Read Online Dev Dreams, Volume One by Ruth Madison - Free Book Online

Sophie asked,
“Why didn't Jake come?”
    “He's celebrating with his own friends,” Alex
said. “They'll probably be trying to sneak into clubs with fake
IDs. Hope you don't mind my celebration is quieter.”
    “Ha! Thank goodness. I can't stand crowds and
noise.”
    “I don't think Jake likes them much either.
He feels compelled to fit in and do what's expected of him.”
    “And you don't?”
    “I'm the support player. What I want always
comes second.”
    “Why, though?”
    Alex shrugged. He didn't seem at all
perturbed. “It's always been about Jake. It's okay.”
    “No, it's not,” Sophie said. “Why do you
never complain, Alex?”
    “He needs me.”
    “You are too good. Seriously.”
    Alex rolled down the window and lit a
cigarette. Sophie watched how he didn't even seem to notice he had
done it. She thought of how when Jake was around he always, without
fail, took the first one away, but Alex always lit a second.
    ***
    “Did you know Sophie doesn't believe in
pencils?” Jake said as his brother walked onto the porch.
    “Yes,” Alex said. He sat down on the stairs
opposite Jake.
    “Isn't that weird, though?”
    Alex shrugged. He pulled a cigarette from a
package in his pocket and put it in his mouth. Before he could
reach into the other pocket for his lighter, Jake had leaned across
the stairs and plucked the cigarette out of his mouth. Alex looked
at him, sighed, and said, “Did you think I came out here to listen
to you talk about Sophie?”
    “She said the graphite bothered her, having
it on her hands and the sound the pencil tip makes on the paper.
Too soft. She's used only pens her whole life.”
    “So she likes pens, so what?” Alex stood up
and walked a little ways into the garden to light his next
cigarette.
    “It's just weird.”
    “Shouldn't you be worrying about Lucy, not
Sophie? You remember her, right? Your girlfriend? Your anniversary
is coming up.”
    “Damn, I almost forgot.”
    Alex frowned across the lawn at his twin.
“You? You never forget things. You may not give a damn about your
anniversary, but you always go over the top anyway.”
    Jake shrugged. “It's too easy,” he said. “She
wants all the typical things: flowers, dinner, compliments. It's
boring.”
    “Not going to give up on her though, are you?
Thinking of dropping Lucy in favor of Sophie?”
    “Sophie is messed up, that's what I've been
telling you.”
    “I know. She is my friend.” Alex finished
smoking, ground out the stub on a stone and put it back in his
pocket. As he walked past Jake to go back into the house, he said,
“Leave the poor girl alone.”
    ***
    The bell rang. Alex usually came in after
that, since he would be smoking outside. Today he didn't. Paul sat
down beside Sophie.
    “Where's Alex?” Sophie had whispered at
him.
    Paul shrugged. “Jake is missing too.”
    “Really? That's weird.”
    The teacher threw open the door and strode in
hunched over, looking like a frog. He began to take attendance.
    “Lucy,” Paul hissed, leaning over the aisle.
A head of perfectly ringletted blonde hair turned and Lucy looked
down her nose at Paul.
    Lucy was more perfectly composed than a china
doll. The bones along her neck and shoulders stood out because of
the way she held her body loftily with her hips slightly forward
and her slender waist bent back. Her mouth had a coy crease beside
it, giving her smile a tempting quality. Her hair frizzled in the
most stylish way and each wave seemed to be exactly where she
wanted it to be. Her eyes were absolute blue without a single speck
of another color. Her well-manicured fingers spread away from each
other gracefully when she grasped Jake's arm and whispered in his
ear. She would put a stick of gum in her mouth and playfully blow
bubbles as he tried to talk to her. She made even Sophie, who
rarely noticed people? attitudes toward her, feel inferior. Jake
didn't seem to enjoy her company much, his smiles were almost
grimaces when she was around.
    “Did