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like I had done at Brad's not so long ago.
    Thinking about
Brad made a big bubble of unhappiness rise up through my chest and
constrict my throat. Turning my face into the pillow I whimpered in
pain against the smooth material.
    Dimly, I heard
Jack's door open and the boys greet each other. Matt asked whether
I was home and, when Jack answered in the affirmative, the familiar
footsteps came towards the door. They halted abruptly, however, as
Jack called out that I was asleep.
    "Asleep?" Matt
asked disbelievingly. "It's not even 9 yet."
    "Yeah, I know,
but she looked pretty wiped when she came in, she said she was just
going to go straight to bed."
    Oh how I loved
Jack at that moment, what a mate. I knew it would have taken a huge
amount of effort to lie to his best friend like that. I hadn't
strictly told him not to tell Matt about my break up with Brad, but
he obviously knew to leave it to me to deal with.
    Yep, I'd
definitely picked the right guy to be my teacher.

Chapter
3
     
    When I emerged
from my room the next morning, Matt and Jack were moving around in
the kitchen, staggering slightly in the way that all of us in the
early morning are prone to do. I paused for a moment in my doorway,
unseen by the boys, and happily surveyed the little scene of
domesticity as they moved with the practised precision only those
who are truly comfortable with each other can achieve.
    As I watched,
Matt got the orange juice and milk out of the fridge and, without
even looking up from his task of filling two bowls with cereal,
Jack slid two glasses across the counter to my brother. Matt filled
the cups with OJ whilst simultaneously sliding the milk down to
Jack who poured the milk over the cereals and sent the milk
whizzing back down the line. Matt caught it just in time, put both
cartons back in the fridge and then picked up the glasses to wander
over to our little round kitchen table. Jack followed him with
their breakfasts and they sat down and tucked in at almost exactly
the same time, all without exchanging a single word.
    I'd had a
rotten night, waking up every hour or so and having to deal with
the horrible swooping feeling of anger and embarrassment in my
stomach when I realised why I felt so bloody awful. Watching two of
my favourite people in the world go about this simple little
routine, however, made me smile fondly.
    I didn’t know
what they would do without each other, I really didn’t. Matt needed
Jack's steadying influence to stop him from being a real wild child
and Jack needed Matt's crazy antics to stop him becoming submerged
in his fondness for the serious. He hadn’t always been so grave,
our Jack, but a tragedy when he was fourteen had made him grow up
awfully quickly and he'd never been as happy-go-lucky since. In the
way that everybody does in times of crisis, but especially teenage
boys, he withdrew into his shell to protect himself from the pain
and he still only rarely emerges. Still, with the support of our
family, which had already pretty much adopted him anyway, he got
through it and, much as I wish he'd never had to have gone through
that hurt, the experience made us into the close little bunch that
we are. Shaking off thoughts of the past, I allowed myself to
actually get past the doorway.
    "Morning boys,"
I sang cheerily, sauntering over to the kitchen to grab myself a
bowl and trying to pretend I didn't see Jack start so violently at
my entrance that he began to choke on his breakfast.
    Matt helpfully
thumped his friend on the back while looking over at me curiously.
"And what happened to you last night, Natalia, sister dearest?" He
asked. "You were asleep by the time I got home, what was up with
that?"
    I shrugged
nonchalantly as I got the milk out of the fridge. "I had a hard day
is all, and I just wanted to jump straight into bed."
    Jack, poor
thing, began choking even harder at that and I had to duck my head
to hide the smirk that appeared on my face as I realised what I'd
said. Double entendre,