Susify

Chapter 5

Michelle looked up at the house in front of him. It seemed large. There were three floors, a delicately-tended garden filled with blood-red roses, huge elegant windows and an expensive car parked in front of the home, behind the black fence.

He glanced down at his phone, scrolling through his conversation with Dorian. He read the address, then gazed back up at the home. It was the right place.

Michelle's eyebrows raised in amazement. He hadn't viewed Dorian as the "rich boy" type. Now, however, he looked back at his interactions with him and noticed the subtle signs, the little details that almost no one would notice naturally.

His clothes were always clean, he never wore the same chemise twice in a row, his hair was always soft-looking and shiny as if it had been washed with expensive shampoo, his schoolbag was from a specific brand, he changed his shoes often...

The signs had been there, in plain sight, waiting to be seen and put together, like pieces of a puzzle. Small and yet creators of a large picture.

Michelle couldn't help but feel a little dissapointed. He had been teaching himself to be observant, to be more aware, and when his abilities were put to the test, he failed.

A woman with a dog walked by him and he realised how weird he must be looking, a strange teenager in front of an expensieve house.

Yet he couldn't bring himself to enter, to push that button on the gate.
Instead, he paced around uneasily.

He took in his surroundings: the pearl-white houses, the tall lampposts, the cars and the coffee shop. It seemed medieval-themed and Michelle could barely see a bookshelf through the window.

That must be the coffee shop Remus was telling me about, he told himself.

All of a sudden, the front gate of Dorian's house opened. Michelle jumped, then frowned.
There was nobody around, the gate had opened by itself.
He soon calmed, guessing that it was one of those gates that open by themselves after the owner pushes a button.

The front door opened, revealing Dorian.
His hair was so annoying, hanging like curtains over his forehead. Michelle felt that same impulse, the terrible, almost unresistable wish to push the bangs out of his face.

"Nervous? To be honest, me too." Dorian said, an understanding smile appearing on his face. "It's alright, come in. Do you like the roses? I grew them myself."

The pride in his voice was so adorable, Michelle felt his cheeks burn. The change in the color was probably unnoticeable though because of his natural blush.

The two entered the home. The design of the living room was modern and obviously very costly. There seemed to be a balance in the furniture, some kind of equilibrium brought by the positioning and color palette of the furnishings.

Dorian led Michelle to his bedroom, which was cozy. There were lots of plants and herbs and pages of plant anatomy were sticked on the walls.

"Wait- Sorry." Dorian started, scratching the back of his neck. "I forgot to ask, do you want to do this in the living room or here?"

Michelle felt the weight of the choice. He gave it though. The way Dorian had presented the options made it obvious which one he preferred. He had brought Michelle to his bedroom, then felt some vulnerability and proposed to continue in the living room as he wanted to also give Michelle some control over the situation.

"Living room is fine." he responded, noticing the small relief in Dorian's eyes.

They walked back and sat down at the black wooden table, ready to finally begin the tutoring session.