“What makes you think that?” I ask self-consciously.
“Because you’re my brother and I know you like the back of my hand. Speaking of which, why aren’t you out there chatting with that little crush of yours?”
“It’s complicated. It’s not like we’re a couple or anything. At least I don't think so but–”
“Yep, okay you can spare me the details. Go enjoy yourself out there and relax a bit,” he cuts me off before I can tell him anything more about my rollercoaster of a love life.
“This is so embarrassing,” I groan. “Goodbye, Hector.”
“Bye-bye, lover boy,” he makes kissing sounds as I hang the phone. I slide my phone into my pocket, shaking my head. Hector always finds a way to ooze the truth out of me, but I guess that’s just part of the charm of the crown prince. I inch my way down the stairs, trying to drag it out as long as possible before I have to face real people. However, when I reach the bottom step, I am ambushed by Juliano who pulls me outside.
“We’re taking pictures,” he tells me. Cameras are being flashed in my face like I’m some sort of prized possession that needs to be photographed. Juliano wraps his right arm around mine and grins widely. I copy him and arch my lips in a lemon shape. Dozens of clicks later, he finally releases me from his grasp and I escape. I’m not looking forward to dinner because I’ll have to interact with Juliano’s parents, who are somehow even worse than him. When it comes to where to sit, I have a decision to make. I could either go to Juliano’s table and endure the tedious conversations, or I could go to the table with Sander, Nova, and Aurora who all seem eager to be in my presence. If it isn’t obvious enough, I opt for the latter.
“Nicolas!” Aurora chirps. “It’s nice of you to come to join us. We were just talking about you. Good things I promise.”
“Oh, well it’s my pleasure. It’s wonderful to meet you uh–”
“Isadora. I must say you have gotten much more handsome since the last time I saw you, when you were still in your diaper,” Aurora’s mother smiles.
“Aha, thanks I guess,” I let out a nervous laugh.
“So, you haven’t met my mom either. This is Leslie. Mom, this is Nicolas,” Sander chimes in.
“Nicolas, I’m so glad to finally have met you. My son is very lucky to have found such a benign friend. Sander always comes home singing and boasting about how good his day was. I’ve never seen him in such good moods before.”
“Stop it, mom,” Sander shushes her, but his face is already turning red.
“Well, it’s true,” Nova affirms. “You’re always on his mind.” She’s about to go on when a wrist flicks the air, causing a croissant to bounce off her cheek and plop into her chocolate milk.
“That was so uncalled for, bro!” She huffs and pretends to be upset, but a grin creeps up her lips. Nova playfully juts an elbow at Sander who bursts into laughter. Like dominoes, we all start laughing until our neighboring table shoots us stern stares.
“Okay, okay. I’ve been wanting to ask you Nicolas if you still skate,” Isadora says once we’ve calmed down.
“Not much anymore,” I admit. “I’m on the soccer team now so it’s consuming most of my time.”
“Ah, I see. Nova here ice skates almost every day. She wants to be on the Olympic team one day, although that’s almost impossible,” Leslie adds.
“Yep, but at least I have a goal in mind. Speaking of which, can I please get new skates mom?”
“Yours should be perfectly fine, sweetie. Why do you need new ones?”
“Because they’re not even mine! Mine were destroyed ages ago so Aurora has been ever so generous to let me borrow hers.”
“Oh, but then how is Aurora skating?” Isadora questions with a puzzled look on her face.
“I use my skates,” Aurora states.
“No, that’s not true. I use your skates,” Nova butts in.
“Is that true, honey? What’s going on? Have you been skipping those skating classes I eagerly signed you up for?” Isadora watches her daughter, who looks like she’s on the verge of crying.
“Excuse me,” Aurora sniffles and bolts away.
“I’m so sorry! I honestly didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” Nova quickly apologizes, but the damage is done. An awkward tension infuses our table, so I stand up and chase after my friend. She’s leaning against the wall of the dark marble corridor, her hands rubbing her eyelids.
“Are you okay? I’m here if you need me,” I console her. She leans her forehead to my shoulder and nuzzles her face against my shirt. My hand finds itself travelling down her back in a comforting manner.
“I can’t do anything right. You’re phenomenal at soccer, Nova’s an ice-skating star, and Sander has the voice of an angel. I’m just me. I wish I was good at something, because I feel useless,” she confesses between sobs.
“You’re perfect, Nova. Everyone loves you, exactly the way you are.”
“Do you truly think that?” she gazes intensely into my eyes.
“Of course,” I lean in to give her a hug, but she presses her lips against mine. Startled, I jump away because I hadn’t intended for that to happen, and I don’t think about her that way.
“Um, I didn’t mean–”
“Forget about it, I ruin everything,” she runs out in more despair than I’ve ever seen her. What just happened? Why did she do that? I feel like such a terrible person because one: I gave her mixed signals and two: I made her feel even worse about herself. I want to find her and apologize, but I don’t think it’s a good idea, considering she probably hates my guts right now.
It flatters me that she likes me as more than a friend, but my heart is all over the place, and reserved for someone else. I know it must sting to be rejected, and a part of me wishes I kissed her back. However, I didn’t feel the fireworks, not like that night with Sander. All I can pray for is that she still wants to be friends with me after this because I truthfully do value our friendship. We have a special bond, and I would hate to have ruined that. I take a few deep breaths before returning to my chair.
“Hey, are you alright?” Sander whispers to me while the parents are talking.
“I’m okay, thanks.” I don’t elaborate any further and he doesn’t press me to open up. That’s something I admire about him. I don’t need to directly tell him something for him to be on the same page. He understands me. We finish up our meals and I slip into my room. Thankfully, I was able to avoid talking to the adults whom I’m not particularly fond of. I take a shower, brush my teeth, change into shorts and a tee, and I’m off to bed. I immerge myself under the soft covers, letting the warmth swallow me. With a yawn, I let my mind rest and my dreams awaken.
Saturday finally rolls around, and I hurry to go find Sander. We have the whole day ahead of ourselves, but I don’t intend on wasting any second. I walk over to the garden and there he is, sitting peacefully by the blooming azaleas.
“Hi,” I wave. “Want to hang out in the library?”
“Yeah sure,” he says while standing up and linking arms with me. We enter the familiar grand doors and sit down at our usual spot. Today, the quiet peace is the soul of the library, wrapping a blanket of comfort around my heart. There is finally no one to disturb us, and we can do whatever we want.
“So do you have anything in mind for what we can do?” he says as if reading my thoughts.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I was thinking along the lines of playing a board game. I heard there’s an abundance of games to choose from at the corner of the room,” I suggest.
“How about Monopoly? Every time I play it with Nova and my mom, one of them always ends up quitting right in the middle of all the action. So, I never get the satisfaction of winning, which is what I plan to do today,” he declares.
“Alright, but unfortunately you picked the wrong opponent. I’ve never lost a game in my life,” a cheeky grin unleashes from my face.
“Well, how many games have you played then?”
“That’s beside the point because I have a 100%-win rate and I’m going to keep it that way.”
“Oh, you’re going down.” He grabs the Monopoly board and sets up all the cards while I organize the money. As much as I’m tempted to sneak in an extra 100-dollar bill for myself, I resist the urge because integrity is more important. Throughout my childhood, I cheated enough to know that it doesn’t feel as rewarding when I win. Once everything is set up, we take turns rolling the pair of dice and purchasing every property we land on. The game is intensifying as our money rapidly dwindles down, until I have a mere 400 bucks to my name. I throw the dice up high and they give me snake eyes. That means I land on boardwalk, which will wipe out my money if I purchase it. It also means that I’ll complete a set and be able to build houses. After some deep thinking, I give my remaining money to the bank. My hand reaches for the blue card, but before I can grab it, my phone goes off. I pick it up and notice it’s from my mother. How strange, because she barely ever calls me.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Nicolas.” Right away, from the inclination of her voice, I can tell that something’s wrong.
“What’s going on? Are you alright?”
“No. Something happened. To your brother,” her voice is quavering as she struggles to contain herself.
“What do you mean?” My mind suddenly fills with anxious thoughts that are too loud for me to concentrate on her words.
“Hector... he had an accident. While driving. He was drunk. He wasn’t paying attention. He lost control.”
“Oh my god! Is he in the hospital? I can come right away.” My heart feels like it’s been hollowed out by a bullet, but I know I must stay strong.
“No, there’s no need,” my mother weeps. “He’s... dead.”