The school bell rang, signaling the end of classes and saying that I felt relieved was an understatement. I quickly began to pack my books as I ignored the teacher at the front of the class rambling on about homework and giving a stiff warning to the people who didn't hand theirs in last time.
I sat back and gazed out of the window at the students that poured into the parking lot and the urge to get home grew stronger. I didn't hate school. Infact, I liked it a fair lot. What I didn't like were the people. Especially the righteous, overly social type. The so-called "outgoing" type.
No matter what I did to make myself less noticable, they'd always be people who would want to make friends with me. Despite the aloof air that I had around me, I was never bullied and I was grateful that my freedom wasn't tempered with by immature assholes.
"Henry," Louis, a friend of mine, called as he laid his hand on my shoulder. "It's time to go."
Looking around the class, I realised that only a handful of us were left and the teacher was gone. "Oh." I stood up and put on my backpack.
"How were your lessons? We were given a surprise quiz and I totally wasn't ready for it," he complained as we made our way out of the school building.
"Are you ever ready for anything?" I asked with a chuckle. Even though Louis had energy levels that far exceeded mine, I didn't mind it much.
"I am! But that quiz jumped at me out of nowhere." He buried his face in his hands and groaned. "And I stayed up late chatting with Wendy from french class yesterday."
"You're still crushing on her?" I asked as I glanced at him in mild surprise.
He dropped his hands to his sides. "Hey, you don't see me criticising your interests."
"You have a new crush every month that's why I'm surprised that you're still talking about Wendy three months in. Also, I'm pretty sure that you'd be caught off guard any day, Mr. I don't study everyday."
He gasped dramatically, as if I had just insulted him. "Who the hell studies everyday? I'm not going to punish myself like that."
"I study everyday and I'm okay."
"You see, my friend, you must be a mental masochist. The brain pressure gets you off."
I playfully shoved him away from me. "Fuck you." He laughed while regaining his balance and I asked, "Where's Ryan?"
"He's in detention."
"Again?"
"He was caught using his phone in class and Mr. Garcia was like, 'youths these days don't appreciate the finer things in life because they're too busy looking at their phone screens'" he said, deepening his voice when he was quoting the teacher.
Reaching the parking lot, I noticed the bus and said to Louis, "I'm in a hurry today so, I guess you're going to have to wait for him by yourself."
"What? No way. If you're leaving then so am I."
I chuckled. "He's going to complain about this."
"I'm not willing to wait for an hour by myself." Before I could say anything, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the bus stop. "Look! The bus will leave if we delay."
~
Saying my farewells to Louis, I got off my stop and took a short walk to my house. I usually liked to pass by my late brother, Nathan's, favorite hangout spot after school, but today was the day my package would arrive. Since my mom was home earlier than my dad and I, I didn't want her to find it first or open it. She'd freak out.
I froze at the sight of a handsome, dark haired man seated in front of my house. He wore a white turtle neck shirt and dark blue jeans as he sat on a big, black suitcase with a lit cigarette in-between his lips. A duffle bag lay next to him and he looked bored as he scrolled through his phone. Suddenly he rose his head and our eyes met.
He stood up and removed the cigarette from his mouth, making me notice the snakebite piercing on the right side of his bottom lip. "Hey. You're Henry, right?" He asked before putting his phone into his back pocket.
"Uhm..... Do I know you?" I asked as I kept my distance. For all I knew, this guy could be dangerous.
His eyes widened in surprise then he laughed and gave his head a light shake. "Figures. I'm Andre, I was one of your brother's best friends."
"I've never seen you before."
"That's because I moved away seven years ago. When I was around, you were very small."
"I see." I looked at the luggage he brought. "Are you lost or...?"
"Your mom didn't mention it to you?"
I frowned. "Mention what?"
"Well, this is awkward." He gave me a small smile. "I'm going to be staying here for some time so could you open up? I've been waiting for a while."
"Andre!?" My mom interrupted as she suddenly walked past me and pulled him into a tight hug. "You're finally here."
He laughed and returned the hug before pulling away. "Yeah. I'm surprised that Henry didn't know that I was coming."
"I expected him to come later so that I could introduce you two." She waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, get in. Henry, help him out with his luggage and show him to the guest room."
She walked to the door and unlocked it before getting in. I begrudgingly got his duffle bag, that was heavier than it looked, and took it in while he followed behind with his suitcase.
We quietly walked upstairs while Andre hummed a song. It was awkward but I tried my best to ignore him. Reaching the guest bedroom, he walked past me and I glared at his back when I inhaled the smoke from his cigarette.
"Could you not smoke in front of me?" I asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in my voice. "I prefer to not die young."
He nodded although he made no attempt to turn off his cigarette. "Sure."
"How long will you be staying here?" I asked after putting his bag on the floor.
He looked around the guest room and hummed. "Half a year, maybe?" A groan left my lips before I could stop it and he chuckled. "Want me to leave?"
"Is that a valid option?"
"Brat." He turned to face me and I noticed that his eyes were a piercing, dark shade of brown. "I'd like some privacy, please."
I grit my teeth. "Don't worry. It would be annoying to be in each other's space anyway."
I left the room and stomped downstairs. What the hell was his problem? This was my place, he should be a little more polite. I had no idea who that guy was and I couldn't think of any moment with him. Being a friend of Nate, I thought that he'd be the nicer, intellectual type, but his appearance was completely different from the friends who usually came by.
Entering the living room, Mom turned to me and grinned. "So.... What do you think?"
I frowned. "Five minutes is hardly enough time to understand someone's character."
"Come on, Henry. You were so clingy to him when you were younger."
"I don't even remember the guy. Since when did our house become a charity home anyway?"
"Don't be rude. Andre is like family even though you didn't interact with him after he moved. He's doing his internship here and I assisted him with accommodation because he doesn't have relatives nearby. Besides, it's expensive living alone with little outside support."
"But you know how I feel about strangers, Mom."
"I know," she pursed her lips hesitantly before letting out a smile. "But isn't it cool having a older male around? It's like having a big brother all over ag-"
"Don't. Please." I let out a deep sigh. "Did anything come for me in the mail?"
She hummed. "I think so. I put everything on the kitchen table so you can check."
"Thanks," I said as I made way to the kitchen.
As she said, there was a stack of mail and small boxes on the table in the middle of the room. Looking through it, I found my package and did a happy dance internally. Despite being a little irritated by the situation, seeing the package cleared my mood completely.
"I'm going to my room. Don't disturb me!" I yelled for anyone to hear before rushing into my bedroom upstairs to delve into my hobby.
Hello, dearest reader! Thanks for giving my book a chance and I hope that you enjoy it. Kindly give gems and leave a review. It will motivate me and make my day!
I smiled like a kid on a Christmas morning as I looked at the package on the bed in front of me. I stroked my chin thoughtfully as I went through all the safety precautions. Locked door? Checked! Closed windows with curtains fully closed? Checked! Phone set on 'Do not disturb' mode? Checked! Busy mom? Checked! Busy dude who's room was literally across from mine but was busy unpacking? CHECKED! I sighed in relief. My bedroom was my safe zone and my mother knew that more than anyone. I didn't allow anyone, not even my friends, into my room. Fortunately, my family was quite well to do and we had a small library downstairs so, I didn't have to make up an excuse of why I didn't want them in here. My bedroom was the only place that I could be myself fully. Without judgement or ridicule. It was tough getting my mom to stop coming here and I promised her to always keep my room tidy. I didn't go back on my word thou
My peaceful sleep was disturbed by the blaring of my alarm from my phone. I opened my eyes groggily to the sight of grey curtains and I stared at them in confusion. Sitting up, I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I got my phone from the nightstand and switched off my alarm before looking at the time. It was six thirty in the morning. It took me a moment to realise that I was at Mrs. Young's house. It's been three days since I moved in and I was having a good time. Getting off of my bed, I pulled on a pair of sweatpants that hang low on my waist and left the room. Since none of the bedrooms, but for the parents room, had built in bathrooms, I had to use the one next to Henry's room. Entering the bathroom, I looked at my disheveled state in the mirror. My bed head wasn't much of a monstrosity and I was glad since I didn't want to spend too much time on it today. I got my toothbrush and added some toothpaste before working on my tee
The day was finally done and I felt quite fulfilled. Mr. Davison told me that I did a good job with my research and I was feeling the lawyer vibes already. The workload wasn't as much and having short conversations with Flynn and Maryanne when we had nothing to do was fun. Packing my stuff, I put on my bag pack and stood up before carrying a bottle of water that I was drinking earlier. I turned and saw that Flynn was still typing in some things in his laptop while Maryanne's seat was vacant. Since I was done, I decided to walk over and say my farewells. "Still busy?" I asked as I stood next to him. He leaned back into his chair and stretched his arms over his head. "Sort of. I just have to finish this and I'm done for the day." "Is it always this busy?" "Not usually. It mostly depends on who your supervisor is. Mine has a case coming up and I'm doing my best to help out." "Lucky you. I can't wait to witness a court
"I was so shocked when I watched it last night. I didn't expect it to be so good," I said to Louis over the phone. "I told you that it was. Why don't you ever believe my movie recommendations?" "No offense but the stuff you watch suck." "Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically and I laughed. I looked at my reflection and admired the cream white panties that I had on. I was currently in a white shirt and panties as I laid down on my bed and looked at how flattering they looked on me. I felt a little narcissistic by how much I kept looking at the mirror but I couldn't blame me. I was amazing to behold. It was Saturday morning and I woke up around seven because that was my body clock's schedule - alarm or not. I took a shower and in the middle of dressing up, Louis called and I abandoned further clothing. "By the way, wanna hang out today?" Louis asked as he chewed on something and I cringed at the sound.
"It was so cool how they found out that her own son killed her," Ryan said as his eyes practically sparkled. "I didn't expect that." "I know, right? I honestly thought that it was that weird neighbour that showed up at the most suspicious times," Louis agreed before looking at me. "What did you think, Henry?" "I actually found it quite anticlimactic," I said with a sigh as I slowly stirred my milkshake with a straw. Earlier, we had all agreed to watch a horror movie and I was looking forward to it despite trying to hide my excitement. It was my favourite genre, after all. Ryan was still impressed by Andre's appearance so, he sat next to him so that they could talk. I was happy to have avoided sitting with Andre but the movie swiftly killed my joy. What a waste of ten bucks. We were currently in a restaurant downstairs as the hot summer weather made us gobble up cold beverages relentlessly. Ryan and Andre sat acro
I huffed as I dropped my hands, giving up on my attempt to fix my tie, and grabbed my bag from my bed. I had dismantled everything by accident while I was putting it on earlier and putting it back together was tougher than I thought. Despite the summer vacation already starting, my school offered extra lessons in the morning for anybody who was willing. Being the sucker of knowledge that I was, I couldn't miss out on that. I also couldn't imagine being home all day so, I had to keep myself busy in a way that would benefit me at least. Opening my door, I got out of my room before locking it and heading into the kitchen. I was a little sad that Louis and Ryan weren't willing to join me for my summer classes. There were probably going to be a few people in class who were forced to attend them because of low grades. I entered the kitchen and poured some cereal into a bowl before adding milk and eating it. The house was very quiet so I figured that
I sighed and stretched my arms over my head as a yawn escaped me. As expected, work kept piling up and the free time that I treasured at the beginning was slowly thinning away. Dropping my arms, I continued to do my research while keeping good posture in mind. As much as work pulled in most of my attention, back and neck pain was something that I absolutely dreaded so, I was careful with how I was seated. I looked at the screen and smiled at Henry's name being the name of a client on the case file that I was researching on today. Things between Henry and I became a little steady. I could see progress in how he stopped ignoring my existence and that he continued making a cup of tea or coffee for me despite saying that it was the last time. What made it more worthwhile was that he didn't wait to be asked anymore. When I found him in the kitchen, he'd stand up and make one for me. I didn't bother to tell him which o
"How's your internship going?" My dad asked Andre. "It's okay. I'm learning a lot and having fun," he said as he gave him a polite smile. "That's great," my mom said happily before taking a sip from her glass of water. "How are you liking your stay here?" "It's great too. Thanks for accommodating me." She laughed bashfully. "Don't thank us. We love having you over." "Really though. I would've been struggling to look for a place if you hadn't offered." "You're like a son to us and I'm happy that you've gotten used to the place." I scoffed internally at their praises as I ate my food. We were all having dinner together and as usual, my parents were gushing over Andre. They kept asking him about his day and his feelings and I felt beyond irritated. They didn't look at me or ask me anything, not that I would answer if they did, but still! Every time we ate together as a "family", I felt more like an outsider and it made me want to spend even less time with them. Andre nodded at w