"Have you ever been in love ? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."
"But when someone loves you, the way they talk about you is...
I straightened my cap through my mirror in a nonchalant and uninterested gesture as I looked at my reflection with a grimace.
I let out a sigh, letting my arms fall back heavily to my side before biting on my lower lip, pulling a hand out of my Teddy jacket pocket. I was already grinning in anticipation as I touched the sensitive area around my nose.
I now had a slight cut along the bone but I assumed that I was globally lucky. After all, I did not have to go through the bruise around my eyes.
Obviously my brothers and my whole family had an adjustment when they had seen my face but I assumed it was predictable. I had been assigned a new charge of extra chores as a punishment. My parents had once again reminded me of the importance of nonviolence and how disappointed they were in me to find that I was in a fight.
The reaction of the twins had been completely different on the other hand. They obviously knew what it really was all about and they didn't hesitate to take my defense with our parents even though I had told them not to. They had stuck me between four walls after that and had once again despised the Penetrators.
But the worst part was Mathias' proposal to teach me to fight. At first I had promptly refused only he did not want to leave me alone until I had accepted. One point that Egil had been quick to accept.
As a result of the races, I ended up spending my Sunday afternoon at the Mathias boxing room to learn the basics.
Now I was in front of my mirror and all I could see was how much I seemed to have changed in a few weeks. I would never have been part of a fight before. I would not even scream at anyone and would even less call a horrible person. And no matter what my mindset.
I knew it might be justified on one side, but on the other hand, I had to remember that we were all human. We all made mistakes. Me first.
I left a heavy sigh at this thought before pulling the hood of my shirt over my cap before retrieving my backpack from the feet of my desk.
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I made my way through our corridor before wrinkling my lips as I headed toward the kitchen where my entire family was.
Hi." I waved softly as I put my bag on the stool in front of me before serving me a glass of orange juice avoiding making eye contact with anyone.
I did not need to look at them to know that they were looking at me in disappointment for the most part and I had to acknowledge that I was really ashamed for my actions.
I brought the glass to my lips, finally turning to my family and took a long sip in a heavy silence.
Finally, our mother let out a long sigh before moving to stand in front of me with her hand raised up to my chin. " Let me see. "
I let her raise my face with her two fingers under my chin before holding a moan as she tested the swelling of my nose.
Eventually after the breakfast probably the longest and tallest of my life, I made my way towards the high school. Even the real twins had remained silent and that meant a lot.
