"And here is school again " sighed to himself Phoenix. That morning the holidays were over and, backpacking, after having prepared breakfast he was heading towards school, with big blue eyes ready to intercept his friend and partner Larry . Phoenix stopped at the corner of the school waiting for his late friend. I mean, not that he was always on time but Larry was just a lost case. In a bad mood for being late, he almost buried his head in his backpack, looking for his cell phone.
~~~~
Miles Edgeworth was a tall, thin, diaphanous teenager with long fair hair. He carried on him the weight of a past that marked him, and that of a surname bigger than himself. He was seventeen and had a perpetually sulky expression. He did not like school, because he appreciated solitude and silence, which were just the opposite of school, noisy and full of too intrusive people. His adoptive little sister Franziska, fourteen years old and a little shorter than him, thin as a fairy, seemed to be scrutinizing everyone with alert ... and suspicious eyes. If Ziska had been any other kind of girl, Miles would have had to worry a lot more about her, but he knew her sister was perfectly capable of getting by on her own. -I don't like the idea that this school is publish. Wouldn't it have been better to go to a private one? - Franziska complained. - Don't you think Miles? It would have been much more prestigious ...- He didn't answer. There was only one reason both would have preferred to go to boarding school, and it was certainly not the prestige, but the privilege of spending as little time as possible in the company of their tyrannical father. Or, in the case of Miles, stepfather.
-We'll manage anyway- he told her, trying to give her confidence with a look. Troubled, he suddenly thought he glimpsed a crest of dark hair in the crowd. A blow to the heart pierced him. Fate could not have led him to him. It was impossible... The boy was also looking in his direction. Miles forced his hands into his pockets. Among so many schools, did it have to happen to him? He didn't want to see anyone who could remind him of the past. Miles waved goodbye to her sister in front of the group of her future companions: she would get away with it. He ran into the hall, ready to find his classroom. He had just moved to spend the three years in that new school, with a more particular address. He would study law and economics, according to his inclinations and the dictates of his stepfather.
~~~~
-Nick! -Phoenix was shaken by a powerful blow on his shoulder. When he stood up, he noticed Larry's grin -You're late! -He said resentfully
-And you are hurting me! -
-Ugh, how much you complain! - Larry retorted.
- Are we going in or not? -
and they set off without waiting for an answer
-Hey, wait for me!- He ran after him, snorting. He and Larry weren't going to take the same course this year
-I recommend Larry, don't be silly! - he teased him
-And you don't be too wise- he replied as they headed for the classrooms.
-See you Nick! -he said giving him a loud pat on the shoulder
-You're too abusive! - Phoenix scolded him. Not far away, a recalcitrant Miles slowed his pace until he came to a complete stop. He wanted to let all the other students pass and enter last. He wanted no one to notice.
But when Larry walked away, Phoenix looked up and saw him. Was it really his face or was it just a very similar person? Only the appeal would have removed the doubt so, discreetly, he went to the courtroom Miles, on the other hand, had no doubt.
It was him.
He was sure of it, as if someone had revealed it to him. He entered with his head held high and with a lost look, occupying the only free seat: in front of everyone, in a single desk. Phoenix found himself staring at the back of his head thoughtfully as his new companions were already trying to strike up a button. He exchanged a few distracted comments with them as his thoughts raced. He watched the boy who looked awfully like his childhood friend pull out his notebooks, ordering two pens and two pencils with maniacal precision.
He was nervous, very nervous. He involuntarily recognized his precise movements, certainly amplified by his difficult adolescence. He was about to get up and talk to him, now practically certain it was him, when the professor entered the classroom. The professor was tall and thin, with short gray hair. He quickly spotted the new student. -Edgeworth, right? Welcome to our class- he said, with a gentle gesture of the head.
"Thank you," he said politely. Phoenix's eyes widened and she felt herself sinking when his certainties were confirmed. After so many years he is there, again in the same class with Miles Edgeworth. The man smiled at him.
-Let's make the roll call- he said. And when he came to the name of Phoenix, Miles didn't turn around. He listened to his voice as he said "present!" but he didn't turn around.
Phoenix was upset, and he put his clasped hands in front of his face. Was it possible he had forgotten about him to the point where he didn't even turn around?
He didn't have much time to think about it right away. The professor started explaining the program of the year and, if he wanted to achieve his goal, he just couldn't get distracted. So he opened a notebook and started taking notes.
Miles kept his gaze fixed on the notebook. It was impenetrable, cold as ice.
For a moment Phoenix forgot who he had in class, how many people were with him, even where he was. If there was one thing everyone knew it was that Phoenix Wright was a very big stubborn one, and if he had one thing in mind, he wouldn't stop until he reached it.
Miles often knew the answers. It was something that relaxed him, knowing things. He took away the hindrance and discomfort. The professors were impressed by him, by his culture. But he had an icy, set quality. And when he was agitated he got even colder. But inside him everything was shaking.
~~~
Time passed, as slow as molasses, when suddenly the bell rang. And like a river that breaks the dam, Phoenix's thoughts came back to crowd his mind and his eyes darted over his lost companion.
Miles was not the type to stay in class during recess. Then, at the sound of the bell, he grabbed his stuff and sprinted out of the classroom with long feline strides.
- Shit ... - he swore under his breath and, taking leave of his surprised companions and apologizing, followed him down the corridor while the other was looking for a quiet place to rest and eat a snack. He just wanted to be alone.
"Miles!" He braced himself and called out to him.
The boy stopped, even though he knew he shouldn't have. His feet stopped for him, but he didn't turn around.
He approached quickly, taking advantage of the greedy opportunity
-Miles! -He joined him after a few seconds.
He just turned to look at him.
-It's you,- he said. It wasn't a question.
He stopped several paces away
-and you are you- he echoed.
He crossed his arms. "Now that you have ascertained my identity, do you expect a nice hug of reconciliation?" He asked him coldly.
He straightened up, angered by the comment. He wasn't the only one who changed those years. He straightened up, digging his hands into his pockets.
-You are going to slip into the area where the bullies turn. But if you want to get hit, go ahead-pretended nonchalance and put aside the complicated tangle of his feelings. He would analyze it later.
He instinctively turned towards the deepest part of the corridor, towards the courtyard.
-I meant to stop here- he explained, without thanking.
By now, when he spoke, only poison came out of his lips. He couldn't be kind. Yet he should have, he was an old friend of his, and he was helping him ...
Phoenix raised his hands.
-Sure sure, I had no doubts. After all, if the infallible Miles Edgeworth-
He didn't have the courage to look at it.
-Not infallible ... I have to be perfect. You know, it's ... the motto of my new family- he explained. And then it seemed like a ridiculous thing to say, and he shrugged.
"Hey, tell me, is that pooper always your friend?" he asked him, nastily.
Phoenix glared at him. It wasn't the Miles he remembered at all.
-He was also your friend once! -
His jaw took a stiff line.
-I am no longer the person you remember, Wright.- he said coldly. -We were in the fifth grade, now we are seventeen, you cannot think ...-
-Yes, I see it- he answered more and more icy.
-But this doesn't give you permission to treat people with this disdain. We didn't do anything to you, Edgeworth-
- Stay away from me, ok? It's better for everyone.-
Yet, for some reason, saying those things was hurting him first.
Phoenix was regretting following him. There was no point in talking to him.
-Well, do as you want. But don't complain if you get in trouble later - and he turned his back on him, hunched and angry, walking back to the courtroom.
Miles didn't look at him, but listened to his retreating footsteps. How many years had he wanted to hear those impetuous footsteps again, that unique and overwhelming gait? Phoenix hadn't changed, yet seeing those blue eyes filled him with shame. He no longer made himself heard, he no longer called, no longer had ...
"Sorry Phoenix ... I missed you" he wanted to tell him. But they were words he could no longer say.
Miles had never been easy or outgoing but Phoenix had dreamed of a somewhat different reunion. A hug would have been exaggerated, okay, but at least a look of sympathy, of recognition, he had expected it. He had thought about him for so long in all those years of absence that he could no longer distinguish whether what he felt for him was friendship or a sublimated memory.
But there was no room for feelings with the person he had left in the hall. There was no room for anything.
Miles stood with his back against the wall, contemplating the silence. It was what he did best. He pulled the snack out of his backpack, discovering that he had no desire to eat it. He didn't make sense to eat, even though no one would slap him until he cried because he was making noises while swallowing, or if he was grimacing because he didn't like it. Eating had become a nightmare anyway, because he reminded him of all those things. He wanted to throw the whole sandwich in the dustbin, but then he thought about opening the window and leaving it on the windowsill for the birds.
Phoenix would have liked this gesture, he found himself thinking. But he didn't want to think about him. That boy belonged to the past, to another life that Miles didn't want to remember.