Mr. Lacna didn't seem to mind a bit as we walked into class or garden late. He must be used to it now since I started doing it last year. He just glanced at Drev and I for a second, nodded, and went back to the discussion about the benefit we could get from tadalsis.
I sat next to Relis who was all ears to Mr. Lacna, maybe he didn't even notice that I squatted next to him. I took the chance to glance at his side profile before turning to Mr. Lacna and pretended that I cared about the tadalsi's saliva usage for burnt skin. I danced in my thoughts as Relis shifted his legs and our folded knees touched. I kept my gaze focused on Mr. Lacna's fat belly when all I could think about was the touches of Relis' skin.
"Group yourselves into two and recall about the benefits. You'll make a report of it tomorrow. Using of bow and arrow will be next week so suit yourself," Mr. Lacna said.
There was an excited whooping in class, but I didn't celebrate with them because I was thinking of a way to be paired up with Relis. But then of course, he patted Japer's back who was squatting in front of him and they paired up together. Oh yeah, why would I bother myself pairing up with him when his bestfriend is there, he would surely choose Japer.
I glanced back at Drev. "Who's your pair?" He sits behind the whole class so he could sit on the grass and spread his legs wide while his arms are behind him to support himself. Too much of a bad boy position to see shy Drev on it. It fits him somehow.
He glanced at the sky, squinting from the sun. "You, of course." The way he said it made me guilty for not having him as the first choice. But I shook the guilt away for why should I be.
I pulled myself backwards to be next to him. "Did you take down notes? I didn't listen."
He sat straight and dusted his palms, rubbing them to each other. "No, but I listened."
I nodded because he always listened to class but never take notes. It was fine though because he remembered all of it especially in language class since he already knew enough Tualian terms, he speaks it fluently. Maybe his memory was too big for the lessons because his past memory was deleted. In contrast of his excellence in class was his lack of knowledge of very simple things: rice cooker, fridge, soda cans, microwave, coffee maker, et cetera. How do you turn this thing on? Why is my locker jammed? But what is this and that?
There was a suspension of classes due to heavy rain so I watched Hamster Ville with Drev. My parents were at the kitchen, doing an inventory sale of the oranges while Nuvian was upstairs in his room. He was quiet lately.
I wrapped myself with blanket, my eyes glued to the television as well as Drev. I could tell Hamster Ville was his favorite show and the only thing he didn't like about going to school was missing it and having to watch it in a summarized rewatch on weekends with scenes cut off.
"If I was Leticia, I would choose Gareth," he said. Leticia was the short-haired main character with a crooked teeth admired by William, the nice but poor guy, and Gareth, rich and nice too but was mean to everyone else but her.
Typical story but it was the first thing Drev saw on the TV so I guess it was reasonable enough to have it as his favorite.
"And why?" I replied, stretching out my legs. I occupied the whole couch and Drev was on the floor leaning on the couch with his back. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, he wasn't affected by the cold weather.
"He has a nice car."
I rolled my eyes. Ugh, boys. "Leticia chose William because she doesn't need a nice car. She needs someone who would truly love her. Gareth is manipulative."
"Because the more you love the person, the better the ride would be? She doesn't need the car because she loves William and she could ride him anyway?"
I stared at him in disbelief. "Drev!"
"What?" He asked innocently. I don't know if he's just good in acting and lying but his face is really curious, waiting for an answer. The same face when he asks about new inventions.
"Who taught you that?"
"Japer. He said that people could ride people. Is it bad to say that?"
I groaned, covering my face with the blanket and pinching the bridge of my nose underneath. I pulled the blanket down with my feet and replied, "It is! Bad enough to not say it to my parents or mention it ever again. Get it?"
He didn't reply because the advertisements ended and the show aired again.
On Saturday night, I asked Drev if he would mind washing the dishes by himself, he said he wouldn't so I left him did it alone. I knocked on Nuvian's room and waited for a few minutes before the door finally opened.
"Hey," he said weakly. I caught glance of his puffy red eyes and figured out he was crying, before he could drop his gaze onto the floor.
I peeked into his messy room. "May I?"
He hesitated to open the door wide for me to enter, but he did anyway. I sat on the corner of his bed and looked around the change of his room. The band posters of Gaula were taken down and crumpled in his overflowing trash bin. The last band poster stuck to the wall has its half hanging after it was ripped off. His Atruf trophies were in a box, and the things from his study table were scattered on the floor.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, Grassi." He looked away. But I didn't reply so he filled in the silence with the answer. It's my way of making him tell the truth. "Lily and I broke up."
