Aces

SIX

Avery

"That concludes our lesson for today, enjoy your lunch and I'll see you all next week!" Mrs Davidson shouted as the bell rang. I called Amaya amongst the sea of pupils. When I finally reached her, I was almost entirely out of breath. "So," I asked. "How was your first music lesson at Maple Park?"
"It was amazing! Our music lessons back in Greenland High weren't great, so this was a huge improvement. You guys have so many instruments; I don't think I've ever been more in love with anything, ever."
"And here I was thinking I liked music. You are quite extraordinary, but I admire that." Amaya smiled at me. "That's the first time I've seen you smile, and it suits you. Try it more often."

Disorder engulfed us like a flame as we stepped into the dining hall. Everyone was in uniform, making it difficult to find anyone if you needed to. Grabbing Amaya's wrist, I trudged through the sea of pupils until I reached our table; no one outside of our friend group would ever dare to sit there. That makes us sound like horrible people, I know, but it's simply because we're the top of the school food chain. Aiden and Axel were already sitting at the table. Aiden didn't even bother to look up from his phone, but I wasn't surprised. "Guys, this is Amaya. Amaya, this is Aiden and that's Axel." I watched as her eyes darted back and forth between Aiden and I.
"Are you guys-" she began.
"Twins? Sadly, yes." Aiden interrupted, still staring at his phone.
"I'll have you know it's not very easy for me to have you as my brother either." I shot back.
"Avery's right, Aiden, you can be quite the douchebag sometimes."
"Thanks Axel." Rolling my eyes, I turned to Amaya. "Boys, am I right?" She giggled lightly, erasing the tension in the air around us.
"Oh," Axel said. "You're in our class. That's why I recognise you."
"Yup. Today's my first day, I got in on an athletics scholarship."
"How're you holding up? Being the new kid can be pretty tough, huh?" I was amazed at how sociable Axel was. Usually, the only people he talks to are Aiden and I, so seeing him talk this much was remarkable to say the least.
"Eh, it's not perfect."
"Well, I guess you're our friend now, so if you need anything, you can always come to us." Axel sent me a small, swift nod, which I returned. I gave her my number so I could add her to our group chat later. "Hey Aiden, why don't you look up from your phone for 5 seconds? Let Amaya see your ugly face." He finally put down his phone.
"Hate to break it to you little sis, but we're identical twins. You can't call me ugly without insulting yourself at the same time."
"Shut your gob." I retorted, annoyed.
"Love you t-" Aiden cut himself off. He was looking at Amaya and Amaya was looking at him, and was she blushing? Dead silence. "Oh no, no, no..." I murmured. The pair broke eye contact as Amaya turned to face me. I sat there, stunned. "Hey Amaya, I need to go to the bathroom, wanna come?"
"Sure."
"Boys, after school, don't forget!" I shouted as we departed from the table.

At the sound of the toilet door slamming shut, I span my head to face Amaya. "You've got to be careful, girl."
"Who? Aiden? Why?"
"Yes, Aiden. Look, please trust me. He's my brother, I know him better than anyone else at this school."
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"No, I'm not having a go at you, I just don't want you to get hurt. That boy is a total player; he's never had a girlfriend that he's stayed with for more than 2 weeks."
"I'll be okay, Avery. I'm a powerful young woman."
"That's my girl. Still, though, be careful; he goes through girls like a person who's been starved for 3 days goes through a roast dinner. Oh man, I want a roast dinner now." Splitting the silence open, we both burst into laughter.
"Thank you for being my friend." Amaya said when she finally found room to breathe.
"Of course! I'm glad that there was an empty seat next to me." The bell resonated in our eardrums. "Walk to class with me?" I offered.
"Always." There it was again: that beautiful smile.