Chapter 296: And Make It Double

"But you gave modelling your best effort even when it's only for pretend. That was something I had to acknowledge." Mikael paused, recalling the time they spent in World of Adventure. "And look at you now. A complete career change."

In spite of herself, Eve blushed. Wasn't that a natural thing to do? Avery, Cale and Luna had opened doors for her that others would have loved to have. She wouldn't drag down a brand just because she wasn't intending to become a model. 

It was part of the deal and she did what she had to do. Now that she thought about it, she never considered that there was any other choice but to do her best.

"I remember how critical you were when we first met," Eve said out of the blue.

"You were an untrained model who got a gig with a luxury brand," Mikael defended. "Unless you had connections, that is unlikely to be given out that easy. The other rookies Luna contracted that time had, at least, trained before she offered them the campaign. I was very skeptical of your intentions."

People who seeked shortcuts didn't necessarily have the passion. Why else would they want an easier path? That type of person didn't care about the process or the hard work it required. They just wanted to rip off the benefits it came with.

"Understandable." Eve nodded along. One question came to her mind. "How did you become a model then?"

Mikael debated how to answer this question. It had been years since he first started. Some days, the time was a blur of memories. Other days, he remembered them vividly. For this night, his mind leaned on the latter.

And he needed another drink. 

"The same thing," he said, sighing a little.

Eve scrunched her eyebrows. "Same thing?"

"Luna offered me a gig." 

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"I want you out of my house! You are not to step foot in here again until you quit coming back drunk in the middle of the night!" A woman yelled from her front door. Her eyes directed a sinister glare at a young man who had fallen on the ground. 

"I. Am. Sick of this, Mikael!" She shrieked, squeezing every air her lungs could provide. "Unless you start taking your education seriously, even your father will put his foot down. Get it together before that happens or it will affect all of us!"

Mikael coughed, standing on his arms and knees. He puked out a mouthful of alcohol. The sun began to rise on the edge of the horizon. It provided a shed of light in his blurry vision. He blinked several times. His ragged breathing the only sound after his mother shut the door.

He pushed himself up in order to sit on his bum. Leaning back, he stared up at the house he lived in for 19 years of his life. Just another two-storey building in the suburbs that connected to other houses in the same style. Nothing but a small front yard as pure land. 

Morning joggers passed by across the street.

They paid him zero attention.

"Home, huh…" Mikael chuckled without humor. Then, he rose to his feet and wiped off the dirt on his pants. "Whatever. Nothing in their lives would change if I was gone anyways."

He walked down the sidewalk and tucked his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie. His foot kicked a can on the way. He checked the time on his cracked phone screen. Since it was a school day, a certain someone should be awake soon.

Jordan heard a crack from his window. He sat up and spotted Mikael letting himself in. 

"Dude!" Jordan complained, getting off his bed. He wore nothing but his boxers. "What the hell happened to you? Why do you have a wound on your cheek? Also, stop coming through my window. It's the second floor for heaven's sake!"

Mikael landed with a thud. He smirked and clasped his hands together. "Good morning, sunshine. Ready for another day in college? I heard it's a good place to shape up a man."

Chocolate eyes rolled from the fake cheerful tone. "You got in a fight again with your mom?"

Shrugging, Mikael picked up a textbook from the study table. "Apparently, my father actually gives a shit if I did well in school. Not like he ever went to my graduations."

Jordan sighed. He snatched the textbook away and tossed it back where it belonged. His arms crossed over his chest as he stared Mikael down. "Man, I don't care what you want to do with your life. But it better not be to fuck it up."

Mikael clamped his hands on his best friend's shoulders, saying, "Jordan, Jordan, Jordan… have you ever heard of this privilege for being pretty?" 

At this point, Jordan became tempted to ruin his other cheek. 

It didn't help that Mikael now wore a silly grin on his face while batting his lashes.

Jordan took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. Mikael was obviously testing his patience. He would not give in. Not this time, at least. Instead of picking a fight, he stuck his thumb towards the door. "Get your butt downstairs for breakfast."

After a hearty meal made by Jordan's mother, the two boys headed for campus. Neither of them carried the ambition for top quality education. They didn't find it as important as staying close to home. So, they picked from the majors available in the town's small college institution that only needed two years worth of classes before graduating.

Mikael had cleaned up and ditched his hoodie but kept his jeans as well as his shoes. He believed no one would notice that he hadn't changed clothes—not when the sculpted muscles on his arms were visible. 

He fished out a cigarette and lit it up.

Jordan gave him the stink eye. "Seriously?"

"Don't you smoke too?" Mikael retorted, blowing a long breath of smoke.

"In places where I'm told it's safe to smoke," Jordan said. The pitch of his voice rose by the end of the statement. "You're going to get us both into trouble if one of the neighbors filed a complaint."

"Let them." Mikael snorted. "We're all allowed to be selfish. They hate smoking. I like smoking. They want to file a complaint. I want to keep smoking. That way we both get what we want."

Jordan shook his head at the sky. Where had things gone wrong? When they first met, Mikael had excellent grades. He always understood the lesson even without taking any notes. If he needed to pull up his grades before the school year ended, he managed to do it. He always stayed a hair line away from complete trouble.

But it seemed like his best friend wanted to play with that line like a tightrope.

Jordan snatched the cigarette and threw it on the ground, stomping it. "I don't care what problems you had with your mom this morning but don't go shitting everyone else's day."

Mikael clicked his tongue. From their position, the campus gates loomed not far away. Unfamiliar vans had parked around it while a crowd of people blocked the way. He grimaced at the sight. Crowds were always a pain—especially when they were in the direct path he needed to take.

"What's up with that?" Jordan wondered out loud, also noticing the commotion.

"I don't know. Some production company decided to shoot on our campus for their movie to seem more down to earth?" Mikael guessed randomly. He tskd under his breath and rolled his dull blue eyes. "We'll have to go take my favorite way."

Jordan snapped his gaze to his right. "Over the walls?! We'll be suspended."

"It's not our fault but theirs." Mikael threw his hand towards the gates. 

"Let's just squeeze our way in. It can't be that bad."

Mikael huffed and pointed a finger at Jordan. "Fine. But if we get injured, I get to shave your head and you can't grow it out for an entire year."

"Deal."

When they came closer, the crowd slowly morphed into a large group of paparazzis. Jordan figured Mikael's speculation shouldn't be too far from the truth. Their campus became a popular school spot for a laid back character who lived an 'ordinary' life.

Then, they would get swept away into a life of luxury because of a peculiar event.

Mikael gestured for Jordan to go first, intending to follow directly behind him. Jordan exhaled sharply and chose a path that led to the security guard. He shoved his way in and felt Mikael hold onto the back of his shirt. 

They managed to reach their destination but the security team paid them little attention.

The main guard for the gates was busy talking to a woman. The latter wore large sunglasses over her eyes, hiding most of her face. Her ebony hair was tied up in a high ponytail that reached her lower back. The cameras flashes in her direction, making it clear the crowd was because of her presence.

Jordan struggled to call out to the security team. 

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! We're students here! Please let us in!"

Mikael glanced over his best friend's shoulder and saw the exchange. He stepped away from Jordan, deciding to take the matter in his own hands. He lifted his leg and kicked the gates. The iron fence rattled from the impact. 

The sound of clanging caught the guard and the woman's attention.

Snapping his fingers, Mikael waved his ID at the security guard.

He put his ID away as soon as the guard approached their side of the gate. The woman pulled her sunglasses off and watched the two boys enter campus. She bit on the temple tip of her frames, receding deep in her thoughts.

"Ma'am, we can't—"

"Who are those kids?" She cut off the security guard.

"They're in the psychology department."

"And their names?"

Her sharp eyes flickered towards him when he remained silent. "Didn't you check their identification when they came in? Or does the school not have a proper security check-up?"