"So, if you bitches cannot play nice and behave yourselves like civilized human beings, you're gonna have to sit somewhere else during break time."
Wendy has Megan, Alice, and Laura backed against a classroom wall, and the three girls are giving each other uneasy looks, shrinking away from her. She completely ignores the startled looks from the students milling about, returning to class after the break.
It's a really interesting scene playing off here. It's not often one sees Wendy lecturing people on manners since she is generally the one who doesn't play nice and never behaves like a civilized human being.
"What's up?" I ask, hooking an arm around her neck to hold her back in case she turns violent.
"Nothing," she grunts. "I'm just explaining to these three that Kira is your girlfriend, and they'd better stop glaring at the little wimp, or they will scare her away, and then I'll have to stomp on their asses."
Now I wish I hadn't asked because the girls are giving me horrified, embarrassed looks and freaked out, they scurry away, each to her own class. I guess it's sweet that Wendy is looking out for me, but I'm not sure it's healthy.
"Wendy..."
"What? Didn't you see them glare at your woman?" she frowns, digging her nails into my forearm to force me to let go. "They were ganging up on her."
"No, they're not friends," Burlap joins us from where he'd been talking to the guy further along the corridor. He hands each of us a toffee from the stash he almost always has somewhere on his person. "They're more likely to gang up on each other," he assures Wendy, and now she is the one doing some glaring, and he is the target. As usual, he takes it in his stride, giving her a disarming smile.
"Just whose side are you on here?" she snaps, and he winces. I don't think he knows what the side options are, but I'm not surprised to hear him say almost immediately: "Ethe's."
For once, that doesn't earn him a beating from Wendy. Burlap is always on my side, even when my side isn't one of the options... or the wrong side to be on. I wrap the arm I'd rescued from Wendy's nails around my buddy's neck, saving him from any possible torture, and throw the other arm around Wendy's shoulders, walking both of them to class.
When we finally make it to Biology, the last period for the day, after surviving Maths and English, I pull my phone from my bag and yawn, scrolling through my contacts in the messaging app. Even sitting next to the open door is not providing me with enough fresh air to stay awake. The fact that the air flowing into the classroom is hot and humid is a huge part of the problem. I need a nap.
Why the hell is the aircon not turned on?
Yeah, I had a nap over break time. A really great one, resting on Kira's shoulder, but it was too short. Shortly after we sat down, Mr Rawlings handed out some old test papers for us to work through to prepare for the exams, and then he went outside to hang out in the partial sun near the door and grab as much of the breeze as he could.
I don't blame him. He is probably as tired as I am because I hear him yawning passionately every few minutes. Many teachers have a bunch of activities to supervise or coach after school, so they take it a bit easier during their last periods of the day, giving themselves and us a break.
"Please take a quick look," I type and send the message to Kira, using my superior shorthand skills. I can see her glance at her vibrating pencil case, but she is Little Miss Diligent right now, obediently working through the test paper, ignoring my message.
Come on! It's not like Mr Rawlings is going to mark those.
"I just need an idea."
"Just a little bit."
"Kicks, don't make me come over there!" There's not much point in sending this last one since she has to actually check the messages to see that she is being threatened.
Well, it's not completely useless. Hearing the vibrations at least causes her to glance at me, and I get to give her a stern look, showing her that this is serious business, while I wave my phone to help her understand what I need her to do. She gets the message and grabs her phone from her pencil case to see what I'd sent her.
My threat causes her to roll her eyes and scoff at me cheekily. She is so friggin' cute, but I need her just to humour me this time. I know I'm not going to enjoy her message, even before my phone buzzes in my hand and I read it.
"No, I'm not violating my best friend's privacy."
What the hell?! Typing long words like violating and privacy takes forever!
"You're always violating each other's privacy," I point out, using nice abbreviations to save time. Kira should learn the art of making words shorter.
"You wear each other's clothes." Seriously, they do... even now that Deli has outgrown Kicks by several inches.
"You take baths together with your legs up against the wall while eating leftovers!"
I know that because I saw them do it... They probably thought they were alone at Kira's house... and they were... until I went over there... They didn't close the door properly, and I saw them on my way to Kira's room in search of them.
At first, I thought they'd had some kind of weird accident, and I was about to barge in and save them when I heard them laugh. It took me a while to figure out what I was seeing, and when I realised what was going on, I quickly left. How the hell was that comfortable?!
"Doesn't she show you most of their messages anyway?" There, that's the best point of them all. Deli and Kicks don't have any secrets from each other. They always use each other's phones to send messages and take pictures, and I've often heard Kira begging my sister to spare her the details.
They're like one organism with two bodies... one of which is my twin sister...
No, that makes everything a bit weird because if Kicks and Deli are one organism and I'm the twin of one half of that organism, then I'm probably... uhm... something...
I've lost the trail now.
It was going somewhere weird anyway, so I don't care; besides, Kira is looking at me with a deep frown. I lift my eyebrows and grin at her, daring her to deny any of the seriously insightful things I've just messaged her. The little brat drags her schoolbag onto her desk, opens the lid and holds her phone in the air, before she drops it into her bag and returns it to the floor beside her.
Fine! Challenge accepted, Kira Croft!
I noisily tear a page from my notebook, and using my best first-grade handwriting skills (I had terrible handwriting in first grade), I write Kira a lovely detailed note: "JUST A PEEK!" At first, I plan to fold the note into an aeroplane and make it fly to her, but there is a much better way to irritate her.
I pass the note to the guy behind him and tell him to pass it to the guy behind him, and then I sit back and watch as the note gets passed back and forth – sometimes under my directions - until it lands on Lara's desk. She sits in front of Kira and loves to think she is the secretary of the World Disciplinary Committee. Lara glances at what I wrote on the back of the folded note, "Lara, please give this to Kira. Thanks. Ethan." and turns her head to frown at me.
It was hard work to keep the note on track along the route that would irritate Kira the most. I'm really proud of my achievement. I give Lara one of my best smiles to show her how much I appreciate her cooperation, and when her frown melts away, I sit back to watch the show.
Lara helpfully turns around and drops the note on Kira's desk, giving her a withering look that makes me somewhat regret my actions. "Seriously, school is almost out. Can't you and lover boy just do without each other for a few minutes?"
No, we can't!
I like that I am Lover Boy and that Kira is the other half of the equation.
Uh-oh! I can see on Kira's face that she is about to annihilate Lara. Kicks is a peaceful, sweet human being, but she's pretty good at sarcasm, and if someone really makes her mad, she can snap at them and cut them down fast and effectively. She hates doing it, though, and always ends up feeling bad about it.
"Thank you for all the hard work you're always doing to keep us weak, lusty mortals in line, Lara. I feel chastised and humbled now. Good job," she says sweetly, causing a ripple of soft laughter to run through the class.
"Keep it down in there," Mr Rawlings grumbles, popping his head around the door jamb long enough to tell us before he's gone again, back to soaking up rays.
I'm floating on a blissful cloud right now! Kira called herself weak and lusty, and that makes me really happy. It sounds promising, and I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who fits that description.
Kira is biting her lip, already regretting her retaliation... and now she's glaring at me! I didn't tell her to make a speech. It was funny, though and I cannot help chuckling, even if she's glaring at me. At least she's opening my note.
Maybe she doesn't understand what I wrote because she is frowning at me, shaking her head, so I tear another page from my notebook and start writing another note. Grinning happily, I see her gesturing at me that she's surrendering. She drags her phone from her bag again and leans over to my sister's desk to ask her for her phone, which Deli hands over without even looking up from the paper she is working on.
Ah, Deli! She works so hard. Maybe I should take notes too, and not just bum hers off her. No, wait, that will destroy the natural order of the world. Deli likes using me as a studying prop by telling me all about whatever we're writing about. That way, I get to hear and understand it, and she gets to memorise it.
It's been working well for almost 12 years now. Next year is going to be a challenge because I'll be studying Engineering, and Deli will be studying art. I don't think we'll be able to study together anymore. Biology will not really help me much next year, but I still try to at least answer some of the questions in the test, happy to be interrupted by a text from Kira when it finally buzzes its way into my phone.
What the hell is this supposed to be? She sent me a screenshot of a conversation between Delia and Simon, and now I'm a little depressed.
Simon: "Good morning, Babes. Did you dream of me?"
Delia: "Always." Followed by about one million emojis consisting of hearts and kisses. I'm a little nauseous now.
Delia (sometime later): "How was the test?"
Simon: "Not too bad. I'll probably pass."
Delia: "You're being modest again; my Simon aces everything he does."
Simon: "I'll meet you at your gate later when you're ready to go to town." Emoji, emoji, emoji. I am cringing so hard that I might actually die.
Delia: "I cannot wait to hang out with you."
Simon: "The sun streaming through the window is painting halos around people's heads, reminding me of your golden hair and your angelic smile. I miss you like crazy!"
I was wrong, I wasn't cringing that hard before... I am now! What the hell did I just read?!
I lower my phone and turn to frown at Kira. How is this supposed to help? She is giggling, shrugging at me, being extremely cheeky again. The little minx knew I was going to hate these!
I turn my attention back to the phone screen and re-read Simon's drivel. Is this a poem or something? Well, okay, I said I wanted to learn. So...
"Strange noises are streaming through the open door," I type and send my first line... great, now what? Uhm...
"It might be some kind of bird." Oh, yay! I've always wanted to be a friggin' poet!
"It could also just be Mr R farting." Now, that's more like it!
"It makes me think that this is bullshit!"
"We need new mentors," I inform Kira in my next message.
"Those two are too f#cking boring!"
They really are. I'm about as inspired by this garbage as I am by the reproduction system of flowering plants I was trying to answer questions about just now. No, I'm lying; the plant reproduction was more exciting.
"I'm stealing Lurch's phone." I let Kicks know, sure that Lurch and Tonia will have way more tips for us to work from than describing hair halos and peppering each other with a flood of emojis. I don't think Kira is on board with this idea; she looks horrified, clearly not liking my brilliant plan.
"He is not a mentor; he is a dementor!" Kira can be so dramatic; how is Lurch a dementor? The guy is pure sunshine and fun! I grin at her, shaking my head, but she still gives me a disgusted look. I'm starting to feel a little insulted now.
The bell finally rings, releasing us from this day of heat and exhaustion, and I sweep everything off my desk and into my bag. Some of it might be garbage left there by a previous kid, but I'll sort it out at home. I need to get out of this smelly classroom, breathe some fresh air, and catch some of that breeze our teacher was enjoying.
The son is burning down aggressively, and Kira's bag weighs about twice as much as it did this morning now that she has all her books in there. How does she stand it? I should teach her the art of packing only what is really needed. I'll bet that half her bookcase is in here. She doesn't need books on bugs and cloud formations when she's at school. I urgently need to get home and take a shower; I'm about to melt.
"Ethan, let me take my bag," Kira says when we leave the school grounds and start walking towards home. She gives me a sympathetic look, and though it feels good to see her concern for me, I dodge when she tries to pull it off my shoulder.
"A deal is a deal, Kicks," I remind her, and there's no way I'm ever letting her carry this loaded coffin around with her anymore. "You made me a pretty awesome lunch. I'm carrying this bag. It's not that heavy." She made sandwiches with leftover meat and salads from yesterday's lunch, just the way I like it.
Having a bag on each shoulder and holding Kira's hand is slightly challenging, but I'm happy to do it. She drops my hand when we finally reach her home, and when Delia says goodbye and enters our yard, Kira looks surprised when I hold onto her bag and follow her into her yard instead of joining my sister.
"We should follow them," I tell her when we're finally in their kitchen, and I can put her bag on the seat of a chair at the kitchen table and drop my own on the floor while she turns on the air conditioning.
Relieved of my burdens, I fetch the jug of ice-cold homemade lemonade from the refrigerator. Kira makes a new batch almost every night, and it is seriously refreshing.
"What?′ she frowns, taking two glasses from a cabinet and placing them on the tabletop. I would happily drink from the jug, but I guess I have to be slightly civilized sometimes.
"We could follow Lurch and Tonia around instead," I suggest, "but I get the impression that you wouldn't be keen on doing that."
"Ethan, we're not stalking your sister!" she exclaims, horrified. "It's bad enough that I scanned her messages!"
"Why not?" Seriously? What is her problem? I'm not going to spy on my sister doing weird stuff; I just want to see how they handle normal dating things because Kira and I are both clueless, and I want to do this right and not screw it up. "They're our mentors; they need to set us some good examples to follow."
"Oh," she smirks. "I didn't know they signed up for that."
"You want to make a spreadsheet for them too?" I grin, giving her a teasing look and blushing, she presses her lips together, narrows her eyes and takes the glass of lemonade I hand her
"You act as though you've never dated anyone before," she says, glaring at me. "You've had many, many, many girlfriends."
"Yes, and look how that turned out," I shrug, drain my glass and pour myself another. The icy, tangy sweetness is hitting the spot, and I almost feel human again. She's wrong; I haven't had many girlfriends; I've just hung out with many girls. There were no feelings or relationship-building involved.
"Isn't Simon the perfect, most amazing boy, God's most ideal gift to women ever born?" I mumble, still a little irritated by that revelation.
"Are you jealous?" she teases, and I put the flask down, startled to see a few drops splashing onto the tabletop. I didn't mean to be that rough.
"Obviously!" I snap, and now it's my turn to glare for a change. "I've been called the opposite of that... many times... by you!"
I'm glad to see Kira's expression soften, a slight smile touching her lips.
"If it makes you feel any better, I've never called Simon any of those cringy things you just mentioned. Those were Delia's words."
Well, that sounds a bit better. I might not have to launch Simon to the moon after all. I'm glad because I like the guy.
"Come on, it will be fun," I coax, raising my refilled glass to my lips. "We'll just follow them a little bit. If things become weird, we'll leave."
"Dude," Kira laughs. "Things have been weird since Friday!"
I down my second glass of lemonade, put the glass on the table and step closer to Kira until I'm standing right in front of her and she looks up into my eyes, swallowing a little nervously.
"Maybe," I grin, running my eyes over her flushed face. "But it's been fun, hasn't it?"
I think I know exactly how many small freckles she has, like tiny sprinkles on her nose and how many golden flecks there are in her hazel-green eyes. I don't think I'll ever tire of looking at her face.
She doesn't answer; she just blinks, her eyes widening and her lips parting, and without thinking about it, I take her ponytail and tug it, causing her to gasp in surprise. Her face is at the perfect angle for me to kiss her now... and I do, enjoying the sweetness of the lemonade on her cool lips.
I try not to break any of her rules, but it is really hard when her lips are so soft, and she tastes so good. I have to let her go after what I think might've been three seconds, and I hurry to grab my schoolbag so I don't grab her instead.
"I'll call you when it's time to go," I smile, hoisting the bag onto my shoulder, wondering why Kira is just standing there, staring at me with wide, blinking eyes. I'm not even sure she's breathing.
It's safer to just go home for now or I might kiss her again, so I hurry out of their kitchen, closing the door behind me.
♂♀