Thirteen years ago
Lucas
"Shut up, Brittany. You are distracting me," I said even though I was smiling.
We both knew that Brittany would not stop trying to disturb my games. She said listening to her–talk about a boy in her school–was more important than my game.
"You are not listening to me!" She cried in frustration.
"I swear, I am. Dumbledur intentionally went to the female bathroom and lied when you caught him. You see, I was listening to you," I responded without removing my eyes from the game.
"That was not the last thing that I said and his name is frogface, not Dumblenonsense!" She fell silent and I turned to face her on the bed.
"See, Brittany. Already paused my game. Tell me, how did you get Frogface back?" We talked about Frogface and other bullies in her school. Brittany could be seen as fragile.
With her tall, thin and timid frame, she could be mistaken as a fragile girl, but I know that she could give a deadly blow. Her death stare is ineffective but you would want to give her everything if she gave a coy smile and doll face. I thought power play only applied to schools with rich kids but it turns out that it happens in every private school, like Brittany's.
In my school, there are Senator's children, mayor's kids and then there's me, heir to an empire. Students associated based on how they perceived the heaviness of your pockets. Teachers can't even discipline students without the fear of offending a parent.
It can be lonely in that school but I had my friends, we are not close but we talk. And I could get girls at parties, lots of them. Turns out girls like my personality. Winks
Parties are great and I don't miss them until recently. You could lose yourself in loud music, booze and hot girls. That was the only outlet I had for the crazy life that I lived at home.
I have been lying about my location since the beginning of high school, I would skip school to attend parties, nurse hangovers or just not to see the ugly and mediocre faces of my schoolmates. I suspect that my grandfather knew but he never mentioned it. Father didn't know though.
His ignorance was not due to the busy nature of his job or because he didn't care. He didn't care if I missed school or stopped school. As long as I don't rubbish the Ferguson name and can demystify financial statements, we were good.
I listened as Brittany rambled on about her school and couldn't help but remember how we met. It was unorthodox that I made friends, people gravitated to me and not the other way around. I gravitated towards Brittany.
I watched her through the surveillance video like a hawk. I watched as her mother instructed her not to leave my sitting room. I laughed when she stood up to look around. She was stubborn and did the exact opposite of what she was told.
Color me surprised when she did a double take at the Duchamp artwork hanging on the wall. It was a gift from my father and I was aware of the cost. She stared at it for a long time after the realization set in.
Not many people our age know artworks as old as that of Duchamp. Either she was familiar with art collections or she read about art. Both options fascinated me.
Not to sound rude but her mother couldn't afford such art and wasn't reading about art boring? I continued watching her as she hurried to pick her pause on the couch. What? Was someone going to steal a nameless purse?
It was more surprising that she noticed the camera. How could she not when she stared at the lights so hard? At first, I thought she was inspecting the lights out of curiosity but then I realised that she knew about the hidden camera.
Don't even ask me why I was watching the camera feed because I don't know either. As she started towards the stairs, I decided to go and talk to her. It was weird that I paid any attention to her in the first place but talking to her? That was super weird.
Ten seconds after I tried to startle her and I already knew that she was smart. So I did what I normally wouldn't do, I took her to my reading area. That place was the most sacred part of the house to me.
I cried there when my father was too 'busy' to watch my games. I spent Christmas alone there. I frown there after I have had to plaster fake smiles on my face at important gatherings.
Thank God I left before I did something stupid like asking her to marry me. I was trying to forget her when she appeared in my room to take care of me like I was an invalid. I had a cold, not cancer.
Growing up, I had nannies. They come and go and I had no relationship with any of them. Aside from my several nannies, nobody has ever fed me except Brittany.
She fed me soup and warmed my body with hot towels. That sole act was more kindness than anyone had ever shown me. The truth was that that cold was not my first sickness in solitude.
Once, I was sick for two days before my grandfather noticed. And even as I recovered, there was no one sitting by my side, just the nameless nurse. The only time I felt valued in that house was when I was working on financial reports.
And when I was with Brittany. She cared about me and I loved the feeling of being cared for, so I called her. I called her and we spoke.
And we spoke the day after, and after and now. On the calls, we only speak for a few minutes, always less than an hour but those were the highlights of my day. Can you imagine how lonely that must have felt? A measly 6-minute call to be the most important part of your day.
I smiled, nodded and exclaimed when she was talking. The alternative was that she would leave and lecture me later on the importance of listening in a friendship. "Honestly, Brittany I just hope the rules are stricter in your school. And you could always report to a teacher. I sit up on the bed. Or better still, Invite the fuck-"
She cut me off and continued my statement "-er out to an empty car lot where you would be the bloody shit out of him. Yeah. You've said that already." We have not even known each other for long and we were completing each other's statements. That should have been the sign that the friendship was not worth it.
"You know, not everyone can skip school anytime and box all day," she said in mock disbelief.
"I don't box all day. I use the gym three times a week and eat healthy. You could try that."
"No, thank you"
"Alright, Fat ass"
She threw the pillow at me and I easily dodged it.
That was the thing with Brittany, It was easy to be a kid with her. No expectations were hanging over my head anytime we were together. Just pure desire to be friends and hang out.
I remember one thing in junior school when students on the school football team were arguing about how rich their parents were. Almost everyone was contributing and I felt odd that the argument disgusted me. A bunch of young kids who already felt entitled to the wealth of their parents.
Brittany's parents were not rich but her dreams were rich. Unlike the girls at the club and our parties, there was no pretence. She threw pillows at me and called me because she felt like it.
I cherish the friendship and wanted it to last and it was all worth it until it wasn't worth it any longer. She did her homework and we stalked her Mother on the surveillance videos.
Soon, it was time to leave. She began to pack her homework. "Don't call at almost 11 pm today, call around 10 pm"
"Yes, ma'am. Who do you want to talk to by 11 pm? And if I remember correctly, it's your turn to call."
"Hmmm, There is no call credit on my phone. I want to borrow my brothers"
"Okay"