Always Been There

CHAPTER 6 : THE TENNIS MATCH

I smiled at Calum to reply but before l could Aiden ran and jumped on Calum turning him incredibly uncomfortable.

" Bro! You have to promise me that you'll defeat this brat here " Aiden glared at me. All I can see is a 7-year-old soul in a 17-year-old body.

Calum frowned looking at Nathan. Nathan just shrugged turning his head onto the other side. He looked at me and Aria for an explanation but we did the same thing. He sighed at the unsaid sentence ' we can't be bothered with this kid '

" Aide wanted to see how well Maya can fair against you in a match. Aria and Maya just teased him about gaining some weight and he started acting childish " Ryan explained gently but said that it was just teasing and he doesn't need to act like this.

" Hmmm. Let's go " Calum looked at me. I nodded going towards the corner. " Warm-up. I'll be there in a minute "

I left my bag beside Calum's and started warming up listening to my friend's banter. A few club members whom l met before waved at me l waved my hand back at them.

" Why are guys still here? " Calum asked in a gruff tone that he uses when he's using his power.

Calum got the WIZARD OF HEAVEN GARDEN title and the titles are not just for a show. Along with the title, you get some powers related to the title.

As Calum is excellent with coding and hacking he's responsible for the school's online system and everything related to it. One of the most important places in student council.

" Initially l felt embarrassing to join these guys " Aiden pointed to the others. " I mean it feels like dropping off an elementary school kid " The others gave him a state.

" No one asked you to join in the first place " Noah rolled his eyes. I chuckled. Sometimes even Noah gets pissed off at Aiden's drama.

" What are you doing??!! " Aiden shouted at me. " Concentrate on your warm-ups!!!! " We all started laughing at his childish acts.

After a few stretches, Calum walked towards me offering his hand. I stared at him before smiling and accepting his hand. He pulled me up to stand. I noticed other students around the court.

" Why are there so many people around here? " I looked around.

" Isn't it common when our group is together at a place? " That's right. When we are together we gain a lot of attention.

" Come on let's have a match "

" Best of 3 or 5," I asked him.

" Let's go with 3 " Calum replied before going to the other side of the court.

I know l give a different vibe because of my excitement. The stronger the opponent the more excited l become and from his posture and his way of handling the racket l can say he's someone who's gonna give me tough competition.

Back and forth tryouts started before started the match. Serving, catching, and returning. Though we both may look like we're playing seriously we're not giving our hundred percent into it yet. We both are holding ourselves back and we know that. Within no time, Calum already started giving me a tough time. Well not really since all I'm doing is trying to return the ball. As expected he won the first round.

The audience started clapping for Calum. He walked towards me to ask something.

" Do you wanna take a break? "

" No! Let's start the next round " I tried to reply as normal as l could but l knew my eyes are betraying me.

" Well then don't back yourself anymore," Calum said as he understood why I'm so excited.

" Don't mind me then " Calum smirked raising his brows. He chuckled going back to the other side.

" Hey! Maya! You sure you don't need a break? You know l can give you my energy drink " A shout I'm so familiar with said. I rolled my eyes throwing the ball at him without turning back.

" Ouch!!! Are you planning to murder me!!?? " Aiden yelled out.

" Like a tennis ball can kill a thick skull like you " I snorted walking towards the service line. " If l wanted to kill you I'd rather throw a shot at you "

" Pfft- " my friends snickered at him.

" Leave that moron alone. Let's continue " Calum threw another ball at me. I caught it.

" Hey! I'm not done with- " I turned to look at Aiden who was looking as if he's seen a ghost and beside him, Aria smiling brightly. Knowing what happened I turned back smiling giving my full attention to the opponent across me.

We started the second round. This time I didn't hold back. I started serving explosively.

My reaction speed is swift compared to the first round but l know I'm faster than this.

Calum couldn't keep his stance properly because of my sudden change of style, thus I started scoring. I could hear the audience cheering for us especially Aria. She's cheering my name in a rhythmic tone.

His slow reaction let me the winner of the second round. Well, I caught him off guard with my speed.

" Damn! " Calum said in a husky tone. His voice sounded out of breath. " I should have seen that coming "

" Indeed you should have, " I said amidst the people clapping. Both of us knew I wasn't giving my hundred percent yet. Calum as well. The next round will be fun. I grinned at the thought.