Chapter 7

They sat opposite each other in a comfortable silence, watching the outside world turn to a blur. Every flower in every bush became but a mere speck of red and yellow on a green mesh. Every cloud transforming and merging together into a white streak on the distant and ever expanding blue horizon

"Easter is next week isn't it?" asked Laura.

"Already?"

"Yeah time sure flies. It seems like only yesterday we were running around and playing in the forest-" Arnaldo smirked at the memory and leaned on the window.

"The one with the really big tree right?"

"Yeah, the one where you broke your leg on."

"Hey, that's no fair. How come I always got hurt and you never did?"

"Come to think of it," he pondered, "my whole childhood could be described as a series of pains. Though in that regard-not a lot has changed."

"Because you're a dumbass. Simple as that," answered Laura matter-of-factly. He scoffed whilst leaning back on his chair and running his hand through his hair.

"Sure. Whatever, midget."

"But just like then, Laura is there, to help me through the pain," Laura narrowed her eyes and kicked him in the stomach with the heel of her boot causing him to kneel over in his seat in pain.

"And also, of course, to cause me pain."

"Come on, our stop is coming up"

As they left their train behind, they walked along the outskirts of their home town until they reached a cul-de-sac. They walked up to a large two story white house, with a black roof and white porch with white lawn chairs and a small grill.

"I'm home!" he screamed as he unlocked the front door to his house, only to be answered back with silence.

"Guess my parents are still at work."

"And what about Maria?"

"I think she's meeting a friend," he said as he took off his shoe and walked up the flight of mahogany stairs and entered his room.

The walls were painted bright blue and the ceiling was pure white. In the right corner was a large bed with blue and green pillows and a green blanket. Opposite of it was a brown recliner and above the bed was a shelf with large of selection of books, all stacked and organised in alphabetical order. In the left corner was a desk with a laptop on top of it and next to that was a wardrobe with a mirror.

Arnaldo took off his vest and threw it on the office chair. Laura tried to step in but was stopped by Arnaldo's hand.

"Up, up, up! Shoes!" he says pointing at her boots.

She kicked them off with a heavy and exaggerated roll of her eyes.

"Thank you. Please, take a seat," he said as he dragged the recliner closer to the bed. Laura sat down on the edge of the bed and Arnaldo sat down on the chair, resting one leg on top of the other and entwining his fingers on top of them.

"Now, Miss Riverman, what seems to be bothering you?" asked the Italian as Laura sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed.

"Well, there's this boy in my music group."

"Is this boy causing you trouble?" he asked, grabbing a notepad and pen from his desk.

"Well-yes and no."

"Please elaborate."

"It's not that he's doing anything bad it's just-" she went silent as she ran her fingers through lavender locks.

"He's a complete and utter idiot! Always being late to practice, never paying attention, not listening to me when I try and correct him, never talking to anyone, always being nervous and shy for no reason, always scribbling in his damn notebook instead of taking practice seriously-" she stopped for air as Arnaldo wrote down everything on his notepad.

"But?"

"-but he makes my heart stop whenever he looks at me, I feel an intense heat between my legs whenever I talk to him, I get lost in those beautiful green eyes of his, he keeps invading my dreams, I find myself thinking about him when I get bored, his drawings are a work of pure genius, I can't stop staring at his lips and-" she picked up one of Arnaldo's pillows and screamed into it.

"What's happening to me?" she asks, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Well, it appears you have your very first crush. Congratulations," he says while putting away his notepad and pen as Laura sat up and threw the pillow at a nearby wall.

"What do you suggest I do?"

"Just ask him out," Laura quickly went into panic mode upon hearing that.

"I-I can't do that!"

"And why not?"

"I've been nothing but a bitch to him. All I ever do is scream at him, nag at him or both-" She sighed a sad and defeated sigh.

"-I wouldn't be surprised if he hates me."

"Clueless. Completely and utterly clueless."

He sighed and stood up from the chair.

"I'm going to grab some snacks. When I come back we'll think of a plan. Sound good?" she nodded and he left the room.

The kitchen was fairly spacious. It had a black and white tiled marble floor, a large wooden dining table, a kitchen island as well as all the things that one would find in a modern home. The grandfather clock ticked and tocked as the sounds echoed through the house.

Arnaldo opened the fridge and began to rummage through it.

"Let's see, Cool Aid, OJ-" he grabbed a container of purple liquid and examined it carefully "-purple stuff..."he placed the strange liquid back inside.

"Ah, here it is," he thinks while grabbing a bottle of yellow liquid.

He heard the sound of the front door unlocking and went to investigate.

Standing there was a girl, two years his junior. Her ebony black hair was cut into a short and shaggy bob. The skin on her neck, just barely sticking out from her hair, was as pale as the first winter's snow. She was wearing a white Adidas jacket over a black T-shirt with white Adidas pants and white tennis shoes.

Her back was facing him and he could see that her breathing was heavy and sporadic by the way her shoulders seemed to be moving.

"Maria-" he called quietly, but just loud enough for her to hear him.

She turned around and looked at him with eyes as black as midnight.

"O-Oh, Arnaldo! You're here?"

"Where else would I be? I live here." he deadpanned with a curious glance.

"H-Heh yeah, I-I guess that is a dumb question." Arnaldo raised an eyebrow.

"What's got you so flustered? If I recall correctly, you were at a friend in the city. What was her name again?"

"A-Angelica. Angelica Deforest."

"Right. So, using logical deduction, I hypothesise that something happened there that has gotten you so worked up. So, Maria Caglione," he stepped closer and leant down to face her

"You going to tell your big brother what happened?"

Maria's pale face grew a healthy shade of pink that seemed to darken the more she began to stammer and stumble over her words.

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing happened. Not a single thing. Hehe-" before he could interrogate her any further, she dashed around him and up the stairs.

"No running!" the Italian screamed up the stairs.

"Sorry!" yelled back Maria, before the sound of a dorm slamming echoed through the house. He shrugged and went back into the kitchen.

After a couple of minutes, he returned back to his room with the bottle of Fanta and a bag of chips. Laura had moved from the bed and onto the recliner and was sitting in such a manner that her head was resting on one the arm rests and her feet were dangling over the other.

She snatched the bag from his hand and began to devour them post-haste. He placed the bottle of Fanta on the table, grabbed a book from the shelf, laid down on his bed and began to read.

He didn't even get to read the first page when Laura began to speak.

"So what are we gonna do?"

"Well, I suggest you start being nicer to him. Though, knowing you, that's a nigh impossible task," she glared at him with a look that could kill a lesser man, to which the Italian nearly shrugged.

"You're only proving my point," he said as he placed the book down next to his legs.

"Perhaps give him a love letter?" she looked at him with a questioning look.

"Anonymous of course. Nothing too complicated. Perhaps a bit of poetry." he said as he started searching through his books.

Almost immediately he pulled out a small black book.

"This book right here helped me throughout most of my love life."

Laura stood up from the chair, grabbed the book from his hand and started flipping through the pages.

Her expression grew more and more annoyed with every page before she threw the book at Arnaldo, who just managed the duck out of the way.

"This is erotica!"

"Yes, but it's good erotica," she cracked her knuckles with an audible crack and Arnaldo raised his hands in defeat.

"Ok, ok. Maybe we should start with something a little less straight forward," he grabbed his chin and pondered. He sat and thought for a couple of minutes before he gave up with a shrug.

"I'll be honest. I can't think of a single good love poem at the top of my head," Laura frowned and gave a sad sigh as her gaze switched to her feet.

"But," he continued

"If you come back here tomorrow at-" he looked at the digital clock sitting on his window sill.

"-say about eleven, then I'll have some poems written by me ready for you."

She leaped into him and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" she repeated into his shoulder and he kissed the top of her head.

"No need to thank me. We're family Laura. We look out for one another."

She lifted her head and gave him a warm smile as her hands travelled up and down his back. She stood up and started chugging the bottle.

"Hey, leave some for me would you?" he whined.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" screamed the Italian and the door opened, Maria's head poking through the small crack.

"Um, Angelica is coming over tomorrow to work on a history project," she said meekly.

"-Ok? And what exactly is the problem?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"N-Nothing at all. But, could you two try and not embarrass me?"

"Embarrass you? Me? Nonsense! I'm the best older brother!" said Arnaldo with his chin held high and arms crossed across his chest. Maria and Laura both rolled their eyes.

"Remember the slumber party I had last year?" asked Maria.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Well, you came home at eleven o'clock at night, drunk as drunk could be, swinging and an empty bottle of God knows what, slurring out the lyrics of God knows what, before crashing on the couch and snoring as if you were trying to cut through solid steel with a chainsaw. All of this happened in front of me and my classmates, who were trying to play spin the bottle," Laura laughed, nearly spitting the Fanta out of her mouth.

"Details, details. I'm the best older brother!" said Arnaldo as he waved his hand dismissively.

Maria then turned to Laura who was still recovering from her giggles.

"What are you laughing at? You are equally in the wrong as he is. When word got out that a kid in my class was bullying me, you took it upon yourself to march on over to my school and broke his jaw-with a baseball bat-during chemistry-" now it was Arnaldo's turn to point and laugh, as Laura threw the empty bottle at his head.

"So could you guys please not ruin this for me?" pleaded Maria.

"Sure," reassured Arnaldo with a smile and nod of his head, to which she smiled and closed the door.

"I really wonder who this Angelica is"

"What, you don't know?" asked Laura

"Know what?"

"Angelica Deforest is Maria's best friend. She was born in Trieste, but her family is from France. Her family moved here three years ago. Her father owns some energy company or whatever. Don't know what her mum does though. Seriously, how do you not know this?"

Arnaldo nearly shrugged. "I forget things easily. Wait, what was her last name again?"

"Deforest. Why?"

Arnaldo began to search and pulled out a big leather book with "The nobilities of France" written in golden letters.

He opened the book and began to list through its many, many pages.

"Here, take a look at this," he said as he handed the book to Laura.

On the entire page was a large yet detailed picture of a blue shield. In the middle of it was a black stag, standing proud and mighty on his hind legs and wearing a golden crown. Below it was written "Incassable et inflexible."

She looked at him with a questioning look.

"What you are looking at is the coat of arms of the house of Deforest. A noble family from Marseille."

"Noble family?"

"Yeah. Says here that they were the richest family in Marseille. But what's confusing me is that the family went extinct during the French Revolution."

"Beats me," says Laura as she threw back the book to Arnaldo.

"I have to go. Still have to finish that Italian homework we got yesterday."

"Oh, that? I already did that," proclaimed Arnaldo with a proud smirk.

"And before you ask, no, I'm not giving you my homework so that you can copy from it."

"Who says that I need your permission to do anything?" called Laura from the doorway, Arnaldo's Latin notebook in her hand and a playful smirk on her face.

Arnaldo blinked a couple of times.

"Hey! Give that back!" he screamed as Laura closed the door.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes, before grabbing the book by his legs and reading.