Two

Troubled.

CHAPTER 04

The day begins slowly for Lolita, but it doesn't take long. He overhears an amusing conversation.

I've been bored chatting with Caleb about everything for a while now. I'm not saying he's boring; on the contrary, he's a talker. It's just that I'd rather clash with the other kid sitting in front of me. A real anorexic that, uh... Who again? Ah! Therine. That's it. She's chatting with her friend next to her. I bet that insolent girl wouldn't have greeted me if she hadn't had to turn around to say something to Caleb. She is so immature that it irritates me. Still, it makes me feel good when she's around.

She makes me forget the worries of adult life and puts a little sweetness into this hell I live. She reminds me of her; with that innocent face and carefree attitude, they have something in common. It tears my heart out when I think that I can't do anything yet and am forced to leave the person who means the most to me in this situation. It eats away at me. I squeeze the stitches. Then I notice that Caleb is watching me closely. He looks worried.

"Are you okay? You don't seem to be."

I blink.

"Yes. Don't worry. I didn't sleep well. So I'm a little behind."

"Ah! Okay."

We talk until the teacher arrives.

The class is going great. I love this teacher. He is really passionate about his subject. At the end, exercises are given for the next day. While I'm putting my things away, a funny discussion between Therine and her friend catches my attention.

"Hey. Therine. You do the exercise and I'll copy you tomorrow. Does it work?" Mireille asks her in a whisper, but loud enough for me to hear.

"Not even in my dreams."

"Come on, Mireille. My friend whom I love so much. Do it for me. In exchange, I'll flirt with Mokira for you because I see he's on your list."

What's the big deal? Even if she had said it softly, I would have heard it perfectly.

"What? Nonsense. I'm not interested in him."

"To others. He's so cute. Even you can't resist him."

"Who cares? He doesn't look at me anyway."

An idea came into my head. I decided to get out of my row and walk as close to them as possible to make Therine feel uncomfortable by telling her that I had heard everything. It would be fun to see the look on her face.

Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate, interrupting me. I read the message on the screen. It makes me angry, I feel stupid.

"But what a stupid idea to get mixed up with them."

I have other things to worry about, but I was going to have fun... Pfft. I scratched the back of my head and walked out of the amphitheater.

Therine is still troubled by Mokira and her suspicious behavior.

Mireille, Nelly, Caleb and I had gone out to lunch to be well recharged for the afternoon class. When we returned, I was surprised to find that Mr. M had skipped the second class.

"Your "hum hum" is no longer there," Mireille points out to me in the middle of class.

I know who she is referring to with her "hum hum" and I answer her without holding it against her.

"I noticed."

"Why did you scare her away? Bad girl. I bet you turned her down for a strip show. What would it cost you to do a few shimmies," she whispers to me.

"Oh you. Will you never stop coming up with crazy ideas?"

What a girl, this one. For her, good morals don't exist. She swears by perversity in humor. I love her for that. She knows how to turn taboo subjects into something really funny. On top of that, she has her frankness and her crazy side that I can't get away from. She kind of took me out of the closet. She's my favorite friend. She is the opposite of Nelly, who I love for her reasonable and responsible side. She is a bit like a big sister to me. We met on campus and it was a friendly love at first sight.

Mireille just laughs and we focus on the course. At the end of the course, I stayed to discuss a moment with my friends before taking the direction of my accommodation.

Arrived in front of my door, I turned around and tried to detect the sweet smell of food. But nothing. Does it mean that my neighbor is not there? Or was he there, but he didn't expect to wait for me to eat? Or, does he not want to cook for me? Disappointed, my heart bleeding, I went home. I took a shower, put on my pajamas and decided to study on my couch. I had barely started and I heard a noise coming from outside. More precisely, from across the street. Out of curiosity, I got up to see what could be going on. I hear the sound of a key falling.

"What if it's Mr. M?"

I open the door, put my head in the c***k and I see Mr M in front of his, trying to introduce his key in the lock.

"Good evening."

He doesn't answer.

"Hello!"

He turned to look at me. He looked tired and absent. I noticed some red stains on his T-shirt thanks to the weak light of the lamp installed in the corridor. It looked like blood. But he is not injured, at least not as far as I can tell after analysis. This intrigues me.

He stares at me for a moment and then goes home. Pff, the rude one. I decided to go home and continue my revisions.

"Well... When I say revise..."

I spent all night wondering what happened to Mr. M. I wanted to know if I was wrong about that stain I saw on his shirt.

For the rest of the week, we didn't talk. I must admit that it depressed me a bit. I was pretty sad though. I thought we had become "friends", that we could talk about what might be going on with him, but, I was wrong.

"Seriously depressed."

To put an end to this situation, at the end of the week, that is, Friday, I decided to have a little fun with him and did so throughout the weekend. First of all, I waited for him at the end of the class to leave at the same time as him. When I left, I told my friends that I had some urgent things to do. They didn't ask me any questions or try to stop me. On the other hand, Mireille had noticed that I had decided to leave at the same time as Mr. M. Damn.

"Are you going to join him? That's fine. It's better to start early to have time to do everything you want to do."

I was speechless. No, but...

"Perverse."

"What are you talking about?"

"About..."

"Nothing," the other p*****t cut me off.

"Go on, then! Go ahead," she said, pushing me towards the exit of the amphitheater.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

This girl really has an overflowing imagination. But well, that is what I like about her. I hasten my steps in order to join Mr M. While he walks on the road a few meters away from me, I accelerate my steps and come to bump against his back. He stops and turns around.

"Oh. Damn. I'm sorry. I didn't see you," I said innocently.

He frowns. I think he's about to give me a hard time...