Painful Smiles

“Sir, Paul’s teacher said he left”. Her lips quivered as the words left her lips.

Claudia walked slowly to the car and took out her phone. She contemplated whether to call her mom or not.

“And his classmates, they confirmed he left?” the driver asked her. She nodded and dialed her mother’s number.

She stopped halfway and returned to the school. The driver came along with her.

Claudia stopped when she caught sight of Clara hugging a boy and the boy planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Bye babe” they disengaged and the boy began walking away.

The driver looked at Claudia and asked, “Isn’t that Clara?”.

Claudia spent no time in answering him and charged towards Clara. “Hey, Paul isn’t at school and you are appearing here. Do you know where he is?”.

Clara froze for a second. She slowly shook her head.

“Help me find him. He’s not at his school” Claudia half cried and left Clara to go continue her search.

Clara turned to the driver and he had a disgust-mixed-with-disappointed look.

“Was that your thirteenth boyfriend now?” he asked sardonically.

Meanwhile, Paul was having the time of his life in an air conditioner Tesla that was driving him home.

His luck was great to have seen a young man while waiting for his sister.

He turned to see the owner of the car again and the young man gave him a smile and patted his hair.

“Thanks for the ride. I was really eager to go home” he thanked again for the third time.

“No worries, I was on my way to the hospital and you live close. It’s no big deal” the owner said.

The Tesla stopped at Paul’s street and Paul turned to the owner. “Here my sister’s number. I’ll like to invite you for dinner one of these days” he announced.

The man driving the car gave the boy an awkward eye gesture. Paul shoved it aside and spoke again. “Its just a thank you dinner”.

“You’ve thanked me thrice already” the owner chuckled. Paul scratched his head nervously, he had a mission he must fulfill.

“Still, sir. Come for dinner. My mom’s meals are dangerous” she smiled.

The owner smiled back and consented, taking the small paper Paul gave him.

“That’s my sister’s number, Claudia. She could direct you” Paul bowed, he didn’t know why but the young man gave him a princely aura. He turned towards his house and hopped off.

The car owner whispered, “Claudia?” then shoved the paper into his bag and they drove off.

*******

At every turn, Clara and Claudia stepped out from the car yelling Paul’s name and asking passersby.

Claudia gained courage and called her mom but she regretted when her mom answered that Paul wasn’t home.

Her mom began worrying and saying she’d call the police. Claudia had a hard time convincing her not to yet.

“Is he home?” Clara asked after Claudia hung up.

“No, and mom is going bonkers” she answered.

They continued the search with the driver sighing and sweating as he walked. “The reason I don’t need kids” he kept on saying as he walked.

Clara and Claudia ran and searched, asking more and more people. They seemed to have cooperation.

Clara, at that point, didn’t care if any of her friends saw her running the street like a mad woman. She just wanted to find her little brother. He was her flesh and blood.

Just then Claudia came out from a path, shook her head and followed another path.

Clara looked at her, she was running hysterically. It reminded her of the nurse from years back who had asked for a blood donation.

Clara’s eyes came down to the knife cut. She began realizing how she was always hurting the only twin she had, for no reason. Like realization hit her.

Thoughts ran through her head. What if her twin had died that year due to loss of blood? What if the knife had cut a vein? Wasn’t Claudia her flesh and blood too?

“Just call your mom again, maybe Paul is home somehow” Claudia’s driver tapped Clara. She shook her head and nodded. She left to call Claudia.

Wiping the streaming tears from her eyes and clearing her throat, Claudia phoned her mother.

“Okay” she hung up. The driver looked up at her expectantly but she just sat into the car and slammed the door.

“Paul is going to lose teeth” she muttered. Clara heaved a sigh of relief. The driver sighed in relief too that the boy was home. He started his car and sped back to the house.

Paul was having cereal when they came back home. Immediately he heard a car door slammed, he took his bowl of cereal and ran behind his mother.

Clara’s fears and tears had turned to anger and she started screaming while coming in. Claudia quickly found him then hugged him. Clara was confused, wasn’t she the one saying “Paul would I lose teeth”.

Paul gave a brief apology about the incident. According to him it was half way Clara’s fault. He had told Clara to pick him up from school that Friday since Claudia usually went for some seminars.

Unknown to him, and Clara, the seminar was cancelled that Friday. Clara was supposed to pick up Paul per his request before three in the afternoon.

When she didn’t make it, he waved down a taxi hoping to pay with his savings but it turned out to be a young man who took him up.

He brought him home safely after accepting to come home for a “thank you dinner”.

Claudia looked disgusted hearing his explanation.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

One, that Clara couldn’t even pock Jim IP per his request because she was with her probably thirteenth boyfriend.

Two, that Paul just got into a flashy car because be was desperate.

Three, her mother is blaming her. Blaming her for not informing Paul and Clara that her seminar got cancelled.

Four, she was now going to change the schedule. Instead of their driver picking up she and Clara first, he would be picking up Paul.

“Great. Now everyone would know I have an annoying little brother!” Clara yelled as she ran up to her room. Paul frowned and made a face, “You are annoying too”.