Double Life: Short Temper

“Watch where your´re going” Nichole said to a guy that had poked her wound with his elbow. Instinctively, she pushed him a bit... maybe a bit more than just a bit.
“Who are you to push me?” the boy said and invaded her personal space which usually freaked her out, though no one would´ve figured she was panicking.
“Move” she ordered and tried to pass but he didn’t let her “just move, please” she said nicely yet firm this time, keeping her cool.
“or...?” the boy said trying to annoy her and prove her he had control. He was trying to intimidate her.
“Let me go” she said again and tried to go the other way. No success. The boy smirked, She sighed and in a fluid move she pushed the base of her hand to the boy´s nose, he was shocked by the blow that made him move. Immediately after it, he grabbed his nose between his hand. She ran, and ran fast. Josh saw her pass and went the opposite direction, towards the rest room. A few meters ahead, after the corner, he saw Aaron with a group of boys.

“Hi” he greeted, when he saw the boy with watery eyes and his hand over his face “what happened to you?” he asked.
“That freak who broke my nose hit him” Aaron responded
“Nichole hit you?” Josh incredulously asked to the boy “why?”
“I don’t know! who the heck she is? the boy’s voice came muffled “She´s crazy, she just pushed me and hit me but she´ll see...” the boy threatened an absent Nichole
“You better leave it -another boy said, he had years in hat school unlike Aaron , Josh or the boy -she....well, she just snaps like that whenever she pleases and...”
“Isn’t this school supposed to kick you out if you pull up shit like that?” Aaron asked mad -he was still angry at her for his broken nose but Josh had convinced him of leaving things alone.
“Well, yeah but I guess she comes from a important family -he made a money gesture with his hand- plus... haven’t you heard -all the boys got close to hear- she killed her room mate a few years ago and that´s why she doesn’t have one and truth to be told no body wants to be near her”
 “Oh, come on! -exclaimed Josh a bit exasperated, he was making seem Nichole like a monster- how could she had killed her room mate, and if she had done it, wouldn’t she be out of this school, expelled? more over, in jail or wherever young criminals go?”
“I’m just telling you what my room mate said, he´s been here as long as she´s been here and he was here when it happened and since then she hasn’t have another roommate, which is weird because everybody is supposed to have one”
“I don’t have one- Josh said- does that mean that I could also kill my room mate?”
“No -the boy punched Josh´s shoulder lightly- that is because you are living in the new building, it was finished this year so not all the rooms are full yet, same for the girls new building and that’s the weir part, she didn’t have a room mate even then when there were not enough rooms that they even made a new building”

The boys commented and added on how weird the girl was and kept adding to the story of “her snapping like that” whenever she pleased
“You´re exaggerating guys” Josh said, in the back of his mind he thought of Nichole bringing her father to make the lady in her building ignore his presence.
“Why are you defending her?” the boy with the punched face asked
“Are you crushing on her-Aaron teased him- geez! Josh why do you always crush on weirdos or needies? “Shut up Aaron! I’m not crushing on her, we just got here!” -And she saved my life he said to himself... someone that saves another person can´t be bad, right, he added to his thoughts. Aaron was about to say something but a girl grabbed his arm

“Are you sitting on our table today?” she smiled obviously flirting.
 “Sure, let´s go” he motioned to all the group of boys but looked to his brother
“Go on, I´ll catch up to you later”
 “Josh” Aaron said and Josh knew he was implying again that he had developed a crush on Nichole
“Later” Josh said and went the opposite direction of the boys.He didn’t see Nichole again that day.

***
 “Are you ok?” Josh asked Nichole while the class was solving some exercises the math teacher had assigned.
“Are you?” she said pointing to the exercise sheet
“Im ...working” he said with a grin, she smiled in return “but are you....healed?” he pressed the subject.
“it´s all good again. Remind me to give you the rest of my notes after my art class ok?”
“Art class? I didn’t know we had an art class” she half smiled
“we don’t, I have... and I assume you don’t have a class since you followed me last time” she teased
 “...and so this time you´re inviting me instead?”he felt a little embarrassed at her teasing but he couldn’t let it show.
“If you want to go, you’re free to go, I guess Mike wont mind” before he could ask who mike was she got up with her notebook and worksheet in hand and went to the teacher´s desk. She was done and he was barely in the middle of it as the rest of the group.
 “How do you do that?” he asked as soon as she got back
“What?” she said grabbing her i-pod from her bag
“Finishing so fast!”
 “Ah, mom... good with numbers...she taught me” she turned around and left the room. You were allowed to leave the room if you finished the assignments early.

 “Mister Arlington -the teacher said when he handed his exercise page- you need to caught up with the rest, I strongly recommend you to find a tutor”. The majority of the students had finished their work, the leaving class earlier was a big incentive. There were just a few students left behind, Josh among them. “I’ve noticed you and Nichole are in friendly terms, so you could ask for her help, I think it would be good for both of you” The teacher smiled pleased at his good idea, he wanted Josh to get help and Nic to get more friends, or friend being more accurate. Josh remained silent “I´d like you to do that as soon as possible... I know you are new but that´s only one more reason to try harder” Josh nodded and left the room.

 He walked down the hall. “She´s too weird” he mumbled thinking on the bits of information she had about her, the rumors he had heard from the boy about the reason for her not having roommate.
“Who´s weird?” a voice startled him. He looked in the direction of the voice. It was Nichole
“You appear at the oddest times!”
“ah... so you were indeed talking about me”
“What? how did you know that?” she laughed as they walked together without direction
“I didn’t” he blushed deeply. They walked in silence for a while and then she walked faster than him so after a short time she was a couple of steps ahead.

 “I need a math tutor” he said, speaking louder than normal
“There´s a list of available tutors on the library” she said without looking back. He walked faster to walk next to her again
“Are you in that list?”
“Nope” They got to the lunch line in the cafeteria
“Wouldn’t you like to be in it?”
“Nope” A girl tried to get in the line, right before Nichole “Don’t dare” she said, the girl looked her up and down and huffed, Nic ignored her. When the girl saw Josh she smiled.

“Aaron!” she said. It was annoying when people thought he was his twin but Josh was used to that, no body ever noticed the small differences between them
“Aaron doesn’t have a mole at the end of his eyebrow” Nichole said to the girl. She figured it was annoying for twins to be confused like that. The girl stared at Josh who stared at Nichole
“You noticed?” he said to Nichole
“You´re twins?” the girl asked overly excited for some reason. The line had advance and Nichole was already leaving with her food tray.
 “Yeah” he said hurriedly and run behind Nichole leaving an angry, not used to be ignored Michelle.

Nichole was fast even with a food tray but he was able to keep up to her this time. She didn’t stay at the cafeteria but went outside to one table close to a tree. When she saw him she half smiled and shook her head a little.
“You ignored Michelle? bad for me...”
“eh?”
 “Where´s your lunch?”
“I... eh...” he didn’t want to say he had forgotten it to come after her.
“Here” she said giving him her extra slice of pizza and and apple “it doesn´t look like a good combination but, hey, you should eat fruits or vegetables in every meal, right?” she laughed “Don´t you want it?” she asked when he just stood there watching her.
“ah, no, I mean, yes, I want it, thank you” she smiled again
“You´re really funny”
“I live to make people laugh” he said sarcastically but glad at the same time “did you bring this food...?”
“For you? -Nic saved him the trouble to finish the question- no, not really, I just eat a lot -Josh made a look that clearly said: I don’t believe you to her- yeah I eat a lot and what I don’t eat I just save for dinner.... sometimes I just can’t get on time...”
“Why did you said it was bad that I ignored..what´s her name?”
“Michelle... and only because she wouldn’t forgive any girl that robes her the spotlight and you left her there when she was flirting with you”
“She thought I was Aaron” he said dryly
 “I bet he doesn´t ignore her”
 “By looking at the way that you never pay attention to classes one would think that you are not a very observatory person but it seems that it´s the opposite”
“ha! what a way to give compliments... and here i thought you wanted me to be your tutor because I payed attention to classes but anyways I don’t need to pay that much attention to notice your brother´s character” she lifted and eyebrow
“But you do need to pay attention to notice Aaron doesn´t have a mole and, I do want you to be my tutor” She seemed like she was going to say something but she didn´t, not for a while.

“You don’t want me as your tutor, there´s a lot of good tutors in the library´s list, they know how to teach stuff...”
“Your notes are flawless and easy to get, you just need to explain me that”
“I need?” her eyebrow went up again
“I mean, you´d just have to explain me that” he blushed.
 “I...” she started to talk when her phone rang.

She picked it up, just like the first time he had seen her on the phone, she din´t talk just listened and her eyes became ice, her smile was lost. After a few minutes of listening she hung up.
 “Is everything ok?”
 “Yeah...”

“Josh! -an excited Aaron called his twin- we´re going to a party tonight!”
“What? aren´t we here grounded or something?”
“We are, man, but this time, dad´s making us go because the business partner that he wants invite his family to his party and.. guess what´s the best part! we can take someone with us! -he answered his own question” Josh´s gaze went quickly for a second to Nichole. Aaron noticed it and quickly spoke: “No weirdos ok? plus I already invited Michelle and Brighton”
“You´re and asshole Aaron -he turned to see Nic and apologize, Aaron had seen her when he spoke before, but she wasn’t there anymore- what? when did she go? You´re so stupid Aaron!”
“Oh, come on! she broke my nose, hit Brighton, killed her roommate and yet you still like her? I’m your brother she´s just some creepy girl you met”
“Go away Aaron, I don’t want to see you”
 “Fuck you, Josh, all that for a girl that doesn’t even pay any attention to you! moreover you ditch the ones that do pay attention to you” Josh got up and faced his twin, pushing him away.
 “Now you wanna fight me?” Aaron half-yelled, his stance ready to push back and hit first.
“Right, to what school we´ll be going this time? you should have a list of schools that would take a trouble-maker by now.” Josh´s gaze pierced into his twin´s eyes. Aaron´s short temper had gave him the label of trouble-maker and got him kicked out of their prior school, despite that, his twin´s angry words disarmed him, he knew it was because of him that they had been exiled from home. Though Josh had never said a thing he, too, was feeling unwanted and all of it was his fault. “It´s my fault and I treat him like this” he thought to himself while lowering his head, a clear gesture of surrender.

“I´m sorry” he said quietly, his head still lowered. No answer. When he lifted his head the piercing angry gaze of his brother was still there. “I´ll apologize to her” he said looking to a side. Josh sighed, he knew how hard it was for his brother to apologize and he also knew that he was feeling guilty due to the reference of him being the cause of them being there, and even though he had deserved it, it hadn’t feel right.
“At the very least” he said holding his anger a bit more though it had died when his brother´s stance changed to one of surrender. He turned to leave, he wanted to get to the classroom before people came in to apologize to Nic without any eyes to witness it.
“I´ll apologize at the car” Aaron smiled. He knew Josh would want to invite her to the party. “The car will be here at four, don’t put on too much make up”
“The one who takes a long time to get ready is you”