Dear Arabella,
This is my seventieth time writing you. The no reply record is going tight! Still, I shall give you my best. Did you know that 70 is the smallest weird number? Bernie told me it means that all of its factors, that are 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 14 and 35 add up to 74, which is more than 70! And it's the only weird number that is a possible age in our lifetime.
I am fourteen right now. Will we meet before Seventy? I'd wait for you till seventy-four or more! >_>
Ryker told me that you were accepted to a university in London. Congratulations! I knew you would make it! Though you're a bit afar, you're still shining for me. I'm almost blinded by the light of your name. Hehehehe. Stay safe and come back soon!
Your admirer supreme,
Nadia Paisely.
Ryker visibly and audibly cringed as he folded the paper and slid it in an envelope. He tsked, continuously, while he pocketed the envelope and folded his arms against his chest, agressively shaking his head in disappointment.
"Shut up, mum's gonna get mad if she wakes up," Nadia whispered and kicked his shin.
The man gasped and pranced around the kitchen on one leg, seething under his breath, "No shit she won't, she loves me more!"
"I see you've still been feeding your delusions," Nadia snorted. Her knife pierced through the chicken thigh and struck against the chopping board with a loud thud.
"Right alongside you," Ryker patted the envelope in his pocket and grinned while leaning over Nadia's shoulder. From missing her eye level by an inch or five, Ryker had grown into constantly towering over head like a personalised anti-glare sun shield.
"Haven't you heard? Youth begins with liking someone. I just simply adore her existence," Nadia shrugged, hitting her shoulder in Ryker's chin and causing him to wince audibly.
"You're such a harm to my cause," Ryker snapped and stepped away from her immediate space.
"Yet here I am, wide awake in the arse crack of dawn, making chicken fritters for an ungrateful lad," Nadia drawled and let go of the meat and knife. She took a step back and craned her neck to look him in the eye, mumbling, "I've fed you too much. You've grown beyond my reach. This is concerning."
Ryker pushed his cheeks in a smile and pressed his hand on Nadia's shoulders, flipping her like a top to face the kitchen counter again. "Please do not hinder your passion on my ocassion," he perched his chin on top of her head, "I'm just making sure you don't poison me."
"I'll be six years too late for that," Nadia grumbled as she continued cutting up the chicken into smaller pieces, "But you know what? Better late than never," she craned her neck backward to pass him a malicious grin.
Ryker sucked a breath, not wanting to breathe out on Nadia's face.
"Your mother raised you better than this," Ryker tsked and stepped back. He slid onto a tall stool in front of the kitchen counter and leaned back to peek outside the window. Street lights wallowed the soulless hour, breathing colour into the dark world. He relished the rarity of silence in Bruno Square, while the world slept — he sat awake, away from home and content.
"Don't just sit there like a loghead, dude, get me buttermilk from the fridge," Nadia whisper-shouted as she gently opened the kitchen tap and handwashed a big steel bowl. Her slender silhouette moved solemnly under the flourescent yellow of the kitchen lights, shoulders squared and eyes meandering over the ingredients sprawled on the counter. Her thick hair were rolled into a messy bun, held up by two pencils, toiling to stay in place against her bouncy steps.
It wasn't the first time Ryker was there to witness Nadia cook for him, yet, the vision never failed to bring a lazy smile on his face. "What do I get in return?" Ryker questioned, a brow raised with intrigue.
"I don't know — food?!" Nadia replied, nostrils flared with exasperation.
"And you deliver it to me on track," Ryker pushed.
Nadia placed the bowl on the counter and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. "Now that I think of it, I can get like 2 more hours of sleep before actually getting up for school! Oh, silly me—!" Nadia sang and began untying the apron from her back.
Alarmed, Ryker slid over the table and jumped to her side. "Woah woah woah, lady, hang in there. You promised this for the first day of High School," he chastised, further tightening the strings she was trying to loosen.
"Buttermilk, please?" Nadia blinked up at him.
"Yes Chef!" Ryker called out, as low as his transitioning hoarse voice could. He beelined towards the refrigerator and fetched her a jar of what seemed like buttermilk to him.
"That's condensed milk, dude—" Nadia informed before Ryker could bring it out any further.
He grimaced and placed the jug back in and took out another jug brimming with white liquid. "This?" He asked, eyeing at it.
Nadia shook her head, "That's regular milk."
"How do you even know that without getting a whiff??" Ryker grumbled and placed it back.
"I can smell it from a mile away, you're too amature for it," Nadia tsked and nodded when Ryker picked up a third transparent jug filled with white liquid. "Yes, that's the one!" She urged him to bring it to her.
"Why do you have so many mini white jugs? Is this a subscription service??" Ryker snorted as he placed the jug beside the chopping board.
"That's what the school gives mum as an annual gift. It's always the same," Nadia informed. She transferred the chicken into the bowl and added a bit of buttermilk before proceeding to season it.
A sudden knock reeled Ryker away from the kitchen. He tip-toed into the living room and unlocked the window. In jumped Bernie, landing on his right foot toes as elegantly as a ballerina. He performed an exaggerated bow to an audience of furniture while Ryker bolted the window.
"I have arrived!" Bernie exclaimed in a whisper, waving hands around his face in fanfare.
"You're late. We were supposed to meet half an hour ago," Ryker flicked Bernie's forehead.
"Ouch!" Bernie grimaced, frowning and zapping a hand to the area of injury, "It's not my fault! My father went to bed like ten minutes ago! I sneaked out as fast as I could!"
Ryker stared at him for two whole seconds then shrugged, "Valid," he said and wrapped an arm around Bernie's shoulders. "We're getting chicken fritters but apparently they're not the KFC sort, I don't know what she's upto," he informed as they strolled into the kitchen.
"It's called developing a recipe, geez, wash some bell peppers, will you?"
"Yes sirrrrr," Bernie dragged and folded his sleeves for getting to work.
Nadia craned her neck to look up at him and sobbed, "That's my kid, I raised him so well," she waddled and pulled him into a hug. Her head rested perfectly on his shoulder blade and his slender frame slotted perfectly in her arms.
"For being so good, can I get more pieces than Ryker?" Bernie proposed, eyeing Ryker with his tongue out and brows wiggling.
"Of course!" Nadia exclaimed and ruffled his hair before pulling back, "The one who helps more, gets more!"
"It's like I'm a hallucination," Ryker snorted and walked up to them. He elbowed Bernie's side and slotted himself in between Nadia and him. He made a dramatic show of flailing his hands in order to pretend to roll up his sleeves, because he was wearing a half-sleeved tee-shirt, and got to work. "I'll wash the onions," he declared to no one in particular.
Unintentionally, Nadia threw her head back, shoulders moving up and down as laughter cued from her bones.
Life was easy in elementary school if one were to not consider division homework and pop tests. Middle School was littered with awkward growth phases, oily nose tips, pimply foreheads, the beginning of a woe called body hair and the ocassional blessing of a chocolate box on Ryker's desk with a love note on it. Bernie and Nadia enjoyed the free treats along with the visual win of Ryker prancing around the race track as red as a beetroot.
Nadia tried the same with Arabella, leaving boxes of homemade chocolates with notes of admiration on her desk but fortunately for Ryker, the boxes would return unopened and he would have a free treat for himself.
And so, days of sweating on track and wracking their brain on fractions segwayed into the morning of cold breeze as the trio ramp-walked through the hallways of highschool.
Nadia was in the middle with her hair tied up in long pigtails, they swayed left and right as she walked with an exaggerated bounce in her step. The blue and white school uniform did not hinder her fashion pursuits which were being fulfilled by a beige and black backpack decrated with pins and keychains in every zip. Her entire being rustled as she walked in between Ryker and Bernie.
Bernie had grown vertically with no horizontal success. Still as pale as the day he was born, he walked beside his friends with his hands in his uniform pockets and head slightly bent to avoid the attention Nadia was surely attracting. He was merely an accomplice to Nadia's summer long chick-flick torture on Ryker and the plan of, "making grand entry to assert dominance on the new kids." While in the confines of their ranger shed, the plan seemed more tame than in that moment.
Though, Ryker had it worse on him. He had lost his dignity to an UNO game. If Nadia was generating any attention, it was glares from Ryker's admirers for they surely knew who held power enough to bring down their star.
Having joined the middle school track team, Ryker grew up to be a lot tanner than his mother would appreciate in public gatherings. Unlike Bernie's buzz cut to emphasize his masculinity, Ryker's hair were grown out in a mullet — providing perfect opportunity for Nadia to bind them in a fountain ponytail with a pink bow. He had a lolipop etched in his mouth and hung his bag with one strap, trying to compensate for the folded pant trouser of his left leg and the flip-flops over his school socks.
The aim was to make Ryker unpopular.
Surely, it backfired when a girl rushed forward and presented him with a gift box.
"I know it's just the start but know that I will admire you from afar. My eyes will always be on you!!" The girl shouted in confession, eliciting hoots and laughs from the students around them.
"Yes, yes, yes, that's what my auntie said to my uncle before he cheated on her. She made a blood pact with the devil and haunts Larry's Lane now. I'll bring an ouiji board and get you a chat with her," Nadia patted the girl's back and walked ahead.
"Thank you for the gift. We have a no returns and no expectations policy," Bernie said and took the gift from her hands, albeit with a little force for she wouldn't let go.
"Please don't look at me. If people stare too much, my nape itches. It would be really inconvenient," Ryker said and bent a ninty-degree in apology before walking away with Bernie.
The crowd burst into giggles and hushed mocking whispers while the girl stayed frozen in her place, embarrassed out of her wits.
"Don't worry, nobody's got a chance with Ryker Cordelio, trust me, not even that Nadia," a girl laughed as she patted the other girl's shoulder and walked away.
In class, Nadia beelined for the first seat but Ryker pulled her by her backpack and dragged her to the last seat in the middle row. "It's my turn this year, you sit with me," he demanded and placed his backpack on the right desk.
"Geez, you've got no bone for initiative unless it's conquering the last bench," Nadia tsked and placed her backpack on the left desk. "You sit here, Bernie," Nadia tapped the desk in front of her.
"I'll miss you as my seat mate," Bernie pouted as he placed his backpack in front.
"Next year, it'll be more worth it to do tenth grade with you," Nadia nodded and flashed two thumbs-up in his face.
"Hey! I can be pretty smart as well," Ryker huffed and took a seat.
"Not as smart as Bernie though," Nadia scoffed. "You are such a vision right now," she snorted upon seeing Ryker sit in his chair, laidback, feet spread and the fountain ponytail bouncing with every little movement.
"I know right, I bet your prince charming is on the way," Bernie laughed and took a seat.
"Ohh talking of Prince Charmings, I heard there's a new student!! What do you think?" Nadia gushed and perched herself on the desk.
"Shit!" Bernie jumped up, "I forgot! Thank you for reminding me! I had to escort the new student! Be right back!" He shouted, halfway out of the classroom as he ran.
"When can I get rid of this?" Ryker gestured all of himself.
Nadia snorted and leaned in to undo the ponytail on his head. "The deal was to parade before the class and you did well," she patted his head and pocketed the ribbon.
Ryker scoffed as he unrolled his pant leg and took finally bit on the lollipop. "Sucking sucks," he said as he mercilessly chewed on the candy.
"Everything sucks for you. UNO sucks cause you loose, I suck cause I win, sucking sucks cause it gets too sweet, dude get a spectrum," Nadia tsked. She almost yelped as Ryker snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her down into her seat.
"Teacher's here," he whispered, avoiding the obvious glares Nadia was subjecting him to.
"You could have said a word!" Nadia whisper-shouted as the class settled down. Everyone took a seat but the two seats in front of Ryker and Nadia remained empty.
At the head of the classroom, Teacher Robinson stood beside a new student and Bernie, who was busy passing new semester schedules to the first person in each row.
"Good morning class, we have a new student with us today. Please welcome her!"
There was a huge round of applause. Bernie too stuffed the papers under his arm to applaud lest he be considered rude.
"Good, now introduce yourself please," Mr. Robinson urged the new student.
"Ah, yes, I am Marliyn Keynes and I, uh, it's nice to meet you all! I am very grateful for my life and I do my best to appreciate every moment. I never waste my time and make every effort count and multiply into something greater. I hope I can get along with you," the girl said, with a cheerful dimpled smile on her face.
"Was she staring at you?" Ryker whispered while everyone clapped.
"I know, right? I thought it was just me," Nadia mumbled with a frown on her face.
"Take a seat, Marilyn, there," Mr. Robinson pointed at the empty seat in front of Ryker.
"Yes, thank you sir," Marilyn bowed and beelined towards her designated seat, never breaking eye-contact with Nadia. "Hello," she whispered as she placed her bag on the desk and took a seat, body half turned to fully face Nadia. She held out a hand for her to shake.
"Ah, hello, I am Nadia, nice to meet you," Nadia chirped and shook Marilyn's hand.
The girl sniffled and patted her free hand over their joined ones. "It's a great pleasure to meet you," she all but sobbed.
"Pleasure indeed, though Mr. Robinson would say otherwise," Bernie interrupted as he took a seat beside Marilyn. It urged her to snap her hand out of Nadia's and turn to face the class.
The class began but Nadia kept staring at the back of Marilyn's blonde head, a strong frown etched on her forehead. Why did the new girl stare at her while introducing herself? Why did she shake only Nadia's hand and ignored Ryker completely?
"Fishy," Nadia mumbled under her breath.
"Makes me wanna eat fish," Ryker snorted and scribbled a fish on Nadia's open notebook.