Seen Her Year

Chapter 8

[Previously: Kevin gets a sassy response to his threat to Kayla. Following yet another ex-girlfriend situation, Aiden bumps into Kayla who kindly shares her umbrella with him.]

Do you like playing football?

Ever since Kayla had asked the question, Aiden hadn't been able to get that out of his head. The thing was, he wasn't sure if he did or not. Growing up, football was everything. Since his dad has always been a hardcore football guy - not to mention, he's their school's football coach - it was only natural that he and his older brother Michael also plays football.

His grandfather is also a football fan. Basically, football ran in the family. Scratch that, football was part of the family. No questions there. Michael played since he was young and he dreamed of going pro. Aiden was expected to follow his brother's footsteps. His dad always had big expectations for them both.

"Aiden!" His dad shouted, "Get your head in the game!"

Aiden drifted back into reality and continued practice. These days were pretty hectic for him. Being his coach or not, Aiden's dad still makes Aiden condition himself on the weekends or anytime school football had a break. This wasn't new, but this year was more intense than the previous years. Of course it was; it was his senior year and college scouts would be looking for new recruits.

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"And that was the girls' golf, girls' tennis, track and field, and our football team. That concludes our fall sport teams. Thank you parents, coaches, students, faculty, and staff for joining us for the fall sports meeting. You're all welcome to join us for snacks and refreshments downstairs in the cafeteria. Varsity jackets can be bought in our shop right outside this auditorium. Have a great day everyone!" The Director of Athletics wrapped up and everyone started to exit through the two exits.

Aiden's parents usually mingled with other football parents downstairs after the fall sports meeting. They headed to the cafeteria and his parents joined some friends as Aiden went for the food area. "Hey man."

Looking to his side, Aiden saw his friend, "Hey Nick. What's up?"

"Same old same old, man. Hey, guess who I just saw?" Aiden looked at him, expecting an answer. "Kayla Summers." Nick mouthed, grinning like an idiot. Nick was a close friend of his that he knew he could always count on. He's the only one who Aiden had talked to about his breakup with Emma and the whole Kayla situation.

"We all saw her Nick. She plays tennis, remember? Each team gets introduced." Aiden looked back at Nick's blank face, "That was literally five minutes ago."

His friend rolled his eyes. "I'm aware bro. When I said I just saw her I meant I literally just saw her." He pointed toward a direction to which Aiden's eyes followed, but there were too many people to spot the girl he was looking for. Nick smirked, "Don't you want to go see her?"

"Nick." He looked at his friend knowingly, "Stop."

"What? Why? She's a nice gal." He looked away and back, "You know, Donny told me Kevin got roasted again."

"By who?"

Nick put on a wide smile, "The one and only."

He couldn't be talking about... "Kayla?"

"Yeah." His friend nodded, seemingly proud of her. "Who knew, right? You know, she was in my class last year. Quiet, but nice, you know what I'm saying? There was this one time I walked out after class ended and I didn't realize I forgot my water bottle. I go back but she comes up to me with my water bottle saying I forgot it. She doesn't even sit next to me. That was nice of her."