Plan B

Chapter Forty-eight

Bruno came to visit that weekend.

“S’up, guys?” he greeted them, bounding into the common room.  “I hear Brookie’s out filming today.”

“He is,” said Bernard without looking away from MarioKart.  “What are you doing here?”

The common room door opened at that moment and the twins came in.

“Bruno!”  Aaron tackled him into the sofa.  Isaac helped Bruno back to his feet and handed him a spare toastie.

“Careful of the back, Aaron,” Bruno admonished, rubbing the base of his spine.  “It’s not totally better yet.”

Aaron grabbed hold of Bruno’s wrist and inspected the watch.

“This isn’t fair!” he complained.  “You have one of Frankie’s watches too!”

“They’re my watches,” Bruno told him.  “I was the one who invented them.  And mine’s better, in any case.  It has a PM system on it.”

“What?”  Arthur turned away from his homework.  “How come?”

“Because I built one in.  I got bored.”

“I want one,” Aaron said.  “Could you make me one too?”

“Sure, if you have a spare grand.”

Aaron pouted.  “What happened to mates rates?”

“You could pay two grand if you don’t want them.  Where’s Frankie, in any case?  I came here to babysit him for the weekend.”

Isaac grinned around a mouthful of toastie.  “I think he’s in the music school with Rico.  It’s really funny because they get on fine during the day, but whenever they’re in the dorm together, they’re so awkward.”

“Can someone call him for me?” Bruno asked.  “The fan girls are like a swarm of locusts outside and I’m sure as hell not leaving this building unless I’m escorted by the SAS.”

Fran seemed a little put out to be called away from Rico, but she brightened when the reason why became apparent.

“Hey, Bruno,” she said as he joined her in the corridor.  “What are you doing here?”

“No, no, no, no, no!”  He held up his hand like a teacher telling off a naughty child.  “Which two words did I tell you to say the next time we met?”

“Why did you want me to tell you that I love you?”

“D*mn.  Brookie told you what it meant, didn’t he?”

“You’re a troll.”

Bruno laughed and tugged her down the passage towards Brookie’s room.  “Hey, at least I gave you a way to tell Rico how you feel without him freaking out.”

“Bruno, he doesn’t understand Korean.”

“Exactly!”  Bruno beamed at her.  “Anyway, welcome to Brookie’s crib.  Shall we redecorate while he’s out?”

Fran stopped dead just inside the room.  “Are you kidding?  He’ll kill us!”

Bruno did a perfect imitation of Fran’s pout.  “But Frankie,” he whined, “I want to have fun!”

His puppy eyes were absolute killers.  Fran found herself blushing and she turned away.

“C’mon,” Bruno wheedled.  “The twins say you pull pranks on anybody who compromises you in some way, and Brookie almost had to compromise your brother in order to make it seem like he and Freddie have nothing to do with each other.  He was the one who suggested to the police that Freddie might be lying.”