Drowning In Color | ✔️

Chapter Thirteen

Luka always had a focused face whenever he read books. In a way, it's endearing, but it also felt lonely that he's ignoring me while doing so.

"Hey Luka," I called for his attention. "Why don't you play video games? Why are you always into books and stuff?" He looked at me confusingly, then back to his book. Great, Violetta. Was that an offensive or dumb question? Why do you care so much about why other people have to be different from you?

He hummed in thought. "My mom doesn't really have as much money as yours to buy us consoles and a HD TV in my room." Wow. Way to sound more arrogant than I deserve to be. "Books are cheaper in that sense. Plus, I get a discount for them at work."

I suppose that's true. You don't need a specific system to read books as compared to playing most games, which requires, at the very least, great specs on a computer. Wait, wait a sec.

Luka has a job? He's never told me about it before. Then again, when have I ever had any interest in his life or reason to ask prior to this? I thought about what it could be. Most people around our age start off as a waiter or store clerk. But based on the fact that he gets discounts for books, it's probably in a bookstore or library.

"Well, I'm sorry for being such a lap dog," I mumbled, though I didn't think he caught me saying that. Just then, I heard a car pull over to our house. I rushed to the window to check it. To my non-surprise, it was my parents'. "Shit. Luka, hide!"

I looked for hiding spots around and settled for the wardrobe. I opened it and gestured him to stay inside. He sauntered over, not taking me seriously, even though I was in an extreme panic. I grabbed a flashlight so that he could read his book while in there, and begged for him to stay quiet.

"Whoa. Cute panties you have here." I kicked the door to silence him. And to scare him off of doing anything weird in there. Meanwhile, I positioned myself lying back on the bed, pretending to keep playing my game. But I couldn't get myself to actually proceed from the main menu screen.

The door knocked with a pattern. "Come in," I granted access. It was then that I thought, "Shit. That's more polite than I've been in the past few weeks. Totally not suspicious."

Dad came in and sat on the bed with me. I sat upright, my legs crossed. He reconfirmed that I had been staying at home, to which I nodded. It wasn't a lie, so I wasn't hiding anything (much). He seemed to have calmed down since the other night and was more willing to talk.

"Now tell me, who is that boy you've been talking to?" he asked gently, yet firmly. I thought about it. There's the fact that I didn't want to say anything that would get myself into more trouble. And that it's awkward knowing Luka's still around.

I explained that since we were the only ones without a partner, we were kind of forcibly stuck together. I mean, I definitely could do it alone, but it wouldn't turn out as great. Besides, Luka seemed assured about the materials, so it wasn't a bad fit for me.

Dad then questioned if I had any feelings for him. That's when things started to get a bit more complicated. "He's nothing more than a classmate, Dad. Don't worry," I lied. At that point of time, I was starting to have a little crush on him. But that obviously wasn't the right answer when it comes to Dad.

He nodded and seemed more relaxed. In any case, he continued ridiculing my outfit and hair. Saying that they were the colors of a depressed person, to which I wasn't. And then he asked if it was because of Luka that I started changing myself. I reaffirmed Mom's words, that it was just a stupid trend that teens have, and nothing he had to worry about.

"If anything, I'm just dressed like this so that he'll help me with school. I can always change back when I'm done, I said convincingly. Dad nodded, seeming more relieved than before. He told me that he's letting me off the hook and asked me to continue playing my games, then left.

I locked the door and opened the wardrobe to release Luka from my trap. But he didn't seem to want to come out. I thought that he was stuck within my pile of clothes, but he growled at me to leave me alone. Was he mad at me for saying all those things? I apologized, saying that I meant none of that. And then he accused me of lying this time.

"Fucking shit, Violetta. You see me as some kind of joke," he kept putting himself down, stomping the wall of the wardrobe. "Stupid Luka, eh? She doesn't like you. This is what you get for forcing yourself on someone who doesn't give a shit about how you feel."

I told him that his thoughts weren't true. If anything, he was the only friend I had left. He was the only person who remotely cared about me anymore. I helped him come back out and we just sat around in silence. There was no way for him to get out of my house without getting caught, so we waited till night, when my parents had gone to bed.

As he put on his headphone and read his book, I read a snippet of the page. It was a truly romantic scene-the kind you find in any generic chicklit. Is this guy for real? Fuck, no, Violetta. This isn't the time to question his tastes.

Luka's expression was different. It didn't fit the scene at all. And I highly doubt it's because of the characters. I hugged him around his shoulders, hoping to cheer him up. He simply unwrapped and tossed them away. Great, he's just that pissed.

"See you in school tomorrow?" I waved to him as he stormed off to his house, completely ignoring me. On purpose, I bet. Well, if he's gonna keep up that attitude, he's just gonna have a sour day when we see each other again. Plus, he can't stop me from bugging him when I sit directly in front of him.

The next morning, I watched as Luka got onto his bike and exited the garage. I greeted him as he was passing by. But instead of a 'good morning', I almost got my guts splattered as he drove past, nearby running me over. Seemingly without regrets as well. "Well, fuck you too," I muttered.

I saw his same old bike parked at the same old spot. As I entered the class, I immediately realized that he was avoiding eye contact with me. Come on, dude. You're blowing your one chance in having a friend. Then again, I guess it's me who did it first.

"Luka, look. What happened last ni-"

He gestured for me to be quiet, with his forefinger placed in front of his mouth. True enough, that was when the teacher arrived, so I turned around to open my textbook. This time, following the rest of the class to flip to the correct page.

Mr Johnson's presence was enough to put most of us in fear. The only person who had no reason to be afraid was his one and only prodigy, Luka. Quiet enough to not disturb the lesson, but loud enough for me to hear, Luka's headphones played a rageful song. Though the specific lyrics were too muffled for me to hear.

The class assignment for the day was to write a simple poem about any subject we wanted. I looked around to find students struggling to find a topic to begin with. I thought I'd just write about sweets and candies and look up online for rhyme words. Still, I was curious about what Luka was writing about behind me, so I turned around.

On his table was a plain sheet of paper. Covering it was his pencil case. Just a plain, navy blue case you'd get from a thrift store. I reached out my hand, trying to move it so that I could see what's on the other side, when I noticed him shooting arrows at my eyes. If only they were cupid ones. I spun around, knowing that I should back off before I piss him off even further.

Mid class, Mr Johnson called for a volunteer to present their work to the class. Seeing as nobody did, he pointed to and called me to emerge from my den. Of course he did. I frantically rushed to finish my poem, when I realized that I could just pretend to be a few lines short.

My hands shook as I gulped. The other students were staring at me. Some mocking about me being a coward. Well, fuck those guys. They weren't so brave themselves either.

"Mr Johnson, I wish to present my poem," a voice called from behind me.

Luka?

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An alternative to the phrase 'when pigs fly' should be 'when emo guy volunteers in class'. Is Luka the hero that Violetta needs? Or will he be the one to bring her down? Find out in the next episode of Drowning In Color >vO