Chapter Two
Text messages from Carl poured in all week, binding Melissa to a virtual relationship. On day two, after spotting a girl’s arms around Joshua’s shoulders, she’d succumbed, and replied to Carl’s messages. On Saturday, her cyber friend vanished, and the texts stopped. What the heck?
On Monday morning, Carl had the nerve to send a smiley emoticon followed by kisses. Melissa flung her cell on her bed and left without it. Her steps were brisk, and she reached the school premises in record time.
Joshua arrived out of nowhere and opened the door for her. “Did you have a nice weekend?”
“No.” Melissa walked in.
“I’m sorry. Mine was okay. Thanks for asking.” He followed her.
“I didn’t.” Melissa moved along, heading for her locker.
“Did your pet die?”
“Nope.”
“Did you have trouble with your English assignment?”
“Nope. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Not at the moment. What did you write about?”
“Joshua’s first and last day at a new school.”
“I’m flattered. So you’ve been thinking about me too, huh?”
“Grrrrrrr─”
“You’re in a mood.”
“I am. So, stay away.” Melissa stared into her locker. “Go.”
Joshua took one step back. “Does this have anything to do with the break-up you mentioned in class last week?”
Melissa nodded, grabbed her padlock, and concentrated on the combination. She didn’t want to cry in front of him.
“If you need a shoulder to lean on, I’ve got two of them.”
The sincerity in his voice and his expression touched her. She looked him in the eye. “Thank you.”
“I mean it. Anytime.” He smiled and turned away.
“I’ll see you in class,” she added in a feeble attempt to be polite. She opened her locker, took the stuff she needed and headed for class. What the heck? He offers me a shoulder, then runs off to hold Brittany’s hand. At this rate, he’s going to run out of body parts!
Melissa spent her first class thinking about Josh and Brit, and it irritated her. In English, her second class, Joshua strolled in and winked at her.
Is he for real? How could he?
Melissa took a deep breath and focused on Mr. Bean’s lesson. She stood and headed out the moment the bell rang.
Joshua beat her to the door. “Melissa, you want to have lunch with me?”
“Wouldn’t you prefer Brit’s company?” She stepped around him.
“Who’s Brit?”
Is he kidding me? Melissa fumed. “Brittany. You were holding hands earlier this morning.”
Joshua followed her and chuckled.
“I’m glad you find this amusing, but the answer’s no.”
Joshua grabbed her hand. “Hold on.”
“Let go.”
“Please don’t run off. This will only take a sec.” Joshua let go of her hand and took his phone out. He punched keys and stared at the screen. “If you want answers, come with me to the track behind the school.”
“Answers to what? I didn’t ask you a question.”
“But, you blamed me for something I didn’t do.”
“Fine, I’ll go, but just so you know, that’s a cheesy pick up line.” She walked, and he followed.
“It wasn’t a pickup line, and if it were, I couldn’t say ‘what’s a nice girl like you,’ because you’ve never really been nice to me.”
“Ouch.”
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Melissa shrugged. “So, are we having a picnic out there?”
“Not today.”
“You planning to show me how fast you can run?”
“No.” He checked his phone.
“Are we meeting someone?”
“Yes.” Joshua pushed the door and held it open.
She stepped out and shielded her eyes, scanning the back yard. “Where is this person?”
He pointed at the bleachers.
Curious, she craned her neck. Who’s this mystery person? Melissa’s pace quickened until she recognized Brittany. She stopped, grabbed Joshua’s arm and let it go when he faced her. “You brought me out here to talk to Brittany? I don’t want her to explain why you were holding hands. I don’t care.”
“I never held her hand, but my twin brother probably did.”
Twin brother? Her throat tightened, making breathing difficult.
“I have a twin brother, Jonah.”
Gibberish came out of Melissa’s mouth as she recalled her words, her reaction, and her tone. She’d misjudged Joshua terribly.
“Would you like to meet him?”
Melissa nodded and trailed behind.
“Melissa, this is Jonah.”
Jonah saluted. “Hi, Melissa.”
Wow! Identical twins.
She swallowed with difficulty. “Hi.”
“I’ve got the looks, Joshua the brains.” Jonah smiled.
“Is that so?” Melissa studied both boys. “I can’t tell you apart.”
“I’m just starting to.” Brittany chimed in. “Jonah’s hair is longer in the back and he has a tiny chip in his front tooth.”
Melissa sat beside Brittany. “Are you guys in the same classes?”
“Only music.” Brittany replied. “You?”
“Two, English and Law.”
“Another brain. I’m also slightly older and more outgoing than Josh.”
Jonah’s candidness amused Melissa. “So, you look after him?”
“I do. Our father’s in the Navy and away a lot. My parents…”
“She can hear the rest later.” Joshua interjected. “Right now, I’m hungry.” He faced Melissa. “Let’s go eat.”
“Nice meeting you, Jonah. I’ll see you guys around.” Melissa followed after Joshua. “Why did you interrupt? I would have loved to hear what he had to say.”
“He makes our dad sound like a hero, and he is in many ways, but a hero doesn’t cheat on his wife. Jonah and I have differing opinions on the subject. Bottom line is Dad cheated on Mom and it destroyed our family.” Joshua glanced at her. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure.”
In the cafeteria, Joshua slid a tray along the stainless steel counter. “Greasy or healthy?”
“Greasy. No, let’s try healthy.”
He picked two plates of shepherd’s pie then added two chocolate milks to the tray.
Melissa sat across from him. They ate while he described his hometown, Halifax, Nova Scotia.