Andante

XVIII

In the second break Eddy and Lily were sat at their bench again, eating their lunch, when Eddy's phone buzzed. Oh, whoops! He must have forgotten to turn it off before school, good thing it hadn't gone off during the lessons. He picked it up and smiled: the message was from Brett.  

     'Hey bro, how are you? Wanna hang later, maybe get some bubble tea?'

He couldn't stop the grin spreading on his face. A warm feeling blossomed in his chest. He quickly typed his reply.

    'Absolutely. Have to do homework and practice first though, that okay?'

Brett's reply came almost instantly. 

    'Yeah, me too, so that's cool. I'll pick you up!'

When he looked up from his phone Lily was looking at him curiously. 
¨Brett?¨ She asked. 
He grinned again. ¨Yeah, we're going to get bubble tea later.¨
¨Cool!¨ 
¨Yeah¨, he said. He didn't really want to talk about this with Lily, so he changed the subject. ¨So, how come your mum doesn't play the piano anymore?¨
That set her off, and the break flew by with her happy chatter. He realised how good it was to have a friend at school, especially one who was nice and talkative. He could just be his shy self with her. It was very comfortable being with Lily. 

After school he had to stop himself from running home. Come on mate, you're thirteen, not eight. You walk at a sane pace. But he was so eager to get home: he just wanted to get to his homework done and practice, so he could go out for Boba with Brett. 
So it was a real shame his mum was in a mood for checking up with him the second he walked in the door. 
¨Hi Eddy, how was school?¨
¨Fine. ¨ he replied in English. He was so not in the mood for this. 
¨When is next test?¨ his mum said in English as well. Wow. She really wanted to talk to him, hey?
¨Oh, not for a couple of weeks, mum. Then I have a few. Math, another French test, a couple more.¨
¨And you paying good attention in tutoring, yes?¨ she asked, sternly. 
¨Yes mum.¨ he said meekly, willing his cheeks to stay their normal colour with all his might. Why oh why would she choose right now for all these questions? Especially ones that were hard to answer?
He added, hoping to mollify her: ¨I'm really doing my best, mum.¨
It was true, as well. He really was. He sighed, and looked up at her, slipping into Mandarin. 
¨I really am, mum. Don't worry.¨
¨You go do homework and practice, then! Make sure you get all done!¨
He nodded, grabbed the cup of tea she'd put out for him and all but ran up the stairs. 
¨Thanks for the tea, mum!¨ he called as he went. 

A couple of hours later he was very pleased with himself. Who knew that the key to focusing properly on your work was knowing you could get Boba with Brett after? 
He'd worked hard on the violin as well. Of course the Bruch had gone perfectly now that he was alone in his room. He sighed in defeat and shook his head sourly. Surely after all this practice he'd have to be able play it like this at his next lesson as well, no? 
When his mum called him for dinner he put everything away quickly and walked downstairs to the smell of Ma Po Tofu. Oh, yum! 
¨Smells good, mum!¨ he said, his earlier pique forgotten now. 
¨Did you get all work done?¨ she asked.
¨Yes! All done. So can I go out for Boba after dinner with Brett?¨ 
He was very careful to keep his face neutral, but his mum smiled straight away. 
¨Yes, that's okay.¨
Eddy quickly texted Brett before sitting down to eat his tofu, and he'd only just finished eating when the doorbell chimed its minor third. 

¨Okay mum, I'm off!¨ he said, jumping up and all but running to the front door. Way to look over-enthusiastic, mate!
But as soon as he opened the door and saw Brett standing on the stoop, it was like a whole bunch of muscles he didn't know he had tensed, relaxed. He breathed deeply with the relief of it. 
¨Hi.¨ he said softly, smiling at Brett. ¨How are you doing?¨
Brett smiled back at him. ¨I'm good.¨ 
Eddy got the very distinct feeling he wasn't telling him everything. But okay. 
He put his shoes on and grabbed his hoody, in case it would get colder, and closed the front door behind him.