Where Do We Go from Here?

xii.

     "Naomi, I'll talk to uhm Austin about uhm.." Casey starts with her eyes shifting focus as fast as her fidgeting fingers, "The uhm..."

     "Basketball?" Garith suggests, slightly tilting his head down while squinting his eyes and giving a smirk to Casey.

     "Yep, that's right," she agrees before she scurries out of the scene.

     I purse my lips to hold in the laughter, "That's Casey for you."

     "She seems interesting," he says as he offers me a closed can of beer, "Closed, you're safe."

     I take it and immediately thumb the ring up, "Interesting is an understatement and thanks." I hold the beer up.

     "So, heard you were the warthog for the basketball game, care to do it for the soccer game?"

     "No, thanks. I've had enough of that shit."

     He laughs and takes a sip of his beer. "Sorry, I just can't imagine you being in that bulky costume. I want to see it first hand."

     "Here, take it in its full glory, then." I take my phone out of my back pocket, unlock it and go straight to my gallery. Garith slides himself closer to me and I feel his stare on my phone and his breath on my hair. I ignore the rising heat on my face and I click the latest picture Casey took while I was on the costume from the neck down. I show it to Garith while he's drinking and as soon as he sees it he purses his lips hard.

     "All good now?" I ask as I attempt to take my phone back to my pocket when he swiftly holds my hand and draws it closer to his face. 

     "Wait, I think I know this costume. That's an old one, like a really old one."

     I laugh only to soon realize it sounded like a nervous giggle making me my face feel warm. 

     "Well, it smelled really old, so makes sense," I manage to say despite being now fully aware of how close we are.

     He laughs softly and takes another sip of his drink. "You know, my mom told me a funny story this morning."

     My eyes widen by reflex as I take a gaze at him. I let out an unstable giggle. "Wh-what did she say?"

     He turns his back from the crowd and rests his arms on the metal fence behind me which is as high as his gut. 

     My mind flashes all the embarrassing episodes I had over the past year in Ms.Judith's classes. Did she talk about that one time when I snored through her class? Or maybe that one time when I tried to act like I wasn't late so I left my bag just outside our room only to find out they can see it from the inside as it was a double mirror wall? Or maybe that time when we had a recitation and I studied the wrong chapter so I was blurting out the wrong answers?

     "She said we went to the same day care center together. You, Theo and I," he smiles. 

     "Oh," I chuckle longer than I should have, out of relief. 

     "Really?" I say as I try to shake up the previous thoughts. 

     "No way," I blurt as it finally dawns on me. 

     I squint my eyes as I study his face. I push my mind to the times when I was at the day care center but all I could remember was the time I got scolded because I skipped nap time to play. My playmates' faces were a blur. I can't remember their faces except Theo's ratting face. 

     "Yeah, she said I was your accomplice when you made that fake body out of pillows under the sheets. She got called by the teacher. I bet you can't remember everything because I don't as well." He takes a sip of his drink and smiles. "I only remember the time when I got caught playing outside when I should have been sleeping. I was scared to my wits. Just thought it was funny."