Chapter 49: Chapter 49

“You like Andre,” she went straight to the heart of the conversation.

“I don’t. I like Aaron.”

Shewa scoffed. “Right. It’s easy to convince yourself.”

“I don’t think I am convincing myself here, Shewa. I do like Aaron."

"Remember how you didn’t want to continue the Head boy Head girl tradition? What changed? Because it seems to me like you’re going for second best when you can have what you want.”

“Are you blind?!” I whispered fiercely so that Andre would not hear since the walls were so thin. “He is with Siobhan what do you expect me to do? Run up into his arms and tell him to leave my friend alone? And where do you get this idea that I am going for second best anyway? Nothing about Aaron proves second best, he wants me, he told me and was intentional about it. Intentionality, Shewa, that’s the difference between Aaron and Andre. I don’t want to be second best to anyone. You know what? Since you won't let it be, I don't hate Andre, I tried to convince myself against my feelings but he made his pursuit of Siobhan obvious and I will not throw myself on a guy like that.” I paused for a breath because I realized I was already running out of breath. But she asked so why not give it all out? “What did you expect me to do anyway?”

Shewa was mute. She cocked her head to the side and watched me. Then she spoke, “I guess it’s a step now that you’ve accepted your feelings. I didn’t buy that I hate him crap anyway. But you are noble, you are a good friend. If this was a situation between Eva and Adeline or Rebecca I am sure as hell none of them would put their friendship first before their feelings so that’s kudos to you.” She bent her elbow so that she was resting on it and ate a cookie. “I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking I shouldn’t have asked and honestly, I wish I hadn’t too but it’s in my nature to be nosy.” She turned to me. “I’m not going to give you any advice, Bianca because at this point I believe only you know what’s best for you.”

“Yeah,” I said doubting that I knew at all what was best for me. “I guess. Besides, Andre’s sister is throwing her weight between he and Siobhan so, I don’t want to be the intruder.”

“Carla? She is?” Shewa asked in surprise. “I didn’t think she liked Siobhan much especially not with the way she looks at her.”

“Oh, you’ve seen that too? I thought I was the only one seeing the odd side of her behavior.”

“You know my eyes don’t miss anything, I see everything that’s why I am news committee Chairman ya know?” she snapped her fingers and smugly flipped her braids with a smile. “Why do you think Carla is so different from her twin?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. They are word and opposite. I thought Carla was just shy and awkward, hiding under Andre’s spotlight but something about her gives me the ick. It’s like she’s watching everyone, watching my movements, watching Siobhan…the other day she came to me to ask if Andre and I had anything together.”

“Why should that matter to her?”

“I don’t know. Even though she doesn’t like Siobhan from the look of things, she was quite satisfied to note that I wasn’t trying to come between Siobhan and Andre.”

We were whispering now. I lay on the bed and reached for the cookie wrapper, picking two and popping them into my mouth. Shewa lay on the bed and together we looked up at the ceiling thinking.

“Doesn’t it strike you as odd? It’s almost like she’s protective of him.”

I thought about that. “I would say protective but with the way they argue I do not want that kind of protection in my life. It’s almost like she’s…”

“Jealous?” Shewa completed my sentence.

I realized with a start that that was true. It WAS almost like jealousy. That’s the emotion I see in Carla’s eyes every time she looks at me.

I rose on my elbow sharply and turned to Shewa who did the same.

“Oh my God, you don’t think they are…?” she started then looking toward the room door beyond which Andre was probably sleeping or wondering what we were whispering about, she put the thumb and index finger of her right hand together to form a circle then inserted her left index finger in it in an obscene gesture.

My eyes widened. “Fucking? No, they won’t! Would they?!”

“Wouldn't be the first time siblings fuck. Give them a room and they will be banging and sweating like fresh fucked foxes in a forest fire.”

I laughed at her description but the image of Andre and Carla couldn’t leave my head. “If they are then that’s incest!”

“Once again wouldn’t be the first time. I have read some pretty disgusting stuff on Ask Diddy, siblings and cousins fucking each other, step brothers and sisters, so I won’t put it beyond Andre and Carla.”

“But Andre doesn’t… he is not as passionate as Carla especially when they argue.”

Shewa shrugged. “Then maybe Carla has a crush on him and she’s too ashamed to say, ‘Hey, Andre my twin brother, I have a crush on you. Come let us make babies.’”

I considered that possibility and realized it was true. It was valid. Maybe Carla has a crush on her brother maybe that’s why she’s so protective of him. Still, it made zero sense.

“If you ask me, which I am sure you don’t, but I will tell you my opinion anyway,” Shewa said as she lay back on the bed. “I will say Carla is delusional. Gideon has been trying to get her attention since she arrived. If she has such a huge crush on her brother that she can’t see how the other boys are in love with her then she is a big fool.”

I shrugged and lay back down. “Maybe she is intentionally not seeing the other boys' interest in her because she’s hoping that one day Andre will come to realize she is his one true love.”

We laughed putting our hands against our mouths to stifle our laughter.

“Do you think if Carla had been attacked instead of Eva she would have waited for Andre to come save her?”

I laughed at the thought. “That’s next-level Rapunzel shit.”

Shewa was belly laughing so hard she was beginning to snort. “She has the hair for that, unfortunately, she’s not blonde. What do you think she would have said? ‘Help twin brother I’m stuck!’”

I slapped Shewa on the arm trying to contain my laughter. “Oh, Lord! Shewa please,” I laughed hard. “I need to go to bed, please.” I tried to assume a serious face but my laughter was still bubbling out. “You realize we still have an emergency right? I need to be up and ready to handle the questions the other students will have especially since they’ve had to be locked up all night long.”

Shewa wiped the tears from her eyes, a result of her laughter. “Fine, I’ll stop for tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day after all.”

“Yup, training as usual, and after that the game. Fingers crossed we will win.”

Shewa pumped her hands in the air. “Hopefully and then we can have more reasons to party and forget about tonight’s unpleasantness.”