Andante

XIV

His phone woke him up by buzzing loudly. God, what time was it? 
It had taken him forever to get to sleep, his mind trying to make sense of all the experiences of the day, but once he'd fallen asleep he'd actually slept okay. 
All the images of yesterday came crashing back in now though, and he sighed deeply as he dug around his bed for his phone. The busking. The kiss. The sadness. Oh my God, the kiss...
Stop it! He shouted inwardly. He pushed everything away, deep down to where the sun didn't shine. Today was a new day, and he wasn't going to think of any of that anymore.
He couldn't stop the little jump his heart made though, when he saw the message was from Brett. The message was from Brett! He opened it breathlessly. 

     ¨Hey bro, wanna come to my house later and play games?¨

He couldn't help the stupid smile that spread over his face. Come on, man, get your game face on!  He chastised himself. But the smile sure wasn't fading in a hurry. 
He looked at the clock, crap, it's 12 already, mum will have my head, and quickly typed out his reply.

     ¨Absolutely! Let's do 3? I have to do homework and practice. Where do I go?¨

The answering message came almost instantly, with Brett's adress in it. Eddy hugged himself in glee. He was going to see Brett's room! 
And he was going to see Brett. A warm feeling spread in his chest as soon as he thought of him, and he shook his head. Come on man, you gotta do better than this if you want him to be your friend. He sighed deeply. He was going to go to Brett's house, he was going to play games and maybe the violin, and he would be fine. 

He quickly shoved some food down and then he put his best foot forward with his homework, and practiced the violin for more than an hour. Right. That should keep his mum happy. 

¨Mum, can I go to Brett's house to play violin and stuff?¨ he asked, as soon as he walked into the kitchen at 2:30.
His mum looked at him, her brows furrowed. 
¨Is all your homework done?¨
¨Yes, mum. And I've studied for my test.¨
¨Okay.¨, she said, her tone strict. ¨Give me the phone number before you go. I don't know his parents.¨
¨Erm, I don't have his parent's phone number¨, he stammered. ¨I'll have to ask Brett.¨
She furrowed her brows some more. 
¨I want the number as soon as you're there then, okay?¨
He wanted to sigh and roll his eyes, but he knew full well that would just result in him not being allowed out. So he just nodded. 
¨Yes mum, I will.¨
But the second he turned his back his eyes went to the heavens and back, and he was still shaking his head as he walked upstairs to get his violin and stuff. He was thirteen, for fuck's sake, not four. God. 

A few minutes later he closed the door behind him and set off for Brett's house, with his heart in his throat. You'll be okay. You'll be okay. It will be fine. He repeated the sentences in his head like some sort of sad mantra. It was hot out, but he was so nervous he felt chilly. With every step his feet seemed to want to go quicker, to take him to Brett sooner. But as he came to Brett's street he paused and stood for a moment, trying to catch his breath, which seemed to keep getting stuck in his throat. You'll be okay. It will be fine.
He willed himself to walk on and checked the number when he came to a biggish house. Yes, this was the place. Brett's house had a glass door, and there were lots of windows, all covered in the customary metal grids. The curtains behind the windows were red and patterned, and he smiled to himself. Yup. Asians lived here. 
He breathed deeply once and rang the bell, and a beaming Brett appeared within about three seconds. As soon as he saw him he felt himself relaxing with relief: Brett was looking a lot better than he had yesterday. 
Brett opened the door and gestured for him to come in.
¨Hi! Did you find it okay?¨
¨Yeah, fine! It's nice and close, huh?¨
He walked in, coming straight into the living room, and smiled again as he quickly kicked his shoes off. The house was very, very Asian. There were reclining chairs to his left and a small ornate table to his right with a piano behind it. Above the piano were pictures of Brett and someone else, he guessed it was Brett's brother.  The floor was made of the customary white tile and everything else was red and gold.  
¨Would you like some tea?¨ Brett asked. ¨My mum's in the kitchen and would like to say 'hi' as well.¨
Eddy sniggered. ¨Uhuh. My mum wants me to text her your parent's number the second I walk in here.¨
Brett laughed out loud and shook his head. 
¨Sounds about right... ¨ he said, and walked off to what Eddy guessed was the direction of the kitchen. 
¨You comin'?¨