first coat was finished, they took a break in the kitchen. Samira had prepared coffee, juice, and several sandwiches. Everyone sat around the table while Yanis was already telling them how he had "painted the whole room."

"You painted about thirty centimeters," Karim said.

"That's a lot."

"The area is properly covered. He did a good job," Aldric said. Karim took a sip of coffee.

"If only he had the same motivation for homework." Yanis immediately looked up.

"Could Aldric teach me?" Karim closed his eyes, and Lucas burst out laughing.

"Too late." After the break, they returned to the bedroom to finish painting. The first coat had dried enough for them to apply the second. Emma stayed in the living room with Samira and Yanis to sort through the things that would later go into the new bedroom. Yanis appeared in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" Karim turned around.

"Not right now."

"Why?"

"Because we're still painting."

"I can watch without touching anything."

"From the hallway, yes." Yanis stayed on the threshold for a while, following the movements of the rollers before leaving again. He returned a short time later.

"Are you almost finished?" Lucas looked at his watch.

"You asked that eight minutes ago."

"But you've made progress since then."

"He has a point," Lucas admitted. They continued until the last section of the wall was covered.

"There, that's done," Patrick said. They removed the rollers and paint trays from the bedroom, then left the walls to dry. The windows were left slightly open and the door was closed to prevent Yanis from checking the paint himself. They returned to the living room, where the boxes containing the new furniture were still waiting. Patrick opened the one containing the bed.

"We can already put this together in here."

"Then we can move it into the bedroom afterward," Aldric said.

"Exactly." Patrick and Aldric began assembling the bed frame while Karim and Lucas tackled the bookcase. They left enough space around the furniture to carry it once the paint had dried. Patrick held part of the frame in place and held out his hand.

"Screwdriver." Aldric handed it to him.

"Thanks." Lucas, who had just assembled two sections of the bookcase with Karim, watched them.

"You two are seriously unsettling. You barely even talk anymore."

"We're talking right now."

"That's not what I mean. You hold out your hand and he already knows what you want." Karim then held out his hand toward Emma.

"The box of screws." Emma spotted it among the tools and immediately handed it to him.

"No, seriously. Are you all secretly training together?"

"I just handed him a box…" Emma said.

"He's not entirely wrong," Aldric said.

"Thank you, Aldric…" Emma laughed as Aldric returned to the assembly. Little by little, the bed frame took shape, and the bookcase was assembled soon afterward. Once both pieces of furniture were finished, they left them in the living room until they could be installed. Yanis appeared again.

"Can I see it now?" Karim shook his head.

"Not yet."

"But you've finished painting."

"Yes."

"Then why?"

"Because it isn't dry yet."

"How do you know if you don't touch it?"

"Because I specifically don't need to touch it."

"I can check."

"No."

"Just with one finger."

"Especially not." Lucas suppressed a laugh as Yanis turned toward Aldric.

"How long until it's dry?"

"That depends on several factors, including the temperature, the humidity in the room, and the thickness of the coat that was applied."

"So how long?"

"Later." They waited another hour before returning to the bedroom. Patrick checked an inconspicuous section of the wall, then gave his approval. They began carrying the furniture inside. The bed went in first. Aldric and Patrick positioned it, then Lucas and Karim brought in the bookcase and placed it against one wall. Samira came in next with a box containing Yanis's belongings.

"Here?" Lucas asked, pointing to a spot.

"A little farther to the left," Samira replied. Lucas moved the bookcase.

"Like this?"

"Perfect." The books could finally be placed on the shelves. Emma arranged them with Samira while Karim prepared the lamp that would go beside the bed. Patrick, meanwhile, picked up the two wall shelves that were still waiting in the hallway.

"Where do these go?" Samira showed him where she wanted them. Patrick placed the first one against the wall and held out his hand.

"Level." Aldric handed him the tool before Patrick even needed to turn his head.

"There. That's exactly what I was talking about earlier…" Lucas said. Patrick checked the bubble.

"And somehow, we manage to live with it."

"I'm starting to find it disturbing." Aldric held the shelf in place while Patrick marked the mounting points.

"It's straight." Once both shelves had been secured, they finished putting away the last few things. Yanis was still waiting on the other side of the door, regularly appearing in the doorway to check on their progress.

"Can I come in now?"

"Not yet, Yanis."

"Aldric said it would take a few hours."

"After the snack." Yanis sighed but agreed to leave again. By late afternoon, the walls had dried. Patrick secured the last shelves, Karim set up a small desk beneath the window, and Emma placed several storage boxes on the shelf. Lucas hung a poster above the bed. When everything was finished, Karim went to get his son. The boy walked over to the bed and sat down. He looked around before getting back up to inspect the bookcase.

"My dinosaurs are here!" Yanis picked one up before noticing a knight figurine placed on the shelf. He turned toward Aldric.

"Did you put it there?" Aldric nodded.

"It was in the box."

"It's my favorite."

"Then that seemed like an appropriate place for it."

"Thank you!" He hugged his father first, then his mother. After that, he threw his arms around Aldric. Aldric placed a hand on his back.

"You're welcome." The boy then went over to Emma, Patrick, and Lucas. Lucas opened his arms.

"Do I get one too?" Yanis hugged him. They all returned to the living room, where Samira had taken advantage of the time they spent working to prepare an afternoon snack. A chocolate cake sat in the center of the table, accompanied by cookies, some fruit, and bottles of juice.

"I'm seriously going to end up coming here every weekend…" Lucas said. Karim pulled out a chair.

"I'm going to start charging you admission."

"No problem, as long as the snack is included."

"Sit down before he changes his mind." Lucas did not need to be told twice and immediately took a seat. Yanis came in right behind him and stared at the cake.

"Can I have two pieces?" Karim placed a glass in front of his son.

"Start with one."

"But I worked really hard." Lucas turned toward him.

"What did you do?"

"I supervised."

"That's true. He came to check on our work every ten minutes," Karim said.

"Every eight minutes," Lucas corrected.

"So can I have two pieces?" Yanis asked.

"Still no," Karim replied. Emma laughed as Samira began cutting the cake. She handed out the first slices, then poured the drinks. Lucas took a bite of his cake.

"Karim."

"What?"

"I take back what I said."

"About what?"

"I'm not going to come here every weekend." Karim raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you." Lucas took another bite.

"I'm going to come every Saturday and every Sunday."

"You're not invited anymore…"

"Too late. I know where you live."

"He's going to end up asking for a key," Patrick said. Lucas raised a finger.

"Excellent idea."

"Seriously, thank you," Karim said. Patrick picked up his coffee.

"It wasn't a big deal."

"You all gave up your Saturday for this." Lucas shrugged.

"You'll do the same for me someday." Karim smiled.

"Probably." Patrick looked at Lucas.

"Or maybe not."

"Thanks…"

"You needed help. We were available. That's all."

"Thanks, guys." The evening ended quietly. They put away the last of the equipment, checked that all the protective coverings had been removed, and gathered their things. Aldric then headed down to the street with Emma, while Patrick and Lucas walked a few meters ahead of them and Karim stayed home with his family. Emma checked her phone when a notification appeared. Lucas: Hey Emma!