Nigel was emptying some grocery bags into the pantries inside a small kitchen in his tree house. He even had a small refrigerator where they kept the drinks and dressings they used for their appetizers. Any strange person who went to that tree house would think that it is a complete house. It even has a small bathroom that Abby used the most because of consuming too much soda, mainly at his sleepovers.
A noise behind him put him on alert but when he turned to see who or what it was, it was just Kuki polishing his shoes on the small mat he had placed at the entrance.
"I'm sorry Nigel, I didn't mean to scare you," the girl leaned forward apologetically and the boy let out his breath, for a moment he thought it was some intruder.
"Don't worry, Kuki, come in," he approached a small table that served as the dining room and moved the chair so that she could take a seat.
"I missed this place a lot in the summer," Kuki said, making herself comfortable while she admired the place. "Although I thought Hoagie or Rachel would be here."
"Hoagie told me he was going out with his girlfriend today and Rachel went out with Fanny to get something from the dance that they wouldn't tell me, you know how girls are."
"And Wally?" Kuki asked with a small voice.
"I haven't talked to him, he's been acting weird since yesterday."
"It's true, I don't know why I asked about him," the dark-haired woman commented, playing with her fingers.
"Have you had a fight yet?" Nigel asked and the girl nodded her head "But how silly Wally is, I thought something had happened between you, well you know, how you were together almost all summer and stuff. By the way, you haven't given me details of what happened, I hope I haven't missed anything…" he stopped when he saw that the girl was still looking down. "Is something wrong Kuki?"
To Kuki, Nigel was like her older brother. He was always looking out for his well-being and for some reason, he always knew what to say. He seemed the most sensible of the group and the one who held everyone together. Because in a group of friends you're always going to see disagreements, fights, conflicts and Nigel seemed to have a natural talent for defusing whatever is causing a problem. And he did it not only with them, but also in school matters, with the other students and even with any authority. If she had to talk about her problems, Nigel was a very good option.
"I'm not sure if we got into a fight, but he seems angry and it makes me angry" She clenched his fists against the table "I thought that the time we spent together during the summer had made Wally change but no, it's not like that, he's still so... he's still so... Idiot!" she said this last out loud and closed his eyes hard. She didn't want to see Nigel's face right now where she was so vulnerable.
"Ok, first of all, turn down the foam on your chocolate" Kuki couldn't help but laugh at the funny sayings that Nigel always said "You know, I find it funny that you come here to talk about Wally like that when we all know that well, he interests you too much. And I'm pretty sure he thinks the same way."
"I do not think that's possible."
"Why? Just because he didn't tell you doesn't mean he's not sorry. He cares a lot about you, Kuki."
"Then why didn't he ask me to go to the dance?" She lifted his face and looked Nigel straight in the eye. She was on the verge of tears and Nigel got up to his pantry and filled a bowl with nachos and put a jalapeño-cheese dressing on top. Then he sat back down.
"I think you need some of this," Nigel said, popping some nachos into his mouth. "Go try them, I know you love this dressing."
Kuki looked at the bowl in front of her and then began to slowly devour the nachos.
"If you want to go to the dance with him, why don't you ask him?"
"Are you crazy? Girls can't do that. There is a code for everything. The guy should invite the girl, that's not how things work."
"Who said that? Wow, girls have some very strange codes" he continued chewing with fear when he saw how Kuki looked at him angrily "What? If Rachel hadn't asked me out I'd be lonelier than Batman without Robin."
"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Rachel was the one who asked you out? Wow, I'd love to hear it." She got up and went to the small fridge and took out two orange soda pops and handed one to Nigel.
"As Hoagie would say, I never say no to a cold one," he opened the can and took a big sip before continuing the conversation, "Do I really have to tell that story?"
"I'm not leaving here until you tell me."
"There really isn't much to tell." Nigel adjusted his glasses and smiled lopsidedly. He was inwardly grateful that he'd cobbled together a story of how the two of them started dating while leaving out the details of his double life as a teenage KND agent, though clear the part where Rachel asks him out was completely true. "As you know my dad forced me to go to a camp and well I thank him because that's how I met Rachel and from the first day we started talking, we did activities together, we ate together and her friend Fanny was also there and she joked with us that we made a good couple. At first, I ignored her but then I began to see her with different eyes. One day we were near the lake at night, that day there was a full moon and we went to see her and I felt a special connection with Rachel, she was interested in the same things as me and we were very focused on competitions and everything we did, you know perfect timing, but I didn't know how to tell her. I didn't want to screw things up."
Kuki could identify with Nigel in that aspect. Not wanting to mess things up with Wally made her hold back from doing anything to upset him but it seems like fate doesn't want them together because just when she thinks they're getting closer, something happens that she ends up pushing them apart.
"And that night," Nigel continued recounting his story, "I really thought it was the right time to tell her how I felt but at the last moment I chickened out and kept talking about other things until she got mad and wanted to leave but I stopped her, told her I said I didn't want her to go and that's when she told me that she was afraid of losing my friendship but that she was going to tell me anyway that she liked me a lot and that she would be the luckiest girl of all if I agreed to go out with her and well, I couldn't give her a proper answer because I was just babbling a lot of nonsense and then, well, she came up to me and kissed me."
"But how beautiful your story is," said Kuki on the verge of tears, hugging the bowl of nachos that she had almost finished by herself. "I can't, it's too cute," she covered her face with her hands trying not to cry.
"Relax Kuki, it's not that big a deal," Nigel said, pulling his shirt collar.
"I wish that… that Wally, well, but he's not romantic or anything like that."
"You should just tell him you want to go with him."
"I… I can't Nigel. I already agreed to go with someone else."
"It can't be," he put his palm to her face in exasperation, "what am I supposed to do with you two?"
"It doesn't matter. Maybe we can go to another dance" she looked away "Do you think I should just tell him how I feel and that's it?
"You know how Wally is. He will probably fight again but you always find a way to be together."
"You're right Nigel," the girl smiled at him, "Can you give me more nachos?" asks the girl, handing the empty bowl to the boy.
"A second round on the way," said Nigel, getting up to please his guest.
At the same time, while Kuki and Nigel were talking in the tree house, Wally went to Abby's house to talk to her and see the state of her friend. She had missed school that day due to his injuries from the day before and he needed someone to talk to.
Mr. Lincoln greeted Wally and let him in, but not before offering him his famous freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
"I'm glad Abigail has visitors, it's been a long time since I've seen you here Wally" he patted the boy on the back as he took him to the living room of his house, where Abby was lying on the sofa and her foot hurt rested on a cushion with a cold compress. Around her nose you could see that she was somewhat swollen and purple.
"I didn't expect you to come to my house," the girl commented when she saw that Wally was sitting on the other sofa that was in front of her.
"Can't I visit you? Sorry if I worry about you," he crossed her arms.
"Oh Abigail, what about your manners?" Her father interrupted them, "You should be glad that your little friends come to visit you."
"Could you give us some privacy, Dad?" The girl asked and her father excused himself to go upstairs to get ready for his shift at the hospital.
"Does your foot really hurt that much? It didn't seem so bad yesterday," Wally asks when he sees that the girl sat on the sofa and placed the cold compress on her foot again.
"It doesn't hurt that much, in fact my nose hurts more but dad checked me out and luckily they didn't break it" Wally looked at her with some concern "Oh come on, get off that face pretty boy, I'm fine. It's all a precaution for the basketball tryout tomorrow and I want to be 100% for that and for the dance.
"Oh, I almost forgot, the test was postponed until next week because preparations for the dance have started and no one can use the gym now."
"Really? That means Abby can stay another day at home heh heh heh."
Wally checked his cell phone and saw that the message he had sent to Kuki was still unanswered. She was surely still upset, she had practically ignored him all day and he already felt weird. Wally missed her talking to him between classes, waiting for him to go to the cafeteria together, scolding him for not doing homework and going to their locker together. And they only had two days like this. How much longer was he going to put up with it?
"I wanted to talk to you," Wally said suddenly, calling the girl's attention. The truth had been strange to him that his friend suddenly appeared at his house. It was unusual for him to go alone. Something big must be going on for him to bother to come in person.
"I figured. Does it have to do with Kuki?"
"What do you know about that?" Wally asked although he later felt that the question was unnecessary since they were best friends. She would probably already be aware of the whole situation.
"Depends on what you ask," she said looking at her nails.
"Why is everything with Kuki so complicated?"
"Are you asking me?" Dude, I think you came to the wrong place."
"She's going with another guy, isn't she?" he asked hoping to get a no for an answer, but that wasn't the case "I should have asked her before, I feel like an idiot" he passed a hand on his forehead as a sign of frustration.
"I don't know if you're aware, but probably more than half of the girls in our grade are waiting for you to choose one of them to be your date for the dance."
"What? That's ridiculous."
"Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" I don't call you pretty boy just as a nickname among friends, you really are." The comment made Wally blush a little. "But don't worry, you're not my type. What I mean is that you may not know it because you are so busy watching Kuki all day but you are quite popular, maybe one day you will stop hanging out with us when you are invited to the popular table or where the sports teams meet."
That would explain why in the last few days, everyone wanted to say hello to him and the girls looked at him more than usual. Well, he was not ignorant regarding his appearance, he knew that he attracted attention but never sought to be the center of attention because of how he looked, but because of her actions and his fists.
"So, who are you planning to invite to the dance since Kuki isn't available?" She leaned over and took a cookie from her father and popped it into her mouth.
"I don't want to go with any silly girl," Wally said and after thinking about it for a few moments, he came up with a crazy idea. "Perhaps, if no one has asked you, we could go…together?"
Abby nearly choked on the cookie she chewed. Never in a million years did she think that Wally would go to her house, ask her to the dance as if it had no consequences.
"Are you crazy? Kuki is my best friend, I can't do that," she replied, still coughing from the cookie.
"You're also my friend Abby," he said somewhat annoyed without understanding the situation "Well, I don't really like the idea of going to a silly school dance but I don't want to go with someone I don't know and if you don't have a partner yet, I thought that… it would be a good idea to go together."
Abby thought for a few seconds before giving him an answer. She obviously would have to call Kuki after Wally left her and make her situation clear to him. That they would only go as friends, that there was nothing else there. Enough that Wally jumped to defend her the day before and the rumors had already spread that there was something between them. Despite having missed classes, Abby was very aware of her cell phone and her social networks. The photo of Wally carrying her in her arms had gone viral.
"Okay, we'll go together," said the girl at last, "But only because among the proposals I've received none is worth it and I'll tell my dad to take us, so it won't look like I have something serious with you if your dad takes us."
"It must be because none of them are Hoagie." Abby threw a cookie at Wally's face for making such a comment.
"Hey! I've always been on your side," he complained.
"I don't understand why men are so stupid."
They continued talking for a while, especially about Kuki. Wally had to apologize to her for being the way he was. As he was leaving Abby's house, Mrs. Lincoln arrived and Wally was happy for her friend that her parents had reconciled. On one occasion he had to see Abby cry because of the problems her parents had at her house and that made him feel very bad, especially since he had never seen the girl in such a vulnerable state. He hadn't even seen her cry for Hoagie, that although she knew the girl suffered for him, she was always so strong.
Walking towards her house with a determined step, he rang her cell phone and was glad to see Kuki's name in the notifications on the screen. She had sent him a photo with the notes from the philosophy class that clearly he had not written anything since he was frustrated thinking about what to do to remedy the situation. That he took as a good sign that she wouldn't be angry for too long.
