I Don't Deserve Love: Alternate Ending

Chapter 54: Say "Cheese"

"What took you so long, Opal? The basketball boys' bus is probably already full!" Rosalya said with a pout and I tilted my head in surprise.

"I thought the basketball team was taking their own bus?" I said while following the other girls out into the chilly outdoors. Two greyhound buses were waiting in the parking lot and a small crowd of students was still waiting in line to board the second bus with the doors open.

"It's fine, Rosalya. We'll just keep ourselves entertained," Iris said soothingly and Rosa threw her a glare as sharp as a dagger.

"I'm doing this for you, Iris! This is your chance to get Brandon to finally notice you!" Rosalya said in a hushed tone and Iris instantly turned red as a beet.

"Rosa!" she hissed through gritted teeth, glancing all around her as if she were worried someone had overheard.

"Hey, girls!" 

We all glanced over at the first bus where several of the windows had been lowered and Dajan, Troy, and Jason were all waving at us. I laughed and we all made our way over to see them.

"Looking good girls, you pull off our jerseys better than we do," Dajan said with an easy smile which I returned.

"I wish Sato had worn my number," Troy said with a pout and Rosalya let out a loud hmmmm sound, causing Troy's eyes to fly open in shock and he quickly shook his hand in front of his face. "No! Not that I'm not happy you are wearing my shirt, Rosa! I'm really grateful!" he said quickly and Jason laughed, punching him roughly on the shoulder.

"Whatcha' got there, Sato?" Jason asked. I smiled while holding the clear container of muffins up for them to see.

"I made you muffins for a snack between games," I said and both Jason and Troy's mouths dropped open.

"You made us food?" Troy asked excitedly and I laughed, extremely glad that I had decided to get up with my alarm this morning.

"Yup! You seemed sad when I made lunch for Nathaniel back on the orienteering race, so I thought I'd make something for you all this time," I said with a grin. Troy whooped, reaching his hand down as far as it could go out the window.

"Can I have one now?" he asked with shining eyes but just then one of the supervising teachers called out from the other bus that the doors were closing.

"Sorry, Troy. I'll give you some after your first game," I promised while waving goodbye to my boys as I followed the girls to the other bus and climbed on. 

Luckily there were still lots of open seats, not as many people as I hoped had decided to come, but it meant that we found seats where we could all sit together. Kim and I sat behind Rosa and Iris and we all shared an excited grin.

"Those boys sure love you, Sato," Kim said teasingly and I smiled happily.

"I don't know all of them super well, but the ones I tutor I know really well and I love them like little brothers," I said happily, placing the container of muffins under my seat and making a mental note to not forget them.

"Okay girls, we need to come up with a game plan on how to get Brandon and Iris alone tonight," Rosalya said, kneeling on her seat and wrapping her arms around the head cushion so she could look at us easily.

"Rosa! Could you be any louder!" Iris hissed, copying Rosalya's position and leaning her chin against the head cushion. Rosalya scoffed indifferently and Kim chuckled while giving Iris a pity-filled smile.

"Umm," I interrupted as nervousness seemed to run through me. The three girls all turned to look at me and I tried not to blush. "This isn't related to the topic, but would it be okay if I called you Rosa as well?" I asked quietly.