Chapter Twenty Seven: Sneak Peak into Drake's Life

I slumped back on the chair, stretching my arms.  I have been solving Math sums since quite a lot of time & needless to say, my brain’s exhausted now. Closing the book, I rose from the seat & decided a walk in the lawn downstairs would be the best thing to do.

It was dusk; the cool breeze seemed welcoming outside. As I walked downstairs, I discovered Mark hadn’t yet returned home. Right then,  the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find my brother. He walked past me, without even bothering to acknowledge my presence. And yes, he wore a disgruntled look on his face.

“Hey, what’s up?” I greeted him.

“Its none of your business, so keep shut.” He answered back rudely.

That left me shocked, “hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen in school? Some fight? I--”

“Do you have to know every bloody thing?? If you don’t have anything to do, bury yourself in a hole cause you’re least needed!!” he spoke in a high pitch.

“Mark, you can’t be---”

But he didn’t even stop to listen. Five seconds later, I heard him banging the door of his room shut.

I was left puzzled & shocked at that behavior of his. He was in a very foul mood, it was obvious. Usually, Mark is a very jolly person who is seldom in a bad mood but when he is livid, which is very rare, all hell breaks loose. And today was one of those rare days.

I rang up Drake, assuming he might know the reason behind Mark’s temper but Drake didn’t answer my calls.

Yeah right, I should’ve understood by now that the blonde haired guy has taken a pledge to never ever respond to my phone calls.

So that meant I would have to wait till the next day to try & find out the reason.

****

It wasn’t a difficult task at all for me to figure out what had suddenly gone wrong with my brother cause the entire school was whispering & gossiping about a supposed fight that had taken place between Drake & Mark! Yes, you heard it right, fight between two best friends.

“I heard some people talking that Drake and Mark had an argument while working on their video game & that argument soon escalated into an ugly spat.” Soph said when we were in the canteen.

“Yeah, it seems that this is the biggest fight that they have had till date & it doesn’t appear things will calm down between them.” said Laura solemnly.

I sat there perplexed. To tell the truth, I have seen the strong camaraderie that the two boys share & I never thought they would allow such a big fight to happen between them. But I guess, nothing is guaranteed.

And then again, I saw the ‘popular table’ that was filled with supposedly popular people—minus Drake this time. Mark was seated in some other table, far away from the popular table. It was so evident that my brother was being sidelined or avoided by those very people who flocked him whenever he was with Drake. Susan’s bitter words came rushing to my mind. Was it really true that people speak to Mark only because he is Drake’s best friend?. It is true cause, now, Mark is the one who is avoided, ignored & isolated. That fact gave rise to a pricking uneasy feeling behind my chest.

I recollected a conversation I had with Mark around two months ago, maybe. We were in the car, on our way back home from school.

“Mark, um….I wanted to speak to you about something important.” I said

“Go on. I sense something emotional coming up.” He responded, halting the car at a traffic signal.

I took a deep breath & spoke what was pricking my mind since quite a long time, “I think being with Drake leads to people underestimating you.  He’s overshadowing you & he probably doesn’t even care about it. Your hard work, in whatever you do, goes unnoticed. He is probably being friends with you for his own benefit. I think you should be developing the video game alone or with someone else rather than Drake and ---”

“Andrea, easy, Relax!” Mark interrupted, “Are you trying to tell me I shouldn’t be in Drake’s company anymore?”

“You can assume whatever you want but it hurts to hear people talking low about you & overly praising Drake.”

“Look, I know you care for me.” His tone was soothing, ”I really don’t care what people think about me. What matters to me is the fact that I’m able to develop a game design & enter in this festival.  Drake is a fine chap & I’m glad that I am working with him who is equally interested in computers & video game designing.”

“So don’t you have any insecurities?”

“Don’t use such heavy words with me.” Mark laughed.

“Fine, as you wish.”

“Hey, there’s nothing to worry about. Relax!”

I smiled.

 Back to the present, I didn’t know what to do or whether I should do anything about this at all. I thought of the latter option. If Drake & Mark have problems between them, they should solve it by their own rather than someone else trying to make things better. Or maybe I don’t want Drake to overshadow my brother’s talents & hard work so I guess they shouldn’t be back to being best friends....

In the couple of days that followed, the silent war between the boys only increased. Both walked past each other like strangers. The person who was the happiest due to this fight was Susan. She left no chance to ridicule my brother & me and even I left no chance to shoot back to her. That being said, people stopped talking in school about the fight after a few days cause they were now sure the friendship is over forever.

It was the Math period that day. The teacher hadn’t yet arrived in the class. Mark & Drake got into a tiff over something.

“Don’t ask him that Statistics answer Josh. He thinks what he says is right even though it may be practically not possible.” Mark told the guy named Josh, indirectly referring to Drake.

“Some people think they are the best & find it hard to accept that someone else has much better ideas & knowledge than them about a particular aspect.” Drake shot back indirectly at my brother.

Then they looked at each other coldly. I looked on gravely. The teacher walked in after that.

I couldn’t take all that anymore. Whatever was happening wasn’t right. It was evident that both Mark & Drake were very much affected by the fight. Drake hardly interacted with anyone & kept to himself while Mark was in a grumpy mood all the time. They were missing being best friends & working together but neither of them would own up & solve the fight. And that was when I decided to step in.

Mark was at home that evening, I walked into his room finding him randomly browsing the internet.

“Mark, I need to talk to you.” I said.

“I’m busy.” he responded nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes, “Why don’t you just step forward & finish this stupid fight with Drake?”

“Why do I have to be the one to apologize first? Its not possible to design the car in the game like he wants, why can’t be understand that?” he retorted, “Moreover, I thought you’d be the happiest now that Drake & me aren’t on talking terms anymore”

He was right. If this same fight would have happened a few months ago, I would be partying out of happiness cause I used to hate the fact that my worst enemy was my brother’s best friend but now, maybe, things have changed quite a lot....

I took a deep breath & spoke, “Mark, you’re right in what you said. Its just that I have come to realize how amazing friends you both are. And I think egos should never come in between friendships, or any other relationships for that matter.”

That seemed to affect him somewhere. I departed from there.

Next, I knew where exactly I was supposed to go. I walked out on the streets, called out a cab & got in it.

It was dusk when the cab winded up in front of the address in which I wanted to be. I got out of the vehicle, paid the cabbie & sprinted up the stairs to ring the doorbell. An old lady in her early sixties opened the door.....

***

I walked upstairs. The door of the room was open. I saw him at his desk, his back facing me & he seemed to be engrossed in some book.

“Knock. Knock.” I called out, letting him know of my presence in his room.

Drake turned to me, visibly shocked to see me there. And I was double shocked to see him. Why? Because he had big round spectacles over his eyes. Just like Harry Potter.

“What on earth are you doing over here?!” Drake asked in a baffled tone, rising to his feet

“Why didn’t you tell me you wear spectacles??!! I mean….I never ever thought you of all people wear round black rimmed glasses. Never saw you wear them in school!” I rambled in astonishment. He was looking like a typical nerd with those glasses & heap of school books lying open on his desk.

Drake turned wide eyed hearing me. He immediately took off his spectacles, looking unnerved. It was obvious he didn’t want me to see him wearing glasses.

“Promise me that you won’t tell anyone that I wear spectacles.” he demanded urgently.

“Why? Are you insecure that it would harm your reputation in school, especially with girls?” I teased him.

“Just promise me that alright?” he said in irritation.

“Fine! Relax, I won’t reveal your secret but on one condition that you wear your glasses for now.” I giggled.

“No I won’t.” he refused flatly.

“C’mon wear it! I swear you don’t look like a ninety year old zombie in it!”

Drake rolled his eyes at that comment but he did wear his glasses again anyway! To tell the truth, the glasses altered his looks to a great extent but nonetheless, it made him look very cute & adorable.

“Now you tell me, what are you doing here? Or rather how have you figured out that I live here cause no one knows that I reside here, not even your brother.” Drake said quietly.

“Mr. Drake Spencer, if you choose to become the mysterious guy then even I can become Sherlock Holmes.” I said coolly.

He rolled his eyes on that.

“By the way, why don’t you let people know about your house? Why so secretive? After all, you’ve such a good house!” I said in admiration of the sweet one storey house.

He didn’t choose to reply to that. Instead said in a stiff tone, “You’ve come to know where I live. I expect you to keep this a secret as well. Now that your detective stint is over, you can leave. I’m very busy.”

He sat down on his chair, turned his back to me & again dug his nose into the book he was reading.

“No! You’re gonna sit quietly & listen to what I want to say!” I whined, walking to his side & snatched the book away from under his eyes.

“I know what you want to talk about & I’m really not interested in that. So don’t waste my time & yours as well.” he grumbled, snatching the book back from me.

My lips parted in an O in shock.

“Fine!” I said, plopping down on his bed & making myself comfortable, “If you’re not gonna heed me, then I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of the night here. Your bed seems big enough for two teens.”

Did I just say that? Oh yes, I did say that!

Drake raised his brows at that, “Yeah whatever. You are free to do anything on my bed.”

He smirked & then got back into his books.

I rolled my eyes, again walking to his side. This time I closed all the books that were open on the desk. He protested but who cares!

“You’ve to listen to what I’ve to say cause believe me, you don’t have any other option.” I said gravely.

“Make it quick.” he said, taking off his spectacles.

I sat on the stool opposite him.

“I don’t know what exactly went wrong between Mark & you but I would really want the issues to be solved.” I said earnestly.

“So your brother doesn’t have the balls to own up his mistake so he has sent you to try & get me to apologize first?” he asked cynically.

“You’re getting it absolutely wrong!! Mark doesn’t even know I am here!” I said defensively but then decided to calm down.

“I gave my peace of mind to Mark & probably I am giving you my peace of mind to you now.” I said.

“Great.” His tone was sarcastic, “And anyways, you always thought that I was a bad influence on your brother so why do you want to get him again under my bad influence?”

Taking a deep breath, I spoke, “I know both of us have never got along well & probably this conflict will remain forever...but just because there are clashes between us doesn’t make you a bad person. I was wrong in judging you as a bad person. You’re a good person. I don’t know about you but Mark is missing his best friend though he wouldn’t admit it obviously. I really want to see you guys as thick friends like before.”

There was stark silence. Drake stared at me without a word. I know he never expected me of all people to say that to him. Infact, I never expected myself to try & mend the friendship. But I did mean it.

I didn’t realize when my eyes locked with his. I didn’t even bother to blink. My heart rate was slowing down as I kept on looking into his deep blue iris....

The knock on the door broke our supposed trance & we averted our eyes off each other. Drake’s Grandma walked in carrying a tray of cupcakes & juice.

“Wow! I love cupcakes! Thank you!” I chirped.

“Drake has brought none of his friends here.” she said, “I’m glad you have come Andrea. I knew who you were when you arrived cause Drake talks a lot about you to me.”

My eyes widened hearing that. Never saw that one coming.

“Grandma, please!” he said trying to veil his mortified self.

She laughed, “As you say my son.”

“Um....where are your parents Drake?” I asked, changing the topic, “Have they gone out of town?”

I saw Drake’s face going from pale white to emotionless within a fleeting second...His Grandma’s smile too faded away in a moment..I knew something was wrong. I shouldn’t have asked what I asked.

“My parents died in a plane crash four years ago.” Drake responded in a sort of soulless voice....

 “I’m...I’m so sorry...” there was a lump in my throat seeing him being wooden like that.

“Drake, your parents didn’t---”

“Grandma, thank you for the juice. You should go & rest.” Drake interrupted her.

She nodded silently with sad eyes & left the room.

Dead silence commenced again. Drake sat there, his face devoid of any expressions or emotions. I felt a horrible knot behind my chest. And the worst part is, I didn’t know what is to be done in such situation.

“I...I should leave now... Its getting late...” I said in a small voice, rising to leave.

“I’ll drop you to your house.” Drake said, rising to his feet as well.

“No...Its...Its okay...I’ll go..”

But he wasn’t the one who would listen to me. Fetching his car keys, he walked out of the room with me.

***

I sat on the passenger seat next to Drake while he drove the car. I was staring at Drake all the while. His empty eyes were focused on the road ahead & his face was as lifeless as stone. He had gripped the steering wheel way too tightly & his body was stiff. I couldn’t shrug the feeling of regret off me. I shouldn’t have brought up the topic of his parents. He is so much affected by that now. He must be overwhelmed with so many memories & so many devastating feelings that he is trying very hard to conceal each of them. It would be traumatic for anyone to lose their parents at a young age....

The car winded up some distance away from my house. Unfastening his seatbelt, Drake got off the car, came to my side & opened the door of the car for me. That startled me very much.

“You didn’t have to do that for me.” I said cordially.

“Yeah I know, still donno why I did that.” He said glancing sideways.

Drake was about to get in his car again when I held his hand & stopped him.

“I’m....I’m really sorry Drake...I know you’re hurt very badly...I..I shouldn’t have asked about your parents..I had no intention of hurting you..I--” my voice cracked in anguish.

“Andrea!” his hands pressed to my cheeks & he looked into my eyes, “Its not your fault! It can never be your fault cause you weren’t aware of my fate. Its alright, don’t feel guilty.”

He meant those words. My heart started to beat vehemently realizing how close we were. It was obvious he could sense my pounding heart too. Our lips were hardly inches away. My insides shivered in a strange anticipation as his warm breaths fell on my lips...His lips were coming closer to mine...but he retreated at the last moment, his hands slipping off my face as he stepped back from me.

“Good night.” Drake muttered in a low voice, averting his eyes off mine.

I saw him getting in his car & driving away. I stared at the zooming car until it was out of sight.

Today, I had got to know a lot many things about Drake that I was so unknown & unaware of. But inspite of getting to know his secrets, I still somewhere felt that there was something more about him that I yet didn’t know of...And I knew that Drake would do anything possible to fiercely guard that secret from anyone, including me, who tries to pry in....

****

“Whoa man! A good job you did!” Soph exclaimed.

“Thanks man!” I chirped back.

We were at the school campus the following day. Drake & Mark had buried their differences & were back to being friends.

“So all good?” I asked, approaching the boys.

“Thanks Andy!” Mark said.

“Yeah Thanks.” Drake said.

“Good. Now don’t have those serious, nail biting tiffs again.” I said.

“There won’t be any serious fall-out as long as you two don’t date each other cause, as I said before, that’s the last thing I would want.” Mark said gravely to Drake and me,

“But hey! That day would never ever come as both of you just can’t stand each other!” Mark exclaimed with confidence, “So no worries.”

I felt an odd pricking sensation in my spine when I heard Mark.

“Yeah right. That day would never come.” Drake told my brother.

And then again, donno why, Drake’s words seem to stab me hard....

~*~*~*~*~*

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