"Eva? Really? "
"Yeah, why? "
" I'm Adam. "
"You are kidding," Chris exclaims and I give him a flat look.
"That's not your real name."
"Does it matter?"
The guy asks and leans forward, placing his palms on the table we've been standing around.
"No," I say, "It doesn't."
"Are you a friend of Max's?"
Chris asks and the guy, maybe his name is Adam for real, and he shakes his head. "No, my friend is. I don't know anyone here."
"You do now."
Chris says teasingly and they exchange a smile.
"You have a friend here, let's go to him. I wanna meet him."
I'm pretty sure Chris is getting tipsy, but that shouldn't be a problem.
On the contrary. We go back to the living room, where I see an unfamiliar face, and I assume that's Adam's friend. He's another cute guy, not that tall, but it's still evident he works out. Adam introduces u
KyleI hear footsteps coming my way, as I'm lying under a car in Dad's garage, trying to fix the breaks of an old model they just brought in.I know it's not Jeremy because he's with Stela and they wouldn't be so quiet if they came in.I slide from under it and see my father."Dad?"We've been walking carefully around each other in the past few days.The reason- well, he knows about my grand show at the finals."Hello, Kyle.""Uhh, I'm almost done here, is there anything else I need to fix? I thought you'll be working on the truck. "I have no idea what he's doing here."No, you... That's enough for today once you finish with that one you can go.""Uh, okay."I'm still lying, waiting for him to continue.My father props himself against the front of one of the cars opposite me and crosses his arms.Then he relax
Eva "Eva, I'm off. Don't forget to eat something before you go to your part-time, okay?" “Okay. “ “Bye then, “ "No, Mom. Wait." I rush down the stairs and catch her right before she's closed the door from the outside. "Wait." "What is it." “Nothing. “ I kiss her lightly on the cheek "Just wanted to say have a nice shift." "Is this because I found out about the tattoo?" "No," I smile, "Because of everything else." My mother smiles at me and cups my face. “I’m your mother, Eva. “ “But still…” She pauses and when she speaks again, her voice is full of affection and understanding. "We all make mistakes. Look at me. And we're all first teenagers before we become adults. So don't think just because I am old, I don't remember what it's like to be 18." "Okay, I know, I just..." I cast my eyes down, and even though it hadn't been her intention, I feel guilty. Not for now. But for before, for all the things I've thought about her or called her in my head. "Okay, Eva
D Fox The story Nathan talks about when he explains his tattoos is Sakura Gari (The Hunt for Cherry Blossoms) by the brilliant Yuu Watase. He was the character I was most hesitant about when writing, just because Nathan is the ‘misunderstood’ one; the one even I couldn’t always understand. Everything starts with Jeremy, who speaks to the reader whenever he’s uncomfortable; he breaks the fourth wall in an attempt to escape, until he finally stops because he’s found his way. Partly thanks to Kyle, partly because of himself. And by the end, Eva is the one who starts talking to us. Gray Daze is the novel I began writing even before The Gentleman’s Code. I was just afraid of writing about some of the topics here. Afraid, because I know everyone dealing with any kind of emotional trauma, or however you want to name mental health problems (I hate the word problems, especially in this context, but that’s how they’re listed in the Mental Health Foundation List) has a different experienc
JeremyI lean my head back and look out the window. It's almost dawn, the time when blue turns pink at the edges. The new color creeps up until it has completely chewed up the dark and then spits the sun out. It happens so fast, a blink and you've missed it. That's probably why I'm still wide awake-I can never sleep when I travel. Or it could be because of the four coffees I downed earlier and the headache I've been trying to ignore for the past few hours. I swear the stupid drive from the airport's endless.Don't get me wrong - I'm not excited to get anywhere, I just need a shower and a smoke. The latter definitely won't make the taste in my mouth less sour, besides I won't get one anytime soon, cause I was stupid enough to throw the pack away once we landed and I regret it by the minute. I know. Olivia doesn't check my stuff anymore at least, but still. I can't predict when she might get paranoid again and start searching and lecturing until my head goes numb. It's like a limb you'v
Kyle"Yo, where's my best Left Winger!" Jared calls me in the school hallway and approaches. The whole place is buzzing with laughter, students, and teachers. It's the first day, so everyone's still feeling summery. Yet, posters and notes are already covering the walls. Our latest trophy's in the case on the wall opposite me. Among the pool of heads and the tide of students moving around, we're easily noticed. We stand out because we're The Wolves. I mean, that's what I'm expected to think.Might be 'cause we're towering over everyone else and we're double the size of most guys our age, I don't know.There's not a single person who doesn't know Jared around here, and I don't mean just at school. The best Captain the hockey team's had in years, it's obvious we won the tournament last year thanks to him. I can't believe this is his last year in high school. He's going to university next where he can finally play professionally, after all, hockey's his whole life. Almost like it would be
EvaIt's only the first day and I'm skipping already. But my mom's just started a job for the first time since ...well, I'm not exactly sure since when, and I haven't had the house entirely to myself in ages, so it's worth it.It should be okay, we never do anything on the first day, anyway. It's been unusually sunny today and I'm sitting outside on оur small porch in my improvised patio chair, reading Tess of the D'Ubervilles. I signed up for ELA and Creative Writing this year at school, and I'll have to finish the book before we get to it. I'm occasionally glancing at the kids playing on the street. There isn't much traffic in the afternoon, so they don't care. One of them is lying on the asphalt and the other pulling him by the leg. A less than three-year-old girl stood there looking at them in confusion.Although it's always seemed to me that really small kids often look like they're confused by the world and don't know what they're doing exactly. They just observe people doing ra
EvaWe arrive later, of course. According to the cool girls' code, only losers go on time. So here we are, Christina made my hair and I think it's not so bad. That doesn't mean I don't check if I've tucked my skirt in my underwear by accident every five minutes. Cloe throws a party at beginning of every school year, and I'm probably invited here because:One- I've known Christina since we were kids and our mothers are somehow still friends, despite the huge difference between them.Two - I sometimes help their whole group with homework, including Max (he's hopeless, by the way).Three- well, I think there's no three."Chris, finally" she's suddenly surrounded by her girlfriends, hugging her, complimenting her eyeliner. Too much perfume, skin –lotion fruity scents, and brand outfits."Hi, Eva. You look nice!" one of them - Jodie - says. They're either making fun of me, or we've come later than I thought and they're drunk already."I'll go grab a soda," I tell Chris and leave them.I'm
Kyle"Guys- this is Nathan". Jared announces and pats the new guy's shoulder. "He moved here from Winchester. Right?""Manchester, " Nathan replies super seriously with an exaggerated accent. We all laugh and I can't help but think he seems like a cool guy."Oh, right. Sorry.""No worries. Even I forget where I am or where I come from sometimes."I heard Christina talking about the two new guys the other day, so that must be Jeremy's brother."Do you play hockey too?" I ask."Nay. I'm not a very good team player. I do some kickboxing, though. I mean I did back home. But yeah, not much anyway. ""That's cool. ""Well, it explains the tattoos. Is that even legal?" someone asks."How does that explain tatts, man?""I don't know, kinda part of the style.""You're so dumb, Mike.""Wanna try my uppercut, Tylor?'"What? Go to hell, Jazz""Why don't you...."They keep fooling around and I look at Nathan's arms. He's wearing a plain white T-shirt which allows me to see they are mostly covered