The New Guy

1. New

"Who is the new guy?"

John took a small but confident step forward. Glanced at the boy who asked. "I'm John", he said pushing his shoulders back a bit more. The tall boy scanned every inch of John before shaking his hand. "I'm Greg, the team captain, nice to have you with us!" John smiled and looked at the other volleyball players in the ring.

.....................

This was the year John was going to turn 17 and it was nearly two months left. He had to change to this new college after the christmas break, when his parents broke up. And since his father was abusive, he had to move out of town with his mother and his younger sister.

John had always loved sports, but had developed a fear of physical contact since his father had beaten him a couple of times. So he quitted the rugby and the ice hockey. Volleyball was much better because it did not involve any physical contact. He could have played basketball but he was nearly half as short as the other players, so that was not an option.

Those few weeks John had gone to this school had been quite hard. New people seen every day, new places and a lot of homework. The other school he went to before was very small, but he had barely started there until he had to move. Maybe he had a chance to meet a friend this time.

.....................

Greg organized the warm ups and the other players introduced themselves to John. They seemed really kind and friendly. John hoped that they liked him too. He started to run after the others around the hall until Greg told them that it was time to play. They splitted in two groups and started the match. John's team led with ten points when Greg called off and started to walk against the door where a tall, curly brown haired boy stood. They talked about something, but it was impossible to catch up what they said. John watched them talk and when he saw the slender boy look over to John, he immediately looked away. For how long had John been staring? He felt his cheeks turn red and went to get his bottle of water at the other side of the room. When he went back to the team Greg shouted that he had to leave and followed the boy out from the hall. The rest of the team decided to leave too and they all went to the showers.

The clock was five pm and John left after he got changed. It was five kilometers to his house, but he liked to walk so that was not a problem even though it was February and cold. The thoughts about the brown haired boy started to appear in John's head while he walked. He wondered why he spoke to Greg and why Greg had to hurry. But all he really wanted to know was who the boy was. The thoughts were so deep that John was nearly going to get a heart attack when a car drove by him. The car slowed down and the man who drove opened the window. It was Greg. "Want a lift?" John had about four kilometers left, but maybe he could get some information about the boy he spoke to earlier. Not because John was stalking him or anything, he was just curious. He nodded and went to the passenger seat.

They were quiet for a while until John decided to ask. "Who was the boy you spoke to before you left?" Greg looked at John before he answered the question. "He is the brother of my boyfriend Mycroft. Also known as Sherlock Holmes." 'Sherlock Holmes', what a name. "Okay" was the only thing John was able to say until he saw his house and thanked Greg for the lift before he went out of the car.

'Sherlock Holmes' he repeated in his head. It was a strange feeling John felt when he thought about him. Why was he so interested in that boy? He did not know but he really wanted to know more about him.

John entered his room and threw himself into the bed. It was hard for him to think about something else. Maybe Sherlock had facebook? 'Let's find out' John thought and opened the app. Of course he did not. Everyone you want to find there does not have it. Always. Instagram? Perhaps. John switched app but did not find any 'Sherlock' there. 'Why have I become a stalker?' John asked himself and put his cellphone on the table next to his bed.