"But where are we going Xav Bro?" Jonas asked for the hundredth time as we settled in the car.
And for the hundredth time, Kelvin didn't answer.
I had dropped Bruno at Mrs. Arabella's house as always. She said she loved spending time with him, so I was glad to let him enjoy her company.
Kelvin drove through the busy city roads at first, after which the paths changed to a serene, undisturbed one.
"Wait, are we going there?" Jonas spoke with such zeal as if he had just cracked the world's biggest mystery.
I didn't understand what he meant by 'there' though.
"Yes, we are," Kelvin replied. "Now shush, mouth zipped."
"Where where?" I demanded. "Tell me too!"
Jonas put a finger over his mouth with a chuckle, indicating that he had it zipped.
The surprise was revealed a few minutes later when we finally halted in front of an aesthetic single-storey building with an oversized signboard that read "Bull's Eye Dart Shooting Club."
"We're going to shoot?" I asked, almost jumping from my seat.
"With a dart gun, yes," Kelvin replied. "You're not allowed to use a real gun."
"I love this place," Jonas remarked.
The interior of the building was even more exquisite than the exterior. Dart boards lined across the walls, with curious shooters aiming at them from the opposite end.
"Xaviers!" a voice called out from a corner.
A man in flawless chocolate skin tramped towards us and dabbed Kelvin on the back as he approached.
"Sir," Kelvin smiled.
"Ah no formalities from my all-time favourite student at least!" the man said in a merry tone.
Kelvin exchanged a short conversation with him, seeking permission for me to practice.
"Well, amateurs normally require completing a lot of formalities and paying and what not to practice here, but since you've brought someone, the field is all yours. I'll handle the rest," commented the person whom I assumed to be Kelvin's teacher.
"Thank you, Eric," Kelvin beamed, exchanging a handshake with him.
"The best gun's out there," Eric winked, pointing towards a corner where dart guns were neatly arranged on top of a table.
He made his way past us to attend the other shooters in the club.
"Are you a member too?" I asked Jonas as we walked towards the table.
"Nope, I'll be legal for it after two more years. Currently enjoying perks of being Xav Bro's special guest," he chuckled.
"Jonas," Kelvin called, offering a dart gun to him.
"Me?" Jonas asked.
"Yep, you aim first."
Jonas grabbed the gun with keenness and took his position right opposite to one of the dart boards. He took a while to adjust the aim and then fired. Once, twice, and thrice.
All the darts were precise, just a bit off-center though. Missed the bull's eye just by inches, all three of them.
"Impressive," Kelvin praised, patting him on the shoulder.
Jonas grinned as he squeaked, "Xav Bro, now you!"
Kelvin reloaded the gun with new darts as he now occupied June's former position. He seemed so confident about it that he didn't even bother adjusting the focus. He aimed at one go, closed one eye, and fired. One, twice, thrice. There was no pause.
I watched in awe as all three of the darts directly hit the bull's eye. Not a single miss.
"Xav Bro never misses it," Jonas remarked. "I love watching him do it."
Me too. He was too talented in too many things.
"How was it?" Kelvin asked, coming towards me.
"Too good," I whispered.
He looked at the gun as he smiled before handing me a reloaded one. He looked really cute when he smiled looking down like that.
"Try it," he encouraged.
My hands were shaking as I took the gun from him. I had always dreamt of doing something like this.
I positioned myself in an awkward way, not sure how to do it. I tried to follow the way Kelvin and Jonas had done it, with little success though. My first dart didn't even hit the board. The next two hit two different corners of the board. Well, at least they touched the board.
"Let me show," Kelvin muttered, coming next to me with a new gun.
He placed his right hand on top of mine as I grabbed the new gun, in order to fix the aim. He was now standing behind me, his chest pressed against my back and face pressed against my right ear. He placed the other hand under my left elbow.
"Don't shake," he whispered in my ears.
I was already shaking from the nervousness, and it had doubled now that he was standing so close. Nevertheless, I tried my best to calm my erratic heart and stay still.
"Close one eye."
I closed my left eye and made sure my right eye was directly on the target. My index finger was over the trigger now, his grip still fixed.
"Shoot," he directed.
BANG. The dart hit the board just millimeters from the bull's eye. Thanks to him, of course.
"Again," he whispered, this time taking away his hands.
BANG. This time it was somewhere near June's hits.
"Last one."
This time he had completely stepped back.
BANG. This one was a bit further from the last one.
"You are learning," Kelvin commented with a smile.
"Well done Amy!" Jonas complimented, patting me on the shoulder.
"I'll hang around with Eric for some time by the lawn," Kelvin informed. "You two can practice in the meanwhile."
"Seems like you had a good time," Jonas teased after Kelvin had left.
I smacked him by the elbow as a response to which he produced a little 'Ouch'.
"Like wow, you two openly go on with your romance in front of me, and I get smacked if I say anything. How unfair is that," he complained.
I giggled as I gently rubbed the place where I had smacked him, in order to cool him down.
"Competition," he announced, placing a gun in my hand.
We had three rounds of it. Well, Jonas was better of course. At least I was almost near him on my first day, so that felt like an achievement.
Jonas encountered one of his friends after a while, so he got engaged in talking. I was getting bored, so I said that I'll go and have a walk in the lawn.
I found Kelvin sitting with Eric on a bench in the lawn. There was something in their hands. I couldn't apprehend what it was at first, but it became clearer when I got closer. It was a pipe. A tobacco pipe.
Eric left just a few seconds later when an acquaintance called him. I watched Kelvin as he smoked from the pipe afterward. So that's why he always kept a lighter in his pocket. I never knew he smoked.
I dashed towards him instantly and almost busted out in annoyance.
"Kelvin, you smoke?" I demanded.
He was stupefied by my sudden reaction.
"Hmmm," he responded. "Sherlock Holmes does too."
He intended to put that pipe into his mouth once again, but I seized it from his hand before that.
"Smoking kills," I warned.
"Bullets-" he began, but I cut him out in the middle.
"Oh yes, I know. The same dialogue again," I snapped. "Bullets couldn't do anything to you, so now you think you're invincible or something."
He remained quiet at my comeback. I slumped down beside him on the bench, waiting for him to respond.
"So, do you drink too?" I asked when he didn't make any response.
It strangely mattered to me a lot more than it should.
"How on earth does my smoking make you think that I drink too?" he asked with raised eyebrows.
I felt silly when I realized that it was actually illogical.
"I hate losing control over myself," he explained. "You blurt out stuff you regret later."
"Does that mean you regret getting drunk on your birthday night?" I questioned in wonder.
He might be regretting dancing with me that night and saying things he wouldn't say otherwise, who knows.
"Do I?" he turned his face in another direction to conceal a smile. "Well, that would be an exception."
I smiled subconsciously.
"Now give me back my pipe," he demanded.
"Nope, you're not smoking anymore," I stated sharply.
"And why's that?" he asked.
"You're killing yourself with it."
"Who cares? I don't," he shrugged.
"Someone else does," I replied.
He stared at me for a while, as if trying to perceive if I was talking about myself.
I don't know what got into my mind, but I hurled his pipe, and it fell somewhere amidst the dense grass. I was aware that a serious blow was about to come now, but I didn't care.
"You just did not-"
"Yes I did," I highlighted, answering his fragmented question which he couldn't complete due to the loss of words at the unexpectedness of my action.
He stared at me once again in great awe.
"You know, Jonas wanted to do that for two years but never got the audacity to do so."
"Great then, I did his part."
"You're stubborn," he commented.
"Yes, I am," I replied.
"Just like me," he chuckled, looking down at his feet like he always did.
He called me stubborn like him.
I recalled June's words about the compatible match. So, was that it?
I was ready to be stubborn as long as he didn't quit smoking.
Well, he never picked up the pipe from the grass.
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