"You're completely crazy!" Johanna said while shaking her head.

Avril chuckled at Johanna's comment. Well, Avril was expecting that kind of response from Johanna. How could she not? Avril had just shown Johanna a picture of her adventure at the end of last Sunday. Johanna was very surprised when she saw Avril showing a photo where she was swimming with sharks. A shark! Johanna can understand Avril diving to swim with cute fish like the one in Finding Nemo for example. But, certainly not with sharks. They are pretty dangerous. Johanna still remember the scene from Jaws. Isn't Avril scared? Maybe her legs and hands were shaking as she swam near the spooky creature?

"I don't understand. Why would you do that?" Johanna said as she folded her arms in front of her chest. "Don't you realize it's dangerous?"

Avril smiled. Dangerous, huh? She glanced at Johanna. "It's simple, baby! Because I'm interested."

Johanna shook her head. Her best friend was really crazy. A thought flashed through Johanna's head. What if one of the sharks ate Avril's head? Wouldn't Avril be scared? For God's sake! Johanna felt weak just thinking about it. Maybe Avril is happy to be a bait for those sharks.

"Aren't you scared, A?" asked Johanna.

Avril, who had been looking at her photos, now glanced at Johanna briefly. "Not at all. Yes, I was a little scared at first. But, when I got in there, it was an experience worth trying. I actually feel great!"

Johanna glared. An experience worth trying? Johanna didn't think so. Neither did any of her other friends. If Johanna gathered people together, she was sure she would rarely find anyone who shared Avril's opinion.

"You know what, J?" Avril's voice broke into Johanna's reverie. "I was thinking, that's not challenging enough. Should I do it in the middle of the ocean? I mean, look at them. They look really cute because they're tame!"

Johanna glared again at the word cute. Seriously! A shark looks cute? There must be something wrong in her best friend's mind. Should Johanna hit Avril on the head? Perhaps, there was a short circuit in her head that prevented her from distinguishing between cute and scary.

"I think you're really brain-damaged," Johanna said as she returned the photo in her hand.

Instead of taking offense, Avril chuckled amusedly. Avril laid her body down casually. Meanwhile, Johanna tried to ignore Avril's madness by reading a book. Then, someone knocked on the door.

"Shit! I was just reading" Johanna cursed impatiently.

"You stay here! I'll open it" Avril said excitedly while opening the door to Johanna's room. Avril was indeed making a routine visit to Johanna's house.

As soon as she opened the door, Avril froze to see a man. His eyes were black behind his glasses and his brownish hair was neatly styled. Avril saw the man's surprised expression when he discovered that it was her and not Johanna who opened the door. But, the man's shocked expression was really interesting. Avril could see his dark eyes clearly while his lips parted slightly. This man is cute!

"Do you want something?" Avril asked when she recovered from her surprise.

The man raised his eyebrows in confusion. He glanced into Johanna's room and was grateful to see that she was there. Avril also turned her head but immediately noticed the man in front of her. Who was he?

Instead of answering Avril's question, the man walked past Avril and knocked on the door behind her. Avril blinked her eyes as he walked past her. Did this man just ignore Avril? Johanna cursed again until she turned to look at the guest in her room.

"What's wrong?!" Johanna shouted in annoyance.

"I'm just reminding you that you're cooking today," the man said.

"Yes, yes! Whatever! Now get out of my room" Johanna shouted.

The man was not angry. He chose not to comment at all. He left without a word and even ignored the presence of Avril who was watching him. The man didn't even turn around at all. Avril was still standing at the door even after he disappeared from her sight.

Realizing her silly behavior, Avril walked into Johanna's room again. She watched Johanna. This was the first time she saw a man in Johanna's house. Don't tell me, Johanna was dating someone other than books.

"Tell me, who is he?" Avril asked.

"It's not important" Johanna replied simply.

"Who is he?" Avril asked again while suppressing her voice.

Johanna sighed. She watched Avril. Of course Avril would not give up. "His name is Matthew. Well, he's my geeky stepbrother."

Avril furrowed her brow. Johanna had never told her about her stepbrother. As if reading Avril's mind, Johanna explained again.

"My father, he married his mother a year ago. We didn't know each other then and he hardly ever showed his nose when you visited" Johanna explained.

Avril nodded. She hadn't seen any pictures of Johanna's family. Johanna always carried a picture of her old family. The one where she was with her dead mother. Avril sat in the chair next to Johanna while the girl went back to reading her book.

There was one thing that left Avril speechless. How the man ignored her made Avril curious. He was indeed a nerd. Avril admitted. Who would do his hair that neatly? But, for some reason, Avril felt something when her eyes met the geeky man's eyes. Something that make her feel different than usual.

"Tell me he went to the same school as us," Avril said.

"Yes. He's a year above us" Johanna replied lazily. Usually, Avril never bothered her to read at all.

"That's great!" Avril said with a smile. Her eyes watched Johanna expectantly. "Give me more information about him. His class, the club he joined, remember completely!"

"What are you going to do?" Johanna said confused. This time, Johanna's attention was fully focused on Avril.

"Something, J! I just want to confirm something," said Avril mysteriously.