IV. Weird Start
Lewis had been thinking all about the bet for the rest of the afternoon period. What should he do? He decided to just say yes because he still cares for the little dignity he is.
"Argh... How am I supposed to approach him?"
The both of them are seated a meter away from each other at the bust stop. The bus they were waiting arrives in about 30 minutes or so.
His prospect is currently dwindling about his phone and for him, it is rude if he just decided to interrupt his 'me time' for his wacky nonsense.
'I'm so scared. I'm nervous. Shit, I'm already sweating.' The opportunity that was just handed to him is just too enticing to let go. Damn all temptations to hell.
'Okay Lewis, just try small talk. Just small talk. Yeah small talk. Wait what should I talk about?'
He searched for a possible topic. Just anything will do. He is just so desperate at that point.
A light bulb in his mind lit.
"Aha, homework!"
The realization hit him. Lewis said it out loud that made Matthew look at him confused. Lewis is so embarrassed that even his hands were beet red.
'I just wanna die at this point.'
"Uh, hey." Lewis looked at Matthew. 'He talked to me...'
"Hi." Lewis said shyly. The humiliation from earlier just made him want to cry. "You said homework, what about it?"
Inside Lewis's mind all the screws are out of their places. One said, he should keep the conversation going because that would be a good start. Another said, he should just try again tomorrow. Then the rest just died down.
"Are you okay?" Matthew asked. Lewis became even more red. "I-I'm fine. Homework just crossed my mind that's all."
"Oh..." A pregnant pause kicked in. "I'm Lewis by the way."
"Matthew."
"If you want help with your studies, I can help you." His heart just wanted to get out of his body. " I-I mean I'm not that smart but I can help since we're classmates and we go home with the same direction and uh..."
What on earth is he blabbering at that point? The autopilot Lewis is an awkward Lewis.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the help." Matthew tucked his phone inside his left pocket. "Where do you live?"
"Middletown road. The last house to the right."
"They stairs are killing me and I've been here for only a few days."
"You tell me, I walk with the same set every day. Five sets of stairs and yet still no muscle." Matthew laughed. Lewis finally relaxed and the blush subsided. "Yeah, you don't say."
"How about you?" Lewis asked curiously. "I live in Carolina and now I'm here. Parents got divorced and I want none of them to mingle with my life or I chose my Grandma."
"You lived so far. I know this may sound nosy but are you really okay not choosing either of them? I mean that maybe, just maybe, you'll actually like it, you know?"
Spoken by experience, if Lewis had the option, he would pick going with them. The silence at home is deafening. It was a good thing the dogs kept him company. The lighten up the atmosphere of his dull house.
Being loved by his parents is what he really craved for. Attention, more or less. Being neglected and trusting your capabilities without really knowing how it would affect him. That sucks.
"My dad is an alcoholic drunk that just brings us more debt and my mom decided to try her luck on love."
"Oh... The boyfriend sucks, doesn't he?"
"If I would rate him, he would be a negative ten over ten." Wow, how awful is the guy if he got a negative 10?
"That bad?"
"That bad." Matthew sighed. "Wanna go to my place?"
"Pardon?" Woah, woah, woah. This is going too fast. "I want to introduce you to my Grandma, she kept on nagging that I should bring a friend over. I don't have the heart to say no. She loves guests."
"That would be nice." Maybe Lewis can have a decent meal on one these days. "But my dogs are at home."
"You can bring them; we also have a dog there."
"I can't believe all of this happened because of homework. Liam wouldn't believe this when I tell him' Lewis had a good time talking to Matthew.
For a pretty laid-back guy, a chat with him is nice. Their conversation is cut short because the bus is slowly approaching their way.