1.5

— You continually tell me about responsibility, meanwhile what are you doing? — Danielle pretentiously places her hands on her hips, feigning nervousness. — You disgrace me for everything I do, you reproach me for still being a child, and you drive a car at the age of sixteen, which is illegal in our country!

Jin looks at her with amusement in his eyes as he leans on the open door of the sports Mercedes with one hand.

— Intellectually, I am more mature than you, even though we are separated by a difference of two years.

— More mature? You call maturity driving without a license on a closed street?

The 16-year-old leans over and embraces her face with his hand.

— What are you mad about now? Is it that I'm restricting you while I'm letting myself go crazy?

— I can't figure you out, Jin. Once you act mature for your age, and the next moment you irresponsibly get behind the wheel like a typical spoiled son of a rich daddy who is allowed everything! — The girl unexpectedly smiles broadly. — But that's what I like most about you. You have two faces, you are unplayable. That's sexy.

— The word sexy in the mouth of a fourteen-year-old sounds strange.

— It's stranger that a sixteen-year-old is driving a car without first learning with an instructor. Are you that much of a genius?

— I had a good teacher. — He pats the shoulder of an older boy who appears beside him like a ghost. — If I get caught, he'll go to jail. My uncle is the attorney general, so one way or another, he'll only end up in jail.

The blond man extends his hand to Danielle.

— So you're the pretty foster sister, he continually tells me about?

The girl is interested in his words. Jin hastily lets her know that his colleague is a fabulist.

— I only mentioned you once, when you moved in with your mother. Aaron likes to spoil stories.

Adorable dimples appear in the cheeks of the 20-year-old.

— You're a lucky man, you live under the same roof with such a chick. Give her a year, she'll start getting shapelier, sexier.... a little more, and she'll be able to give birth to your children.

— Does he take any drugs? Where did you meet him? — Danielle shakes her head.

— He was the one who first talked to me, it came to my ears that I caught his eye.

The 14-year-old is confused. She opens her mouth and points her finger at the blond man.

— Are you gay?

— Calm down. — He mimics the woman's movements with his hands. — Your sexy little brother appears only in my dreams, dreams, erotic desires....

The girl looks disgusted by his words.

— Are you flying on Jin?

— Every night I dream about him....

The brunette wrinkles her eyebrows.

— His sense of humor reaches the bottom. He makes jokes — Jin interjects, out of the corner of his eye watching Aaron sigh dramatically, fanning his face with his hand. — He has been in a relationship with a girl for more than a year. He is a pure hetero.

Danielle would love to punch a much older boy in the face, but because he is Jin's good friend, she only forces a fake smile.

— Girls love a sense of humor in guys. Your chick is unlucky to run into you.

— She is often embarrassed, but it is this silliness that she loves most about me.

Jin sits behind the wheel, gesturing for Danielle to take the seat next to him.

— This is the kind of guy I love the most — she says with enthusiasm in her voice as she sits down in the passenger seat.

— Don't show off too much, kid. — Aaron walks away from the car, warning his friend against stupid ideas.

— I can't be any more careful if I have Danielle under my care.

*

She can be heard throughout the neighborhood as she gets out of the car, holding her stomach. She stands next to Aaron, unable to control her loud laughter.

— This girl arouses great curiosity in me. What happened during the ride that made her stomach hurt from laughing?

Jin, who is slamming the car door, rolls his eyes.

— Danielle, it wasn't so funny at all that it still makes you laugh. Stop pretending.

The 14-year-old immediately gets serious, which intrigues Aaron even more.

— Does she have some kind of mental disorder?

— There are times when I wonder about that myself.

The brunette licks her lips, making it clear to Jin that she will never forget the words she heard from him in the car.

— Handsome, you are trapped in my net for amen.

— I regret having spoken out to you. Now I have no choice but to commit suicide.

— Did he confess to you what he got from his grandmother for his sixteenth birthday? — Danielle asks Aaron, who shrugs his shoulders with indifference.

— You're so giddy, so I'm shooting that, probably condoms?

She crinkles her eyebrows.

— And you think rubber bands would be enough to make me laugh to tears? — She sounds sarcastic, which makes him instantly stupid. — What grandmother would give her grandson condoms for his sixteenth birthday?

— Is it confirmed that she is only fourteen? — This is the first time Aaron has seen a teenage girl so confident, with no sense of shame.

The teenager once again bursts out laughing as she recalls an awkward gift from her grandmother.

He sighs loudly, realizing that she won't let him live for the rest of the evening, so this is the best time to go home.

He walks over to his friend and nails a goodbye turtle with him.

— It was nice, as always.

— Smother her with a pillow in her sleep if you can't stand the blackmail.

— I have a lesson not to tell my secrets to this little monster again.

He puts his arm around Danielle's shoulders and forcibly leads her down the side of the road.

— It's late and dark as an ass, and you're not going to call a cab?

— No. We'll walk back, even if we end up home at one in the morning. — She yawns loudly, not covering her mouth — After such a long walk you will fall like an ant.

The girl doesn't mind the idea at all. If Jin accompanies her all the way, she doesn't mind. In these last days, she wants to spend as much time with him as possible before he moves to Horace Mann boarding school.

This school is on her blacklist, solely because Jin will live there.

What if he meets an attractive girl? After all, it's an institution for students from wealthy families.

He is handsome, he will probably become popular quickly, he will have no problem finding a pretty girl.

— If you flirt and fall in love with any viper at Horace Mann, betraying the secret will be the least of your issues — Danielle warns him as she lifts her face and scans him with her eyes.

— What — Jin is confused.

— I know perfectly well that there is no cooler chick than me, but still, I feel threatened. You still keep me at a distance, even though you like me madly. — The 16-year-old is combing her hand through her hair, guessing that another dialogue alluding to her self-deprecation is about to begin. — You've been flying at me ever since you saw me, but you're afraid to take the next step because you claim I'm too young, you defend yourself by repeating that it's a temporary infatuation, and we'll become siblings in the future. Do you think I will allow this to happen? I will prepare hell for my psycho mommy, I will not let her marry your father. I will do everything so that I will be the one to marry you in the future.

— When we met, you were pessimistic about the world and claimed that you would never marry.

— Because at that time I was not as enchanted with you as I am at this moment. I can't imagine a future without you.

— Typical kid's talk — mutters Jin.

— Stop calling me a kid! — Danielle stops in mid-step and nervously stamps her foot on the asphalt. — I'm fourteen years old, and I know more about life than the average twenty-year-old.

The boy looks resigned.

— I have just changed my mind. We will return home by cab. I won't be able to stand mentally if you wind me up the whole way like a try actress.

— Won't our story be romantic? Step-siblings who get caught up in a dangerous, passionate relationship?

— You're crazy, Danielle. I'm going to keep repeating it to my bloody death. — Jin puts the cell phone to his ear, waiting for the cab service employee on the other end to speak up.

The brunette runs out into the middle of the street, doing the elf dance. Jin, meanwhile, orders a cab to the desired address.

— With you, I feel so carefree, yet safe — she calls out in a happy voice, resembling a happy child.

— Although with me, you can be yourself — replies her boy as he puts his cell phone in his pants pocket. — Too bad you can't be like that with your mother.

Her enthusiasm subsides. She hates the word: mother. It makes her feel cloudy.

— It makes me sick to think of this woman.

— Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil your mood.

Danielle smiles sourly as she takes small steps walking toward him.

— It made me sad for a moment, but with you, I can't be depressed. For a long time, I used to walk around depressed, but since living with you, I feel different. You can bring a smile to my face. That's what makes you special, Jin said.

These words make him happy.

— So, what is so special about me that you can't grieve with me?

The 14-year-old stands in front of him and rests her hands on his chest. He remains silent for a long moment, pondering his answer.

— You have something in you, but I can't discover it myself. I just feel comfortable around you.

— And isn't the main reason that I protect you from your mother and that makes you feel safe with me?

She nods her head.

— That's certainly one of the reasons.

*

The teenager giggles like crazy as they both go inside, trying to keep the secret of coming home so late.

Perhaps Jin's father would turn a blind eye, but worse would be the encounter with his future wife, who would most likely keep his daughter trapped on a leash.

Danielle parries with laughter as she bumps into the boy's back while removing his shoes.

— Be quiet. Your mother will tear me apart like toilet paper if she catches us.

— Do you think she didn't check my room? I can't believe she went to bed early without looking in on me. If she could, she would have implanted a GPS in my ass.

Jin looks at her with amusement in his eyes.

 — If she had, my parents would probably have called us to find out where we were.

— They wouldn't. She's waiting for me to raise hell.

They both look toward the stairs when they hear someone's footsteps. A bright light illuminates the interior; it's mere seconds before Jin grabs Danielle's hand and runs off with her into the nearest room. The girl sits down on the kitchen counter while he opens the refrigerator and puts his head in it, pretending to seek food.

He chokes with laughter when his stepmother enters the room.

— What are you guys doing? Do you realize what time it is? Both of you are minors, Danielle is fourteen! — She directs these words more to Jin, who leans his head out from behind the refrigerator door.

— And what does age have to do with dining out late at night? Is there a protocol for that?

— Don't be cheeky.

He closes the refrigerator and looks at the woman with contemptuous eyes.

— Insolent? I'm sorry very much, but you are the one who is putting on a crib at the moment. The whole time we were in the garden, we got hungry, so we decided to go back inside and eat something before bed. I'm at home, so the lady has the least say in what I should and can't do.

Danielle's mother is a volcano of anger. She presses her lips together, her face reddening.

— I don't mean food. Don't try to make an idiot out of me, Jin. I know very well that you were not in the garden.

The 16-year-old opens a bottle of cold water and takes a sip, then hands it to Danielle.

— Were you looking for us? Next time, please lift your face and look at the tree because that's where we spent the entire evening.

— Your arrogance crosses all boundaries. I will not allow myself to be treated this way. I warn you that I will talk to your father about this in the morning.

— Good luck with that. It will be a long story. I don't know if my father will be patient enough to listen to it to the end. — A mocking smile adorns his face.

The woman swallows her saliva nervously, trying not to react to it in any way.

— Danielle, currently, you go back to your room. In the morning, we will talk about your rebellious behavior.

— You must have enough time. The morning is short. I advise you to recalculate everything on a piece of paper.

The 14-year-old smiles under her breath, satisfied that Jin has once again defeated her mother.

— You've lit up my life, brother. — She jumps down from the tabletop and touches his face. — I will be grateful to you for this for the rest of my life.