Page 11 of Tell Me Everything
“You gotta give them something to remember the locals.”
“Didn’t expect that.”
I accepted the bubble tea he handed me. Bubble tea was my guilty pleasure. The only sweet drink I allow myself to have every now and then. Alright, most of the time.
“What?” I asked, taking a sip. “Because I'm so ‘uptight’, you think I can only take myself seriously?”
Alex was distraught. I didn't know why, but I loved seeinghis increasing confusion. “Uptight girls like you aren't my type.”You'll see.Okay, where was this pettiness coming from? Usually, I didn't care what people thought of me. But I was pretty, and rather hot. The only qualities I could give myself.Uptight girls like you aren't my type. Yeah, right.The way he'd said it had rubbed me the wrong way more than I cared to admit.
Alex rubbed the back of his head, not sure what to say. In this moment, he looked so young and open, something I didn't often see in him. “Um, well... yes.”
It was true that I came across as uptight and a bit haughty, but that was just a facade. I liked to make jokes. I just didn't have my sidekick to join in my mischief anymore.
“Touché,” I agreed, taking another sip. “You know, I wasn't always like this. I had to grow up very quickly when my brother fell ill, but I wasn't as serious and boring as I am now. I loved to make jokes, and to tell you the truth, my brother and I were a pretty hellish duo. My mother used to go crazy because of us. Sometimes we'd swap sugar and salt, or call strangers and try to sell them sex toys.”
Wait a minute. Why am I telling him this?The whole point of coming here was to piss him off until he didn’t want to see me anymore, not to tell him personal facts.
Alex sat down next to me, his eyes on the fountain. “I wish I could have met that part of you.”
“People change, for better or for worse.”
“I'll drink to that.”
We toasted. It was weird, but for once, there was a kind of understanding between us. I just hoped it wouldn't become a habit.
Chapter 7
Alex
“How’s my favourite redhead?”
As usual, Alex went into Elena's room to help with the lessons. Since the rehabilitation of her leg had begun, her presence at school had become irregular. Elena frowned when she saw Alex arrive. Despite the fact that he came several times a week, she still grumbled as soon as he arrived.
“I’m not a redhead! My hair is strawberry blonde. There's a difference.”
Alex rolled his eyes. Was she ever going to be happy to see him? He decided to annoy her a bit more. “You're kidding, right? Your hair's orange. That means you're a redhead, honey.”
Unlike what he expected, Elena placed her hands on her heart and pretended to be hurt. Alex smiled. Finally, she was playing along.
“Damn. Here you are, crushing my dreams. They say redheads don’t have a soul.”
“And you believe that?”
“No,” she said in a detached tone.
“Then stop being so dramatic.”
Alex took the textbooks out of his bag and sat down at the desk. She often grumbled about Alex's presence in her house, but she seemed to have understood that he would keep coming. At first, he'd come at her mother's request, but now he found himself intrigued by her. Sitting together in front of Elena's MacBook, Alex tried to load a search page. Nothing happened,and the progress cursor danced before their eyes.
Alex sighed. “I hate that coloured circle.”
“Me too, dear.”
He decided to be as dramatic as she was. “Look at that! We've got something in common. You'll see, we'll become friends because of the things we hate.”
Elena raised an eyebrow. She tried to remain impassive, but the corners of her mouth lifted. Alex knew he was on the right track.
“I doubt we have anything in common.”
