Insincerely Yours

Chapter 6: Ever fallen in love with someone..

Alexei was bored. Not simply bored- but bored out of his skull. The kind of bored that often leads to stupid decisions. Strumming his guitar half heartedly despite having such an avid Audience in Arribella- he still couldn't shake the feeling of boredom.

He was sitting on Cairo's bed as she and Ella got ready in the bathroom. It was unusual for her to take so long. Alexei had never in all the fourteen years of knowing Cairo- seen her to take this long getting ready. Even for her own graduation ball- she had just let her mother put her hair up and put just a smidge of make-up on before running out the door.

He was curious what was going on behind that bathroom door and being stuck with Cairo's frumpy roommate didn't make it better.

                "You're awfully good at guitar, Alexei". Arribella stammered blushing like mad.

Alexei felt cruel then for thinking her frumpy. She wasn't totally unattractive, with long dark brown hair that had a tinge of red, a pretty snubbed nose and a nice mouth- but it was the clothes that did it for him. Wearing a hideous floral print that was straining at the chest and gaping at the waist, a pair of god awful deep tan tights and high heels that looked like they once housed Margaret Thatcher- the girl was simply clueless.

                "Thanks Sweetheart. What do you reckon that they're doing in there- Finding the cure for impatience?" He muttered rolling a cigarette between nimble fingers and lighting up in the bedroom.

If Arribella didn't want any smoking in her room- she didn't show it- instead she watched him like other girls did- eyes wide, mouth open in complete adoration.

Except it was the one girl he wanted to look at him like that who didn't- and if anything that hurt more than anything.

Arribella broke out into a fit of giggles at such a stupid joke that Alexei smiled at her. She appeared to swallow the laughter bubbling in her chest and began to hiccup.

                "Excuse me". She muttered horrified and ran into the bathroom, gaining admittance straight away from the bouncer that was Ella.

Alexei sighed. "That's sexist you know". He yelled at no one in particular and got a muffled reply.

                "Deal with it- God you're such a girl sometimes". Ella replied throwing something out the door with such a good aim it hit even graceful Alexei in the eye.

Grunting and leaning down to pick up the offending item and examining it- it was a tampon. "You're going to need it you big girl's blouse". Ella said before shutting the door and no doubt barricading it.

Sighing in barely veiled frustration Alexei began to do what he did best- snooping.

First he examined Arribella's bed side table- it screamed normality. A few pictures of what he assumed were her family were in priceless glass frames. Her mother had one of those strong handsome faces- the type you see on nuns and nurses- the angry type, but he could see a shadow of beauty in her features.

Dropping the photo he wandered over to Ella's bedside- not at all surprised to see half eaten sandwiches, what appeared to be false eyelashes dotting the floor and some contraption Alexei wouldn't touch if you paid him. Pictures of a dopey Russ were arranged like a shrine- despite the fact that his room was just next door to Alexei's, directly underneath her bed- they could probably communicate with knocks through her floor and his ceiling if they wanted to.

Saving the best for last Alexei wandered over to Cairo's table knowing exactly what he would find before he even looked. There were the family photographs, her beautiful family dazzling- but none more so than Cairo.