Certain
chapter 2
Wally was straight. Kuki was certain of it. She knew this like she knew Rainbow Monkeys were cool. It was in everything that Wally did; it was in the way he would cover his hot lunch with vegemite everyday. Kuki knew for a fact that Mrs. Beetles made him a bag lunch every morning before school, but Wallabee insisted on buying to keep up "manly" appearances. Apparently, only losers brought food from home.
This, however, didn't stop him from adding exorbitant amounts of Australian flavoring, in a concentrated manner. Once, Wally had confessed that vegemite tasted of home for him. It made him feel at ease, confident, and grounded. It tasted like family and his roots and the place where he was born but now only saw in dreams. He was being so sweet that she didn't have the heart to tell him that it tasted like crap on sushi.
Wally would stare resolutely at his meal, adding more vegemite as he became more uncomfortable with how Kuki would lean over the table to whisper something in his ear, so she could be heard in the noisy cafeteria, or how their knees would knock together when she laughed, or how her pleaded skirt was a little shorter today, providing a longer sketch of bare skin between the hem and knee socks for him to try not to stare at.
Then there was gym. Wally would run and play with a vigor he rarely showed since turning thirteen. There was a light of triumph in his eyes that she missed. Kuki couldn't help but pull back the large curtain that separated the two sides, so she could see a glimpse of the Numbuh 4 again. He would catch her staring and freeze mid-toss. A slight blush would emerge across his cheeks as she smiled warmly at him from across the court. He would snap his attention back to the game and throw the ball back with extra enthusiasm, as if a dodge ball game would prove his worth to her. Kuki felt pity for the victim who dropped to his knees immediately after impact of the fervent pitch.
Wally was most definitely straight and had a crush on her.
It was, however, odd when he started acting different, as if he had changed over night. At lunch, he would stare off into space while he applied his vegemite with a confused or thoughtful look on his face. As if Wally thinking about something wasn't strange enough, he also wouldn't mind when she leant over to him or they brushed against each other. His smiles were no longer shy, but merely friendly.
The boy started to drink tea! He wanted to go shopping with her and have his hair styled fashionably.
They were studying in Kuki's room, with Wally sprawling unceremoniously on her bed, tapping the eraser against his textbook, with that thoughtful look on his face that was slowly driving her insane. Kuki looked over the problems that she would be helping him with this week, trying to ignore the way Wally was now idling playing with the hemp necklace Abby had given him for Christmas.
How did she never notice how tan his neck and broad his shoulders had become? Were Wally's hands always that strong? When did she develop this urge to crawl into his big, protective arms?
"You know," Wally said, stopping his fidgeting to look at her seriously.
When did Wally become capable of seriousness?
"You should consider going out with Sandy. He has those pretty brown eyes. I don't really like freckles, but some girls find them really cute."
When did Wally stop being a little boy? When did Wally stop being everything she had assumed he would always be? When did Wally stop being hers?
When did Wally stop being straight?
And did this mean it wasn't cool to sleep with Rainbow Monkeys at seventeen?