Friendly Competition?
5 days have passed after that amazing date with Olivia, as our school lives and lives in general returned to normal. Well, if you can call MY life normal that is. We've been pretty much talking to each other the exact same way we used to, although I can also feel that the aura around us is slightly different. I don't know if that's good or bad yet, though... As far as Wraith business is concerned, Chief Monroe hasn't contacted me at all after our meeting in her office, to which I responded by doing my usual business around town, on my daily patrols. Not to mention that my new suit Wraith Point II (that's a name I decided on my own by the way) is absolutely amazing!!! Anyway, I'd better get back to class, so see you there!
New York, Queens
Kew Gardens Hills Academy
13:11
"Oy! Earth to Aaron!" JJ waves a hand in front of his classmate's face, who despite of the bell ringing, is still rooted on his seat.
"...Oh snap, it's already break time?" The teenager in question voiced, after a light shake of his head.
"Yeah, it's been a good minute or two actually, mate." The British young man replied as he motioned for him to get up.
"Have you been sleeping properly?" Will joined in.
"Yeah, you've been spacing out a lot lately!"
"It's not sleep-related guys, chill." Aaron answered with a shrug as he stood up and walked towards the classroom door.
"Ho ho...! Then maybe it's person-related! Or more precisely girl-related..." JJ said with a smirk all the while nodding to himself.
"I see..." Will said in a skeptical tone while rubbing his chin.
"Maybe... or maybe not." Aaron smirked in response as the three teenage boys walked on the school hallway in a line.
...
"Aaron!" Sarah voiced as she popped out of nowhere.
"Hey, Sarah." The young man in question replied with a friendly smile.
"Say... are you free this weekend?" The young girl spoke with a grin. The two boys who were walking alongside Aaron, sneakily tiptoed away leaving him all alone, after giving him a thumbs up.
Man, she went straight in for the kill! And where are you going, guys?!
Aaron thought to himself, slightly taken aback. "Uhm, I'll have to see about that... there's a lot of homework these days." Aaron replied with the same expression, not wanting to look rude.
Not gonna lie, she's really cute, but my heart is currently occupied so...
"Then I'll help you study. You see, I'm an ace in academics." Sarah uttered proudly, puffing out her chest.
"What? For real?" The young man voiced, even more stunned than before.
"Yeah, of course!" She pressed on, while edging closer, with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Oh, there you are!" A familiar voice echoed along the hallway, as Aaron felt a sense of salvation.
Olivia!
He thought as he turned around, watching the blonde haired girl approach the two of them.
"I've been looking all over for you." She continued after reaching them, as she made a point to stand even closer to him than Sarah.
"Oh, have we met before?" Sarah voiced as her smile remained glued to her face.
"I don't think so, but I know who you are: Sarah Middleton, former student council president..." Olivia spoke while looking straight at her.
"And I'm Olivia Marshall by the way." She continued without breaking eye-contact as Sarah chuckled lightly.
Suddenly the tension is so thick, you could cut it with a knife... Damn, what did I get myself into?
"It's great to meet you then, Olivia. It seems you know a fair amount of things about me." The black haired girl extended a hand for a handshake, which Olivia accepted.
"Likewise. And it's just common sense, so don't think much about it." After Olivia replied a silence ensued among the group of 3 as the girls remained still, hand in hand, their eyes locked.
Okay what the hell is happening? You know, I don't dislike it but... What the hell is happening?!!
"So... uhm, excuse us Sarah but it appears Olivia has something to tell me so I'll catch you another time!" Aaron joined in as he separated the two and walked away with Olivia, as he clutched her shoulders from behind, like a parent whose child had just done something naughty. On the other hand, all Sarah could do was nod and watch them walk down the hallway, as she clicked her tongue.
...
"So what did you want to talk about?" Aaron asked as they were standing alone in a secluded staircase leading to the roof.
"Nothing, she just pissed me off for some reason..."
"What? Sarah? Really?"
"Yes, really."
"But you didn't seem all that annoyed the first time she talked to me."
"Well that was... a different occasion... Heck, I can't even explain it myself!" As Olivia said in frustration the bell rang, indicating the end of the break.
"Damn, the break's already over?" Aaron said with a small sigh.
"Hey, don't sulk, we've got P.E. next." Olivia commented, succeeding in elevating her friend's spirits.
"For real? Yess P.E. for last period! Talk about lucky! To the gym, then!" The young man jumped and cheered, before he grabbed Olivia's hand and took off.
New York, Queens
Kew Gardens Hills Academy
13:33
It appears Friday was the day class A-2 (Aaron's class) and class B-2 had a P.E. class at the same time. Aaron didn't appear to know anyone from class B-2 at first but after a while he noticed Sarah, and even Brad, the guy he encountered in the men's restroom, among the crowd. After the P.E. teacher had them run 5-6 laps around the basketball court, and after a bit of stretching he spoke up.
"So what do you say the boys from the two classes have a basketball match, huh?" He proposed with a smirk, as he toyed with his mustache. A proposition in which the boys responded with a hearty cheer.
"Sir, and what about the girls?" Sarah spoke up after she raised her hand.
"You can either play volleyball against the rest of the girls, or you can just sit back and watch the spectacle." The teacher replied with a chuckle.
Some of the girls decided to toss around a volleyball in the court next to the basketball one, but the majority, including Sarah and Olivia, decided to watch the basketball match between the classes.
"So who's playing?" Aaron asked as he fanned himself with his white gym T-shirt after the warmup. He, as well as the rest of the male students, was wearing the school's P.E. attire which consisted of a white T-shirt with the school's crest on the center and a pair of black shorts that didn't go past his knee. It was his own personal choice though, to wear a pair of high white socks and a black pair of running shoes with a white sole. The female version was pretty similar too, as it consisted of the same white T-Shirt and a pair of black gym bloomers.
"You're in for sure! What the hell was with that run, earlier mate?! Are you a pro or something?!" JJ said, as he hyped his friend up before shooting a 3-pointer.
"I don't really wanna play..." Will said as he passed the ball to Aaron who took another warm-up shot.
"Come on, Will, it's gonna be fun!" The brown haired boy urged his friend on, who adjusted his glasses.
"I don't wanna go up against him, actually." The boy simply pointed at the opponent team's direction, and more precisely towards Brad who was dunking and jumping aggressively.
"...Shit." JJ uttered after a wolf whistle.
"I'm gonna take care of him, so you don't have to worry about a thing pal." Aaron said reassuringly, throwing his arm over his shoulder.
"Hehe, I think I'm gonna pass..." Will chuckled and walked to the stands, where all the spectators were gathered.
"Hey Will!" Olivia waved at the teenager, motioning for him to sit next to her, and her friends. After their date, it seems Aaron and Olivia introduced their group of friends to each other, making for a whole group of 6. "Aren't you gonna play?" She asked as soon as the young man sat beside her.
"Nah... I'm not really into sports anyway." Will casually replied.
...
"Are both teams ready?!" The coach barked as he held the ball in the center for a jump ball.
"Yes, sir!" Both teams replied as Aaron and Brad walked up to the center of the court.
"You, again..." Brad hissed as their eyes met.
Not gonna lie, he's intimidating...
Aaron thought as he looked at the much-taller teenager, before breaking into a smirk.
I know Steinn would tell me not to stand out too much in school during events like these, but I can't afford to lose, since Olivia's watching...
He thought as he turned to her direction, noticing that Sarah was sitting alongside her.
What is she doing there?
Before he had any time to process what he's witnessing the sound of a whistle rang out through the gym and the ball flew upwards.
Crap!
Aaron jumped, albeit somewhat delayed, and tapped the ball with his fingertips tossing it to his team's side of the court.
"Woo!" The crowd cheered, seeing the much shorter young man win the jump ball. It wasn't that Aaron was short, he's a little above average actually, it's just that Brad was too tall for his age. Rising to around 2.10 meters, his height was massive.
"You little!" The brawny young man uttered before chasing after the ball.
"JJ, pass!" Aaron asked for the ball as he made a run at the opponent's court. His friend quickly took notice as he passed him the ball. As soon as the young man received it, he dribbled it in between his legs and easily dribbled past 2 opponents, to reach the enemy 3-point line. Aaron wasted no time and raised his arms and the ball, and with a flick of his left wrist the ball flew of his hands and the sweet sound of the net followed.
'Woohoo!!!" The crowd cheered even louder than before.
"Gimme the ball!" Brad barked as he received the ball outside the paint. With no hesitation, he forced his way through the line of defense and dunked with power on the opposing basket.
"Woo...." The crowd voiced in sheer amazement.
Heh... This is gonna be tough... But I wouldn't want it any other way!!
New York, Queens
Kew Gardens Hills Academy
14:22
After approximately 40 minutes, the match was nearing its end with the score being 66-71 for Brad's class. The tension was as thick as it could get, as even Olivia had joined in on the passionate cheering, while the P.E. teacher was watching with a satisfied face as he took a bite off the sandwich he bought from the school's canteen.
"Aaron!" JJ voiced as he dribbled past an opponent in his own half and passed Aaron the ball. The young man received it with one hand dribbling past an opponent himself, and rushing to the opposing court.
'Where are you going?!" Brad cut him off just outside the 3-point line as he stood between him and the hoop.
"Oh, just there..." Aaron said while he stopped in front of him and dribbled to the right. As Brad made a move to intercept him, he fainted and rushed to the left. But that wasn't something the brawny student hadn't anticipated as he swiftly turned to the left himself. The brown haired young man hadn't said his last words either though, as he made yet another faint and dribbled past Brad from the right.
"You little shit!" He heard his opponent spit behind him as he faced yet another set of defenders. Aaron only smirked though, as he jumped from the ground and slammed the ball through the net, all the while hanging from the hoop.
"Yeeessss! Let's go!!" Olivia shouted in full-on barbarian mode, matching the rest of the crowd's energy.
"30 seconds lefth!" The P.E. teacher announced in between chewing, as the score was now 69-71.
"We just need to fucking defend! Get it together!" Brad barked at his teammates as he received the ball and moved to the opponent's side. "Screw it we're scoring instead!" He voiced with a smirk as he noticed a clear way through the opponent's back line.
"Oh no you're not!" Aaron commented as he snatched the ball from Brad's hands right at the 15 second mark, as he turned and passed to a teammate of his.
"Ten secondsff!" The coach declared as Aaron's teammate passed it back at him.
Holy crap... I've been using my superhuman attributes this whole time, but I don't want to score the winning point by just running overpowering my opponents... I should end it with my skill instead...
He thought as he looked at the crowd of opponents in front of him, and felt the hoop grow all the more distant by the second.
It's just one shot, Aaron...
"Shoot!" JJ shouted as he moved in for a screen against the opponent closest to Aaron.
"Goo!" He heard Olivia's voice, and that was all he had to hear as he raised the ball in the air and let it fly with a flick. The ball flew in the air at a great height, but landed perfectly inside the opposing net, with a satisfying sound effect. 3 points for Aaron's team, meant that the score turned to 72-71, giving his team the win. His teammates ran to him in the heat of the moment as they all celebrated together. During the celebrations that only lasted for a couple minutes, Aaron looked at the blonde girl in the stands who was looking at him with a proud grin, while applauding.
"You're fucking useless!" Brad shouted as he stormed off the gym throwing away the ball that fell right into his hands.
I should probably tell him it was a good game or something...
Aaron thought to himself right after the celebrations were wrapped up.
But where is he...?
He internally inquired as he glanced at the empty hallway before him.
The restroom, maybe?
Having found the one and only lead, he made for the men's bathroom which was just around the corner to the gym, taking him no time to reach it. Aaron heard mumbling, as he gripped the doorknob, but shrugged and opened it anyway. What his eyes fell upon though, was nothing short of unbelievable. He rubbed his eyes while questioning his brain functions, but the rubbing didn't do anything to help the situation. Brad, who was just a normal high school kid earlier, had the jaws of a wolf in the place of his mouth and 2 rows of big and sharp yellow teeth, as well as two fangs sticking out from his upper lip. His eyes were glowing in a yellow color, as he turned to look at Aaron.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Brad said irritated, as the young man's mouth almost fell agape. "Get out of my way!" The student with the wolf face shoved him aside as he walked outside the door.
What... was that...?
Was the question lingering inside his mind, as he was still frozen in place.
I need to call Steinn!!!
He immediately thought as he snapped out of his trance and rushed out of the bathroom.
"Aaron!" Olivia said cheerfully.
"Olivia! Did you see Brad?" Aaron asked all the while sweating bullets.
"Yeah, he looked really pissed though..."
"Was "pissed" the only weird thing about him?" He asked grabbing her shoulders.
"Yeah... I guess..." She replied as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.
It seems the change was only momentarily... and he didn't notice it himself. I need to inform Steinn ASAP, though...
"Okay got it! I'll catch you later!" Aaron fled in a hurry before the girl could do anything to stop him.
"Wait..." Olivia uttered as he ran off. "...I wanted to congratulate you..." Her face fell to her feet in disappointment.
...
The young man on the other hand, ran frantically to his empty classroom to retrieve his cellphone, and quickly dialed in the number Steinn gave him for absolute emergencies.
"Aaron?" Steinn's voice was heard after only one ring.
"Mr. Steinn... we've got a problem..."
Коментарі