Blue Flower

Chapter 16

-Chester-

School festival came in mid-October. Everybody was busy preparing for the big event. Booths were seen in almost every corner of the school, getting ready for the event the next day. I turned out to be a spectator. I idly sat on a bench, drinking my can of coffee, while watching the people zooming in, out and all around the place.

Naomi sat next to me, bringing with her a can of soda, and her bunch of books borrowed from the library. I quietly stared at her; an image began to piece up in my mind, little by little, like a puzzle. A nerdy Naomi. I could have laughed at my own foolishness, but I knew she’d slap my head if I did it.

“What’s with the books?” I asked, and sipped my coffee.

Without throwing back my calm gesture, she let out a big sigh.

“I have a lot of catching up to do. I failed almost all of my subjects.”

I smirked,

“What?” she sneered.

“You better make it up. Your mom will surely kill you.”

She slapped the back of my head. She was looking at me, a jokingly sharp stare painting her eyes.

 “Shut up, Chester. I know you’re a genius.”

I grinned and shrugged.

“Well...”

The big event came. School festival had already started and it would last for one whole week. Fall was making half of its cycle. As Naomi dragged me to one of the crowded bleachers of the vast football field, I felt the mid-afternoon sun rays strike my face. The bag of snacks and drinks was getting heavier on my hand with every step that I take. Reese, Sam and Robert were trailing behind us.

“Naomi, it hurts.” I said as we struggled to find a fairly open space for the five of us to sit on.

“Later, I’ll let go of your hand.” She said and pointed to a certain place.

“There.”

We walked a score of steps again. This strained my legs even more. We sat on that space, and watched the preparations of two teams. Andrew had a soccer game, and we were all excited to watch for it.

Especially me.

The game started in a few minutes. The two teams did a smooth-sailing game. One was scoring against each other. Andrew was always hitting the goal, and with every strike, Reese’s face smoothened up into a bright smile. I saw it as I secretly stared at her, and that stirred an unknown feeling inside me. The game got even hotter, as he scored again. I decided to brush off the feelings inside of me.

“Having fun?” a voice said behind me.

I turned around while they were all busy watching. Michael was sitting behind me, a grin plastered on my face.

“Y-Yeah.” I stuttered, and swung my eyes back to the game.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a while?” he said, his voice was much nearer to me.

“About what?” I asked.

Everybody was cheering up Andrew’s team as the game got more and more intense. I stood up from my seat and sat beside him, without Naomi noticing.

“What did you come here for?” I asked. I knew it was Andrew, and nothing but my friend.

“Andrew. I want to talk to him.”

I rolled my eyes. He was so desperate to win him back.

“Maybe later after the game. That is, if he would talk to you.” I said in a sarcastic tone. I made it sure to emphasize the last six words, so as to dishearten him.

He fell silent, and his gaze went to the game when an accident happened. Andrew was lying on the ground, clasping his right leg, and his teammates were trying to help him. Reese had a worried look, and everybody stirred up into a heavy commotion.

Andrew’s leg was sprained, and he was being laid down on a stretcher.

“Are you okay now?” I asked. Andrew nodded painfully and looked at his leg. Somehow, a satisfied smile spilled on his face. Though their team didn’t win, he played the game honestly. I couldn’t stop myself from worrying too much. Andrew was hurt, and there was some sort of an adrenaline rush running over my body as I saw him on that stretcher. I was silly, really silly for allowing such action to overtake me. It was wrong, and I had to fight this bad feeling.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Reese asked for the countless time, while tightly holding his hand in hers.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me babe.” he answered.

Ouch.

Naomi browsed through her phone, a reward that she had given to herself after worrying too much about her cousin. Andrew and Robert were talking about some things. I pulled myself out of the chair and made my way outside.

“Where are you going?” Andrew asked.

“I have to fix some things. I’ll be right back.” I said.

~~~

I was walking down the hallway with a deep thinking. There was something behind Andrew’s accident, an untold story that deserved to be told. There was a bad intention for him, for he scored almost every second of the game.

The other team from another school walked past me. They were laughing and giving each other loud high-fives.

“Good for that Andrew guy. I caught up his knee and boom! He’ll never walk again.” one guy said mockingly to his friends.

They all laughed again, the sound of it blaring into the whole building.

I knew I shouldn’t remain silent. This was unnerving.

I turned and called him out.

“Hey, can you say that again?” I said with a clenched jaw.

They all looked at me with fierce eyes and balled fists. The guy walked near me and grabbed the collar of my shirt.

“What if we cracked his feet? Is that our problem?”

I wasn’t afraid of him, or with his group either. They were all a bunch of brainless jerks. I looked at him with the same wave of anger, and he lifted me up a bit.

“Oh yes, it’s your problem.” I said and punched his stomach.

He fell on the ground as I recovered my balance. I defended myself from his attack and gave his face a back kick.

“That’s for you, Mr. Cheater.” I grunted and walked away.

I was only a few steps away from the door of the school clinic, where I left all of them a while ago. I heard their voices escaping from that one small room. They were talking about me. I leaned on the wall to listen.

“I still don’t know why Chester worried about you that much. It’s as if you’re brothers.” Robert said.

“It’s okay, Robert, Chester and I are friends.” Andrew replied.

“Yeah. I agree.” Sam remarked.

“Okay. I respect your stand. But he might have special feelings for you. You better watch out.” Robert answered.

“Shut up!”Sam almost yelled.

“Could it be that he’s GAY?” It was Robert’s crystal-clear voice.

“One more word, Robert, and I’ll surely kill you.” Naomi threatened.

I left the place with a heavy heart.