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The sun burned his left arm. There was still a month left until summer began, and yet the heat was already noticeable in the crowded classrooms. Isa directed his gaze to the school courtyard, immersed in visions of future plans for his vacation. Lea, his best friend, and he had decided to take a trip to the beach. It was almost an hour's drive from Radiant Garden to the sea, although that wouldn't be a problem with Lea's older sister agreeing to take them in her car under the excuse of going to visit some of her friends. They would only be away from home for one day, and for Isa that meant planning every minute to make the most of that new freedom. The lunch they would bring, which swimsuit to wear…
“Isaac, can you read your answers to problem 5B for the class?”
The teacher's mention of his full name made him jump back to reality with the same effect as a slap on the face. Next to him, Lea let out a malicious giggle (to which Isa responded with a quick and annoyed look) while he read his homework out loud, which, much to Lea's annoyance, was correct.
“Not one hair out of place, Isaac” Lea muttered to him sardonically.
“You could take notes Leandros, didn't your mom ever teach you how to use the hairbrush?” his friend quietly retorted.
“Har, har” Lea replied, resuming his doodling of a deformed cat in the corner of his Arithmetic book, which, Isa figured while suppressing a smile, put an end to their usual chatter for the moment. The ginger’s hair had certainly grown longer these past year, the teen mused. He really liked how it looked on his friend, but he would never admit to that.
❂❂❂
The afternoon bell rang through the school, causing the tired and sweaty students to leave their classrooms en masse. The sky had turned to an amalgam of violet colors predicting a clear evening while
the city's channels refreshed the air with the lazy flow of its fountains and rivers.
“In for some ice cream?” Lea asked as he jumped to piggyback Isa, who made no effort to hold on, letting the poor youngster scramble on his feet as he tried to catch up to him.
“Correct. You are paying this time” the blue-haired boy said, pretending to dust off
his satchel loaded with books.
“Mmh” Lea grunted, “I guess the old trick of
treating me because of my pretty face doesn't work anymore, huh?”
“If we are talking about pretty faces, you should always be the one paying for me” Isa replied with a hushed laugh.
The playful banter between the friends continued through the stony streets that led to the ice cream parlor, a route they could follow with eyes closed.
Once they arrived at old Scrooge’s shop, Lea opened his rickety backpack to take out his wallet, at the same time that a red envelope fell out of it and onto the floor. His friend picked it up, observing the paper wrapping closely while the other paid for both of their snacks. The name “Lea” written in bright ink decorated the back of it, while the flap was held closed by a heart-shaped sticker.
“What’s this?” Isa asked, waving the scarlet paper in front of Lea's face, a pair of blue ice creams now in his hand.
“Huh?”
“It came out of your backpack, halfwit. It's addressed to you. It looks like a letter from some secret admirer.”
“What?!” Lea exclaimed, suddenly interested. Isa handed him the mysterious mail while stealing one of the sweet and salty popsicles from the other boy.
The two friends waited until they reached their usual secret place (the top of one of the walls of Radiant Garden’s castle, hidden enough behind some trees so that the guards would not be able to see them) to read the letter in peace.
The redhead carefully examined the paper. “It must be a joke” he concluded, finally opening the flap with a distracted expression. “Squall and company can get very creative with pranks.”
Lea pulled a beautiful blue letter written on both sides from inside of its cover.
“I wouldn't be so sure,” Isa said thoughtfully, looking at the neat cursive. “I don't think that handwriting belongs to any of our classmates.”
As they examined its contents, Isa kept making incredulous remarks whilst reading along, letting out a laugh so loud he almost choked on his own spit. Meanwhile Lea progressively turned as red as the envelope he was holding.
“Oh, Lea! Your hair shines like the fire of the sun!” Isa joked with a mocking voice, quoting one of the many lines that made up the message. “Your eyes are as green as carved emeralds! Kiss me, you fool!” he continued taunting while making faces.
Ignoring him, Lea began to reread the letter with intense focus.
“Do you think…” he asked, looking up, heavy blush still dusting his cheeks “...that this is real? I mean…that a real admirer wrote this for me?”
“That poetry is so bad that it could be both a joke and very real. Although I have to say that I would lean towards the latter due to the fact that it is so long and specific that it can only come from someone very desperate and” he gave Lea an amused look “with very poor taste.”
Lea’s eyes lit up as he took a bite of his ice cream. “Shall we meet tomorrow after class? I'll wait for you under the orange tree in the garden next to the library” he read aloud with his mouth full.
“Are you thinking about it? Really?” Isa said incredulously.
“Why not? It's not every day that someone writes poetry about me, fit only for my greatness and beauty,” the lanky teenager responded, putting on a pose that only Lea himself would consider sexy.
“And if it ends up being a joke, what then?” Isa asked, rolling his eyes.
“Well, we'll have a laugh nonetheless. Hey Isa! why don't you tag along?” exclaimed the boy punching the other's shoulder “Although this being like a date and all that, it's better if you keep your distance...”
“I can’t believe you…” this whole admirer thing was starting to get on his nerves.
“Hey! You are getting love confessions all the time! Just because you have rejected them all doesn't mean I have to do the same. Plus, it's the first time someone has written something so nice to me…” Isa gave him an irritated look, one which Lea didn't notice, still lost in his ramblings.
“And what about all the personal gifts I've been giving you all these years? Ah, I guess those don't count, as they didn't come with a third-rate poem" Isa thought bitterly, taking a bite of his icy treat.
“...Besides,” the redhead continued chipperly blabbering, “it wouldn't be so bad to go out with someone other than you for once, right?”
A bunch of pigeons flew in front of the setting sun, throwing a whirlwind of shadows over the boys.
Isa knew that what Lea had just said was meant as a joke. Isa knew that his best friend obviously preferred spending an afternoon with him doing nothing to anything else in the world. And yet… he couldn't help the sudden tug in his heart at hearing him saying those words so nonchalantly.
Normally, they waited until they saw the sundown from their secret wall, but, at that moment, Isa just wanted to go home.
“Is’? Are you okay there man?” Lea asked at the sudden quietness coming from the other.
“I... just remembered that I promised my father to help... fixing something in the kitchen” he said without looking his friend in the eye, taking one last bite of his popsicle before getting down and throwing what was left of the melted sweet into a nearby container.
“See you tomorrow,” Isa said dryly, still not looking at him.
“O…K..? See ya Isa…” said Lea from above to his friend who was already too far to hear him. “You’ve always been such a bad liar,” he muttered to himself.
The smell of orange blossom filled the humid afternoon air.
❂
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The solitary way home felt longer than usual as Isa mentally rewinded over and over his recent conversation with Lea.
“It wouldn't be so bad to go out with someone other than you for once, right?”
“Right. Then you wouldn’t mind if we don’t hang out ever again. Idiot” Isa answered in his imaginary
argument.
Chirping of crickets started to fill the warm evening as Isa walked up the stairs that led to his house, a narrow three floor tall old Victorian style building constructed with bricks in different shades of azure. The old family home harmonically matched the neighborhood save for a beautiful circular stained glass window that depicted a nocturnal sky with a prominent gibbous yellow moon that made the house stand out charmingly.
“I’m home,” Isa said wearily, coming into the entrance.
All he got as a reply was silence in the stairway hall. On his right hand, one single light came through the glazed door of his father’s study. Leaning out, Isa saw his dad lying on his desk, snoozing loudly over a pile of books. Smiling, the teenager slowly pulled the door closed and headed for the kitchen to arrange some dinner, leaving his heavy school satchel abandoned in the living room.
While cutting up some leeks and garlic, Isa fighted back the image of Lea's face reading that dreadful letter, in vain. He felt a stinging sensation in his eyes which he blamed on the condiments he just chopped.
☾☾☾
The redhead took a different path than the usual one for his return home. Mindless, he let the ramshackle alleys guide his course as he felt that he was in no rush.
“Childish prick…I know you are upset about this whole love letter thing, but walking off on me like that? You should be glad for me, being my friend and all…” Lea rambled in his head while kicking some of the peebles off the pavement.
“After all these years you still act like a baby, waiting for me to guess what's going on in that big brain of yours…well Isa, I'm starting to get real tired of that, man.”
He kept wandering aimlessly all through the city, now looking up at the sky, where the shadow of the full moon was now painted.
“Ough!” Exclaimed the figure Lea bumped abruptly into, while a bunch of books fell to the floor.
“Huh… sorry old man!” Lea apologized, startled.
“Who are you calling old man, boy? I'll let you know I'm still quite youthful!” the eccentric looking long bearded elder answered.
“Right…” Lea said, trying to help collect all the heavy books he dropped to no avail, as they all quickly flew back graciously and disappeared orderly in a queue into the travel bag the man was carrying. Lea directed an amazed expression at the stranger that was arranging his glasses on his now smug face.
“Tell me lad, do you happen to know where the old shoe shop is located? I'm afraid I miscalculated my, ahum, location” said the man looking around a bit clueless.
“Uh sure…it's right around that corner over there, sir”
“Well thank you so much young man”
“But, sir…” Lea interjected, “you should know that the shoe maker abandoned that building years ago. You are in no luck today I fear” he explained, letting out a pitiful laugh. He remembered a number of times that Isa and he tried to peek inside unsuccessfully, as the city council got the door and windows boarded up.
“Oh, you think I'm in need of a new pair of boots, eh?” the man huffed jokingly as he started walking towards the direction the teen pointed out. Lea followed him, filled with curiosity. “You ought to know that I seek no footwear lad” he said as they arrived at the front of the shabby workshop. “But a temporary stay”. The door, much to Lea’s disbelief, creaked open, shedding light on a big room completely in shambles'
The distinct smell of mold and the sound of dripping water filled the heavy air as the strange man and the disheveled teen stepped in. A tiny spider came down to sit on the stranger's pointy hat and Lea had to hold back a laugh as he realized the actual poor state that the place was in.
“It's got some fixing up to do, but fear not” said the old man as if he was reading the youngster’s mind, while getting up on some kind of broken up furniture. Pulling up his sleeves he made use of his cane as if it was a conductor's baton, beating the sturdy stick against his made up podium.
“One and a two and a three and a four!” The old man blared, startling Lea. Something in the old handbag fidgeted.
“ Higitus Figitus Zumba Ka Zing! Attention everyone, we’ll be settling in!”
As the magician sang his catchy song, stuff started flying out the carrier bag
in a row. At first it was the books Lea recognized as
the ones he threw onto the floor moments ago. After them, a whole set of blue tableware was followed by glass recipients with colorful liquids inside came out dancing along and then… several gadgets and machines, a variety of chairs, tables, shelves, a whole stove and a bed emerged from the satchel one behind the other.
The incredulous teen had to lie against the nearest wall as there was merely no space left within the whole room filled with floating furniture swirling around while the old man joyously performed his enchantment. Little by little each object found its place in the room and Lea was finally able to move.
A big round table and some comfy looking armchairs now presided over the crowded apartment. Stacks of books, scrolls and of all kinds filled the space around while a bed and lots of cushions stood on the corner giving the surroundings a much cozier look.
Still, Lea noted, there was pipe leaks and dust upon dust everywhere. The youngster could even still see the family of the spider that sat on the magician’s hat watching them from above. Even so, he could not hide his enthusiasm.
“That was…pretty amazing, sir!”
“Ha! Nevermind the sir just, uh, plain Merlin will do” waved the elder casually. The mention of his name rang a bell. Hearsay about an old wizard from the neighborhood, loved by children and deemed a bit crazy by the adults. Lea's interest suddenly piqued. “And what would be your name, lad?” asked Merlin, making fire appear on an old stone stove while placing a teapot on its crane.
“Oh! Name’s Lea, s…-Merlin” stuttered the boy suddenly taken aback from his thoughts. “Excuse me if it's rude to ask but…are you THAT Merlin?” Lea felt like an utter fool as soon as the question left his mouth. Still, his tongue always moved faster than his brain and couldn't stop himself from talking, much to his dismay, “you know like…the…powerful magician?”
“Well, are there any other powerful magicians called Merlin? If so, It would be the highest honor to meet them!” joked the sorcerer.
Lea scratched his head awkwardly, out of utter embarrassment, “oh…uh…if there's honor in meeting someone it would be mine! Meeting you, that is, si…Merlin! You are kind of a legend around here” he mustered the courage to say. Isa would probably laugh at his pathetic display of wording, he fleetingly thought. “ Mumbo jumbo Lea! Diction! Do you know her?”
Nonetheless, Merlin seemed pleased with his pitiful praises while curling his big mustache with a grin. “What an agreeable lad you are, young Lea.” Fidgeting on his tunic he took out a big golden pocket watch, “It's been a nice chit chat and all, but now, if you don't mind…” he said sitting down on the tall wing chair “I would like to retire for the evening. It's been a long trip, this one, and I'm afraid that my bones are not what they once were.”
“O-of course! I should get home soon too!” He suddenly realized, looking at his own wrist watch, that it had gotten pretty late. The scrawny teenager was about to say his goodbyes when a brilliant idea crossed his mind. He knew this was a unique chance, and he decided to take it.
“Mr. Merlin! Do you happen to impart magic classes?” he exclaimed. (He was almost certain that he had used that verb, impart, correctly. Almost.)
The long bearded wizard let out a delighted wheeze “Blazes boy, what an amusing individual you are!” Lea didn't know if to take that as a compliment.“Well, it's been a long long while since I got the chance to teach,” Merlin muttered to himself. “I suppose that you are interested in learning, is that correct?”
“Correct!” Answered Lea, barely able to contain his excitement.
“Hm” huffed Merlin bringing his hands together, a sudden serious expression on his brow.A tense silence permeated the room.
“We'll see,” he dictaminated. “Care to join me tomorrow for a cup of tea?”
“Certainly!” the boy said, his shining eyes couldn't get any bigger. “Thank you so much sir!”
“See you then, young Lea”
“Good bye!” Waved the teen, ecstatic, flying off the door.
The streetlights were already on, as the moon, now in full brightness, looked down upon the redhead that rushed clumsily across the city, one purpose in mind: telling his best friend.
“ Wait until Isa hears about this! ” He thought, his mind running as fast as his legs.
A sudden stop in his tracks. In his haste he forgot about his abrupt parting with him that afternoon. Huffing while trying to catch his breath, he then arrived at his second brilliant idea of the day. He didn’t care that Isa was mad at him, once he had told him of his unbelievable encounter he too sure would forget about that weird situation with the anonymous love letter.
“The love letter…wasn’t that tomorrow as well?” Lea grunted, taking his hands to his face. “Give me a break!”
He finally decided that his future self would handle the secret admirer matter as he carried on on his way to Isa’s house.
☾☾☾
His dad arrived at the dining room as Isa was finishing settling the table for them.
“Good evening, son” his father greeted, sleepiness still apparent in his voice, showing he had been completely knocked out mere moments ago. “Full meal and table service? Color me surprised.”
“Mh, I don’t know I felt like it,” Isa answered, distracted.
“How was school today?” he said, sitting down on one of the creaky chairs.
“ Here we go again ” The boy mentally grunted. “You know, same as always, I did well with homework” He vaguely said as he brought a pan with scrambled eggs and ham from the kitchen.
“Even the English exercises?”
“Well, yeah, those too…” Isa lied, too tired to make up any excuse. He really did loathe English with a passion, and his dad, being a scholar and all, was very well aware of this.
“Hm, whatever the case,” he mused, dropping the matter, “let’s try out this omelet of yours” his son nodded silently as he sat down to join his father, serving himself a full plate.
The momentary relief of a busy mouth due to an empty stomach was cut short, as Isa's dad kept pestering him with questions. “Have you decided which major to choose for next year? You know that places for specific matters are few and the sooner you choose, the better ones you get!” commented the parent with his characteristic eagerness in between bites as if he was the one enrolling in the new semester. Isa could not be less in the mood to discuss that.
“Hum, I still need to attend one of Miss Trepe’s tutoring classes before that.” This wasn't a lie, just plain information, maybe a bit outdated.
“That’s weird,” the adult remarked, “we are only a couple of weeks away from the summer vacation…” Isa was not listening anymore to his dad’s overwhelming inquiries; instead, he decided to focus on the task of eating his dinner for the sake of his sanity. His attention only came back at the mention of Lea.
“...that trip you were planning, is it coming along w-?”
“We canceled that plan, actually,” Isa abruptly answered , cutting his father off.
“Oh” he said with a tint of awkwardness in his voice. “That's too bad” he then uttered dryly.
Isa sat up taking his now empty plate to the kitchen to dispose of it in the sink. “I need to go finish some homework before bed, dad. Good night.” He starkly said looking at some particularly interesting dirt on the parquet, a weird feeling of deja vu coming all over him.
Silence. Isa felt a pair of brown eyes scrutinizing him.
“It’s alright Isaac, tell me if you need help with anything.” His father finally stated, calm and collected as always.
The teen passed by his side rushing to the stairs, forgetting about his school bag on his hastiness. Sometimes he wished that his father stopped asking irrelevant questions, always resulting in these one sided conversations. Sometimes he despised his avoidance, his evident detachment towards sensitive matters. Sometimes, he thought, feeling again that annoying prickling on his eyes, he really missed his mother.
☾☾☾
The room was bathed in darkness, save for the light of the moon that came through the window above his bed. Isa closed the door behind him, leaning his back against it. Feeling safe in the intimacy of his bedroom, he finally let himself sob loudly while gliding off the wood to sit on the carpeted floor.
A while passed. His face felt wet, his eyes stinged and, he removed his hair tie, his head hurt. Feeling even more tired, he decided to get into bed. Getting up he dragged his feet and threw himself
face down into the mattress, not even bothering to get off
his school uniform, which, turned out, was a bad idea, as the buckle of his belt was digging into his belly. While pondering if he should move or keep crying he found his train of thought interrupted by tapping noises coming from his window.
“This can't be happening” he muttered, voice raspy, knowing exactly who the driving force of those noises was. The knocking kept going.
“Is’, hey Is’!” the obnoxious redhead exclaimed, still muffled by the glass. Fidgeting noises came through the room and finally, the sound of a sliding window opening let the tired blue haired teen know that he had no escape as Lea popped his head through the opening. “Hey! You awake man?”
Isa had decided to ignore him until he heard that stupid voice way too close to his ear, making him jump out of his skin. He sat up in a rush and was met with Lea's beautiful green gaze that shone as the stars behind him, up on the clear night sky, almost as if they were surrounding his disheveled figure like a halo. Whatever his friend was trying to frantically share was lost to Isa's exhausted brain.
The morning glories that grew over the roof were now fully open, as was the moon.
○
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
His small hand reached for the handle of the classroom. He felt himself trembling.
Lea’s mind went blank as he stepped in, students ceasing their ruckus as their thirty pairs of attentive eyes stared at the newcomer.
It was his first year in first grade elementary. When his family moved to a bigger house, little Lea had to enroll in a new school, closer to his new home. He promised to be a big boy when the day came, or so he planned, until fat tears started rolling down his face as his mother said her goodbyes to him at the entrance. A very nice lady had accompanied him to where his source of despair befell. Now he found himself alone in front of an amalgam of unknown faces, waterworks looming again behind his eyes.
“What is your name, little one?” asked a most amicable voice, who he would later know as Miss Edea, his teacher. Her smiling face was soft and pretty. It gave the boy some courage.
“Leandros, ma’am” he grinned, “but I very much prefer Lea, ma’am!” he continued, directing his words to the group “I’m 5 but I’ll be 6 in Novem-nmber!” the child stuttered excitedly, “I hope we can all be friends!"
Clapping and cheers ensued from the desks. Lea felt much better surrounded by welcoming faces, the anxiousness leaving his body. Only one boy on the front row, enthralled by the book in front of him, had not shown the same enthusiasm as his peers. His blue hair was layering over his face.
Lea got closer to the boy’s desk, the other children’s laughs and buzz still surrounding him.
“Isa?”
A sense of self awareness took over, his mind suddenly felt lucid.
“Why won’t you look at me?” he persisted. “I know that you are lying when you don’t look me in the eyes.”
Where did that come from? He vaguely started to remember… A flash of what felt like a white wave engulfed him, flooding the classroom. The tide left him in the middle of a wide yellow field, Lea recognized as the one at the outskirts of the town. Long strands of grass caressed
his arms, while in front of him stood a now grown up Isa, who was directing his glance to the ground. Echoes of his question remained in the air, expectantly hanging on the dense summer air. Lea watched the scene before his eyes with a feeling of doomed familiarity nagging at his gut. Suddenly a much expected voice reached his ears.
“...We can still be friends, you know? This doesn’t have to change anything” Isa stated while plucking some foxtail heads off the stems. A soft breeze cradled his bangs. The vision was one that would usually soothe Lea’s mind, but not in this scenario. Not when his best friend had just broken his heart into a million pieces.
“Why do I get the feeling that that’s not going to be the case?” Lea laughed, dryly, following his imaginary script. The sky felt heavy, clouds painting it gray, although some sun rays managed to push through them. His friend stood still, silent. He felt his lungs filling with hot humidity.
“The worst part of all this is that not only are you lying to me, you are lying to yourself.” Lea calmly stated, maybe his friend’s numbness was starting to get to him. The same boldness he felt before when throwing himself mindlessly into the unknown took hold as he had nothing to lose.
“Coward.”
The words finally pried some reaction out of Isa whereas his elusive face came into view. His expression was motionless, it almost felt like it stopped everything in its wake. His look was hollow as his mouth smiled with sorrow:
“You’ll grow out of it.”
❁❁❁
Lea woke up, he felt cold sweat on his nape. Traces of his nightmare still haunted him. “It's nothing but a bad memory, nothing but a bad dream…” he repeated to himself in an attempt to calm his mind. “Besides, I’m- We…are over those heartbreak matters.”
Nonetheless a voice in the back of his head echoed back “Are we really?” He left out a grumble while turning around in the bed.
Sun rays came from someplace over him, hitting his face. He wasn’t in his room. A sudden gleam of blue hair then faced Lea and the figure it belonged to settled over his arm, squishing it lightly. Lea’s heart leaped in his chest, all the distress from his dream coming back to question his reality. But this was no dream. He could clearly feel the quiet beating of Isa’s pulse all through his body, his usual impeccable hair was spread all over the pillows, some strands touching his arm and tickling him. The redhead caught himself smiling foolishly at his friend’s unaware position. His traitorous subconscious made a comeback, the word beautiful punching him in the gut.
Isa then accommodated himself further into Lea’s arms. A warm sensation got to his face as his oblivious friend now settled against his torso, his peaceful breathing brushing delicately over his belly. A pleasant warm, spiced fragrance overflowed his skull. If Lea’s head wasn’t firmly fixed on his neck, it would most probably be spinning wildly right now. By and by, an itch of self-indulgence pushed the trembling teen to move his free hand to caress Isa’s bangs, moving them aside to try to take another peek at his face. What he didn’t expect was the single open eye looking straight back at him.
“What do you think you are doing?”
A strained eek! left the redhead’s throat. On a jolt and after a poor maneuver caused by the shock, Lea found himself sprawled out on the floor of Isa´s room, rolled up on the bed’s sheets. The other boy now stood over him from above his bed, face still sleepy.
“Lea, what on the stars… What time is it?” he abruptly took the clock that stood on his bedside table, his eyes now wide open. The blue haired teen flew over his friend in the direction of his wardrobe, probably looking for a change of clothes as they slept in their uniforms, Lea noted. He threw the redhead a white polo shirt in his direction. “Put that on, you smell as if a rat died on your armpit.” The still perplexed boy on the floor took a whiff under his arm. Yeah, he sure stunk.
❁❁❁
While silently getting down the stairs, Lea made an effort to recall the events of the day prior. The letter, Isa’s tantrum, him getting through the window to talk with him about…Merlin! There he had something to look forward to… after school he and Isa would go have tea with the wizard, as they talked last night. Isa seemed calmer after his surprise visit and invite.
“Do you think he will agree to teach us both?” He had said, pure hope emanating from him. “Imagine if we were able to cast elemental magic, Lea! We could finally have a chance at getting into the castle!” The sudden mention of the castle startled him, it had been a good while since they didn’t take a shot at one of their infiltration plans, as he had thought Isa considered them now childish endeavors. But he had looked frantic about it, and who was he to deny any whims from his adored friend?
Opera music came through the corridor leading to the kitchen, where Isa was preparing them something to eat. Like his old man, Isa greatly enjoyed that genre, having heard a great deal of his friend’s ramblings about this and that play.
“What are you going to do with that letter?” The sudden question from his friend striked the teen as soon as he entered the kitchen.
“Going for the kill today, aren’t we? Cut a guy some slack!” He said sitting down, a cup of hot coffee already waiting for him. “I still have no idea, ok?”
“Sorry, I was just wondering, you know…” Isa put some bread on the toaster. “If you are not gonna give them a clear answer, maybe you should forget about the issue. There’s no point in chasing after what could be a distasteful joke or an anxious driven… psychopath.” Isa opened the fridge “OJ?”
“Is', the only one being a psychopath here is you, like… right now” He laughed. It was so entertaining to see his friend trying to act so nonchalant about this whole ordeal, and failing so… pathetically. Lea was having the time of his life. “Maybe I’ll write back! I won’t have time to hang out today because of the Merlin meet up, what a
shame…”
“Oh!” Isa sat down in front of him and poured himself some juice.
“I could meet them tomorrow, go out for a romantic stroll under the afternoon sun.” He continued as a frown formed on Isa's forehead. The ecstatic feeling of seeing that reaction drove him to keep his boisterous babbling. “Ya know? since I've gotten that growth spurt last summer, I feel like the masses are going crazy for these bones.” He pointed at himself with his two thumbs to make the point extra clear. He was acting like an imbecile and enjoying every second.
“Lea!” his friend couldn't help but chuckle if only for a moment, before going back to his stern face. “Listen, all this must be very amusing for you, and I understand but, what I’m trying to say here is…If that were me…”
“You would’ve lied. Oh sorry, I mean, you would’ve rejected them, straight on, no questions.” Lea cut him, keeping up with the playful charade. He looked firmly into his surprised friend's expression, very ready to take his little game even farther. “Yeah, I got that memorized, from first hand experience.”
Ding! Two toasts jumped on the counter. Isa got up to get them, putting one on a plate in front of his friend and the other one on his mouth. Lea watched him attentively, expectant for an answer.
“If you don't eat that soon we'll never get to school in time for History class, Miss Trepe is gonna get mad at you again” He said dramatically changing the subject, munching absentmindedly on his piece of toast. He wasn't looking at him of course. Lea had had enough. He grabbed Isa’s arm as he tried to move past him towards the door.
“Isa! We still need to talk this out.”
Isa turned to face him, adopting a defying pose. “Oh really? Because I thought that your annoying morning boast was finally over. There’s nothing to talk about. Clearly you are gonna go and play pretend with whoever that person is because you are taking all this as a joke, as you always do.”
Isa’s patronizing words filled his whole body with outrageousness. “If I treat any matter lightly it is because of you! You are the one that can’t take me seriously! Good grief Isa, grow up already, will ya?"
“Funny. Those words coming from you, I mean” Isa was finally showing some signs of that temper of his. “Oh, and I take you very seriously Lea, I take seriously the fact that you may end up hurting yourself if
you pay any mind to that-that…obtuse letter!” Isa tried to free his arm from Lea’s grip to no avail. “Lea, let go! Why are we even discussing this?”
“Yeah! Why are we discussing this! Why should this be an us problem? It’s me who got the letter, not you! Why do you care!”
Isa tried once again to get Lea to unclasp his hand, like he was about to lose his precious composure at any moment. “Good” Lea thought, that cathartic moment he desperately needed was finally about to happen. But, to his detriment, Isa’s expression just deflated.
A sorrowful melody came from the old radio, filling the sudden abysmal breach between the two boys. Lea had heard it before, but he couldn’t quite remember which opera it belonged to.
“You are right.” Isa idly acknowledged. “You should be able to do whatever you want. Is none of my business to tell you who to choose to hang out with.” Lea let loose his friend's arm. “Happy?”
“Not…really.” He felt a weird sense of strangeness coming from his friend. “Is'-”
“Hurry up or we’ll be late.” The other sighed as he directed his steps towards the living room, where his satchel layed, abandoned.
“Isa.” Lea pushed his luck one last time, making the aforementioned stop on his tracks. He felt like crying, he felt like screaming. He felt like embracing Isa. He felt like kissing away his and his best friend’s misery. However, a most expected weariness tinged his fiery passion of
a gray hue, like storm clouds.
“We’ll always be friends, right?”
Isa smiled while taking another bite of his toast.
“Sure.”Lea now stood alone in the middle of the kitchen, feeling like an utter idiot, lukewarm coffee and dry toast standing on the table. Still, something clicked on his head. What was playing in the background was an excerpt from La Traviata. How dramatic.
❁