Double Life: for your own good

“You don´t mind …” Josh started, he´d taken a while to get to their usual lunch table, he´d been walking rather slowly for the last few days. Nichole looked up, she´d already started eating. “you don´t mind if I sit with Aaron today?” he rephrased his question. She shook her head pulling back her place of fries that she´d put in the middle of the table, she´d do that every time she got fries since last time she shared them with him.

“Are…”

“You´ll drop your tray” she pointed the tray in Josh´s hands.  “Later” she took a book out of her bag and started reading and eating at once. After a moment he started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” a voice similar to his asked

“To your table?”

“I´m sitting there” Aaron pointed the table where Nichole was siting and then he walked there. Josh followed him.

“Hey, Nichole”

“Aaron” She said not lowering her book from in front her face.

“What are you reading?” he asked, both boys took a seat, Josh in his usual spot, next to Nic, Aaron next to his twin, two empty seats between  him and Nic in the round table. Instead of answering him she moved her book to him so that he could read the cover of it.

“Is it interesting?” Aaron asked again

“If you´re into psychology” she said, finally lowering her book to push the fries between her and Josh who smiled meekly.

“Ah” was all the boy´s answer. She went back to read her book. He started to wave to someone.

“Is it ok for us to join you?” A female voice asked.

“Why else would I´ve called you?” Aaron´s voice answered.

“Josh?” A boy asked and both the girl and him looked at Nichole.

“Hello Lex, hello Chris” Nichole said with a pleasant voice but still glued to her book, Josh smiled as he took a few fries. The other two sat.

“We need ketchup”  Josh said taking more fries

“Forgot to take it” Nic ate a steamed carrot.

“Here, I got some” Lex gave a couple of ketchup packets.

There had been some kind of awkward conversation at the beginning, a few words and nervous smiles, neither Chris or Lex had ever sat at Nichole´s table but soon they were confortable despite the fact that Nichole was very focused on her book, maybe that was what made them feel at ease. With time the conversation and jokes had flown smoothly. Nichole had tuned them out, not really listening to the words only to the sound of their voices and laughter; she wondered why all of the sudden they´d want to sit there but of course, she´d seen Aaron´s hand waving. I hope he´s not trying to get me friends, she thought.  She kept reading but with the corner of her eye she was watching Josh's hand taking the fries, she had to watch that their hands didn’t touch. Nichole was glad that she´d taken out her book, it saved her from having  to interact with the rest, not that she didn´t like them but it was for their own good not to get too close to her, she changed the page of her book. 

“Aw Josh, you should be on our section!” she heard Lex said with her characteristic friendly tone, Nichole secretly agreed with that idea and wondered in the back of her mind if Josh agreed too, maybe what information he knew of her had finally sank in and he wanted to finally get away from her, it had been a few days since she noticed he taking a while to sit, shifting uncomfortably trying looking at other tables. That´s a good thing, she thought, less dangerous for him and she made a resolution of leaving early the next day so that he didn´t feel obligated to keep sitting with her at lunch. She passed the page again.

“Hey, this Friday is Family Day, is your family coming boys?” Lex asked, she was obviously waiting for that day.

“What´s that?” Aaron asked and Josh faintly remembered reading about it in the agenda they had given them when they got in the school.

“It´s a day in which your parents are supposed to come and stay with you for a couple of classes and some activities in the afternoon” Chris was obviously not happy with the idea.

“Are your parents not coming this year, Chris?” Lex asked with a tinge of sympathy in her voice. Josh moved his plate with a piece of apple pie in between Nic and he right before his twin took a piece of it. Nick grabbed the extra fork Josh put on her tray and cut a piece of it. Everybody saw the exchange with curious eyes.

“I don’t know who will be coming, you know, if mother comes, father won’t or maybe I´ll end up with two mothers and two fathers” he sighed “both mother and father´s spouses might end up coming” he explained for the twins who didn´t know about his family.

“I´m sorry” Lex said.

“No you´re not, you love Family Day, you lucky bitch” he said playfully. She laughed

“Not my fault that mom and dad love each other” she poked her tongue to him.

“What about you? –Chris asked the twins- lucky bastards or abandoned rich kids?”

“You’re so bitter about it, Chris!” Lex punched his shoulder.

“You´d be bitter too if you had to take two seats for your ‘mother’ –he made air quotation marks- at the tea party and rake your brain to see with whom you are going to team up in the games”

“Too bad you´re brother´s out of school…”

“yeah, lucky bastard” he said with humor

“What are we talking about?” a new female voice asked. Nichole glanced at the new addition of the table as she took some more apple pie. She saw Michelle´s back, the girl was on Aaron´s lap, her left arm around his neck, her excuse, there were no more seats.

“Family Day” Aaron supplied

“Oh! Is your family coming?” she said a little too chirpy.

“I don´t know, do you think they´ll come Josh?” Aaron asked his twin, Michelle turned her body in the other direction, still on Aaron´s lap.

“Yeah… well maybe” he furrowed his eyebrows, there was no way of being sure, they were mad at them but they wouldn´t like to cause a bad impression either, specially their mother but their father was always busy “I think it´s more likely for mom to come”

“Mom wouldn´t come without dad, Josh” Aaron said and Josh shrugged

“But if dad is out, she might”

“I guess”

“What about you, Nichole?” Michelle asked with a snide voice.  Aaron looked at Nichole, the rest looked at Michelle and then to Nichole and back to Michelle. Nic lowered her book and didn´t respond, she only lowered her gaze.  “Oops I’ve forgotten that your family never comes! Hence your lack of social skills!” she smiled brightly as if she´d paid a compliment.

“Michelle!” Lex said in a disapproving tone. Chris’ eyes were wide while Aaron´s were confused.  Nichole got up, grabbed her bag and book and swiftly walked away to the trees. For a moment everybody was silent looking between Michelle and the empty seat.

“Take care of my things” Josh commanded his twin and walked in the direction that Nichole had followed.

“Why would you do that?” he heard Lex said.

A wide distance separated them, Nichole was walking on the path, he started to walk faster to catch up to her but then she turned to the left next to an ancient wide tree, when he got there, she was nowhere to be seen, he walked a few feet ahead and then sat with his back resting on an oak tree.  He sighed.

“Where is Nic?” he wondered out loud fifteen minutes later as he checked the time on his watch, lunch was over now.

“She wants you to go to classes” he heard the girl´s voice above him. He felt a smile tugging at his lips. “Don´t look up, don’t forget she´s wearing a skirt” the girl said before he could look up then she chuckled.

“Has she been up there this whole time?” Josh asked.

“She has” Nichole answered still talking as if it she wasn´t talking about her.

“I´m sorry for what Michelle said”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“It´s obvious she wanted to hurt you”

“Go back to class, you´ll be late” she said. He didn´t make a move.

“I´m already late” he glanced at his watch.

“So, it´s better not to go at all?” she chuckled “someone told me that once” she said.

“Who could´ve been?”  He shook his head

“A boy with a mole close to his eye, little original, if I may say…”

“What?” he looked up

“Told you not to look up!” she scolded but her legs were to the other side, there was no way he could see anything.

“Sorry” he looked to the ground. She laughed.

“Anyways, did you know he has a copy?”

“Eh?”

“Yeah, he´s not the only one who look like that”

“Oh” he laughed. They remained silent for a moment.

“You should go to class”

“Why are you always pushing me away?” a tinge of irritation in his voice.

“Why would you want to be around me?”  Her voice barely above a whisper

“I like you” he said “I mean…I mean …”

“It´s ok, you´re nice too” She interrupted him “but too nice for your own good”

“You just don´t see you are good too”

If you really knew me, she wanted to say but instead she just remained silent.

“Promise me you are going to the next class” she said. He sighed heavily “Will you tell me?”

“What?” Josh asked.

“I don´t mind you sitting in other tables, you don´t have to ask at all, you don´t have to sit with me at all” she said not explaining the question she´d made.

“Of course you don’t mind at all” his tone hard, maybe even hurt. He got up and walked over his steps. She watched him leave.

*****

Yay me! two updates in two days! pretty cool! lol