Enigma

Albert

"I'll see you two tomorrow," Nico said to Fab and Julian, then turning to Nick. "...and Nick, I'll see 'ya when I see 'ya!"

Nick waved and unlocked his car. Fab jumped in after giving Nico a quick hug and off they went.

"Bye, Nico." Julian spoke up softly. "Thanks for everything."

"Get started on that essay for music, okay?"

"Shit! I forgot about that..."

Nico lightly shoved him with a giggle. "Off you go! No more drinking! I better see you on the bus tomorrow!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Julian saluted her.

"I'd walk you home, but if I don't get started on my essay now, I'll be up at like, three in the morning doing it!"

"It's fine. See 'ya!" He waved, then began to half-jog down the street. He looked so awkward and dorky as he did so, resulting in Nico having to run back into her house to laugh.

Nico was shocked to have finished her essay in a little under two hours. She proudly stapled the pages together and placed it in her backpack, all while humming a catchy tune to herself. She then phoned up Tracie and told her about her past days spent with Julian, Fab and Nick, making sure to leave out any small details that could make the guys look bad. Tracie seemed to be disappointed that she wasn't invited over to join the fun, but she quickly forgot about that once she'd remembered to tease Nico about Julian, saying things like, "Ooh! Is he good in bed?" and, "Nick sounds cute! When do I get to meet him?" Nico would just nervously laugh in response, not even bothering to tell Tracie nothing much happened.

By the time it hit 11PM, Nico was in bed. She had finished her essay on Jimi Hendrix and was quite pleased with it. She could've written 10 pages on the topic, but somehow narrowed it down to 5. She wondered how Julian was doing as she closed her eyes and let out a content sigh. She couldn't wait to see him at school tomorrow, and she didn't know why. He'd made such a bad first impression on her; blowing her off at school and then getting drunk and visiting her at work...but somehow she still thought he was great. The thought of not finding him repulsive scared her a little. This strange new guy had brought her closer to Fab, and made her less quiet—all within only a few days of meeting her.

The next day, Nico was up early getting ready for school. She slipped on a black and white striped turtleneck, paired it with a black tennis skirt and slipped on some black Doc Martens.  Then, she went about her normal makeup routine, grabbed her bag and whizzed out the front door to catch the bus. Tracie wasn't at Nico's door that morning, but Nico was so eager to see Julian that she hadn't noticed.

She jumped onto the bus, ignoring all the stares and whispers from people who had seen her outburst the other day, and she scanned the vicinity, stopping when her eyes landed on Julian. He looked up at her with a smile and moved his bag from the seat next to him. Was he saving the seat especially for Nico? That made her smile as she pranced over and sat beside him.

"Good morning, Julian." she greeted him, setting her backpack down on her lap.

Julian moved closer to the window to give her more room. "Hey,"

"It's good to see you. Did you get your essay done?"

Julian's brow furrowed and he turned away. "I...I forgot about it."

"Damn, Julian." she sighed. "Malcolm will be disappointed."

Julian said nothing and shrugged. The real reason he couldn't get his essay done was because he was busy breaking up fights between his parents all night. Things were quite rough at home, and he really wanted to talk about it with someone, but Nico seemed quite happy that morning so he decided not to dampen the mood. Plus, he didn't really know her that well, anyway.

When they got to school, they met up with Fab and talked for a bit before heading to homeroom. Afterwards, they separately went to their first classes and then met up in one of the hallways before recess.

"Art room again?" asked Fab with a smile.

Julian nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah, dude."

The three teenagers then started their walk to the art room. Nico suggested they stop by the cafeteria, because she had only just realised she hadn't seen Tracie all morning.

When she peeked through one of the doors, she looked over at her and Tracie's usual spot, noticing that Tracie's chair was empty, and Nico's was occupied. In the chair sat a curly-haired guy she'd never seen before. Fab had curly hair, but this guy's hair was much longer and lighter in color. She watched him quizzically as he scribbled a few things down in a little notebook. Elbowing Fab, she asked, "Who's that guy? I've never seen him before?"

Fab peered over her shoulder and shrugged. "I dunno. Must be new."

Julian then peered over the both of them, using his large height difference as an advantage. "Holy shit!" he gasped.

"What is it, Julian?" Nico asked, stepping away from the door.

"That's Albert!"

"Who's Albert?" asked Fab.

"He went to my old school. He told me he'd be coming here soon, but I didn't think he would be here this soon."

"I like his style." said Nico with a nod of her head as she acknowledged Albert's white button-up shirt and grey suit-pants with a somewhat casual looking blazer to match. He sure didn't dress like any other kid their age.

Fab nudged Julian. "Go invite him to sit with us, man. What are you waitin' for?!"

"I haven't spoken to him since school." Julian said, looking away the way he did when he was slightly nervous about something.

"So? That wasn't too long ago!"

"It's been a while. I went to another school after the boarding school where I met Albert, and it wasn't this one." he explained.

"Oh, okay...but that still doesn't change very much." replied Fab, looking quite excited to meet Julian's friend. "Just go talk to him! He's eating alone for fuck sake, he'll be glad to join us!"

Julian rolled his eyes, took in a deep breath and stepped into the cafeteria, making sure to dodge the jocks table as he nervously made his way over to Albert. Nico and Fab watched attentively as Julian approached him. A huge smile lit up Albert's face and he jumped up to hug Julian.

"Aww!" Nico and Fab giggled. 

The two guys then talked for a minute or two, and finally, Julian began to lead Albert out of the cafeteria as Fab and Nico shared an enthusiastic high-five.