Chapter 4
It grew closer to time to start the school year off on a positive note, a good foot, even, and Simon, the ethical, more mentally confident brother among the three was silent for a large portion of the morning. He chewed at his nails and spun his protractor around his fingers. Everywhere the brothers went within the school, he followed along noiselessly. His thoughts that were once filled with science equations and quantum theory and the memorization of thirteen decimals of pi was suddenly occupied with… her.
He would be caught in a fib if he didn't admit to looking for her as they roamed the halls, and some of the time, he thought he might have caught a glimpse of her, or perhaps, it was his active imagination. Either way, he hoped to be blessed with one more look in to her emerald-green eyes accompanied with that perfect smile – braces and all.
"Earth to Simon!" Alvin exclaimed as he waved a hand in Simon's face to snap him out of Lalaland. The sheer motion caused Simon to whip his gaze towards his brothers, both seemingly annoyed.
"Fellas… I-"
"We were talking to you this entire time," Theodore calmly informed the sick-stricken boy. "What are you thinking about that's got you in a slump?"
Simon heavily sighed as he stopped and let himself fall into a group of red and white lockers, holding the strap to his backpack ever-so tightly. "Fellas… I don't know… I-I'm not sure. I'm feeling under the weather, perhaps."
Alvin smirked as he perched himself next to his flush-faced brother and studied him from sweaty forehead to trembling knees. "Don't tell me you're thinking about those babes, Si. What are you feeling?"
A distressed Simon shrugged as Theodore carefully joined their side, patiently waiting for a response. "Like, my stomach is in knots and my heart has this weird flutter!"
With a scoff and roll of his eyes, an agitated Alvin landed a fist into Simon's shoulder, making him wince in pain.
"What was that for?!"
"You're not sick, moron! Newsflash; you have your first ever crush in life and you don't know how to handle it!" He finished off with a soft chuckle and wiped a single tear that slipped from his navy-blue eye. "You like her! There's nothing to be ashamed about!"
"I have all the shame to have in the world!" Simon contradicted with a huff as he yanked at his locks of hair. "I only made eye contact with the girl, and suddenly, I feel this way? This can't be right. I-I don't even know the girl's name for Pete's sake!"
Irritation began to fill Alvin; he hated how Simon always turned seemingly simple interactions into an unnecessary, death-defying adventure. Just as Alvin was ready to dismiss the negative, shaken up mess that was Simon, his eye caught something rather spectacular just on the far side of the hallway…
A struggling, purple-attired female who found trouble opening her locker with books slipping from her hands sparked an idea deep within Alvin's one-track mind.
"Hey Si… if you're not chicken… how about you talk to her, like, right now!"
He took Simon's shaky shoulders and whirled him around to face the quirky beauty turning red in the face with sheer embarrassment as she yanked viciously at her locker handle. Simon released himself with several shakes of his head and paced himself in the opposite direction, his own face blushing a rose-red. Alvin and Theodore were quick on his heels. "I-I-I can't, fellas. What do I say? What do I do? I don't know how to do these things."
On a more serious note, Alvin could read the distress written in his hazy eyes, his glasses fogging up yet again, sweat dripping from his temples. It was true; Simon could answer questions ranging from Chemistry to Biology, Calculus to Trigonometry. These set of questions, however? No answer could be found in his database.
"Listen," he began with a sigh. "I'll try some other time, but until then…"
And he was off down the hallway without another word spoken.
"Man," Theodore began as he pulled a sandwich from his backpack and took the widest bite imaginable, tiny crumbs falling to his chest. "He's really beaten up over this girl!"
"Yeah, but he'll get over it," Alvin replied with all the confidence he could muster up. "He's a newbie to the dating game; he'll be fine." He paused suddenly, his eyes widening along with his grin. "Theo, do you understand how clutch this school year's gonna be?!"
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?!" he repeated excitedly. "Hot, new chicks? Doesn't that sound awesome?"
"Well…"
Ever-so abruptly, a crowd of students quickly roamed pass heading to their respective classes, and within the group, Theodore's starry-eyed gaze caught that of his lovely girlfriend of one year, Stephanie Rogers; lengthy, gorgeous, black hair, freckles upon her pale face, and a smile brighter than anyone's future. He watched her intensely before directing his attention back to Alvin, an eyebrow cocked. "Listen Alvin; those girls are cute, don't get me wrong, but my Steph has my heart…"
And by pure coincidence… that damned blonde… that God-damned blonde with that green crop-top and those Daisy Duke shorts swished on by, the scent of strawberries creeping its way into Theodore's nostrils, and a rather guilty tingle slithered its way up and down his spine, his fingertips becoming cold and numb, his heart pounding against his chest.
"And… what were you saying?" Alvin snarked with a sly smile, and hand resting heavily upon Theodore's shoulder.
With a sigh, "I told you once, and I'll tell you again… bite me…"
