The Genius | #1✓ [SAMPLE]

Chapter 5

"Hey, have you seen a little bottle of paint anywhere?" Caleb asked, turning the knob of my bedroom door.

I looked up from the book I was reading to find him standing awkwardly at the door. He looked around my room and then at me.

"Well?" he asked again, slipping into my room without permission. I sighed, shaking my head before dropping my book beside me on my bed. "No, I haven't seen anything. Ask Candice."

"I have," he sighed, biting his bottom lip in distress. I watched him walk over to my bed before taking a seat at the edge. The mattress sunk with his weight, making me look towards him. What in the world did he think he was doing? We barely went into each other's rooms, why was he acting as if sitting on my bed was the most normal thing in the world?

"Mum always nags to me about how tidy you are," Caleb muttered as a ghost of a smile played on his lips. I watched my twin's eyes move from one inch of my bedroom to another as I wondered what was amusing him.

"I never knew it was this bad. Jesus Christ Wyatt, you label your drawers!" Caleb said as he burst out into a laugh. I threw him a dirty look, only succeeding in making him laugh harder. I looked away as my face warmed up in embarrassment.

"I just like things being organized, okay?" I said, trying to explain myself. I folded my arms across my chest as Caleb laughed harder at my words. He fell over on his side, landing on the mattress with a throb. He didn't stop laughing; he just proceeded to continue doing it sprawled on my bed.

"This feels weird," Caleb started as his laughter died down, "Just hanging around casually in your room that is."

I didn't reply, but I couldn't but help feel that Caleb had taken the words right out of my mouth. It did feel weird. My attention was soon called upon when I felt the bed rise. I turned to find that Caleb had gotten up.

"See you later," he muttered when he noticed I was looking at him.

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled, watching as he left my room through the door before shutting it behind him.

I hadn't checked the Google hangout chat to see what the others were up to, but we'd had a video call last night and we'd already settled on who was doing what. Aiyana was going to edit and write the paper, Ben was going to get the prompts and arrange for the tech, I was going to source out things like useful links, books, and sites, while Ji-Hun was going to do the main presentation in class. We'd decided to look over the finished project together as a group a day before the class so that we all had a general idea.

Rolling over on my bed, I looked over at the wall clock that was hanging just above my bookshelf. It was almost noon and I hadn't done anything productive this Saturday apart from taking a shower and eating breakfast.

Forcing myself into a sitting position, I tried waking my brain to remind it that I had to go to the library. I was soon on my feet, searching the drawers that Caleb had mocked not too long ago for being labeled with masking tape.

I knew my room was unbearably tidy with the labels and stickers plastered everywhere from left to right. Apart from the clock, the mirror hanging at the corner, and my framed certificates, the walls of my room were partially naked and plain. No posters, no fancy wallpaper, just pale baby blue walls.

I was soon in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of converses. I rushed downstairs with my laptop bag, poking my head into the art room to tell my mom that I was heading out.

The library wasn't too far from where I lived. It was within walking distance and I couldn't count the number of times Ben and Aiyana have begged me to help them either borrow or return books because it was so close by.