OVERPOPULAS

Chapter 6

School didn't start until next week. Wondering what I was going to do to pass the time. That's when Eric proposed an idea. He said me and him should do a workout routine to stay in shape and be prepared for the classes. Since I didn't know what it'll be like, I guessed that it was gonna be similar to the classes we did in high school. Although that was just a guess I couldn't know what the classes would be like.

Eric came up with the workout routine of doing 100 pushups and 100 sit ups per day. Also spending 30 minutes punching the punching bag and an hour of sparring him. This routine was excruciating and painful, with me being sore at the end of the day and then the next day doing it all over again.

Sparring was the most difficult one, because even though the matches would last maybe a minute or sometimes seconds longer than the day of graduation, I would still lose and not land a single hit on him.

The day before school began we had the last sparring match of that week. Eric is still coming out on top and me is always being tackled to the ground. We had 10 consecutive matches just like last time. I lost every single one. After the last one i lied on the ground looking up at the sky, I was out of breath and my whole body was sore. I expected Eric just to leave me there like a week ago but he sat down next to me.

"It's ok." He said. "I didn't expect you to improve in just under a week. But, trust me you'll get better soon, and maybe might actually land a hit on me."

Eric was actually comforting instead of insulting me. DId he have a change of heart? I remember that he was always like that ever since we were kids.

"Did something happen?" I asked him. Eric looked at me. His eyes staring right through me.

"What do you mean?" He responded.

"I'm asking because you were just insulting me like a week ago. You didn't even go to my graduation!" I said as I sat up and looked at him. "Now all of a sudden you want to help me!? It's weird." I ranted.

"You're wrong." He said looking up at the sky. "I was there. You just didn't see me."

"What?" I asked very confusingly.

"I was outside of the school waiting for you, but you didn't see me. Neither mom nor dad, hell even Alice didn't even see me." Eric continued. "I was gonna give you the flier back then but after you didn't see me I just didn't want to come back home. It's like you forgot all about me."

"Well if you wanted to go to the graduation, why did you not get in the car?" I interrupted. Eric ignored it and kept talking. "So that's why I was away from home. That's all that happened." I had no choice but to take his word. I did have a suspicious feeling that wasn't the truth or that he was lying. But, at this moment I had no reason to suspect him. Eric got up and headed towards the door to the apartment complex. But before opening the door, he said.

"Even though I said those things to you, I still care about you."

Eric opened the door and walked inside.