Approaching the table in question, Aaron heard how the laughter of the group of girls at that table gradually died down until he finally had three pairs of eyes staring fixedly in his direction.
"Hi Hannah," Aaron said with his back to the girl who, a few minutes ago, had been laughing at something her friend said as she turned around and fixed her eyes on the boy standing behind her at that moment.
"Hi Aaron," she said in a low voice, almost like a whisper that would barely be heard, while her friends giggled under their breath at their shy friend's attitude.
"Hey, I know you!" one of them suddenly said, pointing her finger at him as if she had finally figured out who he was.
"You're the guy from the basketball team," she said, snapping her fingers while trying to remember his name. "Aaron... Aaron..." she murmured, trying to recall his last name until Aaron decided he had had enough and decided to help her with that.
"Aaron Reed," he said with a smile, seeing how the girl finally remembered him. "That's it!" she said while pointing at him. "And what brings you to this table?" she asked in an interrogative tone, wanting to know what brought one of the most popular people in school to their table.
"I have something to discuss with Hannah," he said while pointing to the blonde girl in front of him, who looked at him with curious eyes, trying to discern what Aaron wanted with her at that moment.
Thinking it would be better for the two of them to talk about it in private, Aaron made a gesture, pointing out of the cafeteria toward one of the hallways.
"Would you mind if we talked over there? It's something personal," Aaron said with the best friendly smile he could put on at that moment. "Sure," Hannah responded, standing up and following him under the watchful eye of her friends and a few busybodies who saw how both headed toward the door that led out of the cafeteria.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Hannah asked once they were far enough away to have a private conversation, while she saw how Aaron scratched the back of his head, trying to find the words for this.
"How have you been lately?" Aaron asked in an attempt to break the ice before dropping the question he wanted to ask without sounding completely like someone only looking for her for convenience.
"Well, everything's been fine. I went to see my grandparents in Boston and spent the holidays over there," Hannah began to say, recounting everything she had done during the weeks of winter break in which they hadn't seen or spoken to each other.
They weren't such close friends, but they did message each other often and shared calls from time to time to check in on each other.
"But of course, nothing compares to you, Mr. MVP," Hannah said with a smile, laughing as she saw how Aaron's face shifted into an awkward grin seeing yet another person keep joking about that.
"Not you too, please," Aaron said, rubbing his hand over his face as he continued to hear people calling him that.
"It's quite a compliment if you think about it," Hannah said with a giggle while covering her mouth.
And the thing is, being named MVP of an important tournament like the Stop-DWI as a complete freshman was something that didn't happen every day, as many of the best high schools in the entire state of New York competed in that tournament.
"When they start telling you a thousand times, it stops being a compliment and becomes a complete nuisance," Aaron said, specifically remembering two individuals who were sitting at one of the cafeteria tables.
"So, what is the reason we're here?" Hannah asked curiously, slightly tilting her head to the side in a gesture that Aaron thought was adorable.
"Well, the thing is..." Aaron began, as he gradually started explaining the problems he had understanding chemistry class and how Mr. Jenkins made them all suffer with his chemistry exams.
"In short, you want me to help you with chemistry," Hannah said, having concisely summarized the entire explanation Aaron had given her.
"Basically," Aaron told her while giving her a nervous smile, hoping that Hannah could help him with that.
"Okay," Hannah replied, causing Aaron to smile and instinctively relax, thinking everything would go well. "But..." Hannah's next "but" caused Aaron to pay attention to whatever Hannah was going to ask of him at that moment.
"I need a favor too," Hannah said. "What do you need?" Aaron asked quickly, hoping that whatever she asked wouldn't be anything excessive or difficult for him to fulfill. "If I help you in chemistry, I need you to help me with math classes," Hannah responded, setting her condition.
At that, Aaron saw it was a fair deal since both would support each other in the subjects in which they weren't the best. "Deal," he said while extending his hand toward her, who also extended hers to close the deal with a handshake.
Compared to his much larger hand, Hannah's was much smaller and more delicate, at which Aaron felt comfortable not letting go—something with which Hannah didn't seem to be uncomfortable either.
Suddenly, the bell rang throughout the school, indicating the end of the period and that it was time to return to classes. "I have to go," Hannah said quickly, withdrawing her hand from Aaron's while heading down a hallway toward her next class.
"I'll send you a message to meet up!" Aaron told her loudly in Hannah's direction, who turned briefly while smiling and nodding her head.
Returning to the cafeteria, Aaron immediately met the curious gazes of everyone at his table, who wanted the details of whom he had gone off with.
"So, who's the blonde?" Omar asked bluntly and without filters, wanting to know who the blonde was he had gone into the hallways with minutes before.
"Just a friend," Aaron responded, not wanting to give more details while he picked up his tray and signaled to Drew that it was time to go; Drew simply gave a shrug of apology to those at the table and prepared to follow Aaron to their next class.
"Hey, don't leave us in the dark, man!" Omar said, seeing how he and Drew were leaving, leaving the four at the table with curiosity.
"What's going on between you and Hannah?" Drew asked this time in a low voice once both had left the cafeteria and were in the hallways toward their next class. "I just asked her for help studying," Aaron responded concisely, knowing that if he didn't give Drew an answer, he wouldn't stop bothering him during the next hour of class.
"Studying, huh," Drew said, wiggling his eyebrows, not entirely believing Aaron.
Rolling his eyes, Aaron simply picked up his pace toward the next class, followed by Drew, who had to move faster so as not to be left behind by Aaron.
Later
The sound of balls bouncing against the floor echoed throughout the gym while the basketball team prepared for another training session.
Stretching along with the rest of his teammates, Aaron saw how Omar kept staring at him, waiting for him to answer the question that was eating at his tongue. "Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and the blonde?" Omar asked for the 15th time so far today, causing Aaron to seriously think about giving him a smack on the neck.
"I already told you, she's just a classmate who's going to help me study," Aaron responded with the same answer he had given the last few times Omar had asked.
"Sure, studying," Omar responded sarcastically, as he, just like Drew, didn't entirely believe the answer Aaron was giving him.
"You know, now I understand why you rejected Meghan and the girls from the other time," Omar said, causing Aaron to look at him confused, not understanding what they had to do with any of this.
"And what do they have to do with it?" he asked him, wanting to know the reasoning behind that comment. "That your type is intelligent girls," Omar responded with total seriousness, thinking about Aaron's interactions with Hannah.
Before Aaron could even respond, a whistle echoed through the place, causing all the players to stop stretching and stand in a straight line toward Coach Arbitello.
"Alright, boys, tomorrow we play against St. Francis High," the coach began, going over the list he had on his clipboard with all the pertinent information on the St. Francis Terriers.
"Today we won't do any strenuous training in preparation for tomorrow's game," the coach began, earning smiles from some of the players, thinking they wouldn't have as rigorous a training session compared to other days.
"Instead, I thought we could practice 1-on-1 duels," Coach Arbitello said with a smile while the players began looking at one another, searching for their opponent.
"First," Coach Arbitello, looking at the list, chose two names. "Reed against Calhoun," he called out, making the players in question take a step forward while the rest stepped back and gave them space.
Artie, with a ball in his hands, approached the two, functioning as a referee for this game. "It'll be a best-of-3-points game, and please try to avoid playing too rough; we don't want injuries," he finished saying, warning both while passing the ball to Omar, letting him start the game.
"This will be fun, friend," Omar said, preparing himself while Aaron got into position under the paint with his knees bent. "Get ready to lose," was Aaron's simple comment.
On the first possession, Omar tried to use his speed to penetrate, looking to take Aaron by surprise and get an easy layup, but Aaron, attentive, cut off his path, causing him to stop dead and halt still with the ball in possession, looking for any opening or spot to score.
Without many options, Omar quickly turned with force while taking a step back, looking to create the necessary space to attempt a jump shot, but Aaron, knowing Omar's habits, was prepared, blocking the shot so that now possession was in his hands.
Passing him the ball, this time it was Omar's turn to be on the defensive while Aaron took calm dribbles, getting closer and closer toward him without looking to pick up the pace or anything; he simply bounced the ball slowly, causing Omar to try and steal it quickly from his hands.
But Aaron simply pulled back his hand with the ball, passing it from one hand to another behind his back without letting Omar get it easily; taking advantage of that, Aaron immediately used his confusion to perform a spin move and go past him to sink the layup.
"1-0," Aaron murmured toward Omar while he picked up the ball again.
On the second possession, Aaron didn't try anything sophisticated; he simply tried a direct penetration against Omar, taking advantage of his greater height and wingspan to sink a second layup.
"2-0," he said once more to the irritation of Omar, who told himself he wouldn't let him score another point in front of him.
Bending his knees and preparing for any of Aaron's movements, Omar didn't expect him to simply get into position and launch a shot from the 3-point line, causing it to go through the net without any problem.
"Swish" was the sound of the ball going through the net while Omar's mind remained blank, seeing how he easily lost 3-0.
"And with that, it's 3-0," Aaron said, seeing Omar's stunned face, which simply made him laugh, causing Omar to give him a dirty look and walk away sulking.
"Come on, man, don't be like that," Aaron said, holding back a laugh as he left the court, giving space to the next pair of players who would play.
That was how the rest of the training afternoon passed until it came to an end and the players left the gym heading home.
On the other hand, Aaron was behind a sulking Omar, who didn't deign to speak to him. "Still mad?" he asked while Omar continued with the silent treatment.
Rolling his eyes, Aaron put a hand on Omar's shoulders. "Come on, man, it's not like it was in a game," he whispered. "How about in tomorrow's game I help you be the player with the most points in the game?" was the next thing he told him, like a devil tempting his victim.
That simple comment finally made Omar turn his gaze to Aaron. "Three games," was what Omar said, like a true negotiator.
"Deal," Aaron accepted, causing Omar to return to his normal mood. "I knew I couldn't be mad at one of my best friends," Omar said.
At that, Aaron couldn't help but laugh while thinking about how different his life was compared to the previous one; now he had friends, family, and could play the sport he loved so much.
Leaving through the school door, Aaron fixed his gaze on the sunset in the sky while a smile settled on his face, thinking about how good his new life was.
Authors thought's
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