Spring

Chapter Seven

(A/N The song in this is not my own. It is  I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie.)

Sage Gibson

The sounds of squeaking shoes and basketballs radiate on the outside of the gym. This definitely isn't how I normally spend my Wednesday afternoons. When I asked Aria to borrow her Geometry notes, this isn't exactly what I had in mind. I figured her bag that she wanted me to follow her to go get was probably just in her locker, not in the gym.

She opens the door with no hesitancy and I follow her through. The action on the court keeps my attention there. The boys are on the other side from us, doing passing drills.

"Hey, isn't your interview today?" Aria speaks ahead of me. It makes me look back at her as we reach the bleachers.

"Yeah." We climb up. Luckily, her bag is right there on the first row. "I've got to go pick up Natalie and then we're going to walk over there."

"What's Natalie going to do while you work? Does your-" She seems to stop herself, unzipping her bag. Her shoulder tense and her eyebrows knit together. "Um, you said your Mom works in the afternoons right?"

"Yeah." I nod. "And with my dad out of the picture, I watch her."

With the last sentence, her frame relaxes and confusion washes from her face. "Oh, he's not around?" She looks down and starts digging through notebooks. "I kinda thought so, you've never mentioned him."

"Yeah." My tongue rubs the back of my teeth. I don't really like talking about it. "I'll probably just work weekends. My mom's home then, even if she naps a lot through them."

"Oh." Aria nods. She then pulls out a red notebook. "Here you go. The second one is geometry."

I look down. It's a three subject notebook. Flipping it open, I see the word Biology scribbled in pretty script on the first divider page. It makes me smile a little. Of course, she's organized like this.

"Okay."

"Okay." She smiles. "Will you tell me how the interview goes?"

"Of course. I'll- oh wait, I don't have your number."

She frowns at that. "Oh yeah. We never exchanged numbers. Here."

She pulls out her phone and I enter my comtact info for her. She smiles while pulling it back. I smile too.

"Alright, take a break." The whistle from the coach pulls my eyes back to the court.

"If you have time, you could probably watch the end of practice with me." Aria suggests. "They're going to get let out in like fifteen minutes."

I look at the time, then at my friend. "I can stay for ten."

That makes her smile. We sit next to her bag on the bleachers and I look out at all the boys taking drinks. I scan them all until I make eye contact with one.

Marc puts his water bottle down with a little smile and raises one hand a little. It's a half assed wave, but I wave back anyway. Aria raises her eyebrows but smiles.