"Fucking finally, " Jared says as we come in and kisses Christina. She pulls back, although I see she's not pissed off."Are you drunk already?" Chris makes a face at him and he leans towards her again for another smooch."We won, baby."While I'm wondering how come she forgave him for everything he did to her, I see Nathan.Right. He is here. Nathan's lying on the ground, his elbow propped on one of the cushions scattered around. I've always thought the huge living room Max's parents have is too-hippie decorated, but that's the first time I kind of like it. He's smoking and the two girls sitting next to him are giggling about something. Max's sitting cross-legged opposite them, strumming something on his guitar. Both his parents are musicians and I have no idea why he's on the team, but he seems to be very bad at music, so hockey was probably the only other option he had for an extracurricular activity. They're talking about something and I struggle to hear what it is when Nathan's
EvaThey had a private teacher...Jeremy's never mentioned what kind of family they come from, but everyone knows everything about anyone here. The first information that was quickly spread was the fact their father's business was among the most successful ones internationally. The second talks were vivid descriptions of the huge house by the lake they'd bought.I look back at Nathan, and I know I could've asked about how he finds the place, or whatever. But for some reason I say."Is this what you want to do? Play?""No, that's just to pass the time now.""But you're so good.""I just had a lot of time to practice, especially in the past year."I put my hair behind my ear and look ahead."Jeremy mentioned it. I'm sorry- I mean- he didn't say why or anything, just that you skipped a year.""It's fine, I don't hide it. I just spent a year off school. ""Okay...""I don't regret it, though." he says, casually. I was sure he wouldn't continue talkig to me, but he does. "I had more time t
Kyle It's late and the few people left are wasted already, smoking outside on the balcony. The light's dim and someone's put quiet music on Max's vintage record player. Jeremy's spread himself out on the big sofa in the living room, head on the backrest, his dark clothes in total contrast with the colorful furniture. I've noticed he assumes the posture whenever he's tense or uncomfortable, it's like a challenge where he says, "Here I am, come at me." He's still here for some reason, even though his friends left already; I mean even Nathan's not here, although they don't seem to be hanging out much. Now that I think of it, I've never seen them together at school and they don't even come together. Nate usually drives and I think Jeremy rides the bus, which I thought strange at first, but I guess they have their reasons. I wanted to talk to him and never got the chance, so it's a " now or never" situation, kind of. I approach and sit close to him. He flinches but doesn't open his eyes.
JeremyWhen I get home, I see all the lights on the first floor are on. Marta opens the door for me, even though it's after 1 am."Welcome home." She smiles and takes a step away for me to enter. "Uh, yes. Is everything all right?""Your parents are in the living room waiting for you.""Okay, thank you. Sorry, you had to stay up so late.""No, my dear boy. It's my job, after all. " Marta leads the way in and I close the front door behind me.She could be my grandmother because Olivia doesn't hire younger women in the household anymore. I can tell you the reason behind it but I'm sure you can guess why's that. Right, let's go; I know what this is about. "Where is your brother?" Mother asks once I enter the room. "I've been calling you for hours, why don't you pick up your phone?""I left it at home, sorry."I didn't, but I knew why she was calling, and I didn't want to be her spy for the whole night. "You have to be more responsible." My Father. Naturally, he is an example of stoi
EvaI'm sitting by myself, finishing my lunch in the cafeteria. It's almost empty as most students have left already. I'm in no hurry - I'd rather be anywhere else but home, so I'm reading manga on my phone when I hear Nathan's voice coming from somewhere suspiciously close."Woah, are you going to eat all that?" I look up startled and see him standing right in front of my table, looking at my plate. "Um..." I'm chewing and the taste of the chocolate rapidly grows sour in my mouth. I look back down at my plate to see all that's in there- brown pieces of cake scattered all over, crumbs and fudge over the plastic dish. How many pieces are even in there? It looks like a pig's bowl. It's disgusting. I am disgusting. I push the plate away, wishing I could throw up all I've already devoured and empty myself from the heavy food in there, then turn my insides out and rinse them out. "No, I just ..." I lean back in my chair and bite my thumb. "No, I'm done." "Cool, I was wondering if you'r
"Ready?"He says and I almost flinch."I don't know. Yes?""Okay, then. Try to attack me." "How?""Just try and push me. Don't think so much and relax. Fighting's like dancing.""I can't dance.""Well, I'm not very good either, but it sounds cool."I laugh and for the first time he kind of reminds me of Jeremy- in the same way, he jokes about random stuff to distract me from something that's been going on in my head and I've thought I'm the only one noticing. I move and push him. He blocks my hit and urges me to try again. I do and this time's better. It's both strange and nice. I feel better. For one thing, I don't think about my phone anymore. I have no idea how much time we spent doing this, but by the end of it, I'm breathless.Once I got the hang of it and stopped overthinking every single move of mine, I realized he was right- it gets easier when you relax. I'm panting and I'm very aware of the fact my tank tops' wet and Nathan's standing not far from me.Sweat trickles down h
KyleWhen I find him in the library, he's arguing with Eva bout something. Okay, maybe they aren't arguing, it’s more like she's pissed about something."No, take them. They were in my bag and I don't want them. " Jeremy looks at the handful of single-wrapped chocolates in her hand suspiciously."But those are your favorite." "I'll just throw them away, then. " Eva gets up, but Jeremy grabs her by the elbow and stops her. "Okay, okay. Fine, wow. I don't know what's up with you recently." "Nothing's up, I just don't want this stuff."I approach and they both pause and look at me. "Can I talk to you for a second?" I turn to Jeremy directly. He doesn't reply, so Eva squints her eyes and points a finger at me."If you're going to pick up a fight with him, be careful - you may think you're big, but you stand no chance against his black magic." Jeremy turns to her, surprised “Are you sure you're okay? "She does seem a bit off, although I can't point exactly how. It's like she slurs he
Eva I'm still finishing my homework when my mom calls from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon and it's great. I know you'll love it, I made it especially for you".Judging by the clatter of spoons, utensils, everything literally- she's been drinking for a while now. My mother always spends hours in the kitchen when she enters the role of the Chef, using the time to get drunk, the action masked as her attempts at being a housewife. The thought makes me snort. I sometimes hate my dad for leaving, but then I probably understand him- I wouldn't want to be part of this whole mess either. Something drops, breaks and she curses and that's it for me- I just can't stand it anymore. Whatever. I type a quick message to Nathan. Recently he's been the first person I think of when something happens. "I hate this rotten house". I put my phone in my pocket and head for the hallway. I get a reply as I'm almost out, putting my jacket on. I look at the phone, the message is from him. "Hey,