From Afar

Chapter 3

As she drove away from the parking lot, she felt tears streaming down her face. She knew that Sky spoke nothing but the truth; she blames herself of the accident so people do too. The car went to a stop at the parking lot of the town soccer arena. She went to the middle of the field, looked around the bleachers and when was sure that the place is deserted, she laid down on the grass. She stared up at the once blue sky but now was burnt orange, due to the nearing sun down. 

She sat down and closed her eyes as she takes in a deep breath. The cool breeze enveloped her tiny frame, she spread out her arms and feel the wind blow in between her delicate face. 

There was noise in the background, people talking, it was coming from the main entrance. She was forced to open her eyes, she sat up and found a few students from another school coming up the bleachers. She stood up as soon as the lights started pouring out bright yellow, illuminating the whole field. Andi walked to her car, stopping her insides from going back in and watching the scheduled game tonight. Once inside her car, bits and pieces of memories from when soccer meant the world to her, started coming back. 

She lived and breathed soccer; like the blood coursing through her veins, the skill she had naturally flow within her. She was, the golden girl, the star of the game. When she was little, she would pester her brother to play "kick" with her in the garden and on the weekends, she would beg her father to bring her to the arena to play some more. When she grew up and had her own car, she would go on her own and play alone in the field for not more than two hours. For her, the soccer field is not only the place for the game but it is where she sums up her cluttered thoughts. 

When she runs in the field during every game, it would seem as if the wind was not fast enough to catch up with her speed. She can still hear the claps and cheers of the crowd the night she last played for the championship. Every game felt like a concert, she was the rockstar and the ball was her guitar. She was suddenly awaken from her reverie when someone was knocking in her car window, the field maintenance. 

"Golden Girl!" he sounded so ecstatic, "It's been a while since I last saw you. You here to check out the competition?"

Andi gave the man a weak smile, and shook her head, "Uh, no. I stopped by earlier to clear my head."

The excitement left the man's face and mustered an, "Oh. I see. It's disappointing that you don't play anymore. You are a natural."

Andi adjusted in her car seat, and cleared her throat. 

"I think, the field misses your presence as much as you miss playing the game. It should be nice to get out there again some time, just to get the feel of the game back into your system. A talent like that should not be put to waste" the man said with a smile. 

Andi turned her vision to the pack of teenagers building up in the arena entrance. Before she can say anything, the man spoke, "It's always a pleasure to see you here. When you decide that it's time to show the whole world who the golden girl is, you're always welcome to regain you title back" then he turned and left. 

She closed her window and took a deep breath before backing her car away from the parking. 

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad, man. I mean, you were only trying to look out for her" Seth said as he took a spoonful of his chocolate cake. 

"Yeah," Dana agreed, "I think if she only knew how much you admire her." She is the student body president and has been the girlfriend of Seth for three years now. 

Sky looked around the cafe before saying, "Believe it or not, I'm just as happy being her friend. She doesn't have to like me back, I'll gladly settle for friends." 

Dana set down her coffee and stared at Sky intently, "Wow. You're really something you know that?"

Seth gave out a short laugh and said, "Yeah, he is. He's stupid." Dana playfully hit him on the shoulder, as the door of the OTH Cafe opened. Andi walked straight to the cashier. 

Sky went still for a second, causing his two friends to follow his gaze in the counter. Seth let out a soft "Oh" before turning his attention back to his deliciously moist chocolate cake. Sky forced his eyes away from Andi who was then waiting for her coffee. 

"On second thought, you can also let her know about your feelings" Dana said, taking a sip from her coffee. 

"I said, no. I've decided that a long time ago. No one is telling her about what I feel, she'll get weird and my chances of being friends with her will drop down to zero before we even started" Sky turned to look at Dana, "Let's just go, okay?" He stood up from his seat and started walking towards the door when Andi stopped him in his tracks. 

"Hi" she said. 

Sky was totally surprised and stuttered, "Oh, uh...Hi, Andi." He offered her a weak smile. 

She took a deep breath, "I want to apologize for what happened a while back this afternoon. I'm sorry." 

Sky placed his hands on his pockets and looked straight at Andi, "It's fine, don't worry about it." He turned to his friends and replied, "Well, we need to go. See you around." 

"Wait," Andi placed a hand on Sky's arm, "I was hoping we can talk a little longer? I want to make it up to you. Will it be okay if I give you a ride home?" 

Seth smiled at Dana, and gave Sky a little push forward. "You don't have-" Sky started when Dana cut him off, "He'd love to. Seth and I need to stop by the grocery anyway." 

Andi gave Dana and Seth a thank-you smile. Sky opened the door for Andi and followed her to where her car was parked. Once inside, Sky put on his seatbelt and focused his eyes on the people on the street. 

"So," Andi started, "Where do you live again?" 

Sky adjusted his position in the seat, and replied "I live five blocks from here." 

When the car started moving, Sky relaxed his body on the leather seat and looked out the window. The drive was silent; an instrumental track playing in the background. A few minutes later, Sky pointed at a house coated in brown and white paint, "That's my house". She stopped the car and looked around the neighborhood, her attention was caught by a figure in the window of his house. A young girl was waving at them; "Nice house. Was that your sister?" she asked. 

Sky unbuckled his seatbelt and nodded. The front door opened and a little girl started running towards the car exactly the same time as Sky started going down. He caught the girl and kissed her forehead before turning to Andi who started coming up to where they were, "This is Emily", he said. 

The little girl smiled at Andi; "Is mom home?" Sky asked. 

"Yes. We've been waiting for you, we ordered pizza" Emily replied with a grin. The pizza delivery arrived and Sky paid for it, he handed the box to Emily and asked her to carry it inside. A middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway and started going walking towards them as Emily made her way inside the house. 

Sky turned to the woman and gave her a hug, "Hi, mom. This is Andi, my partner for my art project."

The woman offered her hand to Andi and shook it, "Well, it's very nice to meet you. It's about time, I've heard a lot-" Sky stopped her mother and shot her meaningful looks. He turned his attention to Andi, "Thank you for the ride."

Andi smiled to the both of them, "We should start on that project. Maybe we can talk about the concept tomorrow during lunch?" she asked Sky. 

Before Sky could answer, Mrs. Williams spoke, "Why don't you join us for dinner Andi?" 

"Oh, that's really nice of you Mrs. Williams but I need to be home," she paused looking at her buzzing phone, "Excuse me." She turned to her phone as Sky shooed her mom inside. When she put down the phone she returned her attention to Sky, "So tomorrow at lunch?" she asked. 

Sky hesitated but before he had the chance to think he blurted out, "Can I have you number?" then he felt his cheeks turned red, good thing it was a little dark and Andi couldn't see him blushing. 

Andi smiled, "Sure. Give me your number and I'll message you when I get home tonight." With that, Sky gave his number and said goodbye to Andi. He waited until her car was at the end of the block before walking to the front door.