Making Friends
2349 Words
He had the ball coming at him in slow motion. His legs leaped into the air, as he grabbed the ball, tossing it immediately at the basket. The ball hit the edge of the hoop and bounced back into Kevin’s hands. He shot a grin at Gray and they continued.
“That was a great one, Gray”, the coach said. “You should have scored, though”
“Sorry, sir. I’ll score the next one”, he replied confidently.
“Pfft!”, Wilson laughed. “That’s overconfident for someone who just lost twice”
The ball tossed around again and bounced right into Gray’s hands. He was pretty far from the basket but he could make it. He just needed to leap high enough and control his long arm. He slipped past Wilson and tossed the ball to Carson.
*He’ll lose it* Gray waited, as he caught a view Carson’s trembling hands. Carson jumped and tossed the ball. The ball hit the backboard and bounced at the hoop, rolling into the net.
“Goal!”, Carson screamed excitedly.
“Finally”, the coach said, uninterestedly. “For the first time in a lifetime, Carson finally gets one right”
Gray smiled at him and they continued playing. “I’m still waiting for your goal, Gray”, Brad said and hit him with the shoulder.
*That was a weak hit. I bet he’s regretting it* Gray smiled as he grabbed a hold of the ball. He turned around and faced the net. He was far from the post but he could do it. One of the ballers ran at him; George. Gray stepped closer and pushed himself up with George’s shoulder, tossing the ball directly into the basket.
“Wow!”, the coach stood up. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about! That’s better than Kevin’s best shot…. Do that again, then you get an immediate admission into the basketball team”
………
“That was a nice goal, Carson”, Gray said. “How did I do?”
“You were great, really”, Carson replied. “I’m sorry you missed the last shot”
“It’s nothing… at least, I got to play basketball with the team”
Carson grinned. “Come on, that’s not a believable consolation”, he muttered. “I saw you though”
“You saw what?”
“You lost the shot intentionally”, Carson said. “You did it the first time and you did it again. It’s almost like you don’t actually want to be part of the team…. Like you’re just joking with the whole thing”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man… I wish that were true but… who doesn’t want to be the best?”
Carson smiled and nodded. “If that’s it, then you really can beat Kevin at this…. You have everything to do that.
“Hi, Lena”, Gray waved. Her eyes seemed to be fixed on Carson. He was seeing for the millionth time. “I didn’t know you were here”.
She stepped closer. “I came to see how my boy is faring amidst these monsters”, she said and glanced at Carson. “Hi, Carson”
“He should be afraid of you after you tore Matt’s ears with a hot slap”, Carson jested. “I mean I am”
She stared blankly at him. “Now, I really want to do it again…. With another test subject”
“Whoa!”, Carson stepped back. “I’m sorry, Lena… I’ll just leave you guys”
“Hey, Fucker!”, Brad s*****d Gray’s neck and walked past. “Good luck f.cking her”
She closed her eyes in embarrassment. “Ignore them, alright?”, Gray said. “You don’t want to f.ck me anyway”
“What’s that about?”, she asked, casually. “You want to f.ck me?”
“This is not about me. It’s about you”, he replied. “You like Carson, don’t you?.... I’ve seen you staring at him, more than once now. It’s a pretty deep one”
“Hey, stop. I don’t like Carson, alright?”
“Are you sure about that?... ‘cause I think he likes you too”, Gray said. “If you guys don’t realize your mutual feelings, you just might lose it”
“I hate you, Gray… you make me feel like I’m the one that needs help”, she replied. “Jake and Harry are waiting for us at our-“
…….
“You guys really searched the school to find these place?”, Gray commented, looking around. “It feels so far. Are we going to hear if announcements are made?”
“Are you expecting announcements to be made?”, Lena replied. “So we are a section of the Loser’s club”
“Connor? You didn’t tell me this place existed”
“You don’t look like a loser so…”, Connor muttered and adjusted his glasses. “Kevin won’t want you hanging out with us if you’ll be a part of the basketball team”
“Forget about them”, Gray said. “So what exactly do you do here?”
“We just hang out”, Lena answered. “Cathy and Rodney used to be part of us. They both stopped coming to school so we are all that’s left”
Gray smiled. “The Losers' club is smaller than I thought. I was expecting a nation of weirdoes like Lena”
She nudged him. “We can’t put all the Losers’ together, anyway”
“Why do you guys have to call yourselves losers? I mean you all look really cool”
“Let’s hang out, guys”, Jake said. “After school, we should go out. Gray and Connor can return to the hostel before it’s late”
“You have a place in mind?”
“Trust me”
**★**
“Gray Terrence should report to the principal’s office now”
The principal’s voice blared through the speakers. Gray dashed back to the building and stopped by the hallways, getting ahold of himself, then he walked calmly to the principal’s office.
He was sweating already. He cleared his throat and checked himself again, as he raised his hand to knock. The door opened and Chloe walked out. Their eyes met for a second and both remained still.
“Are you going to walk out or he’s going to step in?”, the principal said, staring at them.
“Oh, sorry, sir”, Gray muttered and walked in. “You called for me”
“Yes. I just wanted to ask about your reception in the Basketball team”, the principal said. “How was it?”
“It was totally great, sir. I was accepted with wide arms”
“That’s good. There’s no issue with bullying, is there? I get reports like that, once in a while”
“I have not been bullied”, he replied. “It’s been great playing with them”
“Congratulations”, the principal said and held out his hand.
Gray shook hands with him, reluctantly, and pulled back quickly. *That was weird* “Thank you, sir”
“Are you making friends quickly?... You should mix up with people. That way, you will find things a lot more interesting here”
“I’ll do that, sir… I already have a few friends”
“That’s good”, the principal leaned back. “If anyone bullies you or attacks you in any way, my office is always open. You just report to me and the school will take care of it”
Gray nodded. “Alright, sir”
His dad had definitely had a conversation with the principal. That was the only reason he could think of for the special treatment. He turned slowly and walked towards the door. *I hope he doesn’t start to watch every move now, that’d suck*
He pulled the door open and walked out, closing the door behind him. His eyes fell on Chloe. “So you were eavesdropping?”, he jested. “This is how much you care about me?”
“Kevin told me you weren’t accepted into the team”, she replied, with arms folded. “Did you lie to the principal? or what was that about?”
“Kevin knows nothing”, Gray replied proudly. “I don’t need to prove my skills with some goals to get myself in the Basketball team. If I chose to score all the goals, then your boyfriend wouldn’t be known as the best anymore”
She stared at him with doubt. “You seem so sure of yourself”, she replied. “You didn’t play well, the other day”
“I don’t want the attention, alright?... I still don’t know the name of my secret admirer”
She scoffed. “You should keep that idea in your head if you don’t want Kevin on your neck again”, she said and walked past.
“You shouldn’t walk so fast… we are still talking so we should probably keep the same pace, don’t you think?”
She turned. “You’re stubborn”
He walked up to her. “I am”, he muttered. “People hate me for it but… that’s the best way I’d rather have fun, now that I can’t have what everyone wants”
“What does everyone want?”
“Freedom… freedom to show off what you got… the attention you should already have”
“It’s not fun to get in trouble, though”, Chloe said. “For your own sake, just stay away”
“Tell me the name… something tells me we’ll meet many more times and I will want to call you by your name”
Chloe shook her head and kept walking. She paused, abruptly, as Kevin showed up, storming towards them. “I told you, Gray”, she muttered. “You just never listen”
“What are you doing with my girl?”, Kevin approached. “You’re trying to have your way, right? Lena couldn’t satisfy you so you want a hot chick for yourself, uh?”
“I’m not doing anything with you girl, Kevin”, Gray replied. “We were having a simple-“
Kevin punched his face. Gray gritted for a second and shook it off. “Come again”, Kevin howled. “You were having a simple what?”
“Don’t yell, Idi0t”, Gray smiled. “We are close to the principal’s office”
Kevin punched him in the stomach. Gray pushed back and held him against the wall for a second. He released, almost immediately, and Kevin hit his jaw again. “Who’s the Idi0t, uh?”
“It’s enough, Kevin. He didn’t do anything”, Chloe said and pulled him gently by the cloth.
“Who’s the Idi0t!?”
“That is enough!”, she pulled his hand, walking away quickly.
“You still haven’t given me a name!”, Gray said, lying on his back.
She shook her head and kept walking.
**★**
He washed his face, quickly, and dabbed with a towel, staring in the mirror. *That never covers it up*
He pressed his wounds lightly and straightened up. “They’ll close up in no time, anyway”, he muttered, and walked out of the bathroom, as the closing bell rang.
*They’ll be waiting already. I should get out before Kevin calls me for some basketball s**t* He ran down the hallways to the exit. He and Connor won’t have enough time to stay out so they’d better leave early.
“Alright. That’s Gray coming”, Lena said. She waved at him. “Hey”
“Connor is not with him”, Jake muttered.
“Hey, guys. Where is Connor?”, Gray asked, as he walked up to them. “I thought he was with you already”
“He told us to meet here so he should be here soon”, Harry said. “He’s not usually late. Let’s give him some time”
“I don’t feel comfortable with this”, Gray said. “I can’t go without him”
Lena stared at him. “What now? You don’t feel safe with me?”
Gray chuckled. “You will be going home. I will have to race against time to get back here before the doors get closed”, he replied. “Can we just go back in the school and check the room? He has to be there”
“I doubt that but let’s go”
…...
Gray increased his pace slowly till he was no longer walking. The idea of leaving the school without authorization was scary enough. Doing it alone would be total horror. He ran into the school and collided with Bucky. *Who’s this?*
“Hey, watch where you’re going”, Bucky howled, glaring at Jake and Harry, as they followed.
“Sorry”
Gray dashed into the hostel and headed to the room. He pushed the door open and found Connor sitting on the floor. He had his legs folded and his head buried in his thighs. “Connor!?”, Gray called, and looked back at the door. *Why is the key in the keyhole?* “What happened to you?”
Connor raised his sweaty face, breathing heavily. He looked around for a few seconds and pushed himself up. “Nothing”, he muttered and faked a smile, as he wiped the sweat off his face.
“What happened here, Connor?”
“It’s nothing, Gray”, he dabbed his face with his towel and walked up to them. “Let’s go, guys”
- Writer
