The Thoughts Between Us // CHALEX

Nineteen

Charlie

"Coach is still pissed." Luke informed, as he, Beecher and Jake sat on the bleachers behind us. "He just got us running ten laps around the field without stopping."

"And we are not even in the basketball team!" Beecher exclaimed next. "Those guys are training less than us."

"You should've thought about all this before pulling that stupid prank." Estela stated, as I nodded too. "Atleast you weren't suspendend like Diego."

I was helping Estela with some notes she missed last week due to being ill, and we had decided to hang out at the bleachers after school. We both already saw how Coach Kebra was training everyone on the football team, exception being me and Justin.

It has been a week since the dance, and Clay and Diego were suspended for two weeks by Dean Foundry. Diego was the only one they recognised on the CCTV footage, so even if everyone knew the football team was helping him there was no proof. They were not punished by the school.

But Coach wasn't letting them go that easily though. He already had them scrubbing the bathroom in which they had red colour water sprayed at Clay, and now he was calling each and everyone for extra exercise on the field.

"It wasn't just a stupid prank." Jake said, then shrugged. "Jensen had it coming. You should've seen him freaking out that night over a dummy. He is definitely hiding something."

Everyone was worried about Clay. That night when he had walked through the gym doors with a knife in hand, I was scared for him. No one expected Clay to be the one who will break under pressure. Atleast he hasn't said anything. Yet.

"Let him come back again." Luke smirked. "I talked to Diego. It's the senior camping trip in a week, and he is making sure that Jensen isn't getting away easily."

"Yeah." Beecher high-fived him, as Jake laughed too.

"Why are you doing all this?" Estela asked them. "Let him be. Maybe Clay Jensen doesn't even know anything and he is just scared after what had happened in this school."

"He and his friends aren't that innocent." Luke replied, then lightly patted Estela's shoulder. "You don't need to worry about anything, Estela. We will take care of it."

With that said, all three of them got up and went god knows where.

"They aren't going to listen to you." I said to her. "Coach already warned them to not do anything, but they aren't listening to anyone."

"Monty was lucky to have teammates like them." Estela replied, then shook her head as she started to copy the notes I gave her. "But at times like this I really wish he had more quiet and not-so-trouble causing friends. Like you, for instance."

Yup, let's not go there.

"And besides, Clay already went through a lot his junior year." She continued. "I don't want them to make his senior year miserable too."

I may have given her a confused look, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Hannah Baker." Estela stated, glancing at me as I widened my eyes in realization. "You must've heard about her."

"Yeah." I nodded. "When I moved back in town last summer, the trial against the school was already over. But people were still talking about it. Our neighbors actually warned Dad to not get me enrolled here."

"Really?" She asked in disbelief. "I mean, it was honestly bad, and many people from school were called in for the trial. The people who Hannah mentioned in those tapes."