Damaged Mate

7

L

aura was an absolute Godsend. Even if we only shared homeroom together, she was nice enough to walk me around and point out all the rooms on the rest of my schedule. It was nice to have a slight idea when and where I had to go next, meaning I could take time to visit my locker and not carry everything with me.

I couldn’t help but keep a lookout for Aiden, though, hoping we could bump into each other and have lunch. I hadn’t seen the guy all day, even with the small spaces we had to work with.

Maybe he just has special classes, I thought to myself. Besides, if he was the mayor’s kid, I already knew where to find him, if need be.

Once lunchtime came along, I was feeling pretty confident about navigating Ayersville High, though it probably helped that the entirety of the senior year was regulated to one floor.

“H-hey, Aria!” Laura waved me down from one of the corner lunch tables, another new guy sitting right beside her. I took my sloppy joe tray in hand and made my way across, careful not to bump into anyone before finally taking a seat on the opposite side. “This is Noah. He, um, is also f-friends with Aiden.”

“I’m friends with you, too,” Noah insisted.

Again, a tinge of blush crossed Laura’s face. “N-Noah, this is Aria. She’s Mr. H-Harvey’s daughter. She didn’t live in his basement,” she added hastily. “She lived off in the city.”

I gave her a strange look, shaking it off with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Noah.”

“Same,” Noah said. “Hey, lemme ask you something, Aria. You got any interest in basketball?”

Basketball? It was a bit of a left-field question, but maybe it’d been the conversation before I came over. “I mean, I guess. Why?”

“Oh, d-don’t bother Aria with this,” Laura insisted. “It’s my fault I didn’t pick someone yet. “

“They’re all just doing it to stare at guys, anyway,” Noah replied, his full attention now on me. “Would you say you have adequate knowledge of the game? Maybe enough to help me coach?”

I blinked, surprised at the offer. “You… just met me.”

Noah simply shrugged. “You’re already doing better than my other applicants.”

That got a laugh out of me. “Well, truth be told, I used to run a division at my old school. But—”

“Save the ‘but,’” Noah begged. “Just say yes? I don’t know if I can handle another interview where the main interest is getting the point guard’s phone number.”

Man, but he looked desperate. “I have no idea if my schedule would even allow it,” I began.

“Oh, it’s all after school!” Laura reassured me. “And, um, s-students here have to pick at least one extra-curricular for a semester. C-clubs count for filling that spot.”

“And it would be an every-other-day situation,” Noah added. “I’d only really need you when we get close to actual games. Plus,” he grinned, putting an arm around Laura’s shoulder, “you’d be getting Laura here out of trouble with me.”

Laura’s face paled. “I-I’m in trouble with you?”

I shook my head, unable to hold back a smile. “Yeah, alright. You’ve caught my interest.”

“Great!” Noah beamed, still hugging Laura as he slid his phone across the table with his free hand. “Just put your number down in my contacts and I’ll shoot you a text later today. We meet up at the gymnasium right after school lets out, but don’t be afraid to call if you get lost.”

“Oh, because this campus is so expansive,” I teased.

Noah’s smile only widened. “Yeah, I think we’ll get along great. Glad Laura got to you before anyone else did.”

“Like Clyde and his girlfriend?” I quipped.

The two of them exchanged looks, Laura nervously pushing at her glasses. “Y-Yeah. They’re not really, um, together like that.”

I hated how much relief that gave me.

“Well, not recently, anyway.” Noah chuckled. “You’re probably talking about Vanessa, right? Crazy-blue eyes, permanent scowl on her face?”

I nodded slowly. “They seem to have a hate pact against me.”

“Yeah, just keep clear of her and Clyde,” Noah suggested. “Both of them love picking fights with folks.”

“Which, um, m-might be a bit difficult to do, if you join basketball,” Laura mumbled under her breath.

Noah just shot her this look, to which I hastily waved a hand. “Oh, I’m not worried about some walking ball of testosterone. That was practically every guy in my old school’s M.O.; I know how to bite back when I need to.”

Laura didn’t look convinced, but Noah just laughed. “God, I’d love to see that one day.”

“Oh, trust me,” I said while finally unpacking my lunch, “it might be sooner than you think.”

I wasn’t intending on picking a fight with Clyde, but from what I’d seen earlier, it might be unavoidable. Still, I couldn’t help but still feel dizzy at his shifting mood. What did I do to piss him off so badly? We had seemed fine enough on the road, but the minute I wiped out…

Soon enough, the final bell signaled the end of the school day. Laura was quick to find me at my locker, insisting we walk together to the gym before she went to choir club. Singing wasn’t something I expected my sweet, stammering new friend to be interested in, so our stroll mostly consisted of that backstory.

“M-my aunt suggested I do it,” Laura explained. “It’s s-something I, um, did all the time as a kid. She says it’d b-be a waste to k-keep it hidden.”

“I don’t know if I could sing in front of others,” I said.

“I d-didn’t, either.” Laura grinned sheepishly. “But the m-music director thinks otherwise.” Her expression shifted into wide-eyed excitement. “You should c-come see us perform s-sometime! We, um, d-do all sorts of events around town. Oh, if you want to, I-I mean.”

I made sure to reply with equal enthusiasm. “Totally! Text me when your next show is and I’ll make sure to reserve a seat. Or buy a ticket?”