L&A : Safe place

11. In love.

"Welcome back, dear students" says the principal.

"We truly hope you have enjoyed the winter vacation with your family and loved ones. We inform you that this semester we will be implementing new study techniques and methods. From now on..."

The winter vacation are over, the students are back at boarding school, and the routine begins again. As he hears the director's voice in the distance, Lucas is distracted with a vacant look thinking about what his sister's life is like now.

He hasn't been able to stop thinking about it since he knew about her whereabouts. He knows there are things she didn't tell him and probably never will. Maybe she's married, or even has a family. Maybe she actually doesn't have a job and is unemployed. Or maybe she doesn't even live where she told him.

The probability of these situations is uncertain, and there's actually no proof of that, but Lucas can't help but think about it. His mind imagines everything that could and may not be real.

He blinks a few times and sits back in his seat. He looks around and sees Alex. He turns his gaze forward and sighs. He hasn't spoken to him since the start of the vacation. Their last interaction was that little goodbye outside his room.

Lucas hadn't been thinking about him. He remembers the hug Alex gave him and a shiver runs through his body. That feeling of Alex hugging him made him feel somehow safe. It was the first hug he'd received in years.

Alex yawns and looks to his right side. In the distance he sees Lucas, with his gaze on the director, and apparently attentively listening to what he says. He looks at him for a few seconds and then returns his gaze to the front.

Alex:
I found out what happened at the last meeting with the physics club before the holidays. Lucas didn't get drunk because he wanted to, but they gave him alcohol to drink and he didn't even know. I heard some boys making fun of it this morning. It really seems very bad to me. At no time did I think they'd be like this.

Lucas is sitting on the stairs, thinking about what happened at the last meeting with the club. When he walks through the hallways he hears them laughing and whispering things to each other, which makes him feel really uncomfortable, and also brings back bad memories.

It's like he's back in elementary school, when boys picked on him for no apparent reason. They just made him feel bad about himself. He doesn't want to repeat those feelings and sensations again, so he's decided that he'll leave the club.

Alex comes up behind him and takes a seat next to him. He looks at him and notices that he's very thoughtful.

A - You ok?
L - I will no longer attend meetings with the physics club.
A - Oh.. um..

Alex thinks very carefully about what he will say before he says it.

A - I won't be attending either.

Lucas, surprised and confused, looks at him.

L - What? Why?
A - I found out what happened, and honestly it seemed really bad. Also, I wouldn't want to be at meetings if you're not there. It would be boring.

Alex:
I think that sounded very cheesy.

Lucas feels a strange sensation run through his body, and returns his gaze to the front.

L - Ok.

They both remain silent. Lucas feels a great need to vent about what happened at Christmas with his alcoholic dad. That fact affected him a lot since with his sister being present and his dad having drinks, the memory of the first days after his mom's death became present.