_cjma Mafia Story

Chapter 3: One on One Time

You wake up feeling like a bag of bricks had been thrown onto you. Maybe you should've warmed up before smashing that volleyball with all your strength. You get out of bed and throw on a pair of grey sweatpants and a loose tee. 

You walk down to your kitchen, where your mom has prepared crepes. Yum, my favourite. You reach for the Nutella to spread on your crepe, but you stop midway. You really gonna eat that when your PE uniform looks like that?  You move towards an apple before stopping yourself. Are you really gonna let a uniform and a man dictate what you eat? Screw society, I'm eating both. You inhale your Nutella crepe and pack an apple in your bag. 

"Need me to drive you today?" asks your mum. 

You shake your head and open the front door. No way was your mum embarrassing you a second time. You get on your bike and cycle away. Quickly, before she makes you get in the car.  You ride down the hill and make your way to school. The hill was so steep, you didn't even need to pedal, speeding down like a professional racer. You hadn't realised just how steep the hill was, however, and near the end, your chain derails, sending you flying into some bushes. Ouch, you think, as you brush away leaves and branches from your arms. 

"Need any help?"

You look up to find Simon, the volleyball player, sticking his head out from a Jeep window. You stand up and look around, trying to find your bike. After a bit of searching, you find it, lying in the middle of the road, wheels still turning. You look down and notice your knees are scraped and bloody.

"Hey, Y/N, right? You look injured, hop in, I can drive you and your bike to school." 

You pick up your bike, cursing the old chains, and throw it in Simon's boot. You get into the car and Simon speeds off. 

"So you're CJ's new protégée, huh? I saw the way he looked at you during training yesterday. Don't get me wrong, you have talent. No one spikes like that on their first go. But to catch CJ's eye on the first day? Now that's talent."

You blush at the mention of his name. Why is he making you feel like this, Y/N? You've never felt this before for anyone. You wonder whether you should ask Simon about CJ. Who he was, what he studied, etc... but would you come off as a stalker? Maybe you should just ask CJ himself. 

You must've stayed silent for a bit too long, because Simon chuckles suddenly, bringing you back to the present.

"It's fine, you can ask me about him. I don't know much, but I know the basics. He's not much of a talker to be honest, I doubt even Aaliyah knows his full backstory. He's currently in second year Media and Journalism. You should see his photos, lad's got mad skills." 

Not much of a talker, huh? That's ok, I can get him to talk. You ask about his friends, where's he from, is he rich?

Simon laughs at the sudden outburst of questions. "He's surrounded by people all the time, but I get the feeling he feels most alone when he is with others. He's known to wander off, both physically and mentally, during conversations. But to answer your other questions, he was born and raised here, but his parents migrated from the Philippines. I'm not too sure what his father does, but he's obviously making enough to support CJ's extravagant lifestyle."

Extravagant lifestyle?  You sigh, you'd always considered yourself to be an introvert, so extravagant lifestyle sounded like exactly the opposite of your preferred lifestyle. 

"Maybe he pays for part of his lifestyle by working?" you ask, hoping at least he has a normal job, or something. "Does he work anywhere?"

"Oh honey," says Simon, "CJ hasn't worked a day in his life. That car? His dad bought it, and the chauffeur, for him when he got accepted into uni. He hosts parties every few months for random reasons and don't even get me started on his birthday bash. Boy has been rolling in dough since before he was born."