maybe • adam banks

tired

the alarm blared throughout our room as julie and connie threw various things at it. when a shoe knocked it off its stand, i heard the breaking of the glass and took it as a signal to get up.

connie sat up, staring at me,"did coach say anything? you know once you were the only one left."

i rolled my eyes, still incredibly angry at coach,"just some stupid shit."

connie sighed and sat next to me on my bed, trying to make me feel better,"i'm sorry, scarlett. he wasn't always like this," she then changed her story, realizing she was wrong,"i mean, he was at first, but he changed."

i scoffed,"yeah, well, apparently not."

connie frowned, rethinking her words. i wasn't convinced that coach bombay was the kind of person that would ever change.

i stood up and slipped on some shoes, not bothering to change. i was too sore from our practice, and it seemed like a futile task. i walked into the kitchen to find something to eat before class.

dean walked up to me, looking sympathetic, for maybe the first time in his life,"hey, scar. i'm sorry about yesterday, on the bus. you alright?"

i looked at him questionably, wondering where this newfound empathy was coming from,"oh, yeah, don't worry. totally forgotten."

he nodded, reiterating his question from before,"and you're good, yeah?"

i shrugged, grabbing a granola bar from the pantry,"yeah, i'm fine, just sore. and of course, the thought of walking sounds like torture, but what can you do?"

dean laughed,"well, allow me." he leaned down, offering his back for me to jump on.

i shook my head,"dean-"

he sighed,"i'm trying to be nice, babe. come on, before i change my mind."

i eyed him for a second longer, before deciding to take advantage of his kindness. while i did find it a little strange to hop on the back of someone i didn't know very well, i knew it was better than walking.

we made our way out the door to meet the rest of our team, walking to class together.

charlie smiled at me, looking a little confused,"what are you doing up there?"

i chuckled,"avoiding walking. you should try it sometime."

he smirked, staring at adam, who was a few steps ahead of us,"i'll try it right now. adam, catch!"

charlie ran and jumped onto adam, who had no choice but to catch him.

adam laughed, trying to regain his balance with the newly added weight,"what the hell?"

charlie smiled smugly,"that's how it's done, ladies. take notes. i bet he'll be in my room later tonight."

i pressed my lips together,"you guys are roommates."

charlie sighed,"not the point, scarlett, don't ruin this for me."

i rolled my eyes and shook my head,"my bad."

guy turned to connie, looking unamused,"babe, i am not carrying you, don't even try. all these other couples can have it their way, but I'm not doing it."

"not a couple." adam and i said in unison, in reference to dean and charlie.

"sure." connie shrugged, unconvinced of our words.

i knit my eyebrows, not sure what she meant by that. dean and i didn't even like each other up until about ten minutes ago. and if she meant adam and charlie, i think she's barking up the wrong tree.