The bus was packed with students, all shouting, laughing, and singing along to the music blasting from the speakers. The driver honked the horn every time they passed a landmark, and the kids cheered and waved out the windows. While passing through a tunnel, all noise would suddenly come to a halt, It was a loud, crazy, super-fun bus ride that made everyone feel alive and free.
Angelina sat in the back of the bus, gazing out the window, humming the tune to herself. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone, especially not Ash. She knew that he had just broken up with his girlfriend, and she didn’t want to make things worse for him.
She knew the truth behind his decision. She knew that he had always loved her, and not Leann. She wished that he would leave her alone, and not bother her at the picnic.
But it was too late. He sat down next to her. “Hey,” he said.
Angelina ignored him. She just kept looking out the window, thinking of a way to escape from him. Any other day, she would have snubbed him, but she had seen how much he had suffered with Leann on the day of the French test, and she felt sorry for him.
“I’m sorry about your breakup,” she said softly, breaking the silence.
Ashton sighed. “Thanks,” he said. “It’s okay, you don’t have to worry about it.”
They were quiet for a while.
“So,” Ash said, finally. “What do you think we’re going to do at the field trip?”
Angelina shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said, finally turning to face him. “I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
“I hope it’s something fun,” Ash said. “I could use a distraction.”
Angelina smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Me too,” she said.
“Congrats on winning that arm-wrestling contest, by the way.” the boy complimented.
“Thanks,” she said, with a cold and distant voice.
Ash felt hurt by her tone. He wondered why she was acting so cold and distant. He thought they were friends, or at least friendly, after the fake dates and the contest. He wanted to be more than that, but he didn’t know how to tell her. He had broken up with Leann for her, but she didn’t seem to care. Ash shrugged it off, thinking, ‘Well, it wasn’t entirely her fault she didn’t care. I didn’t tell her it was for her in the first place,’
He decided to try to make some conversation, hoping to break the ice. “So, how’s your web comic going?” he asked.
Angelina sighed. She didn’t want to talk about her web comic with him. She didn’t want to share anything with him. She felt angry and betrayed by him. He had lied to her, and to himself. He had pretended to love Leann, when he really loved her. He had wasted their time and their feelings.
She decided to give him a short and vague answer, hoping he would get the hint. “It’s going fine,” she said.
Ash felt disappointed by her answer. He wanted to know more about her web comic, and about her. He wanted to show her that he was interested in her, and that he cared about her. He wanted to make her happy, and make himself happy. But he didn’t know how to put it.
He decided to try to compliment her, hoping to make her smile. “That’s good,” he said. “You’re really talented, you know that?”
Angelina rolled her eyes. She decided to give him a sarcastic and bitter reply, hoping he would leave her alone. “Yeah, sure,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
She wished she could be anywhere else but there, stuck with all those annoying people who didn’t understand her at all, having to put up with him. She put on her headphones and tried to drown out the noise with her own playlist, but it was no use. She felt trapped and miserable, sitting in the bus, her best friends absent.
Meanwhile, in their little brothers’ third grade classroom, they were learning about marriage in social studies. Mrs. Jones had shown them a video about different types of marriages around the world, and then asked them to share their thoughts and opinions. The kids had a lively discussion, asking questions and expressing their views.
Some of them said they wanted to get married someday, and some of them said they didn’t. Some of them said they wanted to marry someone like their parents, and some of them said they wanted to marry someone different. Some of them said they wanted to have a big wedding, and some of them said they wanted to have a small one. Some of them said they wanted to have kids, and some of them said they didn’t.
But in the midst of all the classroom chaos, the two little boys were discussing, not their own potential spouses, but the other aspects. In-laws. They were curious and confused about how marriage would affect their families. They wondered if they would have to share their toys and rooms with their new siblings. They wondered if they would have to call their new parents by their names or by something else. They wondered if they would have to celebrate different holidays and traditions with their new relatives. They wondered if they would have to like and love their new family members, or if they could still prefer their old ones.
And that was when it hit Jayden. Like the paper airplane that just hit his head. A shock that made him jump in his seat.
“Leo, I just had the greatest idea in the history of ideas!” the boy told his friend, excitedly.
“Yeah, Jay?” he whispered back.
“What if your sister and my brother got married?”
“That’s crazy! They hate each other!” Leo retorted.
“No, they don’t!”
“Yes, they do!” Leo insisted. “They’re always arguing and teasing and making fun of each other. They can’t stand to be in the same room for more than five minutes!”
“That’s because they like each other!” Jayden argued. “Don’t you know anything about romance? Haven’t you seen any movies or read any books? That’s how it always starts! They pretend to hate each other, but deep down they have feelings for each other. And then one day, something happens that makes them realize it. And then they kiss and fall in love and live happily ever after!”
“That’s ridiculous!” Leo scoffed. “Your sister watches way too many movies. That only happens in fiction, not in real life! And even if it did, why would you want them to get married? That would make us brothers!”
“Exactly!” Jayden exclaimed. “That’s the best part! Think about it, Leo. We’re already best friends. We do everything together. We like the same things. We have the same sense of humor. We have the same dreams. We’re practically brothers already! But if our siblings got married, we would be brothers for real! We would be family! We would live in the same house! We would share everything! We would never have to be apart!”
“I don’t know, Jay…” Leo said, hesitantly. “That sounds kind of… weird.”
“It’s not weird, it’s awesome!” Jayden said. “Come on, Leo. Don’t you want to be my brother?”
“Well… yeah, I guess…” Leo admitted.
“Then let’s make it happen!” Jayden said. “Let’s help them fall in love!”
“How are we going to do that?” Leo asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Jayden said. “But I’m sure we’ll figure it out. We’re smart kids. We can do anything we set our minds to.”
“Okay,” Leo said, reluctantly agreeing to his friend’s plan. “But don’t tell anyone, okay? This is our secret.”
“Of course,” Jayden said. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
And with that, the two boys sealed their pact with a handshake and a smile.
Little did they know that their little scheme would set off a series of events that would change theirs, and their siblings’ lives forever.
(I love the Leo and Jayden scheming chapters...)
ns 15.158.61.20da2