I kind of shuffled towards them, looking past them and not directly at them. But man, when I looked at them, I was made short of breath.
Is it possible for there to be that much hotness in three guys? The one with the cigarette pushed forward past his friends. The one sitting on the ground stood up and nudged him, gesturing towards the cigarette.
“Damien, you don’t smoke in front of a lady,” he whispered. I scoffed.
“A lady? Really now. Do I look like a lady?” I laughed to myself. Damien smirked.
“Well. You definitely look female,” he looked me up and down. The one who told him not to smoke punched him in the arm.
“Adriel. Stop,” Damien warned. I stepped closer to them.
“You all have some interesting names. What’s yours?” I turned to the one who had kept his nose in his locker. He finally surfaced.
“Me?” I nodded. He pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose, flipped his hair, and cleared his throat, “Um...”
“You do have a name, don’t you?” The other boys laughed.
“Yeah, but it’s a pansy name!” They cried.
“It is not! It’s an honourable name in my culture!” I noticed he had a distinct but slight accent, “It’s Alexei.” He took my hand gently in his and kissed it, “An honour”. My heart melted. I turned to Alexei directly.
“You’re Russian, yes?” I said bluntly. The other boys stopped laughing. Alexei nodded.
“My family moved here when I was 10. I was glad; I didn’t like my town much. I didn’t like its history. And it was poor.”
“What town.”
“I doubt you’ve heard of it.” Damien cut him off.
“No one cares about your little Russian town, Lexi.”
“I do.” Damien was quiet. I looked back at Alexei.
“It’s Yekaterinburg. It was where-“
“The Romanovs were murdered. The House of Special Purpose.” Alexei’s face lit up, “My parents named me after Alexei. They hoped I would be a fighter like he was.”
“You all have great names. Damien. You seem like a tough guy.” He stood up taller and leaned in slightly towards me.
“I try.” He seemed proud.
“Did you know your name means “to tame”? It’s a Greek name.” The other two laughed at him, “Adriel. Yours means “congregation of God”. It’s Hebrew.”
“Girl. You know too much.”
“I like Etymology.”
“What the fuck is that?” Damien took a drag.
“It’s the study of names.”
“Well, Name Girl, do you have one?” Alexei asked. I nodded and grinned.
“Damien,” I started. The other boys looked in shock, “You’re the only person without a name beginning with “A”. My name’s Ayden. Pleased to meetcha.”
“Well, Ayden. Care to join us at lunch?” Damien held out his elbow to me.
“Gladly.”
At lunch, I sat between Alexei and Adriel, with Damien directly across from me. He took out a notebook and started to draw something. Alexei offered me part of a cheese stick and Adriel gave me half a sandwich.
“Look at you, girl! You’re so skinny!” Alexei said through a mouth full of cheese and crackers. I laughed at him. He was so cute, with his chestnut brown eyes, blackish brown hair, and glasses.
“Eat, eat!” Adriel, I noticed, spoke with a slight Brooklyn accent through his mouthful of food. His intense green eyes showed beautifully against his slightly tan skin and black hair.
“Moretti,” Damien said. Adriel turned to him. “What’s that one mass suicide/murder thing that everyone was like, in a cult?”
“Jonestown?” I guessed.
“That’s it! My mom was reading about it this morning and I had forgotten the name and it was bothering me.”
“Adriel. Are you Italian?” He nodded and crammed a huge bite of his half of the sandwich into his mouth, “Same here, kid.”
“But you are so pale! No offense,” Alexei said. I told him not to rub it in my face but laughed at him and told him it was fine, and that I loved my paleness.
“Hey, does anyone know anyone who takes photography here?” Both Adriel and Alexei pointed to Damien in unison.
I rested my hand on my chin and said straight to his face, “photography is my passion”. Damien stammered a little; it was the first time he ever seemed flustered.
“I c-can show you where the room is. I have it next.”
“So do I.”
