The football player and his teacher

Chapter thirty - Felling comfortable

Avery's POV:

I can't believe that this is real. Ashley is at the same university as me. Honestly, it's good to have around someone you know. The thing is that I wish it has been someone else. We haven't argued soon, but I feel like this will happen. On the positive side, she understands my problems and me. I didn't expect to talk about my drama with the team with her. I mean, we have never talked much. Maybe except when we were studying together. This girl might not understand football, but she is a good listener. One night we walked outside. The whole time she was silent, listening to me. I am starting to think I was too hard on her. I should treat her better. After all, she never did anything to me. Words don't count. Let's not talk about how many things I have said to her. I would like it if we could become friends. We never tried because both of us thought it was impossible. Also, since she is the only person I know at this university, I want us to have good relations. Maybe it's better if I don't rush things. I don't know how she will react to this. I mean, I have never asked her to be my friend. Ashley might take it as a joke. Honestly, it will be good for us to try. We'll see each other often, so it's good if we stop arguing for a while. I won't lie that this will be a tough challenge for me. Whatever it takes, I will do it. Let's hope Blake won't use her to make me mad. All the problems should be between us. I don't want to involve anyone else. Otherwise, things will end badly for one of us. I believe we can find a solution. After all, I don't want to take his place. I only want to win as many games as possible. It's not that bad to want to have success. I hope I don't have to deal with this the whole year. That is not what I want.

I woke up and checked my phone. There were no new messages in the group chat. Last night, I talked with the boys until midnight. I haven't told them about Ashley. Let's say that some of them will make assumptions. Right now, I don't want to deal with this. Ashley and I can try the friendship thing, but that is. I don't want to date her. Honestly, I want to focus on football. Girls take too much time and attention. Something that I don't have now. Maybe in the future, I will find a girlfriend. Also, that is not the most important thing for me. I have other priorities.

After half an hour in my bed, I got up. It was 9:30 am. I can go and get breakfast for Ashley and me. She is alone here. I won't lie. I feel bad for her. This girl never had friends. Well, at least I don't know about that. It's not like she has to tell me everything. When I got ready, I walked out. Ten minutes from our university, we have a coffee shop. Luckily, they serve food as well. I took four pancakes, two waffles, and two orange juices. Let's hope that she will like it.

I walked back to the university and knocked on the door. No one answered me. Is Ashley still sleeping? I knocked on her door again and heard some steps. At least I know she is awake. Soon, she opened the door. The first thing that I noticed was her unicorn PJ. I won't laugh at her. Honestly, I thought only kids believed in unicorns. Maybe I was wrong.

- Hello. Breakfast is ready.

- What?

- Can I come inside?

- Yes, but I haven't made my bed yet.

- It's ok. I hope I didn't wake you.

- No, you didn't. Give me ten minutes to wake up completely, and I will pay attention to you.

- Take your time.

I sat on the other bed while Ashley was making hers. Later, she went to change herself in the bathroom. Meanwhile, I took the food out of the bags. We don't have plates, so we'll eat everything like that. Soon, she came back and started sniffing. I guess she liked the smell. Let's hope that she will enjoy the food.

- The food smells so good.

- I hope you will like it.

- I don't know how you guessed it, but I love waffles.

- So I did well.

- Yes, you did.

Both of us were eating peacefully. No one was talking. Sometimes, silence is comfortable. Ashley ate everything. Maybe I should've bought more waffles.

- Hey, if you want, I can buy more waffles.

- Thanks, but no need to do it. Can I know where you bought them?

- Ten minutes from our university, we have a coffee shop. They sell food too.

- I didn't know that. Maybe I can walk around today. Feel free to join me.

- Thanks, but I can't.

- Why?

- I have practice.

- I understand.

- Honestly, I would like to invite you, but it's better if you don't come.

- So I don't have to see the drama between the captain and you?

- Yes, exactly.

After breakfast, I walked to my room. I have to prepare for my practice. Ashley said she would go for a walk, but she might come for the end of it. It's better if she doesn't. I don't want Blake to think I have something to do with her. Ashley is just a girl from my high school and nothing more.

When I was ready, I walked to the field. Most of the boys were already there. Soon, Blake came with the blonde girl. I guess she will stay with us. As long as she doesn't cause trouble, I am good.

- I thought that you would give up.

- Can I know your name?

- It's Olivia.

- Listen up, Olivia. I won't give up so easily. If your boyfriend doesn't start winning games, I will take things into my hands. I don't want to play with losers.

- The only loser here is you.

I turned around to see Blake. I wish he could leave. Maybe I have to do it. Honestly, I have wanted to do it since I came here. The thing is that my backup plan is not secured. I have nowhere to go. Soon, we started playing. I barely received the ball. Well, I tried to be nice to him. Now it's time to show him what I can do. Whenever he was about to catch the ball, I was quicker. Later, I gave it to one of the boys so he could score points. I don't want to be a star. All I want is to be a winning player. At the end of the practice, I saw Ashley. She was far away, so no one could see her.

- Ok, boys. You can go. That's it for today.

- Thanks. - I said

- Not you two. - the coach said, looking at Blake and me

- Is there a problem, sir?

- You never gave me the ball. - Blake said

- You did the same.

- Ok, listen up. I don't know what is going on with you, but if you don't learn to play together, one of you will be out. I know exactly who. I need a winning team.

- Tell this kid to play well, not only to run around.

- Actually, Avery plays well. You can learn from him instead of criticizing him.

- You are kidding, aren't you?

- No, I'm not. Find a way to understand each other. Otherwise, I will do it. - the coach said and left

- Thanks for the trouble.

- You can admit that you can't play.

- Blake is the best player on the field. - Olivia said

- Maybe, but he is miles away from beating the best team I know.

I looked up to see Ashley. What is she doing here? Her defense is the last thing I want. I didn't say anything, grabbed her hand, and dragged her out. This girl only will get me in more trouble, but I don't think she realizes it.

- What was that? - I asked her, madly

- It was the truth.

- Ashley, I don't need your help. Please, stay away from this.

- If that is what you want, I won't stay around you.

- I didn't mean that.

- It's ok. I understand. - Ashley said and left

Why did I think we'll stop arguing? I went to talk with her. Luckily, she was in her dorm. Later, we went for lunch. I am already arguing with Blake. I don't want to do it with her as well. After lunch, we walked back inside. It was hot outside. She wanted to watch a movie, so I stayed with her. In the middle of it, Ashley fell asleep. I left her a note and went back to my dorm. I took a nap as well. I woke up at 6 pm. Sadly, I had no new messages. I checked the boys, and a couple of them were online. I asked them for a video chat tonight.

After half an hour, all the boys were online. I took my laptop because it was easier for me to see them. I wish they were here. My friends are better players than these boys here.

- How are you, mate? - Jason asked

- Bad.

- Why? Did something happen?

- I don't know how long I can survive on this team.

- I'm sure you will be fine. - Ben said

- I don't know. The attention seeker didn't like it when I took his spotlight at the practice today.

- Don't tell me that you still argue with him about that. - Adam said

- What can I say? Things here are far away from what I expected. The coach said that if we don't find a way to understand each other, one of us will be out. I think it will be me since I am the new guy.

- I won't be so sure. - Peter said

- Why?

- Your coach wants a winning team. If you play better than the captain, he might throw him away and let you take the position.

- I don't want it.

- It's not about you. - Jason said

As we were talking with the boys, there was a knock on the door. Who can it be? I hope it's not Blake. I don't think he knows where my room is, but I don't want to see him.

- I'll be back in a second.

I went to open the door. Thank god it wasn't him. Right now, I want to have a chill night with my friends. I will leave the drama for tomorrow. My energy is not enough now.

- Hey, Ashley.

- Hey, I bought us dinner.

- Thanks.

- If you are busy, I can leave you half of it and go.

- No, no. Come in.

- Thank you. By the way, I bought plastic forks. They were cheaper than the regular ones.

- As long as it doesn't break in my food, I'm ok.

- Don't worry. I got the one-hundred pack. - Ashley said, and I laughed

- You thought of everything.

- Yes, I did.

- Boys, I have a surprise.

- What is it? - Jason asked

- Hey, boys.

- Ashley? What are you doing there?

- I am preparing myself to have dinner.

- I mean in Avery's room.

- My room is next to his, so I decided to make him company for dinner.

- Hold on. Are both of you in the same place? - Ben asked

- Yes, we are. - I said

- And you two didn't kill each other. - Rayan said

- Why would we do that? - Ashley asked

- Guys, we are fine. I have other things in my head.

- Can I know what you will eat? It looks delicious. - Evan said

- I bought Chinese food and two pieces of cake.

- Where did you find Chinese food? - I asked

- It turned out that this town had everything. Even Indian food, but I heard it was spicy. That's why I didn't buy it.

- Good choice.

- So, do you two understand each other now? - Jason asked

- You answer this. I want to eat. - I said, and she laughed

- Something like that. We decided to start from the beginning.

- What do you mean? - Ben asked

- Let's say that we forgot about what happened in high school. We act like we met this summer.

- Will this work? - Rayan asked

- Honestly, I don't know. For now, we are good.

- The food is delicious.

- Can you not eat in front of them?

- Why?

- Because you will make them hungry. - Ashley said, chuckling

- Don't worry. I'll eat soon. - Adam said

We talked with the boys for a while. I listened to Ashley and left my food aside. When we finish with them, I will continue eating. Around 8 pm, everyone went for dinner. The boys are probably going out during summer. Now I wish I was at home.

- Are you ok?

- What?

- I asked if you were ok.

- I'm fine. Don't worry.

- You miss them, don't you?

- Miss who?

- Your friends, who else?

- A little bit.

- Boys have feelings too. You don't need to hide them. I won't make fun of you for that.

- Thanks, but I don't want to talk about this now.

- Ok, it's your choice.

- What do you want us to do now?

- Well, we can watch something inside. My other idea is to go and eat our dinner outside.

- I prefer to be inside.

- In that case, tell me what you want to watch.

- Pick whatever you want.

- Ok, but you can't complain.

- I won't. I don't have the energy for that.

- You have to focus on the game, not the players.

- I'm trying, but it's not easy.

- I know you can do it.

- Thanks. At least you are on my side.

- You have a whole team behind your back.

- A team that is miles away from me.

- It's better than nothing.

- True.

The rest of the night I spend with Ashley. I hadn't noticed what a good friend she could be. Maybe I had to pay more attention to her. I can't go back in time to fix what I did to her. At least we started from the beginning. Now I will try to treat her better. She deserves it more than anyone else. For her, I will try to be a better person. It won't be easy, but I won't give up. Let's hope my drama with Blake won't affect my place on the team. I don't want to go. Not yet. I will do everything possible to keep my position. Blake doesn't know that I won't give up without a fight. This boy will see what I can do. I can be patient, but my patience has limits. I hope that I won't do anything stupid.