Roulette (1)

“Come on! It’ll be fun!” Jenna said with almost too much enthusiasm. It was finally winter break, and they had a few weeks off from school to do something fun. Although, hanging out at a secluded cabin in Hillsdale wasn’t Luka’s idea of fun. He’d rather lock himself in his room to play videogames and draw, particularly because he got paid for the latter. But He was invited to the spend a week at KayZee’s cabin along with Jenna and a few others, and Jenna was doing her damnedest to convince her best friend to come along.

“It’ll be fun for you because you’re friends with pretty much everyone who’s gonna be there,” Luka reminded Jenna. “I only know KayZee and you.”

“But Mateo will be there,” Jenna said in that sing-song voice that people use, making it seem like they’re dangling a prize in front of someone’s face.

“I don’t know him…” Luka said, feeling his ears become hot. If he knew they were turning red that meant Jenna did, too and could tell she was winning.

“But you like him, and he’s going to be there,” Jenna teased. She shot Luka a glance displaying her confusion with a bit of disbelief. “How do you have a crush on someone you don’t know?”

“First of all,” Luka reached for a bag just big enough to fit in a week’s worth of clean clothes and his laptop. “I don’t have a crush on him. And, isn’t that how…life works? Have you never heard of the phrase ‘Love at first sight’?”

“Aww, is that what it was between you two?”

Luka gave his friend his best ‘you can’t be serious’ face and threw a pair of his underwear at her.

“Ooh, yes! Bring these!” She squealed. “They’re cute! And Mateo likes cute.”

“He’s not going to see them even if I wear them! Besides, he has a girlfriend.”

“So? He’s on the football team. Those guys don’t even know what monogamy means, much less how to spell it.”

“You’re kinda mean,” Luka laughed as he stuffed his things into the bag. He’d just organize it all when he got there. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d be late. And Luka didn’t mind spending a week with Mateo.

“I’m also kinda right.”

***

            “Why do we have to take your car, again?” Mateo groaned while climbing into one of the back seats. He decided to sit next to the window hoping something in the passing scenery would keep him awake. According to Mateo, the worst thing in the worlds were road trips, and this would be a long one.

            “Because my car is bigger than yours,” Miles laughed. “Like a lot of other things.”

            Mateo glared at the back of Miles’ head who elected to sit in the middle row, next to the window. Miles knew Mateo was staring at him and was inwardly laughing at how worked up his friend got about things. Like the time in elementary school when the two were camping in Miles’ backyard, and Mateo demanded to walk home, just next door, early because he peed in his sleeping bag after a nightmare. Miles thought he was just going to change, but he left crying and never came back.

            “I can still feel you burning holes through my head, bro. Calm down!” Miles said without looking back at Mateo. He preferred to imagine heat radiating from the top of Mateo’s head. It was funnier that way. “I was just joking!”

            “Hahaha, fuck you…” Mateo mumbled. He knew Miles was joking, and that was the problem. The guy never took anything seriously. Including what he said to people. Miles figured because they were friends he could say whatever he wanted and expect there to be no consequences. Despite being best friends, his joking nature was the one think Mateo hated about him.

            KayZee walked around to the driver side and opened the door. “Can you guys keep it down?” She asked, annoyed at the two boys who would be sitting behind her. “I could hear you when I was locking my front door!”

            “Sorry…” muttered Mateo. He knew KayZee was being a little dramatic, but he and Miles did get a little loud when they were around each other. He thought about that but couldn’t come up with an answer as to why.

            “Sure,” Miles said sarcastically, handing his car keys to KayZee. “Just…please don’t wreck my baby. I beg of you!”

            “You drive a Honda Odyssey. It’ll be fine no matter what I do to it.” KayZee started the large, blue van as she sat in the driver’s seat. “Jesus, Miles. You wanna be a soccer mom when you grow up?”

            “Don’t mock the van. Last time I did that I was stranded on eighty-one outside of Scranton.” Miles shuddered in remembrance of his most difficult time in the snow.

            “That’s because you’re terrible at judging how far you can go on an empty tank,” Jenna said as she got into the car in the same row as Miles. That way Luka, who got in after her, would be forced to sit with Mateo, or risk making thinks awkward. “Heads up, it’s usually nowhere far enough to make a difference.”

            Luka sat down in the opposite side of the back row, avoiding eye contact with Mateo as best as he could. He even took his phone out and stared at the home screen to pretend he was busy. If Harper hadn’t called shotgun twenty minutes ago he would have sat in the front passenger seat. But now he had to act as if he hadn’t been caught staring at Mateo in the locker room freshman year. And pray Mateo had forgotten about it.