Aioli Sauce

The bag lay abandoned on the kitchen floor and the spoon clinked loudly against the bowl. Shylock Menelaus sat at the counter and quickly scoffed down the food. The old man Aioli Ayli stood over him with a scowl on his face. "If you hadn't made so much noise, I never would have let you in. I don't like people who think themselves funny."

The boy mm-hmmed in agreement, eager to get on his good side. Ayli just snorted.

Shylock was soon finished. "Thank you so much for this, it was delicious. Can you tell me where I can find the dorm manager?"

The old man took the bowl. "I'm the dorm manager."

Shylock swallowed.

"Do tell me, who did you think I was? The janitor?"

"Of course not." Shylock didn't miss a beat. "I thought you were the cook, and a really good one. I was really looking forward to eating your tasty food every day."

Ayli raised an eyebrow. "You know how to flatter people."

The boy laughed. "Well, I am a troublemaker. I feel bad, making people go through so much, so I make sure I can make them feel good afterwards."

"You should probably stop getting into trouble in the first place." He put the bowl in the sink. "Come with me. I'll show you to your room."

Shylock's room was on the third floor. It was quite small, with just enough room for a pair of desks, wardrobes, and beds. The bed on the left was completely covered. Crumpled clothes and books and pencils lay piled all over the duvet. In contrast, the bed on the right was neat and tidy, the sheets smoothed out without a single wrinkle.

He dropped his bag on the unoccupied bed. "Great. A messy roommate. At least he keeps his mess to the other side of the room." He dug through his bag to find the book he had been reading before the family sent him off.

"Nooo, what happened to you?" Shylock gently bent back the pages. "You poor thing." At least his bookmark was still in place. He placed the book on his desk with a few others on top to flatten the pages. He took down a thinner one and lay down on the bed for a read. He would be finished just before he went to sleep, so he could go back to the first book in the morning.

Half an hour later, the door opened. The dorm was well maintained, meaning that the door hinges were well-oiled and silent. Lying on his front and turned away from the door, Shylock had no idea that a well-built youth fresh from the baths was standing frozen in his towel.

Ollie Hanover had no idea why this tomboyish teenage girl was reading on his bed. Her long hair was draped carelessly over her T-shirt, and her toned legs lay crossed on the bed to make a crease in her short blue skirt.

Ollie shook his head. He shouldn't be admiring those long legs, she was clearly lost in the wrong dorm. He nearly went "hi" to catch her attention, but realised in time that he was wearing only a towel. The wardrobe was right next to him. Ollie quietly opened it to get his clothes.

Once presentable, no mean feat when trying to stay quiet, Ollie coughed politely to catch the girl's attention.

"Um... the girl's dorms are on the other side of the square."

Shylock nodded. "Okay." He turned back to his book.

Ollie scratched his head. His hair was still wet. "Are you waiting for someone? Your brother?"

"Nah." Something clicked and Shylock turned away from his book. "Hold on. Who are you?"

"Oh!" He hadn't introduced himself. "I'm Ollie, from the Hanover clan." He walked to over and held out his hand.

Shylock couldn't help a snort of laughter at the name. "The handover clan." He shook his head to reprimand himself "sorry." He received the handshake firmly. "Nice to meet you Ollie. I'm Shylock Menelaus."

Ollie tore his eyes away from the small cleavage showing through the loose shirt. "Shylock Menelaus." He'd always liked girls with small, delicate breasts. "Nice name." It was certainly a nice name for girls.

Shylock grumbled "you're the only one here who thinks that." Ollie's damp hand was still grasping his, so he retrieved it.

Ollie realised that a tomboyish girl might not like having such a girly name. "Oh...then should I call you something else?"

Shylock widened his eyes in delight. A new school meant new people, so he could introduce himself under a different name. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" He put down the book and sat up on the bed, legs folded. "What should I go with then? Lock, Lockie..." Shylock remembered a book he'd read a while ago. "Loki!" He smiled at Ollie. "I'm going to be Loki now. I'll be so low-key." He laughed at his own joke.

Ollie was momentarily blinded by the Loki's mischievous grin. With this girl here, this year was going to be very interesting.