POV: Maëva
– It looks like a date.
What is he talking about?
I slowly turned my head towards Adèle. He was wearing a smile that was far too smug for someone who had just uttered such an absurdity.
– Do you really need to find something to say?
– I'm making conversation!
– Then do it with your brother.
André looked up from his glass.
– Why am I involved in this?
– Because you are his brother.
– The argument is irrelevant.
I chuckled involuntarily. Adèle opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of balls clacking together caught his attention. He immediately sat up on the sofa.
– Do you know how to play billiards?
"Obviously," I replied.
– Whoa! The professional, I know how to play too.
André looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
– When did you learn?
– I can learn quickly.
he replies
– Of course, we're your little ones, fool us.
– You're really annoying, André!
He got up and went to an empty table, without waiting for us to give our opinion. I looked at his brother, then at Herese.
"Come and play," called André, getting up.
Hérèse, in turn, left the sofa.
"Are you coming?" he asked me.
I finished my drink and had another before joining them.
Adèle had already collected four billiard cues. He handed one to each of them with an almost comical seriousness.
– Very well. I suggest a team game.
"Do you at least know how to hold that properly?" asked André.
– I have no idea.
I almost choked on my drink.
– koouf koff
My throat burned and a little bit of liquor came out of my nose.
André closed his eyes and looked away.
- seriously…
"What?" his brother replied.
Hérèse lowered his head slightly and covered his mouth. I couldn't tell if he was trying to hide a smile or if he had simply lost interest in the conversation.
–"Okay, I'm playing with Maëva," declared Adèle.
He put his arm around my neck and pulled me towards Him without any gentleness.
– Okay, let's begin.
I took back the tail he handed me.
André stared at us with a deeply disappointed expression.
– Now it's two against me?
"Three," interjected Heresy.
André turned towards him and shook his head negatively.
Traitor.
The first part was a disaster.
Adèle hit too hard, sent a ball in the wrong direction and almost knocked over Maëva's glass.
André spent several minutes explaining to him that he needed to look at the angle before shooting.
He listened to him with remarkable attention.
Then he missed his shot.
– It was a test!
– You're not even ashamed.
– You're distracting me!
I was laughing so hard that I had trouble holding my tail properly.
Hérèse, on the other hand, played with irritating precision. He didn't even seem to need to think long before striking. Every time a ball disappeared into a pocket, Adele let out a dramatic sigh.
– Are you sure you're not a professional?
– No.
– You're lying.
– Why would I lie?
– To humiliate us! Bourgeois.
He shrugged and leaned back over the table.
I looked at it for a few seconds before picking up a ball.
Luckily we're on the same team.
André collapsed against the table and cried out in a soft voice
– Let me win a little?
– You can always try.
Rigola Adèle
Her smile made me squint.
Ah. He doesn't even know how to play
The next part was much less peaceful.
André had decreed that the teams needed to be changed, Adèle had refused, and I had finally decided that the rules didn't matter. The result was a series of arguments, missed shots, and completely pointless comments.
We finally left the billiards room after André declared that he needed to discover an activity in which his brother could not ridicule him.
He quickly found what he was looking for.
A small adjoining room offered several games, including arcade machines and tables for card games. The colored tokens were used solely for scoring. Adèle grabbed a handful with the enthusiasm of a child before a treasure chest.
– Look! I've never seen anything like it in real life
"Tokens that are worthless?" asked André.
– It's money
We were given more and they chose a table.
I sat opposite Hérèse, while Adele took her place next to André. The first rounds were easy.
But Adèle started inventing new rules as he lost.
– No, no, this card doesn't count!
"Stop," I muttered, annoyed.
– it's not good.
– That's not how it works.
BAM
André laid his cards on the table
– you are a very bad player
– I'm going to get myself something to drink. I need to get away from it all.
"Are you giving up?" shouted his brother.
– I am protecting my mental health.
I laugh again.
Hérèse retrieved the cards and shuffled them.
– on continue ?
I stared at him for a while but eventually gave in.
He had answered without even looking up.
I pick up my catch from the table.
– I'm starting to regret inviting you.
Silence
Only the scraping of cards could be heard.
BAM !
– ha! , Adèle !
I was always surprised by his unpredictable reactions.
He suddenly slammed both hands on the table.
– OH! You see? That's exactly what I was saying!
– Shut up and pick it up
.
.
.
.
.
.
The evening continued in this way, without anyone thinking to look at the time.
We moved on to ping-pong. Adèle pretended to know the rules, then started chasing the ball as soon as it went off the table. No matter the game, even at a coin-operated casino, the poor fellow just doesn't stand a chance.
There he was, collapsed on the floor, crying his eyes out.
I sat down on the edge of a chair to catch my breath.
Mr. Perfection had just won all the rounds and had generously left his winnings to pay.
Gentleman.
"Don't you ever get tired?" I asked myself.
Adèle let out a cry of despair and quickly collapsed against her brother.
He encourages himself, bent double, one hand on his stomach.
A general fit of laughter.
This idiot is completely drunk.
André had leaned against the table, unable to speak properly. Even Hérèse had let out a laugh that he was trying to suppress.
We managed to attract everyone's attention.
The room was bathed in a bluish light. The fluorescent tubes fixed along the walls gave the furniture and faces unreal hues. The air conditioning was running at full blast, maintaining a constant coolness, and the absence of windows completely cut us off from the outside world.
Time seemed to have stood still behind those walls.
It's so much fun.
– ah~, I can't take it anymore, my stomach hurts from laughing so much.
Adèle immediately started laughing for no apparent reason.
– AAHHHHH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
He had simply watched André, who was trying to retrieve a token stuck under the machine.
His brother raised his head, and so did he.
– hahahaha
He was laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes.
Only people observed us with a disappointed expression before straightening up.
– You're really not well.
– Look at yourself! Adèle managed to say between bursts of laughter.
Hérèse had leaned against the machine. He was looking at us with an unusually open smile.
I didn't know what was funnier: the situation or the fact that he stayed with us all that time without bombarding us with remarks.
- Wait…
Hérèse voice made us raise our heads.
He wiped his face and suddenly resumed a serious and sober expression.
– It is 10 p.m.
Silence fell almost immediately.
- WHAT ?!
Adèle rushed over to him to check the time herself.
– No! That's impossible!
André took out his phone. As soon as he saw the screen, his face fell.
– We're dead.
"Why?" I asked.
He looked at me as if I had just asked the stupidest question in the world.
– Aren't you going home?!
Adèle had already retrieved her bag.
– I'm finished,
"Didn't you tell us you'd be back late?" I asked.
– asked? What kid our age would ask for that kind of thing, until 10 p.m.
André grabbed his jacket, while his brother hurriedly retrieved his belongings.
– Wait, are you really going to leave like that?
– Maëva, I beg you, don't hold us back!
Adèle gave me a desperate look before turning to Hérèse.
– Come on, let's go.
"Go back carefully," I replied.
- Yes yes !
They left the room almost running. Heresy had already taken the lead in the corridor, while Adele followed him, shouting at him to wait for her.
Their voices quickly faded into the distance.
I watched them disappear.
I remained alone in the middle of this room, still animated by the sounds of machines and distant conversations.
My smile slowly faded.
I collapsed onto the sofa, without even bothering to retrieve my bag properly.
I had almost forgotten about Irene, the meeting
Silence returned.
I glanced down at my phone.
No new messages.
The twins had a mother waiting for them. Heresy had someone to meet, somewhere to return to. Even their worry about being late seemed almost enviable to me.
That woman is certainly not the one who will wait for me.
No one would really worry about whether I came home at 10 p
.m., midnight, or early morning.
I placed my phone on the coffee table.
Then I lay completely flat on the sofa, bringing one arm up against my stomach.
The blue light from the neon tubes passed through my eyelids when I closed my eyes.
For once, I didn't want to think about what would happen next.