Never Too Late

Chapter Twenty Nine

Johan sat in class, working on his test quietly while his teacher walked around the room slowly and checked that no one was cheating. He had studied hard the night before since he didn't have enough time to do it in the library because of baseball practice. Sighing to himself, he realized he would have to skip practice, because of how little sleep he had gotten.

Once the bell rang, he handed in his paper and headed towards the door when he heard someone calling his name in a familiar, attractive voice.

"Johan," Ericka said stopping him. He hadn't spoken to her since the night she hinted at her feelings for Luke and he had tried his best to avoid her so his feelings wouldn't arise again.

"Yeah?" He said turning to her.

"I guess you're heading to baseball practice now right?" She asked as they exited into the hallway together.

"No, I'm going home today. I'm tired." Johan confessed, and Ericka gazed at him with surprise.

"You're going home just because you're tired!?" She said in disbelief which left Johan confused.

"Yes, why wouldn't I? I go whenever I want to. If I don't feel like going I don't." Johan affirmed and Ericka hesitated before speaking.

"But you're the best person on the team! Won't they need you? How can you disappoint them?" She spoke softly but Johan could sense there was more to her words.

"Are you talking about me or yourself?" He asked, and a look of shock and embarrassment burned on Ericka's face.

"Oh, no, I-" she stuttered but Johan had already gotten his answer.

"Nothing is wrong if you take a break from ballet practice, everyone gets tired sometimes." He told her but she looked apprehensive.

"I'm really good at it, so it's only natural to stay consistent; I can't miss a day." She said proudly but to Johan, it sounded like she was convincing herself.

"I don't know much about ballet but it does look difficult. If you love it that much, I can see why you would be so invested in it." Johan said and a long silence followed between them.

"Yeah, I do." Ericka finally said but she didn't meet his eyes, but from her body language, it was clear that her feelings were contradicting her words.

"How did you get into ballet?" Johan asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Oh, my mom did ballet when she was younger. She was almost a prima ballerina!" She said smiling again.

"A what?" Johan asked puzzled.

"It's the highest-ranking ballet dancer, top level," Ericka said, her face captivating Johan as she gazed into his eyes. "My mom's dream is for me to become one."

"What about your dream?" Johan decided to ask despite himself. "Is it yours too?"

"As long as she's happy, that's all that matters," Ericka said numbly.

"Wouldn't she want you to be happy too?" Johan pressed and Ericka remained silent.

Realizing he might have said too much, he dropped the topic and instead thought back to the test they did.

"That test was hard, right?" He asked and Ericka pepped up before nodding.

"Yeah, I don't like math but I'm always ready for a challenge." She said running hands down her uniform and straightening any crinkles that were in it.

"I feel the same, but for me, it's English. It's not straightforward like math, and it gets overcomplicated, you know, like with writing essays." Johan joked and Ericka laughed in agreement.

"I actually like essay writing, I only wished it had more multiple-choice questions like Math." She chuckled and Johan nodded. As they both continued walking and talking together, Johan realized that the differences they had mirrored the other's likes. It was as if she was the missing part of a puzzle he didn't know he had started.

"You know, with exams coming up, we have to cover our weak points," Johan said as they exited the school's main building and headed toward the parking lot. "We only have a few months left before graduation."

"Yeah, I know. Do you know what college you want to attend yet?" Ericka asked as she trailed beside him.

"Not sure," He said before pausing to look at her. "I don't know."

She smiled and shrugged before leaning against a flowering tree and reassuring him. However, he couldn't help but admire her beauty as the wind swept tendrils of her hair, and rays of sunlight poured through the branches above her and sparkled her eyes. He cherished even this small interaction with her, even if it reminded him of what he could never have.

Suddenly, a sharp, blinding pain shot up his arm, and he cried out in shock and confusion before sinking to his knees.

"Johan, are you okay!?" Ericka asked as she ran over to him and crouched by his side.

"I don't know what happened, my arm hurts like crazy!" Johan said, gritting his teeth and holding his forearm, but as suddenly as the pain had appeared, it vanished.

Rising back to his feet, he examined his arm back to front in confusion but from what he could see, it was perfectly fine.

"Does it still hurt?" Ericka asked, concerned, but Johan shook his head.

"No, it doesn't. I don't know what that was." He said, unsure what to make of the strange pain he had experienced.

Just then, Noel, his teammate and Luke's friend came running towards them from the direction of the baseball pitch.

"Johan! Oh God, I'm glad I ran into you!" He said almost out of breath.

"Hey, what's wrong!?" Johan asked, noting that this was unlike him to look so frazzled.

"It's Luke, I think he just broke his arm!" He said in a panic, and Ericka gasped in shock.

"What!?" She cried.

"What happened!?" Luke asked, but Noel was already taking off again, so Johan gave chase.

"I'm going to get the school nurse, call your mom and Dad!" He shouted back to him before racing off into the school.