[Old Version] Playing for the Other Team [Old Version]

Chapter 2

The library was quiet. More silent than usual, that is. There was no soft murmur from studying students, since most had already gone home, and the only thing that sounded was the librarian typing on the ancient computer she sat by.

Even though Nathan knew that the chances of him being disturbed was small, he decided to take no chances and found table in the corner of the library. The table he sat by was worn, and had countless doodles and letters carved into the surface.

He picked out his books, starting with maths, and stared down at the first few questions. They were simple. Easy equations. He solved it within a few moments and wrote down x = 2 in his book. The next one was equally as simple. "X equals for..." Nathan mumbled as he wrote it down.

Nathan wasn't stupid, or dumb as some of his friends – not mentioning any by name – but clever compared to most. He had good grades, and a near perfect attendance, which was just adding to his already long list of pros.

He solved a few more equations and problems before he got stuck. He frowned down at the numbers, tapping his forehead with the tip of his pencil. "Think, Nathan," he muttered to himself, glaring at the book.

A loud noise coming from behind him startled him, and he twisted in the chair to have a look at what was going on. A shelf seemed to have broken down a few rows down, and a large number of books had crashed down onto the floor. A young blond was standing by the shelf, sighing hopelessly at the pile of books on the floor. Nathan recognized him as the boy they'd bumped into earlier that day.

After a moment of hesitation, Nathan got up from his chair and walked over to him. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked. The boy flinched, and turned around.

"U-Uh, y-yeah." he blurted out, looking up at Nathan. "The shelf... uh... broke." he added, turning to look down at the floor. Nathan inspected the shelf, it was old and rickety. No wonder it broke. Despite that, Nathan couldn't help but smile at the obvious statement.

"I see that." He said softly.

The boy gulped and nodded before dropping to his knees and started to pick the books off the floor. Nathan watched him for a moment. His hair was messy, and had a sandy tone to it, almost like honey. He wore a hoodie, and under it a gray t-shirt peeked out in the neckline. Nathan crouched down next to him and started stacking books. "W-What are you doing?" The blond boy asked.

"Helping." Nathan said, acting as if he didn't notice that the blond was staring at him while he stacked books. "Come on." Nathan said, picking up the last few books. "I'll help you carry them to the front desk, they'll have to put these somewhere else."

The blond nodded, without looking at Nathan, and picked up a bunch of books and headed for the front desk of the library. Nathan followed with the rest of the books.

"My gosh, Jonathan!" The librarian chuckled when they came walking. "I know you like to read, but isn't this a little but over the top?" She joked.

The boy – called Jonathan – chuckled nervously. "U-Uh... the shelf, R4 broke, and everything went on the floor." he explained.

Mrs. Wilson – the librarian – sighed. "I've told the principal that we need new bookshelves, the ones we've got are falling apart as we look at them!" She shook her head. "But he wants to focus on the school's pride, and all the money goes to the basketball team's expenses."

Jonathan glanced Nathan's way, but didn't say anything, and Nathan awkwardly cleared his throat, putting the books on the counter. "Bone!" Mrs. Wilson exclaimed. "I-I didn't see you there." She blurted out, nervously folding her hands in her lap.

"Yeah... hi." Nathan gave a smile.

"Um..." The librarian scratched the back of her neck. "Excuse my words earlier I-... I didn't mean anything by it." She stuttered.

Nathan shook his head. "No, that's all right." he smiled. "We share opinions, actually. I think the school's putting way too much effort in the sports teams, and not enough on school equipment." Both Mrs. Wilson and Jonathan stared at him, as if they didn't believe those words came from him.

"Oh, well..." Mrs. Wilson smiled. "That's nice. I'm glad you think so." She said, and Nathan offered her another smile. Jonathan cleared his throat.

"W-Well... I have to... um... bye." he said, quickly dumping the book son the counter and walking away.

Nathan hurried after him. "Hey, wait. J-Jonathan." he called. Jonathan stopped so suddenly that Nathan almost crashed into him for the second time that day. "Sorry." Nathan said, taking a step back. "Hey, I'm sorry about before. Josh can be an asshole sometimes, he doesn't mean it." He explained. Jonathan arched an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. Nathan noticed the color of his eyes. An odd yellow-greenish color. Like grass in the sun. His own eyes had a clear hazel color.

"Whatever." Jonathan said coldly. Then he turned around and walked away again. Nathan watched him grab his backpack from the floor and leave the library. When the heavy doors closed behind him, Nathan let out a heavy breath.

Deciding not to linger, Nathan gathered his things and said goodbye to Mrs. Wilson when he left. She smiled at him when he pushed the doors open and walked down the corridor towards the exit. He walked to his car that stood parked down the school's parking lot. He sat still in his car for a while, as if he'd forgotten what he was about to do. It took him several minutes to turn the key and drive home.

Even outside of school he Nathan was seen. Then again, he was hardly driving an incognito car, cruising around in his Porsche Cayman.

He pulled up on the driveway, putting the gear in park and climbing out of his car. Next to his expensive Porsche stood a white Ford Fusion – the newest model – and within the garage hid a red Ferrari, and a -57 Thunderbird. Nathan's father had been a car junkie, and with the amount of money he earned buying cars like that wasn't a big deal. Nathan himself didn't know much about cars. He knew a thing or two about the engines, but not enough to meddle with them, and he knew how to drive them. In his eyes, that was enough.

When he opened the front door he was greeted by the housemaid, that happened to be passing by. She smiled at him, and offered to take his jacket. Nathan let, since she insisted and she put it in the closet.

Walking into the living room, Nathan found his father sitting in the couch, reading a newspaper. "Good afternoon, son." His father – Aaron Bone – said and smiled at him.

"Hi, dad." Nathan said cheerfully. It was odd of his father to be home, much less sit in the living room and not in his office.

"You're later than usual." Aaron pointed out and took a sip from the coffee he held in his hand.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "I was in the library, studying... you know... maths." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. His father gave a nod, and tore his eyes off the paper.

"Oh." He said. "Do you need any help with that?" he asked, making Nathan do a double take.

"You're gonna help me?" He asked hopefully.

"No!" His father shook his head. "I'm no mathematician. I'll hire someone to tutor you." He smiled.

Nathan slumped a little where he stood and shook his head. "No, it's all right. I can manage on my own. I don't need a tutor." He mumbled. "I'm going to my room." He said before his dad could say anything else.

Typical, he thought as he walked up the stairs. His father hadn't spent time with him in years, why would he suddenly start now? It was silly of him to hope. His dad was always caught up in business, travels, or his stupid golf club.

Nathan let out a long sigh as he flopped down, face first, on his bed in his room. He laid still for moment before rolling over to his back, and looking out through the starlight and upon the sky. "I wish he had more time for me." He mumbled to himself, and frowned.