"And so, if we derive the equation we obtained, we get x - 1." I think hearing seniors talking about Maths is interesting. This is what Jai should study, but doesn't, as much as that it's something I'd like to learn but it's not quite the time yet.

On the other hand, Dwight and Kaylah look anything beyond interested. "It's of impossible comprehension!" comments in fact Dwight.

"No," points out Kaylah instead, quite uninterested, "it's as boring as fuck! And, Jimmy, I don't understand what you find entertaining in Maths!"

"Can't you find anything that is as magic and mysterious as numbers?" I debate. "Every single number has a meaning. For instance, did you know that the zero didn't even exist before the Arabs brought it to Europe?"

"And so, what did the ancient Romans use instead of it?" asks Dwight. He also looks pretty bored and wants to talk of something else instead.

"Who cares?" scoffs Kaylah. I am highly considering being blunt to her and shutting her up cold, but she is my friend and, after all, who am I for being blunt to her? She would never forgive me if I was rude to either her or Dwight. So, I just mutter, "I bet they should start from 1 and use some symbols to use zeros in high numbers such as... 1,000,000."

"What about just stopping talking about numbers?" concludes Kaylah. "After all, there are loads of other things we could talk about."

"Such as?" Dwight and I ask simultaneously. He is excited. I am not. I am pretty bothered by Kaylah interrupting my prompt.

But what is bothering me more is the bunch of juniors and seniors coming round to the library, disrupting our conversation and making a lot of noise. And, worse still, it's Jai who's leading them. Oh, come on! He is my brother! He should protect me, but instead he embarrasses me and makes me feel stupid, like I actually was or whatsoever.

"Hey, dudes." His announcement must be something very stupid and nowhere near having sense. Moreover, his attitude is irritating me. "Party at mine, tonight. And you, Jim," he turns at me, "you'll be there, as well."

"What a stupid thought!" I comment. "Your house is mine, as well." I pause for a minute. "And Jaclyn? Is she gonna supervise us?" Jaclyn is our older sister. Although she should be a model for all of us, she is pretty irresponsible and dislikes us.

"Jaclyn? Like, what, dude? She doesn't care about us. And she is definitely going to get drunk with Brittani," he replies in a pretty sour and mocking tone.

"But what if Mom and Dad bust us?" I ask, pretty worried. I am acknowledged to be the good guy, and Mom and Dad don't like the idea of me getting into trouble.

"Oh, come on, dude! Are you serious? Mom and Dad won't either bust or punish you, unless you tell them," he ends up glaring at me. Dwight and Kaylah stare at him, pretty excited.

Suddenly, a girl from junior year, Rhya Weston, speaks up. "Hey Jai, do you know what we are going to do there?" she asks. Her friend, Sophie Honeysuckle, is looking at her, pretty confused.

"Partying hard, I suppose," he smirks. Rhya and Sophie, though, still look pretty confused and have no idea of what to say. Or at least until their classmates, Jonathan and Dexter, approach them and whisper to them to explain what that idiot of my brother said.

Anyway, I am not gonna attend his party. I never liked his parties. The people he invites all get drunk at most one hour and a half in. Several people are even already drunk when they come. I am disgusted by this scenario. I don't want it to be repeated every single time he has a party.

This is why I must convince Kaylah and Dwight not to follow the crowd.

"Is everything Ok?" asks indeed the latter. He looks pretty high.

I mutter something even I myself struggle to understand. Kaylah stares at me intensely but with a worried look, and then states, "I know it's about Jai's party, otherwise you wouldn't be so down in the dumps. Come on. You can tell us. We are your friends."

"Well, I don't like the idea of him having yet another party," I confess.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" Dwight's attempt to tease me is painful, pathetic and inappropriate. He should get to know when to shut up, sometimes. Like now.

In fact, Kaylah more wisely points out, "Dwight, why do you have to be such insensitive? Ok, we all know Jimmy is a midge compared to Jai, but he's our friend!" Ok, she has been too blunt and maybe also inappropriate, but at least she hasn't teased me.

Meanwhile, more and more people have got to know about this fucking party and, the more people know, the better for Jai and the worse for me. I don't want all those people to invade the very little privacy I deserve. Yeah, because of Jaclyn, Jai, Jeremy and Jessa Mae. I know, I know, I should be nicer, but I can't help being bitter for this.

I overhear Jai telling some classmates of his sentences such as "Nice cut, Anthony. Make sure to show it off at the party. And bring Skyler. She must come. She is the soul of parties," or "Are you coming, Morgan? I want to show you my new TV with Hi-Fi system. And tell Jade. She will totally be envious." Yeah, like Morgan McKinna or Skyler Avett would care about our TV!

But, suddenly, I start losing interest in what he says and turn back to my best friends. They, unlike me, want to go to that party and are trying to convince me. Well, they know I am not that easy to convince, but a try is always worth the chance.

"What are you going to do with Jeremy and Jessa Mae?" asks Kaylah, therefore breaking the silence. "Well, you know, they can't nose around during Jai's party."

"I heard Mom and Dad want to take them to the cinema," I mutter. Anyway, that is true, but what if they suddenly changed their plans? I try to think about it the least as possible, before I completely go nuts.

Continues on the next chapter