"Well done, Pedro. I'm so happy to see you working harder."
Pedro looked up at Ms O'Brien, his Biology teacher. "Thank you, ma'am."
She smiled and placed his test face down on his table. Pedro snatched it up, and his eyes widened in shock at the score. 71%. He had been putting in a lot more effort, but it was beyond his expectations.
"Keep it up, son," Lucas, his best friend said in a gruff voice. He clapped Pedro on the shoulder from behind, and ruffled his hair.
Pedro raised a middle finger at Lucas without looking back. "Back off, dude."
"She deserves all the accolades," Lucas whispered.
"Who?"
"You know who I'm talking about."
"Boys, would you like to share your discussion with the class?" Ms O'Brien asked with folded arms.
"No, ma'am," Pedro and Lucas replied simultaneously.
Pedro took a quick glance around the class. It revealed a few appreciative glances and a handful of judgemental stares. He ignored them, and focused on the board. Ms O'Brien continued handing out the answer scripts. Mild groans of disappointment, and a few muted sighs of relief could be heard from different students. The test was kind of tough.
"Are you guys cool now?" Lucas whispered.
Pedro pretended he could not hear him and opened his textbook. His eyes focused on a random picture of a rainforest.
Lucas shifted his chair. "Psst, you're moody and that means you're either on your period or your heart is broken. You've never asked me for lady care products or aspirin, so-"
"My heart is not broken!" Pedro hissed. His voice came out louder than expected, and he heard someone mumble about footballers getting away with murder. Yeah, whatever.
Lucas recoiled. "Easy, tiger. Don't bite my head off. Later, okay?"
Pedro knew he was out of line for snapping at his friend, but he could not help it. Lucas Koren was his brother from another mother. He should know Pedro did not want to talk about it. At all. After everything was said and done, being civil and forgetting that anything happened seemed like a better option.
The rest of the class passed in a blur of food webs and trophic levels. Pedro was relieved when the bell rang, and he could escape from the classroom. Even though the windows were wide open, he was suffocating at his desk.
**
Lucas rounded on Pedro at the cafeteria with a thumb pointed in the direction of their last class. "Yo, did you just ditch me?" he asked. His platinum blond hair fell over his pale blue eyes which twinkled with mischief.
Pedro deadpanned. "No."
Students rushed to their tables, and gathered in groups to gossip and throw random pieces of food at each other. The various cliques and factions were more about being cool, oppressing the 'losers' or otherwise. It was rare to see true friendship. Pedro wanted to kick himself for thinking it was pathetic. She had influenced him more than he realized. Damn.
Lucas snapped his fingers in front of Pedro's face. "Earth to freakin' Pedro. Dude."
Three of their other team mates joined them at the table. Two jokingly shoved Pedro to the side as they sat down. The other sat facing him on the opposite side.
"Sup, Milian?"
"Hey, Koren."
"DJ."
"What's good, Henry?"
"Fawcett."
They greeted each other in their usual way. Their surnames and nicknames. Football habits die hard.
David Jensen, aka DJ, threw a piece of cabbage at Pedro. His black dreadlocks framed his light brown face. "What's wrong with pretty boy?" he asked no one in particular.
All of them except Lucas wolfed down their food and paid no attention to the open question. Lucas rolled his eyes. "What a pack of uncivilized jerks," he muttered. His Texan drawl more pronounced than ever.
DJ scoffed. "Dude, you pissed in your driveway and face planted in your neighbors rose garden last night. You're no gentleman."
Everyone laughed including Lucas. "Not one of my best moments," he admitted.
Fawcett ran a hand through his brown hair and rested a palm on his freckled face. "How are you not hungover, Lucas? You looked like a zombie."
"You would have looked stupid in your mug shot, Lucas," Henry, DJ's identical twin added. "You're lucky you snuck into your room before your neighbor called the cops." He laughed so hard he almost choked on his juice. "You missed out, Milian. Last night's party was insane! Where were you?"
Pedro took a bite from his burger. "I was at home," he replied simply.
"Home?" They asked in unison.
Pedro shrugged. "So?"
Henry and Fawcett exchanged knowing looks. Koren winked at DJ and he chuckled.
"What?" Pedro hissed.
"Take deep breaths, and admit your heart is broken," Fawcett said in a French accent. He wasn't French, but he used it whenever he was being sentimental. All the guys rolled their eyes and shook their heads.
Pedro pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I'm not-"
DJ and Henry fist bumped each other and teased him. "Our sista's got yo triflin' butt in order, it's about time! Hashtag black girl-"
"Magic," Koren added. DJ and Henry looked at him with raised eyebrows. Even Fawcett shook his head and winced. Koren raised his hands in surrender and flashed them a lopsided grin.
"Alright. Bring out the tea and nail polish. What happened, Milian?" Fawcett asked.
Pedro washed his burger down with orange and mango juice. He dropped his bottle and saw his mates focused on him with expectant looks. He reluctantly gave them the summary of how he met Augusta, his tutorial classes and the Performing Arts night. Pedro concluded that the evening was lit, but Augusta closed up ever since. His mates were more attentive than he expected.
"What in the high school musical is this?" Fawcett asked.
Pedro chuckled without mirth. "Exactly."
"Maybe she's scared." Lucas shrugged. "After wearing the braniac tag like a badge of honour for the past years, falling for a quarterback would be, um...complicated?"
"Milian, did you and Augusta ever have-" Fawcett's voice trailed off.
"None of your business," Pedro answered.
Henry shook his head. "That means no."
The bell rang and they rose to their feet and dumped their trash. Kids rushed out of the cafeteria, but everyone gave them a wide berth. They walked side by side to their various classes. With murmured words, each of them departed except for Lucas.
"Chicks like a dude that talks to them. Just talk to her," Lucas said.
"I tried to. She refuses to talk about it. The few times I raised it, she pointed out that we don't have much time and we should focus on the tutorials."
Lucas folded his arms. "Unrequited love hurts," he said softly.
"For real though." Pedro shook his head. He never promised girls anything, but he had blown off many who wanted more than casual hook ups. From his point of view then it was no big deal. After all he did not give anyone the keys to his mansion. Pedro sighed. "Karma is a bi-"
"Do you want detention? Go to your classes!" A random teacher growled. He was one of the hardliners who did not give a damn about football or the sport heroes.
"No, sir," Pedro replied.
Lucas gave Pedro a brotherly clap on the back as they rushed to English class. "I say you use the wild card on Augusta," he said.
"It's been three weeks. Forget it, Lucas."
"Nah, I won't. Hear me out."
"Fine. Regular tricks don't work on Augusta. What the heck do you suggest?"
Lucas threw his head back and started a bout of evil laughter. As they entered the class, the English teacher glared at them. He looked almost as fed up as they did. Pedro and Lucas made their way to their desks, which were side by side at the back of the class. They took out their notebooks, and settled down.
Then Lucas leaned towards Pedro. "I can't believe you've forgotten Player 101," Lucas whispered.
"I've not forgotten, Lucas. I just ain't feeling it like before." Someone asked for an eraser, and Pedro passed it over his shoulder without looking.
"How much do you want her?"
Pedro shook his head. "I cannot freaking describe it. Even I think it's crazy."
"Then pull a John Wick," Lucas retorted.
"Kill everyone that pissed me off?" Pedro laughed for the first time that day. "That would include you."
Lucas tapped his head. "No, doofus," he grinned. "I meant you should revive your old skills."
"The only time she wasn't defensive when I tried to be charming was the Performing Arts night. Seriously, my feelings don't make sense," Pedro scoffed.
"Dude, there's an age old trick that works on all God's glorious creatures. No matter the time, place, race, gender or creed."
Pedro leaned back in his seat. He wondered why they couldn't make the desks bigger. He didn't have enough space. "What?"
"Make her jealous," Lucas retorted with a cheeky grin.
Let the games begin :)