I hope this little note somewhat helps.
Italics are either thoughts or flashbacks.
So I hope you are smart enough to figure out which is which.
Ivan in my story is sweet and kind. Not a crazy killer or harsh in anyway.
I hope I try not to make Matthew a wimp, just trying to add all the emotions that usually come when being gay. (In my prospective.)
So I hope that calms some of the fires in your mind...
So Elizabeta wasn't lying. There is a school festival going on. The teachers, the students and the principle were talking about it. Everyone was really excited. There was talking non-stop. Also, there were colorful posters hanging out in the school halls.
"Now we all know we're doing the café theme…" Elizabeta said, standing in front of the classroom. Mr. Wade sat at the back of the room, reading a magazine.
"And I have a great idea!" She turned to me and smirked.
She's not doing what I think she's doing….
"Wouldn't Matthew look great in a waitress outfit?" She boomed, looking confident.
Heads turn to me and blushing, I sunk down in my seat. I could hear the snickers and laugh from my classmates. I even heard the rustle of the magazine paper stopping.
"Matthieu will look great no?" Francis said, smirking.
I could hear Ludwig tsk-ing and without turning my head, knowing he's shaking his head in disapproval, maybe even in disgust.
"I won't do it!" I yelled out loud. The kids turned to me and talked at the same time.
"Ve~ come on Matthew do it!" Feliciano cooed.
Other classmates continued to try and coax me.
"Matthew, you'll look cute!"
"I wanna see you dressed up as a girl!"
I felt a hand placed on my shoulder.
"I'll like to see you in that too…" Mr. Wade said, grinning. Even he wants to see me in it. He was supposed to help me out!
This is harassment!
"I still won't do it…" I said, shaking my head. The whole class ranted in disapproval.
Elizabeta clapped to let everyone know to quite down. Placing a hand on her hip, she said, "The whole class voted on it….so no backing out now Matthew."
"Da Matvey, seeing you in a waitress outfit would be quite interesting." Ivan smiled.
I shook my head again.
"Fine then. Have it your way." Elizabeta said, composedly. Then she looked at me and gave a little smirk.
In some way, I felt like I wasn't really going to have it my way.
Damn her.
I planned on meeting Lilli in front of the school. Just a block away, I could see students idling. Yawning, I stretched and looked around. She told me she was going to be here….
"Matvey, good morning!"
"Ivan?"
What business would he have with me?
"H-hey…good morning to you…"
Suddenly, I feel my face smothered in Ivan's scarf. Then he starts walking.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" I yelled. I didn't want to get physical with him. He was bigger. I looked around embarrassedly, people were staring. Ivan walked down the hall and went into our classroom.
"Okay, mission accomplished." Ivan puts me down and I stare at him.
"No hard feelings, da?" He said to me. I turned to open the door but it was locked.
Elizabeta's head pops out. She looks side to side, sees if anyone is looking and pulls me in. I looked around the classroom. It was filled with girls and they were changing.
"Ahh!" I screamed, covering my eyes. The girls giggle and from peeping, I could see that they were changing into their waitress costumes.
"Matthew, take off your clothes." Elizabeta said to me, poking my ribs.
Getting comfortable with the atmosphere, I relaxed my hands. Elizabeta held a costume in her hand, shoving it to me.
"No! I'm not wearing this." I shove the costume back at her. I hug myself, just to prove that I'm not taking off anything.
Sighing, Elizabeta crosses her arms. She looks at the girls who are already dressed and nods. Smiling, the girls walk towards me.
"Get away from me…" I say, backing away. I feel the door handle and my hand fumbles to turn it.
But before I can escape, the girls pull me into their inner circle and strips off my clothes. This is not happening. I feel their hand run up against my body and pull up my shirt. I could see the girls smiling.
"Now will you wear it?" Elizabeta said, squeezing in the circle. I could see more girls joining in; probably want to see my body. She hands out the costume.
What other choice do I have? They already got my shirt and blazer. Sighing I extend my arm. "This is sexual harassment you know." I said, blushing. The girls squeal and clap their hands, celebrating their victory.
I slip on the dress and take off my pants. I could see the girls coming closer, watching my every move. Careful not to show my underwear, I hand Elizabeta my pants too. Looking more closely at my outfit, I complain.
"But why is mine a different color?" My waitress outfit was an apricot color with the fine and small designs a shade of hot pink. The dress is really short, above my knees. Sarah hands me an apron and ties it. The bottom of the dress had ruffles and I had really puffy short sleeves. Everyone one else was wearing the same uniform, but in black and white. All the girls cooes and examines me closely.
"To make you stand out, of course!" a girl teases. Elizabeta hands the girl a matching black ruffle cap like theirs and a very wide, silky blue ribbon. Pulling me closer, the girl puts the cap on my head, and adjusts my hair. Then putting the blue around my neck, she ties it, making it floppy and tightens it.
"There you go! Now we need stocking and shoes." Elizabeta said, twirling me around. I feel really self conscious and embarrassed. They really plan on making me look like a girl. What will they make me wear next, high heels and red lipstick?
Elizabeta hands the girls fishnet stockings and shoes with small heels.
"I can't wear that! How will I walk in it?" I complained. They hand me the stockings and I struggle putting it on.
"You're so clueless…"
Elizabeta bends down and helps me put on the stockings. The elastic end of the stockings each has one small blue bow. My heels are shiny black. As I put on the heels, I nearly trip.
"Woah! This is hard…"
I could already feel blisters forming. I was only an inch taller than some of the girls but now, I was tall enough by at least two inches. The girls hold my arms as I try standing straight.
"It's easy, just practice a little." The girls explain. Still wobbling, the girls walk with me around the classroom. After a few minutes, I got the hang of it.
Frowning at Elizabeta I say, "I'll never forgive you…"
She just smiles. "Okay, now we should get going. Don't worry, the hallways are empty."
"But one last finishing touches…"
Elizabeta digs through her purse and get out lip gloss and mascara. Seeing those two weapons in her hand, I try to run away. The high heels make it difficult for my escape, and I almost fall backwards.
"Just the lip gloss." I huff.
Elizabeta smiles as she squeezed the soft gel on my lips. Without notice, she pops open the mascara and curl my eyelashes.
"You're going to poke my eye!" I scream, pushing her away.
She stops and looks at me.
"I won't, trust me."
The damage has already been done. I guess there is no point in fighting this one. I relax and allowed her to continue. The brush tickles me and after a while my eyes feel heavy.
"Okay, we're ready to roll ladies." Elizabeta winks at me. Trailing behind, the girls squeal with excitement. Our theme café was going to help in the school's yard. Looking out from the window, I could see people already sitting, drinking cups of teas and other types of food.
Frowning again, I head outside. Some people look at me, laughing and others whoop and whistle. Glancing at Lilli, I blush and turn my head. Lilli is holding a pale of water and she comes over to me.
"Looks like Elizabeta wasn't joking…" Lilli says, looking at me up and down. I blush angrily.
"I don't like this…" I say. Lilli hands me a tray of cakes and tells me to hand them to our "customers".
"I have to go out there?" I say, surprised. Wearing this is one thing, but actually flaunting this is another. Elizabeta overhears and nods dramatically.
Nervous, I slowly walk out.
"How do you like the outfit I provided mon amour?" Francis smiles deviously.
"I hate you…"
Continuing to "act" like a waitress, I slowly walk over to other tables, careful not to fall.
"You look cute! Are you a boy or a girl?" An older student asks me.
"I'm a boy, now would you excuse me…." I trail off, not wanting to hear her answer. I didn't want to hear her surprise, or worse, how disgusted she is.
Then, I'm nearby some of my classmates. Some of them whistle and examine me, tease me and ask me for my number.
"Haha, real funny." I say, frowning.
"Ve~ you actually look like a girl Matthew, a very pretty girl!" Feliciano says, walking with Ludwig.
Ludwig looks embarrassed and looks down, causing me to blush angrily.
I shake my head. After handing all the plates, I see a hand shoot in the air. Walking over, I put on a smile.
"Need anything?" I ask. The comments have stopped, sort of, but it has calmed down a bit.
The head turns and I see its Ivan, sipping a cup of tea. He almost spits out his drink. Surprised by the sudden action, I back away. It takes him a full minute before he gives a small laugh.
"Da, you are actually pretty as a girl!" He says, still examining me.
"You don't say…"
"You even have the stockings and the shoes!" He scoffs.
Ivan takes another sip of his tea.
I sulked. Giving a deep breath, I asked again.
"Do you need anything?" I gave an annoyed tone.
Not taking the hint, he taunts me more.
"Have you noticed?" Ivan asks.
I gave him a confused look. How long have I been standing here talking to him? I let out a big sigh.
"Noticed what?"
Still smiling, Ivan moves his index finger in a circular motion.
"Someone has been taking pictures of you."
Immediately I look around. Pictures, where? I should've never let Elizabeta make me wear this! Now I wanted to leave. Turning, I briskly walk over to her, and shoved the tray I was holding. She gave me a confused look.
"I'm done." I say to her, and then walk away. I hear her call out to me.
"Matthew, where are you going!" she yells. "We're not done here."
The dress started to itch and I wanted to take this off badly. The idea of someone taking pictures annoyed me. If people calling me cute and laughing at me didn't bother me enough, someone having a photo of me did. He or she could keep this as a memory, or even worse, put this in the yearbook. Or, even more horrifying, they could sell those pictures, and then everyone has a little keep sake of this event.
I snatch off the cap and gripped it hard. I should've never let Elizabeta do this.
"There he is!" a boy from my class yells in the halls, rushing to me.
He puts his arm around me and pulls me into the class. As I struggle to get him off, the whole class claps.
"We won Matthew!" Elizabeta yells excitedly. She hugs me and picks me up and twirls me around.
Blushing, I ask, "What did I do?"
She puts both hands on my shoulders. "Because of your brave sacrifice, we get to go to the resort!"
Hearing what Elizabeta says, the class claps and whoops again. She hugs me again and I feel a hand ruffle my hair.
"You do know, it's at the end of the school year, da?" Ivan says, just entering the room.
The class quickly quiets down. I see that Elizabeta eyes widen. "I never knew that!"
Ivan nods, and trots to his seat. Some people groan and mutter at the sudden bad news.
"But anyways…" Francis says. "Look what I got…" he says, in a sing song.
He holds a picture in front of me. It's a photo of me from yesterday. I gasp at the pictures. It's me smiling and talking to a costumer while wearing the same costume. Looking at Francis, he takes the photo back.
"Where do you get that?" I ask angrily, trying to get the picture from him.
He holds his hand up and I jump to get it from him.
Damn, I can't reach.
He puts a finger on his mouth. "That's a secret. But other good news, I have more, mon amour."
I calm down as he shows me more. There's a picture of me looking uncomfortable, just when I got outside, a picture of me hold the pieces of cake, a few more and lastly, a picture of me bending down, showing a bit of my grey boxers.
Blushing, I try to snatch the photos again. "Gimmie that!" I yell.
He raises his hand again. "These are très sexy pictures of you mon amour, no need to be angry!"
A few more guys come over to see the commotion. He shows the photo to them, laughing and looking at me.
"Who knew Matthew looks good as a girl! Maybe you should wear a girl uniform." A boy says, eyeing the photos.
The group simultaneously looked at me. Shooting with embarrassment, I gently pushed my way to my seat.
Who could've taken those photos?
I would confront him or her, but the damage is already done. Even worse, he or she sold it; they must have other photos of other people too.
Quickly, I sat down in my seat. I nipped my thumb as I was lost in thought. My body warmed up in anxiousness. The whole class continued to enjoy their free hours in homeroom.
I could just leave this alone. I thought.
I could even make a profit out of it…
I made a joke, but it hasn't loosed my tense expression.
I gasped as a hand was suddenly placed in front of me.
"Still bothered by those pictures?" Ivan asks, leaning on my desk.
Too close
I scoot my seat back a little. Ivan picks his chair and places it near me. I sigh, relaxing and shake my head.
"Those pictures are very nice." Ivan chuckles. He licks his lips and leans in front of me.
I raise my eyebrows and give him a look.
"No, not really."
Ivan chuckles and shakes his head.
"Really," I lean back in my seat, my hands behind my head. "I'm starting to think they're gay." I relax my arms in my own shock.
Look who's talking… my conscious says, jokingly.
Ivan smiles and shakes his head again. "Da, they can be idiotic like that."
"But I think it's wrong for that guy to take photos of me and basically sell them." I grumble and lean my head on my hand.
"Who knows, maybe the person is in the school yearbook." Ivani says, shrugging.
"Maybe not." He adds.
I look at him.
"You know who it is…" I say, in realization.
Ivan raises both of his hands in defense.
"Нет, I never said that." He stretches his longs legs and leans back, causing the chair to squeak against the floor.
"Look Ivan," I cross my arms. "I don't like these photos being out publicly. You don't know how it feels."
Despise my tone, Ivan laughs. "Actually I do." Ivan says, giving me a crooked smile.
"You know Natasha," he says, pausing. I nod and he continues. "You should guess what I look when she wants to play salon."
I did imagine the picture. Ivan with crooked lipstick and makeup, maybe his hair in messy pig tails and with girly hair clips.
I laugh at the image. Ivan laughs along with me.
"Da, I wouldn't want pictures like that to be out either…" he says, thinking.
The bell rang and the class being to raise their volume.
"I'll help you look for the culprit." Ivan says, placing his chair back to his desk.
"Really?" I ask, surprised.
He would do that for me?
"Da," he smiles. "I wouldn't want pictures of me looking like that go to those idiots." He says laughing.
I sigh in relief, as if the problem itself has disappeared.
The ride home was very slow. Neither of my parents talked to me. I've heard enough of what the principle told them in the office. Her room needs to be more sound proof. Basically she said I was being bullied. She didn't include the most important part, or better yet, she didn't know.
Mother cleared her throat before talking. "If-if you want to talk to us about it, you know you can Mattie…"
No, there's no need to talk.
I can't be healed anyway.
I glance at Father.
I see him grip the steering wheel, relaxing, and grip again.
Does he think I'm a weakling, or does he feel the same concern like mother does?
It doesn't matter for now; I'm soon leaving this dreadful school.
I let out a big sigh and drop my bag on the floor.
"Math-eww!" Natalia screams and hugs me.
I ruffle her hair and hug her back. "Hey Natalia."
Father is once again, reading the papers. "What's with the big sigh?" he asks.
I groan and Natalia tugs on my fingers.
"I really don't want to talk about it Father."
It would be embarrassing, especially to Father, if I explain the whole me dressing as a maid incident.
"C'mon. You can talk to me." He says, giving me a warm smile.
"Yeah…but no." I say. Natalia tugs me more and I follow her to the small playhouse.
"Come inside Math-ewwww!" She laughs. She opens the small door. I glance at Father who laughs and shrugs.
Great help, dad!
"Uh Natalia, I can't fit in there. I'm too big." I explain. She crosses her arms and gives me an angry look.
"So?" she simply says.
"How about we play a different game?" I suggest.
"Okay! Let's play hair stylist!" Natalia says, not clearly angry anymore.
I widen my eyes. Thinking back to Ivan and him explaining his play dates with Natalia, I shudder at the thought of my hair being completely ruined. Not waiting for a reply, Natalia drags me over to the small seats
Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly follow and act ecstatic over how 'pretty I would look' or 'the girls would like me more'. Please, she doesn't even know what pleases girls. She's probably overjoyed with the fact she has many different hair ribbons versus a girl my age over her first kiss.
Digging through her book bag, she comes over with a glittery purple purse. Smiling innocently at me, she dumps all of the contents onto to table. The pretty colors catching the other girl's eyes in the room, they quickly swarm around the table.
"We're gonna help Math-ewww look pretty!" She smiles happily.
The little girls look overjoyed and each one of them picks up the hair accessories.
At least Natalia didn't bring make-up, I chuckle to myself.
After a few tugs on my hair and minutes, the door bust's open.
"Natasha, I'm here!" I hear Ivan's voice call out.
"Brat, brother, doesn't Math-eww look pretty!" She says.
I see her little feet run over to Ivan, and she pulls him over here.
I do an inner scream. Great, just great.
"Da, Matvey looks very cute!" he asks, laughing.
Blushing, I quickly pull out the objects tangled into my hair.
"We were playing hair salon!" Natalia explains.
Ivan laughs again. "Next time, he should play make-up artist with you, da?" He teases.
"Sh-shut up. She practically forced me." I say.
"Never trust this girl." Ivan hints.
"Brother, let's go home! We have a wedding to go to!" Natalia whines, putting the materials into her purse.
"Wedding?" I ask.
Ivan smile quickly turns to a frown and a blush seeps to his face.
"Da! Brat and I will get married today!"
Ivan bends down and holds her hand. "Now сестренку, you know brothers and sisters don't get married..."
Before any words can come out of her mouth, Ivan quickly picks her up.
"Well Matvey, see you tomorrow."
Ivan seems to be in a rush to leave now. As if a giant light bulb magically pops above my head, I smirk wickedly.
"Good bye Natalia, and to you too Ivan! Oh send me some pictures of your wedding." I say the last sentence low, making sure only Ivan heard.
Natalia continues to ramble on as Ivan waits patiently, also sending me an evil glare.
Natalia seems to really love her brother. The whole wedding thing can slide since she's young, but the look on Ivan's face seems to tell she has done this before. But still, sweet.
"Isn't Natalia lucky to have a brother like that?" Father says. I look at him and see he has the same feeling as me. Well, the brother-sister relationship part.
"I remember when you were little." Father says, daydreaming. He smiles slightly.
"Yeah, I wish I had a younger sibling." I say.
"Yeah, why don't we take one of these kids home with us?" Father jokes loudly, enough for the kids to turn their heads. They protest that they'll tell their mothers or fathers. The both of us laugh, and Father goes back to reading his paper.
I sighed, the warm feeling still remaining.
Ivan is really nice.
"Are you going to that basketball game this weekend?" Elizabeta asks, chewing on a straw. The usual group is here, Me, Lilli, Ivan, Elizabeta and a couple others. It's been pretty hectic because of that game. Every student is putting flyers and ignoring the regular school work. But the teachers are also at fault too. They started conversations on who would win and of course Mr. Wade had betted the other team would win. If we did win, he would pay at least each of us $10, we would do so if he won the bet.
"This bet is fun Ve~?" Feliciano says, chewing on gum. "We have Luddy on our school's team so we'll win."
Ludwig blushes, but then scolds Feliciano 'didn't I tell you not to call me Luddy!'.
"Well," Elizabeta started. "A bet is a bet, and besides, isn't it weird we're playing against our own school?" She asks us, making sure her question reaches everyone.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask, slurping my milk.
Elizabeta shook her head. "There's a few other school's called Hetalia, so it's kind of stupid to compete with a fellow Hetalian."
I laugh at the new ethnicity she gave us...Hetalians.
"Da, she does have a point." Ivan joins in, swallowing what he was chewing. "I just don't know what those people were thinking." I guess by those people, he means the principle.
"So are you going Matthew?" Lilli asks, licking her fingers. She tilts her head and adds another chip to her mouth.
"Uhhh…" I don't think I really want to go. "Well, sports aren't really my thing, except for Hokey."
"Who cares about sports? It's all about school spirit!" Elizabeta whoops, raising her fist slightly to prove her point.
"You're coming either way, mon amour; it'll be another date between you and Lilli." Francis says. The group wooes, and both Lilli and I blush and turn away. Luckily, before the others, especially Elizabeta could make a comment, the lunch bell rings, a signal that lunch is over. Everyone packs their things.
Throwing away my trash, I feel fingers tapping my shoulder. "Matthieu, mon amour, if you need any tips, ask me…" Quickly realizing its Francis, I turn around.
Tips, what does he mean by tips? "Relationship advice l'amour." He gives a small smile.
My face shoots red from embarrassment. Relationship advice? The idea of asking Francis for advice was more embarrassing then looking on the internet. My face still warm, I hurried my things and left. He doesn't seem to be dating anyone, but the way he acts, he seems to be surprisingly experienced. The way Francis flirts with girls and boys, like me for example. He thinks I don't see what he is doing, but I do. Either he's openly bisexual or just playing around. I prefer the second option.
During all of my classes, I thought about the game. I wasn't too concerned about it, but I haven't been this involved with school like this unlike my other school.
More like even asked to hang out with anyone for that matter…
Immediately my heart sank. I haven't thought about that in a while. I clenched my fist in anger. How is it that I could make amazing friends here when I couldn't there? I glanced at the teacher, who is moving his hands franticly and writing on the board, then at my classmates. I've gotten along with most of them, some beyond the acquaintance level since we hanged out outside of school, but not quite yet to call a true friend.
I was never good with chatting, but it seems I've cracked that shell. Or more like the hyper Italian dragging me to some people and started striking conversation. Everyone was nice, regardless if I was shy at first. Continuing an endless conversation in my head, I suddenly halted at the thought of Lilli. I was still lying to her. The fact that I'm still with her just seals the deal. I feel no problem with this relationship, since I don't feel attracted to her, but what about her? Of course, girls are very emotional (from what I've read), and they take it seriously. What would happen if she finds out I'm gay? I bet Lilli and everyone around her would feel furious. I used her as a cover up. She was basically only useful for that.
In some ways, I thought this was a useful experience. I've never went out with anyone but it seems I'm doing well. She's shy but easy to talk to and nice. Yeah, I get shy with her too but it feels nice that I know what I'm doing makes her happy. But the main problem is still the attraction. I didn't like her for one, and what would happen when the time comes for kissing, as in lips to lips?
I snapped back to reality and began writing nothing important.
I don't want to go there…
I tried listening to the teacher but I couldn't help but try to solve the problem in my head. What would happen if I did break up with her? Her friends would be furious. They would take their friends side and bash their hateful words on me. I wouldn't want the class to flip on me, but I don't want this to continue to a point where I can't handle this.
"Done daydreaming Matthew?" our Chemistry teacher Ms. Lora came over to me, banging her ruler on top of my desk. I jumped in my seat, nearly tipping. The kids laugh and she hushes them to quiet down. I clear my throat and part my eyes back to the board.
"Defense!"
The crowd stomps their feet, causing the benches to shake.
"Defense!"
Another stomp.
"Look we're winning!" Elizabeta nearly screams at me, trying to overshadow the loud crowd. She shakes her pom-poms, and boos' when the other team has scored a basket. Lilli said she couldn't make it because her brother came back from college.
I clear my throat; it became really dry and hoarse from yelling and whooping. I smile at Elizabeta who again, whoops with the crowd. I clap, clearing my throat again.
"Da, screaming a lot is bad…" Ivan says, coming closer to my ear.
"Yeah, my throat is already dry!" I swallowed hard, trying to make my throat moisten. The crowd, possibly our school, boos' again. I look at the score board.
10- US
7 OTHER
Looks like they're catching up.
I glance back at the players. I could almost hear their panting, and a few yells of 'I'm open!'. Loud squeaks of sneakers constantly filled the gym room. The game was held at our school and most of our students are acting a little fanatical. I've heard them yell things like 'You suck!' or 'Go home!', but I guess the other school would've done the same to us.
Another boo, and Elizabeta slumps down into the metal seat. She holds a bag of chips and extends them to me. I take one and she comps in anger.
"They just got 3 points!" Elizabeta says to me. Basketball is confusing to me. Before the game started, Elizabeta and Ivan tried to explain to me. All I remember is that 3 points are given when you shoot from a far distance. I glance at the score board and see that our team still remains at 10 points, while the other school has gained 4 more points, making is 10- US, 11- OTHER.
I think I shouldn't be here. I guess I've should've been investigation who our school was playing against. I scan the other school, sitting on the other side of the benches. Our school is playing against my old school. My heart sank thinking about it. Will I see some of my old classmates? For now, I don't see anyone familiar, or in other words, I can't, since people keep standing up.
I felt my back sweat. Before coming here, I've set out a plan. I would say I needed to go home and that would be all. Ivan and Elizabeta would understand, since they know I take the train. Gnawing on my sweater string, I kept looking down.
"Something wrong Matvey?" Ivan asks, obviously reading through me.
I shake my head to him. A few more whoops and boos later, I excuse myself. I run to the boy's bathroom and wash my face. Drying, I lay against the wall. Maybe I should leave now, just to make sure I don't face them. Standing motionless, I cringed at the thought of one year ago. Biting my lip, I wash my face again. I smack my face a little and dry up again.
The familiar loud crowd fills my ear drums as I take my seat. Elizabeta is yelling through a paper megaphone and Ivan is calmly sitting down.
"She doesn't even know much about basketball." Ivan says to me.
I glace at her, seeing her boo again and droop back to her seat, her face still angry. "I guess we owe Mr. Wade $10 each." She laughs, but her face tells otherwise.
I give her a shrug and she continues to cheer. "Doesn't she ever get tired?" I asked Ivam.
He leans forward to take a look at her. Elizabeta is currently sitting, fanning herself with her hand. She catches both of us looking and smiles. She clears her throat, then immediately stands up in anger. I turn back to Ivan and we both scoff a laugh.
"Oh my god!" Elizabtea yells, turning to us. Everyone at once get's up, I guess the game is over now. As Elizabeta groans, we slowly head out, the main entrance filled with people leaving out. It was really dark out, since the game said it'll end at night.
The sudden cold air quickly sooths my wamr cheeks.
I opened my phone and checked the time.
"Mattie, you want us to wait with you?" Elizabeta asks.
"Da, I could wait with you as well, since I'm waiting for a ride also." Ivan says texting and glancing at me in between.
My phone vibrated and I opened it. It was a text from my Father saying he'll come soon.
"Yeah, that'll be cool."
We moved aside and waited by the side buildings. Other people were waiting too, or at least loitering. After a few minutes, both the basketball players, some still in their jerseys, arrive. We all clap and woot, and some people, possibly their friends give them hugs or a hive five.
"So Matthew…" Elizabeta starts.
I rub my hands together and look at her.
"You sad that Lilli couldn't arrive?" She asks, getting closer to me.
I snap my tongue and shove her playfully. "Da, Matvey must be lonely!" Ivan smiles, joining Elizabeta's bullying.
"Matthew…is that you?"
Simultaneously, all of us look up. There's a group of guys, probably five and some of them are in jersey pants. I examine all of their faces and immediately I recognize the one speaking.
"G-G-Gilbert?" I stutter.
My heart skins as he smiles when he notices I could identify him.
"Hey look, it's the fa-"
Fag?
Secretly, Gilbert elbows the person behind him, making the guy grunt in pain. He continues to smile.
"Been a year man, how you've been?" he ask, nonchalantly.
I slightly clear my throat. Behind Gilbert's group snickers and whispers. I glance at Ivan and Elizaveta, who seem to be into our conversation, though a little confused.
"Um, I've been good." I reply.
"Oh, great game. I could of sworn we were gonna win." Elizabeta says. I sighed, mentally thanking her that she has lifted some of the strange atmosphere a little.
"Oh yeah, I thought we were gonna loose in the beginning, but I guess we had luck. I'm Gilbert by the way." He extends his hand to Elizabeta.
"Elizabeta, nice to meet you and this is Ivan." She says, shaking and then pointing at Ivan.
"Da, nice to meet you."
Gilbert smile slightly fades, but then brightens again.
"So um, how do you two know each other?" Elizabeta asks, sort of confused look on her face.
I was about to speak but Gilbert interrupts.
"Oh he used to go to our school, but he left so suddenly. I was meaning to ask you about that…" He turns to me.
"What happened man?"
I started to feel annoyed how Gilbert talked to me as if we were friends.
"Oh um, my Father found a better raise here, so we moved." I thought about adding 'I'm sorry' but I stopped myself.
Gilbert nods and the door bust open.
"Bruder!" a voice calls.
Gilbert and everyone, turn their heads to see whose calling.
"West, I was waiting for you. What took you so long?" Gilbert says, irritated.
Ludwig burst through the doors, panting slightly and his skin glistening.
"Sorry, Bruder, but I was cleaning myself. It wouldn't help to have some patience." He holds up a large duffle bag.
Bruder?
As in brother?
Ludwig and Gilbert are brothers? They look nothing alike. Seeing us, Ludwig gives a nod and a polite hello.
"Ja, so let's go. You're lucky the awesome me hasn't left you." He laughs. I would think Gilbert would leave but he turns to me again.
"I'll see you later Matthew." Gilbert halfway leaving, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Now we know what school you transferred from." Elizabeta says.
"Ah, sorry about that." I apologies.
"At least we know they have good basketball players, da?" Ivan says, looking up at me.
Looking back at the now large group, my heart beats franticly. What did Gilbert mean by 'see you again'? First of all, he's from a different school, -how-many-miles-away- I don't know. Second, it made me more nervous that he would want to see me again. What does Gilbert want? Does he want to torment me more?
My heart dropped again. Does he want service? I turn my eyes to Gilbert. As if sensing that my eyes are on him, he turns back. Gasping a little, I freeze. Is he going to come back and talk to me again? Instead, Gilbert smiles and gives me a wave.
What about Ludwig? Does he know what happened between us? It's not likely a good conversation to have with a brother. Discuss how your day went and Gilbert bursts out saying, 'My day went well, like how I had fun bullying an un-awesome boy named Matthew. How about you?'
My phone vibrates and I jump a little. Flipping it open, I read the message.
"Guys, guess I'm leaving first." I say. I look around for a red car. I glance back at Elizabeta.
"Oh bye. I guess I'll see you next week?" She says, lying against the wall. I nod to her.
Ivan flashes a smile at me. "Da, see you Matvey."
I walk over to the side walk and the red car immediately parks in front of me. I open the door and hop inside.
"Hey kiddo…how was the game?" Father asks.
I snap my seat belt and press my hands against the heater. "Well, we loss, so…" I trail off.
Father get's out of parking mode or whatever and starts driving. "Well, who did you play against?"
"It was against my old school…" I said, trailing off.
Father made a sharp turn, causing me to slide. "Oh really? Did you see some of your old friends?" He asked, taking a quick look at me.
Old friends.
"No. Not really." I said blandly. I leaded against the seat, bringing my knees up to the dashboard.
But instead, my heart was thumping.
"Matthew, I want to show you something."
Father is up in my new room. I haven't unboxed anything yet and all around the house, there seems to be endless square cardboard sitting around.
I looked at him confused, but follow him. He tells me we're going out and grabs his keys from the counter.
Blasting the A/C, he gives no hints to where we're going.
"You're going to love it Mattie!" is all he says.
Driving a few miles away from the house, I look out the window, though my mind wasn't focused out there. Both my parents had made attempt to bring up my mood. Take me out to the movies, showed me around the neighborhood, etc. I followed, though my spirit wasn't into the activities.
Pulling up to a building, Father continues to tell me how 'I'll love it' and 'I won't get enough of it'. A blast of cold air hits my arms and I shiver, though comforting in this summer heat. Looking up at Father, he only smiles more and we continue to drag on the long hallway.
"Williams, how you been!" a chubby man yells happily.
"Coach Rivas, long time no see! Lucky I found you again!" He shakes Rivas's hand and they both turn to me.
"Matthew, how do you fell about joining Mr. Rivas's hokey team?" Father says, smiling gleefully.
I widen my eyes. Over my few years in middle school, I've been introduced to Hokey through Father. He would show me his trophies of when he was in High school, and quickly, I started watching the games with him. I actually told him I had a somewhat interest, but Father actually took it too far, but not in a bad way. He would actually go this far to make me less depressed.
"Uh, I never played Hokey before though…"
"It's okay boy, we're having a program and taking in beginners. You won't join right away though." Mr. Rivas says, adjusting his cap.
I glance at Father who still has that smile planted on his face. What if I said no?
"S-sure…"
"Great! But it's a lot of hard work Mattie. Are you committed to it?" Father says seriously.
"Y-yeah. I've wanted to try it out…" I half lie. Thought the feeling has been there, I didn't want to take it into action.
"Okay, you start next week."
I'll try to input Matthew playing Hokey, but that's the least important thing in my mind.
Oh and yay!
Found a new editor.
Shout out to Yanatta for actually wanting to edit my piece of crap story.
But please...stop disabling PM!
*Forever Alone face*
Another Note:
Belarus has two names.
Natalia and Natasha.
Google, don't blame me.