Her and the Basketball Champion

chapter 20

"So, I have to go to Pakistan soon. We havn't been for a while, and my parents want to see the family."

"Hold up, you're going to miss school? Bro you can't do that. This is peak learning season." I reply to Sarah, as she shrugs, placing her hand on her cheek and resting her elbow on the table in front of us. 

I swear, if she leaves me alone in this classroom. Ugh this is going to be shit. 

"I don't know. My dad has already booked the flights. We leave in two weeks." 

I look over at her and frown, contemplating cursing out loud, but I decide against it. I don't want to disrespect her parents. 

"I'm gonna miss you, you know. You better text me everyday. I want daily updates, even if you're gossiping to the aunties. Live feedback, got it?" I raise my eyebrows in expectation, observing her face as she slightly smiles, distress clearly evident on her face;

I know she doesn't want to miss school, and I know how important this term is in terms of knowledge.  Plus, she hardly sees us and now she has to go away for God knows how long.

"How long are you going for?" I ask, hoping to dear God that it isn't long. 

" A month."

"A fucking month!? Do your parents expect you to just telepathically gain all this knowledge from damn 7 hours away. Come on, that's irrational."

"Look, you can just send me the power point and we can face time. You can basically tutor me over the phone, you know? I honestly with I could stay, but you know what my parents are like. They won't budge." She tries to reassure me, but I keep my disappointed face on.

It's honestly so stupid that she has to go in the middle of the school year. Hell, I'm scraping by myself, how am I supposed to tutor her? i mean, I will try, of course, because I wouldn't want her to miss out on her education. I guess we'll see what's going on when the time comes. 

"Fine." I sigh, moving forward to give her a hug. She squeezes me and slowly moves back, looking at the watch on her wrist to check the time. 

We have a few minutes left of the lesson, so we start to pack our notes and books away, waiting for our teacher to dismiss us, so we can head home. 

When she finally lets us go, we head out of the classroom and Sarah hugs me goodbye before walking towards the car where her dad has come to pick her up. 

I pull out my phone and see a message from Lily telling me to come over to her house. She probably had a free lesson last and decided to just go home. I don't blame her, I would have to. 

I decide to pick up a tea and a coffee from the Cafe before meeting Lily. I don't have a shift today either, so I'm free for the rest of the evening.

I text my mum a message telling her about my plans and head towards the Cafe, dodging the bustling crowd of students pressing against me as I walk out of the gates. 

I arrive at the Cafe in one piece, thankfully, and order our usual, waiting at the front counter. 

It's weird being allowed to go on both sides of the counter, and seeing it now as a customer feels weird. I'v gotten used to being on the other end. 

The waitress hands me our drinks and i pay by apple pay and start to head out towards Lily's house. 

I turn right from the Cafe and come to the basketball courts. I automatically crane my neck to try and find a specific person, and my eyes land on that familiar black hair. He's facing away from me, so I can't see his face, and is wearing his usual basketball kit. I can tell he's sweating from here, because his bare arms are shiny and he's gulping down his water like anything. 

I can't help but stare at him as his adam's apple bobs up and down. God, he looks so good. 

Look, I ain't going to deny it, but his cockiness and sarcasm clashes with mine, so I find him annoying.

Still.

Before i can look away, I see him turn his head and look my way. I freeze, and suddenly grow embarrassed at being caught staring. maybe he won't notice. 

He stops drinking and brings the water bottle away from his lips, securing the lid down as he bends down to put it on the bench. 

Then he's walking my way.

I contemplate walking away before he gets to me and.

Me being me, I do just that. 

I swivel around so quick that some of the hot drink spills over the edge of the cups from the hole in the lid, and splashes over my hand. 

"Fuck me!" I shout. 

I literally start running away. I don't even know why, but I don't want to embarrass myself even further, so I quickly turn the corner and run out of sight from the courts. 

I really hope Jonas doesn't follow me or something. I don't want to blush and make an idiot of myself. 

I continue down the road towards Lily's house and quickly knock on the door, trying not to spill anymore of the hot tea all over me. 

I literally fall into her hallway as she opens the door and manage to regain my balance by leaning against the wall. 

"What the fuck happened to you? Did you just run a marathon or something?" Lily asks.

I shake my head, extending my hand out towards her so she can take the drink. 

"Felt like I did. I was running away from Jonas." I can't be asked to lie and make up an excuse, so I just tell her the truth. 

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I just ran. I was staring at him in the basketball courts and then he saw me and I fucking freaked. Trust me, my body took over me in that moment."

"Bro, I swear, do you like the guy for real? I mean it's quite clear you feel something, because why else would you run away like that?"

"I honestly have no idea. I guess I do kind of like him, but I shouldn't, you know? It doesn't feel like a stupid crush either. but, I don't know." 

Lily nods her head in understanding, starting to walk towards the kitchen. I follow her and sit down on the stool at the breakfast bar, putting my head in my hands. 

"Drink your tea dude. Maybe you'll be able to think clearly."

I bring the now cool cup to my face and sip it. I guess I was standing at the basketball courts for a while for my tea to get this cold. 

I push it away from me, making a distasteful face.

"Cold, huh?"

"Yeah, I am not drinking that." I say, letting my shoulders relax. I honestly have no idea what's happening, but I know the outcome won't be good, or easy. 

I guess we'll just have to find out.