Mary Mae and the Boys

Chapter 2

"Here," Mary Mae handed Zach the peanut butter portion of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich while he handed her his jelly portion. It wasn't that she was allergic to peanuts or anything, she just didn't like the taste of peanut butter.

"Do you want to go bowling after school? Luka and Brian and a few of the guys are going, they said they wanted you to come."

"Yeah," Mary Mae blissfully bit into her jelly-jelly sandwich as Zach watched her carefully.

"So, have you met the new guy?" Zach asked, curiosity getting the best of him as he took a sip from the chocolate milk in front of him while the rest of the boys took their seats at the table.

"Who? Gilbert?" Mary Mae asked.

"Yeah, was that the guy talking to you after history today?" Zach asked.

"Well, aren't you curious today." Mary Mae teased. Zach didn't even laugh. "What about the new guy?"

"What new guy?" Brian took a seat beside Mary Mae, snatching the apple off her lunch tray and taking a huge bite.

"Bry, I was planning on eating that." Mary Mae whined, taking the apple off of his tray and biting into it.

"His name is Gilbert, he's pretty chill, he's in my bio class." Luka said, taking a bite of his burger.

"I heard he moved here from Wisconsin." Another one of the boys seated themselves beside Mary Mae as she quietly ate her lunch. They discussed the topic of the new guy for a couple more minutes. And as quickly as the conversation started, the topic changed to the party on Saturday.

"Heck yeah," Luka's gray eyes glistened. "Rita is going to be there and you can all just guess what'll happen!"

"You'll stand there like an idiot and not know what to say?" Zachary said, grinning like a fool.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mary Mae spotted Gilbert, sitting at a table with a couple of the boys that played basketball. She wondered if he would be joining the team this year; she had yet to miss a game and his presence would make the view all the more enticing to watch.

He glanced at her, noticing her stare as he smiled. She smiled back. He may be just another pretty face, but he was straightforward and made his intentions very clear. She kind of wished he had wanted to be her friend first though.

Gilbert stood up and walked over to their table.

"Hey, I heard you guys are on the basketball team, I'm Gilbert." He grinned, his eyes focused on Mary Mae. And in that moment, Mary Mae realized why he had made friends so quickly. He was open and friendly, and overall seemed like a happy person, and to top that all off, he was handsome and not shy.

"Yeah, varsity champs for three years and counting!" Luka roared as pride covered his features.

"Damn! That's awesome man! I wanted to know if any of you knew when tryouts are."

"Next month bud, but don't bother unless you're good enough for the NBA because all the varsity spots are filled." Zach said, a grimace on his face as the boys nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good, let's wait for the coach to decide that though man." Gilbert said, almost hostile as Zach glared at him. It was silent, but for whatever reason, they held an instant dislike toward one another.

"If you're trying to train, we're playing a couple games tomorrow night at the gym. You're welcome to join." Brian chipped in, his mouth covered with Cheetos powder.

"I'll be there, just give me the details whenever." Gilbert said. Then he turned his attention to Mary, "will you wait for me after school today?"

She nodded wordlessly, still confused why a Greek God was speaking to her. He grinned and walked back to his table.