Inside the house Marianne ushered Jared and Cosmo towards the poolroom where their dad was, and took Isaac upstairs to show him his room.
Dad was leant over the pool table, playing a lazy one-man game with cardigan tied round his shoulders over a Ralph Lauren polo shirt. He looked like a douche (probably because he was one).
“Hi boys,” he said jovially as they came in, putting down the pool cue and straightening up. “Want a drink? Renee and I just cracked open a bottle of Chassagne Montrachet.”
Renee – sat next to the French windows in a chicly upholstered armchair - held her glass up with a smile.
“It was my choice. Henry always insists on going local but really, I would kill for some of this stuff. Fuck helping the community, hey?”
Renee – despite misleading name – was in fact not from France, but a Nottingham girl whose accent still remained even after all attempts to cover it up with a sort of Chelsea-French mix.
Jared raised an eyebrow.
“Sure, I’ll have some,” said Cosmo. Dad poured him a glass.
“You too Jer?”
“Sure,” Jared said, unsure of how he’d survive the evening without the help of some alcohol. “Marianne’s just showing my friend upstairs, by the way.”
Dad handed them their glasses, nodding exaggeratedly.
“Cool, cool. Yeah I asked her to do that. Wanted to spend a bit of time bonding with my boys, eh. How’ve you both been?” He gave them no time to answer. “Renee and I have been having a living hell of a Christmas so far. It never rains but it pours, huh. First of all I thought I’d get the dovecote converted into a sort of decorational grotto, you know, as part of Renny’s Christmas present- but the architect who came to plan it out was a fucking moron, said it couldn’t be done-”
Dad was still continuing the story (Jared tuned out after about ten minutes) when there was a knock at the door, and Marianne poked her head in.
“Jean-Pierre says dinner’s ready whenever you want it,” she told them, smiling briskly.
When they walked into the dining room Isaac was already there, laying out plates next to Marianne.
“That’s it!” cried Dad, laughing. “Get the guest to work. Have to work to earn your keep in this house, eh!”
Jared closed his eyes briefly, just glimpsing a flicker of Isaac’s inscrutable smile. They all sat down.
“Hi there,” said Renee to Isaac as Marianne disappeared to get the first course. “I’m Renee, Cos and Jer’s stepmum. You must be Jer’s friend?”
“Yeah, I’m Isaac.” Jared watched as another one of those ridiculously indecipherable smiles flashed across Isaac’s face. “Nice to meet you.”
“Isaac,” Dad was repeating. “I like your name. Very Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat. You Jewish?”
Fucking hell, thought Jared. Isaac just grinned.
“Nah, I’m kind of a lapsed Catholic.”
“Ah, fucking Catholics. That’s the one that’s all Virgin Mary yadda yadda yadda isn’t it?”
“That’s it,” said Isaac. His eyes were dancing, mischievous. He was in one of those states where you could almost feel the electric energy crackling around him, where your eyes were drawn to him and you felt all tense because of how controlled he was, all that quick cleverness hidden just beneath the surface. Dad, sat opposite Isaac, obviously still thought himself in charge of the conversation and was taking all of his smiles at surface value. But Isaac - fucking Isaac with his mixed up sharpness and softness, vulnerable and powerful at the same fucking time - was playing him like a puppeteer. Jared couldn’t take his eyes off him.
“And you’re in Jer’s year?” asked Dad.
“Yeah. Just joined the school for Year 13. Got lucky with the Towers Scholarship.”
“Oh, a scholarship boy eh! Nice of you to take him on holiday to France, hey Jer? Guess my altruistic spirit did pass down after all.” He laughed, loudly. Jared thought fuck, fuck, fuck. Dad continued, leaning forward to Isaac and shaking his head slightly. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Haven’t got an altruistic bone in my body. I’m a fucking selfish bastard, and all these guys know it.”
“Don’t we just,” laughed Renee.
“But you’ve got to be, these days. Especially in my field of work. I mean, I’ve got guys messing round with billions of dollars every fucking day. They’re sure as hell not gonna stop to be nice.”
Isaac tilted his head a little. A smile was playing at the corner of his lips.
“Guess not,” he said, giving nothing away.
Marianne came in with the starter.
YOU ARE READING
Invincible
Teen Fiction"I didn't know you had friends like Isaac," Willa said in greeting. "I don't," muttered Jared. Isaac rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you don't. You have //one// friend like Isaac." His voice turned into this stupid mock whisper and he leaned towards Jared c...
