German Boy

Chapter 3: Always Grumpy

It was the fourth day they were in that house but he never talked to me. And I pieced it all together. He didn't want to be friends with me, with Sofia, or with anyone around. He was like an introvert who wanted to just be by himself all the time. He didn't want to be accompanied.

"Hi," I waved to the blonde-haired girl walking out of the door. I expected she would be just like the other boy who will ignore me and roll her eyes, but she didn't. Instead, far from my expectations, she smiled and waved back, then said "Hi," to me as well.

Wow!

That was unexpected.

"I'm Jaraiah!" I said.

"I'm Selena!" She greeted.

She didn't look my age. She looked six or seven years older than me. Like she was already in high school and the oldest kid among them all. I walked out of our door and came closer to her. "How old are you?" I inquired. She kept smiling at me and responded.

"I'm fifteen." Woah. That was really old. She was so much older than me.

"Oh, I'm six by the way." She nodded with grace.

"What are you up to?" I asked and looked at the books wrapped around her hands.

"I'm going to my summer class." She introduced.

"Summer class?" It was the first time in my life I heard that phrase. I didn't know what it meant.

"It's like school... but for summer." She flipped her hair slowly and pressed her lips.

"I see. You study even when it's summer?" I remember how small my voice was back then.

"I have to. So for the next semester, I am already familiarized with the topics." My mouth formed into a circle when I heard her say that. Older people love studying so much.

"Umm, are you guys siblings?" I asked when I saw the German boy sitting on their couch and the two other blonde girls playing cards. She looked inside when she found me staring at their open window. She nodded.

"Yeah, we are." I was pleased to know that he grew up with three sisters.

"What's his name?" I pointed at him.

"Ven." Ven was a nice name in my ears at that time. It was the first time I heard a name like that. But he was German so obviously, their names can differ from us.

"Is he really always grumpy? Because I tried so many times to talk to him but he always ignored me and responded once but acted like he didn't want me to be around." I was a kid, okay? I didn't know what I was saying.

"Well, yeah. Since he was smaller, he's grumpy already. Sorry for what he did to you. He's just really like that all the time. Even to us, as his sisters. He sometimes even acts like we don't exist in his life."

"Oh, I get it. You don't need to feel sorry for what he did. It's okay and you should not worry about it. Thus, even if he's grumpy, I met a lot of teenagers grumpier than him." She laughed at my statement which I didn't find funny. Neither did I serve it as a joke.

"Is the only guy in your family aside from your dad?" I asked. I was pretty aware I was bothering her by asking too many questions but I didn't care. I wanted to know more about him. I mean the German boy.

Wait, he has a name.

Right.

He is Ven.

"He is," she responded with a slight laugh. I nodded and partially smiled.

"Okay, thanks. See you around, Selena!" I walked away and shut the door of our house as I sat on our couch beside my dad who was watching TV.

I learned a lot about Ven.

He was the only guy in their family

He grew up with three sisters

And most of the time... he is grumpy.

****

Another moment of his show of grumpiness was when I was walking down the street with my mom. I saw him walking the same way as ours also with his mom. And I waved at him with a thick smile on his face. But instead of being friendly, he chose to frown and roll his eyes then ignore me.

He was totally unpolite to me. Rude.

I was trying to be nice and yet he was still cranky. He kept walking and focused on the road without glancing at his side where I was walking with my mother. But all along, through our way, I watched him walk with cantankerousness.

I loved staring at him. He looked like a work of art even when we were kids. But no matter how gorgeous he was, he was bad-tempered, always ignoring me, and for him, I never existed. As if I was invisible and he never saw me. Despite all the things I did just for him to get to know me.

****

When we were having dinner that night with the food mom and I bought from the market, mom was staring at me with a smile drawn on her face. Because she noticed how hard I watched Ven as we were walking. Oh great.

I thought dad was the only one to tease me like that but there goes mom doing the same thing just with the way she was looking at me. "So, how is it like to watch a German Boy?" I was a kid. So I didn't mind it. I thought it was normal.

It was.

But thinking about it now that I'm older is giving me goosebumps. Because until now, they still ship us that way.

"Well, nice... I guess? He was cute." I was being brutally honest because I had no idea what they will say.

Mom just tapped my back and smiled at me as if she was telling me that she agrees.

She should. I wasn't lying.

Ven was absolutely gorgeous. He had no flaws on the outside. But on the inside, he was very cold to me. But I hoped for the best. Until I grew up.