As Told By Tuck & Axel

Maggie and I Make a Switch

Chapter: Maggie and I make a Switch

Author: Axel Otto

It was Christmas break. It hadn't been two days since we got home before Maggie whipped out her new boyfriend.

"Tuck, Ax, this is Kyle. My boyfriend." She was presenting him as if he were a gift to us. He was tall (a basketball player), blonde (his hair reminded me of a baby golden retriever's fur), and very, very attractive (mossy green eyes, light freckles, jawline sharper than Tuck's intuition.) He was timid and still a virgin, according to Maggie. He was here for a family dinner.

I stood up, rolled my shoulders back, and puffed out my chest. I loved playing big brother. "I'm Axel. I'm just shy of six foot, I'm 185 pounds, and I'm the starting goalie for Penn State's soccer team. If you hurt my baby sister, I'll make sure you never breathe again. Good to meet you, son."

I stuck my hand out to him, and his fingers were sweaty and jittery in my own. He had looked me in the eye before I was officially introduced to him, but now his only focus was my shoes. I watched Maggie roll her eyes and curse at me in German. "Don't worry," she whispered to him. "He even says that to my girl friends."

This made Kyle smile slightly, and I noticed that he had a nice smile.

"He says it to the girls I date too," Tuck said, ever the charming boy-next-door. He flashed Kyle a smile, for Maggie's benefit, then shook Kyle's hand. Kyle actually looked him in the eyes, and I instantly became jealous. "I'm Tucker, Axel's best, and only, friend."

My mom, who was busy finishing her cooking in the kitchen, laughed at this. This eased the tension I had created.

We sat down for dinner without my father. He was in Singapore, and wouldn't be home for another week. That weekend, my mother was going to fly out and spend three days with him.

This dinner was the beginning of a long month (PSU gave all their students 5 weeks off during the holidays) with the four of us. Me, Tuck, Maggie, and Kyle.

The dynamic began with lazy afternoons watching Lost or Grey's Anatomy in our living room, all four of us probably in pajamas. Maggie and I exchanged witty sibling banter, Kyle's gaze snapped away from mine every time I glanced at him, and Tuck and Maggie shared silent looks and the almost unnoticeable touches of two people still very much in love. I predicted, with Tuck home, Kyle and Maggie wouldn't last a week.

I was right.

Over the course of a few days, Kyle had started warming up to me. I had started cracking some jokes that made him laugh, and we realized we had more in common than just our love for Magdalene. Kyle played soccer as well as basketball, and even read the same James Patterson novels I did.

I was developing a crush on him, and I felt like he was developing one on me in return.

"Where are they going now?"

Kyle's embarrassed, small tone made me sympathetic. Tuck and Maggie had been doing "Tuck and Maggie things." They went out for ice cream last night, leaving Kyle and I alone to watch a movie. According to Kyle, the reason for this was that Maggie "really looked up to Tuck" and that Tuck was "like a second brother to her" and that they "wanted to catch up." Poor little naive Kyle didn't realize this was code for have sex in the backseat of Tuck's sedan.

"They went to go see Mrs. Oaks and Rick, Tuck's mom's boyfriend. We're really close with his family and Tuck's parents wanted her to come over for dinner."

Kyle frowned, looking at me with discontent. "Oh."

I turned my attention back to the bowl of lucky charms I was eating.