BOYS OF SUBURBIA [boy x boy] [Wattys 2018]

✗ FOURTY-FIVE ✗

His neighbourhood actually looked kind of interesting, if not depressing, when you stopped to see the overgrown lawns and the loose shingles on the rooftops instead of a blur through the dim light of a lamp post in your peripheral. If Sebastian was a poetic kind of guy, he might say the same thing about Niko. When you stopped and notice something for what it was, paid attention to detail and saw it in a different light, it gets much more intriguing.

Mamounia was a mausoleum of dimly lit rooms, black and white tiles, flavoured shisha, candle-light tables, their glass stained windows foggy with streaks of raindrops running down the glass, purple orchids sprouting out of black marble vases, creating a small, intimate and trendy affair for those who could afford it. He spotted Arissa sitting inside by the far corner, stabbing into her salad and plopping endives into her mouth as a plastic tube connected to her shisha was resting gingerly next to her delicate cup of black coffee.

It's been a few months since he first saw Arissa but she was still beautiful. Dark hair scrunched up in a loose top-knot with a few strands pulled up to frame her face, wild dark eyes and pasty olive skin. Tucked into a thick, bohemian scarf and a puffy jacket, Arissa seemed to look swallowed up in clothes as she twirled rocket leaves and feta cheese together. Her head tilted upwards and her gaze landed on him when she heard a door being pushed open, brightening up when she realized it was.

"Hey," she said, almost awkwardly when he took the seat opposite of him. It felt so weird after everything that happened. The tone of their interactions shifted drastically after that night.

"Hey," he greeted, "So...what's the problem?"

"Order something first," she recommended. He seemed hesitant. Mamounia wasn't cheap. "I'll pay, Bash."

So he did. A Heineken in a cold frosted glass and a fancy beef Reuben sandwich. He wasn't that hungry but he wanted something to do other than endure painful, awkward silences. When the waitress had finished jotting down his order and skipped off to the kitchen, Arissa took it upon herself to start a conversation.

"So..." she trailed off, "How have you been?"

"Good. You?"

He began to notice slight fractures in her appearance. Something about her seemed different from the girl he knew before. She had lost a lot of weight. Her cheekbones protruded out so sharply, it's angular shape was sharp enough to carve marble and her clavicle stuck out from her skin like white cloth stitched across tent poles. Her long sleeves covered them but when they rolled up a little, revealing skin on her wrists, he noticed injection marks. Her dark eyes circles were larger than his own social circles, covered under patchy Lancome foundation. Good," she swallowed, sipping her coffee. "My IGSCEs results came."

"Oh, yeah, same."

"How did you go?" He inquired lightly. A smile bequeathed Arissa's face. First one in ages.

"Pretty good- that was what I came to talk to you about, actually." She straightened up a little. His sandwich and coffee arrived, plopped in front of him. "My dad was happy with what I got. Enough to make the cut for A-Levels at Saintsbury."

Saintsbury Prep was an all-girls, super posh and super expensive school that she and Denise attended. It was like a female version of Eton, pretty much.

"Wow," he said, feeling his stomach droop at the state of his own grades. "That's- that's fantastic."

"But I'm not staying."

"Wait, why?"

"Well, I'm...moving."

"What- what do you mean?"

She fidgeted with the handle of her mug, "It's...uh...my dad wants me to be in Canada."

He nearly spat out his beer. "Canada?"

"I know it's far," she began to explain, "But...my dad, he, uh, one of his brothers are in Canada and I, uh, I think that'd be good for me. He saw what happened to Denise- it was a big scandal and all, you know. Plenty of parents are pulling out their kids...and he thinks being in that environment will 'cultivate' a drug problem," Her lips curled sarcastically. "The good thing is...I kind of want to go. I'll finally get out of here, especially, y'know, after everything that happened." Denise.

"I see." Did he?

"You understand, right?" Her eyes pleaded with him to nod.

"Yeah...why can't you just finish your A Levels here, though? Do you really want to go with what your Dad wants? Another boarding school in another country?"

She sighed. "I know it'd be easier to do it here but...it'd be cool to go to Canada, experience things for myself, move on from..."

"I know." His hand shot out to squeeze hers. She flinched at the contact. "But it's just so sudden."

She laughed morosely, "I know, I know but I think it'd be good for me. I haven't accepted yet but I'm going to. I'm just letting you know...since you are my friend."

"If that's what you want." He bit into his sandwich and swirled the salty, stale taste in his mouth to make himself feel better. Arissa was leaving. He didn't know what to do with that. He didn't know how to feel about that.

"Thanks," Arissa said, "I knew you understand."

-

am i subtly hitting a potential arissa story? mAYBE

anyway, please vote, comment and tell me what you think!