Tranquil Falls

A Warning

I sat in the library, my books were strewn out on the table in front of me. We were at mandatory study sessions. Coach had decided that the majority of the team's grades were not up to his expectations, so he had reserved the school library for a two-hour team study session one day a week. Too bad that the ones who didn't need the study sessions were the only ones actually working. When I'd gone to grab a book, three of my teammates—Brody included—had been goofing off in the back stacks. Since Coach had situated himself with a magazine in the front of the library, his feet propped up on a coffee table, no one was wandering around to make sure that they were on task.

I had situated myself in a corner out of Coach's line of sight. I had shit I needed to get done and I didn't need him harping at me about plays or my performance.

Taylor dropped his books on the table across from me with a sigh. "How good are you with pre-calc?" I paused in my note-taking and looked up at him. "Apparently I'm now failing."

"How are you failing when you just had an A yesterday?" I asked, going back to my notes. "Sure you're not exaggerating?"

He opened his computer and turned it around so I could see the screen. Sure enough, he was failing.

"What happened?"

"She put a ton of grades in at once and my grade plummeted," he said with a groan. He slid down in the seat, his knee bumping against mine. "I mean, seriously, why do they do this to us? I just want to play basketball. I don't care about functions or Polynesians." I arched an eyebrow and then laughed, shaking my head. He kneed me. "What?"

"Polynesia has nothing to do with math." He stared at me. "I think you mean polynomials."

He rolled his eyes, making a face. "Whatever. I don't need them in my life."

"I'll help you at home."

He leaned forward. "I wasn't planning on doing schoolwork with you at home."

I looked down at my notes, a sick feeling in my stomach. "Not tonight, Tay."

"When?" he asked softly. "You've been acting weird ever since we got back from the lake."

I shifted in the seat, resting my head against my hand and looking at my textbook. None of it was sinking in now.

"Just...I need to focus on schoolwork and now Coach is riding us about basketball. It's not a good time."

He sighed, reaching over and covering the textbook with his hand, his fingers resting just barely against mine. I fought the urge to pull away, but glanced around to see if anyone was around.

"You've been super tense lately, Gatlin. Just...just let me help you to relax," he murmured. I swallowed hard, refusing to look at him. "Look, if you won't have fun me tonight, then this weekend." He sat back in his chair, moving his hand to his lap, but putting his knee against mine again. "I know some people downtown. I'll introduce you to them. They have beer and weed and are cool people."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. My knee felt like it was on fire. "Cool people how?" I looked up at him now. "I can't get into any shit, Taylor. Right now, I just have basketball to keep me sane and my parents off my back."

"They're college freshmen. Just a little over a year older than us. They have ambition and are successful in and out of the classroom. Good influences, Gatlin, so stop being so paranoid," he said with a sigh. "There are boys and girls, too, if that's what you're worried about. I'm not trying to ambush you with anything."