Chapter 22

Was – First kiss

It was a sunny afternoon. A light breeze rustled the branches of the trees and helped to make the heat slightly more bearable for the two boys. The school year had finished, and Fi-Rico and Qi-Calla were going to Fi-Rico’s to take Mimõe to the beach and have a picnic. Fi-Rico had prepared all the food the night before with the help of his mother.

Fi-Rico was fiddling with the strap of his satchel absentmindedly. “So, what do you think about The Red Pyramid?” Fi-Rico asked Qi-Calla.

“I like it so far, but I’m a bit confused as to why the prophecy made it, so it was sixteen-year-olds who had to travel to the Red Pyramid to find the heart of Tantanima. Why couldn’t the prophecy have chosen adults who had been training for years and were much more likely to succeed?”

Fi-Rico laughed. “Don’t think too hard about it. By making it so that it is children who have to go on the quest, it gives the story a chance to explore how people learn to use and control their magic. It adds to the story.”

Qi-Calla threw his arms in the air and said, “it still should have been adults. I’m sure you can still explore how adults develop their skills further in the face of life-threatening situations.”

“Stop thinking about it so hard; you’ll ruin it for yourself. Sometimes you just need to dispel your disbelief and go with it.” Fi-Rico hit Qi-Calla playfully on the arm.

Qi-Calla rubbed his arm where Fi-Rico had hit him, pulling a pouty face. “I’ll read it because you recommend it, and then we can talk about it, but I may need to rewrite it with adults instead. That would make much more sense.”

“If you ever do rewrite it, make sure you give it to me. I would love to read that.”

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When they reached the hill that led to Fi-Rico’s house, they only got a quarter of the way up before Fi-Rico stopped, putting his hands on his knees breathing heavily. Breathily, he said, “could we take a quick break? My lungs hate me with a burning passion. Literally burning. My lungs feel like they are burning.”

Qi-Calla stopped and said, “sure, how about we sit under that tree? It’s too hot to stay out in the sun.”

They made their way to the tree that Qi-Calla had pointed to. It was only about two meters away from the path.

With a sigh, Fi-Rico sat down at the base of the tree. He closed his eyes, leaning against the tree trunk. Qi-Calla sat down next to him, resting his head on Fi-Rico’s shoulder.

Fi-Rico opened his eyes and looked at Qi-Calla. “Are you all good?”

Qi-Calla quickly sat up quickly and shuffled away from Fi-Rico. “Sorry! I should have asked if it was all right to do that. I’m so sorry, Rico!”

Fi-Rico shook his head, laughing. He moved closer to Qi-Calla. “I only asked because you have never done that before.”

“Sorry!”

Fi-Rico laughed again. “Stop apologising! I liked it. If you want to do it again, I wouldn’t say no.”

Qi-Calla looked at Fi-Rico. “Can I rest my head on your shoulder?”

“Yes, dim whit.”

Fi-Rico settled back against the tree, and Qi-Calla shuffled closer to him and let his head fall onto Fi-Rico’s shoulder. They both closed their eyes. They stayed like that for some time, letting the breeze blow away the long school day.

Qi-Calla suddenly sat up, startling Fi-Rico. He exclaimed, “I want to kiss you.” The moment the words were out of his mouth, he regretted it.

Fi-Rico was shocked, convinced he had heard wrong. “What did you say?”

“I want to kiss you,” Qi-Calla mumbled, his cheeks going bright red.

Fi-Rico looked at Qi-Calla in complete shock for a second before saying, “please do.”

Qi-Calla looked up in amazement. “R-really? You want to kiss me?”

“Shut up and do it already.”

They lent towards one another, and their lips met.

It was short, and when they pulled away, Qi-Calla looked embarrassed while Fi-Rico looked pleased.

Qi-Calla stumbled over his words as he spoke. “Shit, I’m so bad at that. I’ve never done that before.”

“I haven’t either. That wasn’t the best first kiss, but there’s always the second. Should we try again?” Fi-Rico asked.

Qi-Calla nodded and moved closer to Fi-Rico, wrapping his arm around his waist. Their lips met for longer this time, and when they pulled away, both boys were smiling from ear to ear.