I held the follow through until the ball went in and my body immediately fell to the floor after that because of exhaustion.
This ball game took a lot more than I thought, my shirt was completely drenched with sweat and I was catching my breath.
I saw Astrid walking closer to where I was laying and she laid down beside me, "Good game." she said to me while reaching her hand, "Nice game." I shook her hand.
We both took a couple of minutes to rest, I pushed my body up into a sitting position and I looked over to her, "Are you still good?" I asked her, "Yup. That was fun." she replied, "For me too. You're actually much better than I thought, I really thought I would lose." I told her.
"A bet is a bet. I'll treat you for a lunch tomorrow." Astrid said as she stood up, "I can't wait. Nothing is better than free lunch." I exclaimed happily and she started laughing, I was about to stand up when she offered her hand, I took her hand then she pulled me up.
"Thanks for the help." I told her, "No problem. Let's go?" she asked, "Let me just get my things." I ran to get my hoodie and bag, "My dad's already waiting for us outside." she said so I hurriedly changed and packed my things before walking out of the gym.
"I really enjoyed today." she smiled, "I'll beat you next time." she followed, "Sure. I'm always ready for a rematch." I replied.
"Oh yeah. Give me your phone." Astrid instructed and I obliged, getting my phone from my bag, "Here." I don't know why she asked for my phone, "I saved my number on your phone." she told me then she proceeded to call her own number, "Now, I have yours." she showed me her phone, with my number displayed in the caller ID.
"So we could contact each other easily about our lunch tomorrow. Also, just in case I needed a training partner again." Astrid commented, "Don't give it to anyone, okay?" she said and I nodded in reply.
Astrid got in the passenger's seat while I got in the back, "Hi, Uncle Agnar." I greeted, "Hello, Hiccup." he greeted back, "Sorry, we're a bit late, dad." Astrid said, "It's okay but why are you late?" he asked, "Hiccup and I played one-on-one." she replied, "Who won?" Uncle Agnar asked, "He did. Barely." Astrid responded while looking at me and I just smile.
"Hiccup won? Against you? When was the last time you lost on one-on-one?" Uncle Agnar couldn't believe what she said, "Yup. It was a hard-fought game, I needed to thread in an eye of a needle to win." I remarked.
"The last time I lost was when I was 8. The guy cheated so I beat him up." Astrid said, her ferociousness made me swallow my saliva.
"If you beat Astrid, it does mean you're quite capable." Uncle Agnar said, "I'll win next time." Astrid declared, "I'll do my best." I smiled.
I got home at around 10:30 pm, "Sorry, I'm late, dad." I said as I walked inside, "Don't worry about it, son. So how was your playdate with the Hofferson's lass?" his question caught me off guard, "Playdate? It wasn't a playdate. We just continued our game." I replied, "Isn't it the same thing?" he asked, "No... Playdate is for kids." I blabbered, "Okay son. If you say so." he chuckled as I went upstairs to take a bath. I was playing with Toothless while drying my hair when I remembered Astrid giving me her phone number.
"Should I?" I picked up my phone and dialed her number, "Wait... Wait... I don't know what to say to her." I realized after hearing the continuous ringing, but the call didn't connect.
"Maybe she's busy." I put my phone down and cuddled with Toothless, I didn't realized I fell asleep maybe because of how early I woke up and the exhaustion that my body felt.
I woke up when I couldn't breath since Toothless was laying on my face and because of the ringing and vibrating I felt on my bed, I removed Toothless from my face, reached around looking for something resembling my phone.
With my eyes still half-closed, I pressed answer, "Hello?" I said in midst of still not being fully awake.
"Hello." I heard a reply from the other line, "Is that a girl's voice?" a thought that made me woke up, I looked at the caller ID and it was displaying 'Astrid', "Sh*t." I muttered, "Hello." I said again, I forgot that I called her earlier.
"Hey Astrid." I said, "Hiccup, You called earlier?", "Really?" I feigned ignorance, "Maybe Toothless called you accidentally." I told her, "Uh-huh..." she replied, "So... What are you doing?" I asked which I immediately regretted, "Hmmm... Nothing actually. You?", "I fell asleep earlier, the game took out a lot form me.", "Me too. I was kinda exhausted." then we continued talking about basketball and we headed to a rabbit's hole, completely engulfed of our love for the game.
I woke up late and missed my alarm, I don't know how long me and Astrid talked on the phone but it was fun. I went to check on Toothless but he wasn't on his bed, I almost fell out of my own bed when I didn't see him there.
"Toothless! Where are you bud?" I called for him when I felt movement on the foot of the bed, I removed my blanket and he was there, laying down with his four limbs up in the air.
I picked him up and put him on his bed before I went to the bathroom.
I walked downstairs, "Dad?" I called, "I'm in the backyard." I heard him reply, "There's porridge on the stove, just heat it up." he added, "Thanks dad." I told him as I heated up the porridge as instructed.
I scrolled through my phone while eating my porridge when a message popped up, "Hi Hiccup. Where do you wanna go later?" it read, it was a message from Astrid, I almost spit out my porridge from surprise.
"Anywhere. I'm still new here so what place do you recommend?" I replied, "The Cove is always good. The Zippleback Sweet and Spicy wings and the Gronkle Mega Steak are also good. The Wilderbeast Wild Buffet is also good. Too many choices." she suggested.
"The Cove sounds good to me." I replied, "Alright. The Cove it is. How about we meet there later at around 12 noon." she texted, "Got it. 12 noon." I messaged back, "Don't be late" I read next, "Never." I replied, "See you." she said as I went back to scrolling through my social media.
I spent most of the morning doing assignments and unfinished projects. I checked the time and it's already 11 am, "I need to start preparing for later." I told myself as I stretched and stood up from my desk.
I got out of shower and opened my closet where I was faced by a problem, I don't know what to wear. "Hoodie, hoodie, hoodie... Shirt... Shirt... Shirt..." I scanned through my wardrobe, "Is it okay to wear a hoodie?" I asked myself, "What do you think bud?" I turned to Toothless, who was watching me from my bed.
I chose three hoodies and placed it on my bed; a black one with a vintage print in the front, a white one with designs along one of the arms, a maroon one with a design on the back. "So what should I wear?" I asked Toothless and he moved towards the white one, "Good choice." I said as I paired it with a denim jeans and white AF1s.
"Thanks bud." I rubbed Toothless under his chin, "Oh. I might need this." I grabbed a facemask on my dresser before leaving my room.
"All dressed up. Where to, son?" my dad said while he was in the kitchen, "Lunch." I replied, "Okay. With Astrid?" he asked and I could see him trying to stop himself from smiling, "Yeah. It's just a bet that we had." I said, "I'm not saying anything. Enjoy your 'lunch'." he emphasized on the word 'lunch', "See you later dad." I told him before leaving.
I arrived at the Cove at around 11:30 am, its interior was rustic and felt like the old Viking time, it was decorated with old weapons like swords, axes, and shields. It's full of patrons but still has a couple of available tables.
I put on the facemask and looked for anywhere to sit at. I decided to choose at the far corner so that it'll be harder to spot us but we could see everyone else.
I sat with my back on the wall, a waiter approached with a menu, "Are you ready to order sir?" he asked, "I'm still waiting for someone. Can I get a glass of water?" I told him, "Okay sir." he replied as he went to fetch my water, "Thanks." I said as he returned with my glass of water, "Just call for me if you're ready to order." he told me and I nodded.
I was on my phone when I heard the bell on the door rang, I looked up and it was Astrid, I think.
She was wearing a light blue hoodie also with the hood over her head and she was also wearing a facemask, I wanted to call out but I'm not really sure if it was her so I just sat properly to make me noticeable and when she looked at my direction, she jumped a little before walking towards me.
She pulled out the chair in front of me and sat down, "Have you been waiting for long?" I heard her ask as she removed her hood and exposed her braided blonde hair, "I-I just got here." I replied.
She removed her facemask and smiled at me, I froze since she looked different, she looked prettier.
"You look pretty..." I blabbered, my eyes widened as soon as the words left my mouth, she looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Y-You look pretty hungry because I am." I smiled and tried saving myself from the embarrassment, "Yeah. I was glad you picked this place." she grinned, "Let's order?" she asked, "Uh... Yeah... We should." I breathe out a sigh of relief as I removed my facemask too.