The Art of Unopulence

05 | flustered

I nod calmly, "Well, I'm not on duty today and I figured that I shouldn't overwhelm him with my presence already. I'll see him before school tomorrow. "

"Being exempted from running, does not mean being exempted from duty so get your ass down there right now!" he huffs.

Blowing a wisp of air onto my painted nails, I make my way to my mirror and assess my appearance.

"Chill Dad." I say reassuringly, smoothing down my purple corduroy skirt and pushing my hair into place.

Plastering a bright smile on my face, I walk past my father and make my way to the second floor.

"Be nice, Ariya!" he calls after me, making my lips arch upwards into a more genuine smile as I call out, "I'll try my best."

Nathaniel's bedroom door is closed. I crane my neck forward to detect any sound that would tell me what he's up to but I hear nothing.

With a quiet exhale, I bring up my left hand and knock twice before a taking a step back.

The door creeks open after a few seconds, revealing a rather morose looking boy with his mouth pulled into a thin line as he studies me subtly like a piece of art in an art gallery.

He's dressed in dark shades- coal black formal pants and a dark grey shirt with silver collar links rolled up to his elbows. It suits his tanned olive skin perfectly. But although classy, his entire outfit clashed sorely with the bright cream and purple colours of mine.

The first button is unfastened, the dip between his sharp collar bones visible. I find myself staring at the beautiful angles and rhythmic to fro motion of his throat for a moment too long. Nathaniel swiftly fastens the top button, the action knocking me back to reality.

"Hi, I'm Ariya." I extend my hand forward with a sweet smile.

Nathaniel fingers wrap around my palm in a firm but gentle grip briefly as he shakes my hand.

"Nathaniel Mirsalehi," he nods tersely, "I mean Nathaniel Ross now..."

I nod, laughing lightly, "So you aren't doing anything important right?"

"Not at the moment." Nathaniel answers, knitting his eyebrows slightly.

"Great, we can bond then," I squeeze my way into his room and make myself comfortable on the window ledge, "I'd hate to interrupt if you were doing some work."

There is a tablet and a few documents strewn on his study table. An uncapped pen lies on the dip of the middle partition of a notebook with neatly written notes.

Clearly he was busy with something but was too polite to kick me out.

'Ah well!' I shrug.

Nathaniel frowns to himself before drawing a chair and sitting a couple of meters away from me, one leg crossed over the other and fingers clasped in his lap.

"I'm afraid I'm rather clueless here," he says, "Is there a specific agenda for this impromptu meeting?"

"Meeting?" I snort, "I just came here to get to know you. Like a bonding session, you know?"

Nathaniel nods listlessly, the corners of his mouth twitching up ever so lightly before turning his attention to a silver ring on his right index finger, "And what per se does one do in these sessions?"

Rolling my eyes, I ask, "Are you always this patronizing?"

"I deeply apologize if that's the impression you got, Miss Davis. It wasn't my intention at all." Nathaniel says quickly, his smile dropping, "I was simply clarifying since I've never really had friends before."

"Great!" I announce exasperatedly, jumping off the window ledge, and walk up to him until our knees almost touch, "Why don't we start with what friends don't do?"

I place my hands on both the armrests the chair and lean down slightly as I hold Nathaniel's gaze. He scrambles to sit up straighter, I hear his breath getting laboured. Pfft, male biology...

"Firstly, no bitching about each other. And secondly, no ditching." I say holding up my index and middle fingers one after the other to demonstrate the count, "Those are the basic ground rules, got it?"

Nathaniel gives a sharp nod, "Two rules. I'll keep them in mind..."

"I'm not done." I cut him off, tilting my head to one side poignantly.

"Of course."

Flustered by my proximity, a deep flush coats Nathaniel's cheeks. Shaking my head I push my hands of the armrests of the rotating chair and take a couple of steps back.

"Now that we've established the ground rules, the rest are fairly simple to understand." I state, "Friends consult each other before any big decision, give and take advice, are cheerleaders for each others achievements and most importantly never let the other do anything, albeit extremely stupid, alone."

"I'm sure I'll remember that, Miss Davis." Nathaniel replies before muttering incoherently under his breath, "Now if you'll please excuse me, I have some important work to do."

My eyes follow his to the sheets full of notes on his desk.

"You're trying to figure out who murdered your father, aren't you?" My words float in the air, cutting through the tense quietude.

Nathaniel clenches his fists tightly by his sides, his palms turning a deathly white as he steals his jaw and averts his gaze.

"Yes, and I'd prefer if you didn't meddle in my business. Please do not tell your father of this, he's forbidden me from taking matters into my own hands." He replies curtly.

"Tsk tsk, you're forgetting the rules of friendship." I shake my head, sitting back onto the ledge, "Friends always have each other's backs. Now tell me, what kind of clues are we looking for?"

Nathaniel's eyes soften a bit, the corners of his lips struggling not to twitch up as he wipes his palms over his black pants out of nervous habit.

"Thank you, Miss Davis..." he starts.

"Ariya," I interrupt, "Call me Ariya."

"Of course." He nods, "Thank you Ariya. But I would really like to be left alone right now, if that's not too much to ask."

His tired expression looks sincere, and I decide that I've pushed him enough for the day.

"Sure." I smile, making my way to the door.

Nathaniel leads me towards the bedroom door wordlessly. As soon as I step out, I turn round quickly.

"Tomorrow's our first day at the new school. Be ready at eight." I state.

Without thinking my hands go to his collar and straighten it before unfastening the first button just like it was before.

Nathaniel coughs abruptly, a deep crimson settling on his cheeks and ears.

"Oh come on, it looks better this way." I snort at his response before turning around.

The door closes behind me immediately and I shake my head, a little smile tugging at my lips. It's funny to see Nathaniel get all hot and flustered. I suppose I've found myself a new hobby.

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