The Innocent ↝ ÉLITE ¹

FOUR

CHAPTER FOUR
Realisation

A COUPLE OF days had gone by since Izzy's concert and she had cheered up slightly, partly because of the treats Diego left outside her door every now and then as he did whenever he knew his sisters were upset, one morning Arlo had found an orange and a banana at the foot of her bedroom door and partly because she had also gotten a new phone.

But Arlo could tell she was still upset. Finally realising who your parents were was never an easy thing and all she could do was wait until Izzy learned to get used to it and it killed her that she couldn't help.

Arlo had gotten to school early in order to work with Ander with their project and they were now sat in the hallway, their backs leaning against the lockers. Since they already knew each other well, completing the other's profiles were easy, all they had left to do was take a few more photos.

"It's weird being here with no one else around." Arlo noted.

"I've gotten used to it." Ander replied. "Now stand up and go by the window, so I can take a photo of you."

Arlo groaned as she pushed herself off the ground. "Why do I need to stand by the window?"

"Good lighting. Go! Come on!" Ander urged as he pushed her along.

"I'm going. I'm going." The girl giggled as she stood by the window. "Now what?"

"What do you think? Smile." The boy then mockingly grinned widely, pointing at his mouth. "Like this."
Arlo tried to pull a straight face, but laughed once she remembered the face he pulled. Ander snapped the photo with a smile, then showed her. "Very cute."

"You're making me blush." Arlo deadpanned.

"If you post this on your actual account, it'll make all the guys swoon. Especially Rafael." Ander winked.

"You have the wrong end of the stick. I don't see Raf that way. He's just a friend."

Ander nodded with a smile. "I see. I see. How is that tutoring going?"

"It's okay." Arlo replied. "It's getting tiring, but it helps. You haven't told anyone about it, have you?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course not."

"Thanks."

"Why don't you want anyone knowing?"

Arlo sighed. "Many reasons. But you know the people in this school– the people in our class. They're all...mean, I guess."

"Yeah." Ander whispered.

Shaking her head, Arlo forced a smile. "Come on your turn. Give me your phone."

"No!" The boy exclaimed as he held his phone away from her, panic in his voice. He cleared his throat. "Sorry. I just– I have things on here."

"Oh...okay." Arlo said. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. C'mon, let's go to the music room and take some photos of you and your guitar."

"That's means I have to take a photo of you playing tennis."

Ander tensed slightly before forcing a smile. "You'd be better off just taking photos of my racquet."

Arlo snorted, then pressed her lips shut.

The boy shook his head in amusement. "My tennis racquet. You dirty minded fucker!"

"Hey, language." Arlo scolded, then her eyes widened. "Sorry, sometimes I can't turn it off. Izzy's always swearing around Diego and he's too young to start swearing."