Chapter 91 - Summer

At the beginning of summer, Masha and Gabriel did the exams for homeschoolers, and their results came out a few weeks later. They both met the requirement and didn't fail their grades, although Masha got the b.a.r.e minimum for most of her subjects. At any rate, she miraculously passed all her courses, so it was worth celebrating.

Misha also didn't encounter any difficulty, scoring higher than most of his classmates on his final exams. As a result, his teacher praised him to no end, which embarrassed him enough to make him want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Because, what was there to praise? If he couldn't even get good grades in his primary school exams despite being older than 25 years old, then he might as well throw his brain in the trash. He wasn't that hopeless!

And so, summer vacations started in a festive atmosphere. But unlike last year, they didn't go out much and mostly stayed at home, playing video games. Now and then, Alexey would sit on the sofa and join them, trying to figure out how to use the controller, only to end up dead soon after the game began. The stunned face he made always managed to make everyone burst out laughing. They could almost see question marks popping all around his head as he glanced back in forth between the controller and the television, visibly wondering what he had done wrong.

How the hell did his character end up jumping into the void instead of hitting the bad guys??? He couldn't understand! He really, really couldn't understand!

Long story short, they had a lot of fun, and loud laughter often echoed through the living room. However, Masha was somewhat dissatisfied with her loved ones' overly accommodating behaviors. Of course, she felt deeply touched, but she didn't want their lives to revolve around her and only her due to her disability. She had always loved to move about, but so did her brother. Staying still inside four walls wasn't his style.

Thus, Masha would often urge her brother and Gabriel to go outside, saying they shouldn't shut themselves in the house, not when the weather was this lovely. Isn't it hot? Don't they want to go to the beach or the swimming pool? She couldn't swim anymore, but those two could, so they should enjoy it! And whenever her brother protested, she responded by fl.i.c.k.i.n.g his forehead, saying:

"Can't you read between the lines? I want to have a little date with my girlfriend, just her and me. Do you want to be a third wheel?"

"…No."

"Then do me a favor: go out and have some fun with your friends!"

With a pout, Misha would then nod and sullenly leave the house. He knew Masha wanted him to enjoy summer and play outside like a boy of his age, but he couldn't help it. No matter how many times he tried to persuade himself that everything was fine, he was nevertheless worried, never at ease to leave his sister's side. Although she was getting better lately, the fear of losing her and stumbling upon her bloody corpse was embedded deep into his bones. It was a trauma he could never entirely get over, giving rise to overprotective tendencies.

'I really have to work on my anxiety,' inwardly snorted Misha every time that stifling feeling came to haunt him, storming about in the pit of his stomach. 'For F.u.c.k's sake, leaving her side for a few hours won't kill her. Come on, Misha! Give your sister some space!'

And today, once again, that scene repeated itself, the words resounding in Misha's ears like a broken record. With a sigh, the boy eventually gave in and went to the public swimming pool with Gabriel, stopping by Dereck's house along the way to ask if he wanted to come with them. But Vanessa was at his home, and she didn't bring her swimsuit with her, so Dereck could only turn down their offer. After all, he couldn't leave without her, nor could she come with them only to sit on the bench and watch them play in the water.

While Misha was discussing with his friends, Gabriel took the opportunity to call Stephan and invite him over, but he was busy with something today and couldn't come. Therefore, they ended up going to the pool without anyone else, which was a first; usually, one of their friends always tagged along. It made Misha feel a little self-conscious, and, unknowingly, he put some distance between Gabriel and himself, erecting an invisible barrier between them.

Glancing at the boy, who was gazing out the car window, propping his chin on his hand, Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what he had done to alienate him this time. Since Masha's birthday, that kid's temper had become a little strange, and it flared up more often than not. Although that child had always loved to scold him, his outbursts were now a lot more frequent and unpredictable. Everything he did wasn't right, even when it was. And if Misha wasn't nagging at him about this or that, then he was avoiding him as if he was the plague itself.

In a way, it felt as though the boy was running away from him, but why? Gabriel didn't think he had done anything to anger the child, or at least, there was nothing he could think of. Whenever he tried to bring up the subject, Misha would interrupt, saying that he had something to do before fleeing. It always left Gabriel dumbfounded and, honestly, a bit hurt. Weren't they getting along lately? How come the kid's behavior changed entirely overnight? What happened?

Inwardly sighing, Gabriel parked the car, but before he could even pull out the key from the ignition, Misha had already opened the door, took his bag, and ran to the locker room, saying hi to the front desk employee before disappearing behind the door.

"…"

Gabriel felt his mouth twitch. Still, he went to the front desk and rented a locker without complaining, trying to turn a blind eye to the amused smile the young employee threw at him.

They were coming to the pool around twice to thrice a week, so she had grown familiar with them, and Misha's fiery temper was also well known among the staff. Not too long ago, didn't he throw a fit after an employee mistook him for a girl, asking him to change his clothes in the girls' locker room instead of the boys'?

At the time, the man was busy cleaning the floor because a child had threw up and thought Misha had entered the wrong locker room by accident. That boy did have a girly face, and the employee also didn't take a closer look. As a result, the bucket of dirty water ended up on top of his head, and no one ever mistook Misha's gender afterward, well aware that they couldn't afford the consequences. Luckily, the man had a good temper and didn't file a complaint, only asking for forgiveness with a hearty laugh.

After that, Gabriel reminded the child that they could have been banned from the swimming pool because of this, secretly hoping this reminder would make Misha keep his outbursts in check, if only a little. According to Masha, her brother had always loved swimming, and he particularly loved that pool that had a slide and a high diving board. It was also relatively big, and most of all, it was the only public swimming pool in the area.

So, tell him, what would they have done if they couldn't go there anymore? Well, the only response he received from the boy had been a snort, making him despair a little. That kid always acted first, not thinking about the consequences, and he was always the one who had to clean up the mess afterward. Why was the boy so attentive with his sister, whereas he only knew how to cause trouble with him?

"Your little fury seems to be in a bad mood today," chuckled the employee, handing over the locker key. "It's the same locker as usual."

"Thank you," faintly smiled Gabriel. "Have a nice day."

Because they had taken a membership so that they wouldn't have to pay to use the swimming pool every time they came, Gabriel took the key without much ceremony and then spun on his heels to join that little fury of his. It was better to hurry up, or else who knows what that brat would do while he was out of his sight. However, he barely had the time to move an inch that the young woman spoke up, asking:

"I've been wondering this for a while, but is he your little brother? You two don't look very alike."

As Gabriel was about to reply, he heard a childish voice scoff, "I'm not. I'm his girlfriend's little brother."

Behind the young man stood Misha, his bright blue eyes glaring at the front desk employee with disdain. Hostility seemed to be pouring out of him, making Gabriel furrow his brow slightly. Seriously, what did he do to anger him this time? He had no idea, but he sure as hell felt like crying, though he had no tears left to shed.

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