Moonhaven 2 (M2): Round 2

Chapter 10: Soccer is...Life?

The time between leaving the library yesterday afternoon and this morning had been a real slog for Alex. The secret he was keeping with Jeremi was easily becoming one of the hardest things he's ever had to do.

Jeremi though, seemed to be maintaining his composure just fine, especially around Ziro. And Alex didn't want to be the loose end of things, so he called upon his recollection of a popular drama movie, Cheater's Prosper. If straight-A-student Sally Mable, could have an affair with her best-friend's bad-boy boyfriend, and keep it a secret from everyone she loves, then surely Alex could keep his secret with Jeremi.

But he just hoped it wouldn't take too much of a toll on him. He had almost been skewered several times by Ziro's Necrodian during last night's sparring session due to his lack of focus, and he'd been tossing and turning in his bed nearly all night.

Carsyn had also mentioned to him last night that today would be a half-day of school, meaning all classes would only be about thirty minutes long. With such astounding news in mind, Alex had managed to get around three hours of sleep yet was able to spring into action when his alarm sounded off early this morning.

For much of the day Alex had been quite energized, but when last period came he'd ultimately fallen asleep just after five minutes of sitting at his desk. He was jolted awake later when he heard the uproarious cheers of the other students around him. In his befuddled state, his eyes scoured every direction trying to find the source of everyone's excitement. While the rest of the class was being quieted down by teacher upfront, Alex could finally hear Principal Heims making an announcement over the P.A. system:

"All the students going to view the soccer match against Kalimity should head to the rear doors by the gym after classes have finished. There, you will be escorted by appointed referees to available seating at the outside bleachers. Don't forget, students from the other school will also be visiting as well as other teachers and adults to see the match, so please, no mischievous behaviour and be kind to one another. Thank you, and have a good day."

The uproar continued in class as students could barely stay in their seats. Alex ruffled his hair, rubbed his eyes, and did a series of seated stretches as he tried to make sense of the announcement.

It had been a while since he had even thought about soccer, and although he hadn't completely enjoyed his former time playing on a team back in New Orleans, something inside of him still wanted to see the sport in action again.

Feeling like his ears were ringing, Alex vigorously rubbed at the lobes. Everyone else began to pack up their belongings, preparing to depart, and it was then Alex realized that an actual bell had rung and class was now over.

'I slept through class?' Alex thought. He'd underestimated just how fatigued he really was. Though it was only about a meager half-hour of sleep, he felt well rested enough that he could grab his bag and jog at a quickened pace out of the classroom, heading for the front foyer to meet with the group.

"Some news," Ziro began as the group assembled by the front entrance. "Rents are all busy, so we'll be taking the long way home today."

"Ugh," Tate groaned.

"Ooh," Evan excitedly cooed.

"Remind me again why you're so fond of public transportation?" Tate asked her.

"Bunch' a reasons," Evan offered. "You get some leisure time while getting to where you're going; it makes you exercise more; there's also a sense of sonder of the people you meet-"

"And it's good for the environment," Six tacked on.

"That too!" Evan agreed. "And there are totally a bunch of other reasons-"