Chapter 19: "Field Punch"
Today wasn't just any regular day. Today, they were going on a field trip, which was just about the best thing that could have happened. Actually, they were going to the history museum, but it definitely beat going to school. They all lined up and got on a bus. There were friends grabbing friends to sit next to on the bus and people claiming the esteemed backseats. Gilbert and Ned sat in the back together. Mathias sat near the back, too, much to Lukas' chagrin.
They were sitting too close to Gilbert for his taste, but Mathias wasn't one to back down, so he let Lukas sit on the inside and he sat on the outside. It was loud on the bus. Lukas couldn't be heard at all when he tried to speak and Mathias had to be louder than he usually was. Gilbert was making a lot of the noise. He was currently flipping off whoever was in the car behind the bus.
Mathias would have been doing it too if it weren't for Lukas and the fact that Gilbert probably hated him. He watched, though, smirking at some of the stuff they did. Lukas watched and leaned in, whispering, "Maybe you should give him a second chance." Lukas hated Gilbert. He really did. But he also hated seeing Mathias watch his two friends like that.
"I can't just be friends with him after how he treated you," he replied. The other boy just shrugged, knowing it ultimately wasn't his choice. Mathias smiled at him and leaned in closely so he could whisper. "Besides, I have you."
Lukas rolled his eyes but blushed nonetheless at the comment. Gilbert was still yelling though and the moment was short lived.
"YES I HAVE!"
"Gilbert, you haven't ever even been there."
"YES I HAVE! I WENT THERE ONCE!"
"You're not even allowed in the museum erotica, idiot."
Ned and Gilbert were bickering back and forth and Mathias rolled his eyes this time. He felt bad for Ned having to deal with him all the time. "Gilbert, you haven't been there. Stop yelling about it," he said, tired of hearing it. Gilbert and Ned both looked at him.
"Lookey there! Seems somebody wants to FIGHT ME!?"
Mathias stood up and turned around, nearly falling when the bus stopped again. "Yeah, I don't think so." Gilbert just laughed and pointed at him. "SCARED OF ME?" Mathias glared and clutched the back of the seat. "Should I be?!" Lukas grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down, shaking his head with a stern look. Gilbert was still laughing though and it took Mathias a lot of willpower to not turn around and lunge at him.
"Need your girlfriend to pick your FIGHTS?"
That was it. He stood up and stepped out into the aisle, hand raised and ready to strike Gilbert. Lukas stood up quickly, standing between Gilbert and Mathias, but in the midst of trying to sit him back down, he ended up with a bloody nose, the sound of Gilbert laughing in his ear, and Mathias fawning over him and muttering, "Sorry! Sorry!"
"YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO HIT GIRLS!"
He looked at Gilbert, but was done trying to fight him. It could only get worse from here. The teacher was already staring back at them and asking about what they were doing. Mathias covered the others nose with his jacket sleeve and said, "Nothing! Just dropped something and I was trying to find it!" He sat back down with Lukas and took off his jacket, still using the sleeve to wipe the blood away. At this moment, Mathias vowed to never fight again unless it was in self-defense. He really couldn't risk doing something like this again.
Lukas felt the warm blood gushing out of his nostrils and down his throat. It was salty and it made him sick. He pressed the cloth tighter to his face, then tilted his head back. "I'm so sorry! So, so sorry, Lukas!" Mathias said, not knowing what to do. Lukas just shook his head calmly and said, "Don't fight." Mathias nodded in agreement.
His nose finally stopped bleeding and now Mathias was pouring water from his water bottle onto the jacket and handing it to him. "So you can wipe it all off." Lukas scrubbed all the blood off and looked down at the jacket. "Sorry about the jacket," he muttered, his voice sounding stuffy. Mathias shook his head. "Nah, don't be sorry at all. It was my bad."
Gilbert was distracted by now. Thank goodness. Lukas couldn't stand to hear him cackling anymore. At least they were almost there.
When they got to the museum, they were split into groups. Luckily, Mathias and Lukas weren't in a group with Gilbert. They went through the motions for about half of it, but it was just so boring. Lukas could barely even stand it anymore. He tapped Mathias' shoulder and looked in his eyes, hoping he'd understand that he couldn't take anymore of this. He was thinking the same thing, though. Whenever they had a chance, they ditched the group.
It made Lukas a little nervous because they could have been caught, but Mathias was reassuring. "Hey, Lukas, look," he said, pointing to an old bald man in a painting. "That's you." Lukas scoffed and punched him in the arm. "No, that's me," he said, pointing to a man on the ground who was covered in blood. "After you punched me in the face."
Mathias was silent for a second. "Sorry, Lukas. Really." Lukas punched his arm again and said, "I'm teasing. It didn't even hurt." That was a lie, but he knew Mathias felt bad about it already. They continued walking through the museum, pointing at things and laughing, admiring other things and being genuinely impressed with others. This went on for a while until they could hear yelling from the next hall.
They cautiously moved closer and peered down the hall silently. It was Gilbert and some man in an ugly brown suit. He was yelling at him for entering a part of the museum he wasn't supposed to enter, apparently. They could see his face clearly. He looked like he might start crying and oddly enough, Mathias felt bad for him. He sighed and said, "Come on, Lukas."
He ran towards Gilbert. "Gilbert, there you are!" He talked slow and a little too cheerful. "You weren't supposed to wander off from the group, Gil!" Gilbert looked at him like he was insane, then squinted and started following along. "But! But! SHINY!" He said, pointing at a Viking helmet. Mathias grinned and nodded. "Yes, Gilbert. It is shiny, isn't it? Sir, I am so sorry! I was supposed to be his buddy today but I just lost track of him! He's a little on the slower side." The man looked suspicious, but nodded nonetheless. "Be more careful, please," he said briskly. They all nodded frantically and turned to go.
By the time they turned the corner, Gilbert was wiping the sweat off of his forehead and Mathias was rolling his eyes. "You're welcome, by the way."
Gilbert looked down. "Thanks. I probably would have gotten detention. And uh..." He started talking a lot quieter. "Sorry for making fun of him." He pointed at Lukas, who was watching from behind Mathias.
"Just don't do it anymore, okay? And I'll forgive you."
For once, Gilbert agreed, no questions asked. "Okay, okay. I'm done. Promise! Plus, it really sucks not having you for a friend, Mathias. Ned misses you, too."
Mathias nodded understandingly. "Yeah. I mean, I just need some time. But it's good actually talking to you instead of punching you." Gilbert laughed at that and started walking in the other direction. "I guess I'll go back. Tell them I really had to take a leak or something."
Mathias smirked and waved at him as he walked off. Lukas watched and said, "That was nice." At first, the other boy thought he was sarcastic, but he looked glad, actually.
When they got back to school, they still had to go to orchestra. When it was over, they began packing up and talking amongst themselves. "Hey, Mathias. My birthday is tomorrow," Lukas said. Mathias raised an eyebrow, wishing he would have been told sooner. "Oh! Where at? Should I come to your house?"
Lukas nodded. "Yes, around five. You can stay the night if you want," he said. Mathias nodded and said, "Happy early birthday!" Lukas smiled a little and nodded. "Thank you."
Lukas' eyes barely opened when he heard the phone next to his bed ring. He pushed the hair out of his face and stared at the little phone, it's clock lighting up brightly. It was midnight exactly. He wiped his eyes, picked up the phone, and put it up to his ear. "Hej?" His voice was groggy and he almost fell asleep again when he waited for the other person to respond.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUKAS!"
Lukas stared blankly at the wall and wiped a little drool off of his cheek. "Mathias, do you know what time it is?"
"PARTY TIME!"
Lukas buried his face into his pillow and groaned. "I'm so tired, Mathias. I'm gonna fall asleep, okay? I'm just resting for a second." With that, he fell back asleep, not even bothering to hang up.
Hello! Instead of saying something strange about reviewing, I wanted to address a review that had many questions! I thought that some of you might have the same questions!
1. Who is Ned? Netherlands. I have no idea why I called him Ned. I have just heard him called Ned so often and in my head, there was nothing else.
2. How old are Lukas and Mathias? 10-11. They do act mature, but I think it is easy to forget how mature children can be, especially at that age.
3. Danish and Norwegian language barrier and lackthereof? I've said it before in a previous chapter; I am not Danish or Norwegian or anything of the sort. The Germanic languages are not something I know a great deal about. When I wrote this, I did very little research during the actual process because it was just go go go. That was an error I was unable to catch. My apologies. (I will not go back and edit this, though.)
4. Do they attend an English school? They attend an international Christian private school. It is completely fictional and does not exist in Copenhagen. Everyone speaks English in this school because of the multiple language barriers.
I know this may seem like an unorganized mess, but you must trust me. I have been planning this entire story, and I do mean the ENTIRE story, for months. I have known the ending (the absolute ending) for months. Everything is written for a reason.
Alright! I believe that is all! Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans and happy regular Thursday to everyone else! (Unless Thursday is your birthday. Then happy birthday.)