The time was 12:09pm. Philip and the others had been searching for Lucas ever since he left the canteen during the lunch break. Philip wondered why Lucas was beginning to have anger issues lately and decided to have a private conversation with him whenever he saw him.
Lucas on the other hand was at the old library. He had been sitting on the floor in the middle of two book shelves, biting his long nails so as to shorten them. His eyes were normal and his breath was steady. His palms on the other hand were becoming normal but the nails were still the same. Lucas checked the time in his wristwatch and was startled when he saw the time. He had been away from public stare and atmosphere for some hours now. He sighed heavily as he stood up from the floor and wore his uniform again. He paced up and down as he bit his nails with a little haste. He then began to talk to himself.
"You're a demon Lucas,you might even be the devil! Who knows? You just have to learn to control your emotions. Just control your emotions! With time, this phase of your life will stop and everything will be back to normal!" He said to himself. Just then, he looked at his nails and noticed they were back to normal. A wide smile beamed on his face. "That was quick". He said as he dashed out of the library.
Lucas walked through the hallway of the school as he tried not to look at the students that were there. He kept his gaze fixed down and walked quickly, heading to his classroom. Just then, he bumped into someone. He raised his head to look at who he had bumped into and saw Philip standing in front of him. A faint smile beamed on his face.
"Come with me!" Philip commanded as he walked to a corner of the hallway. Lucas then walked up to him slowly.
"What's good?" He asked as he looked at Philip.
"What's good? That's all you have to say?" Philip asked.
"What do you want me to say? Sorry? Huh?" Lucas asked almost angrily. Philip was quiet for some time. Then he spoke.
"Bro what's going on with you? You've been getting angry at little things lately". He said.
"Nothing's wrong with me. I'm fine! Don't just like Gabrielle". He replied.
"Why? Don't get pissed off at such a harmless question!" Philip said.
"I can't really put it in words as to why I hate her or something, but her name, her face, her physique, her voice, damn! They irritate me!" He replied in a sassy tone. Philip was quiet.
"Understood". Philip said as he turned to go. Lucas sighed.
"Philip wait". He said as he placed his hand on Philip's shoulder. Philip then turned to look at him.
"What?" He asked.
"I'm sorry about earlier. Shouldn't have gotten angry like that". Lucas said.
"Something's off about you, the moment I find that out by myself, I'll know what to do about your anger issues, for now, it's all good". Philip said with a faint smile on his face. Lucas sighed.
"Cool". He replied in a low tone.
"The others have been looking for you though. Guess you owe them an explanation and an apology". Philip said as he walked away. Lucas sucked his teeth.
"Hi Lucas". Some girls said in unison as they winked at him and walked away. Lucas scoffed.
*********
It was time for basketball practice. Lucas had been warming up at a corner of the basketball arena with different thoughts in his head. He hadn't talked to the others after having a conversation with Philip. He felt like he was too demonic to apologise for an unintentional act. Bryan, the team's captain then walked up to him, assisted by two other guys. Lucas sucked his teeth at the sight of them.
"Sup 10?!" Bryan said as he pushed Lucas shoulder softly. Lucas arched a brow.
"What do you want?" Lucas asked. The other guys scoffed. Philip who was standing afar watched the guys talk.
"No greeting to your team captain?" Bryan asked as he smirked. Lucas was quiet.
"I don't have time for this today!" Lucas said as he walked to another corner. The guys walked up to him again. Lucas sucked his teeth.
"I hope you're ready for today's practice? Because I'm gonna beat you and your team's ass at the practice!" Bryan said as the other guys laughed.
"Bro let me be!" Lucas said as he looked at Bryan in the eyes. Philip then rushed up to them.
"Sup boys?! Guessing you guys need to warm up too! Great, I'll take Lucas with me then!" He said as he pulled Lucas along with him and went back to where he was standing.
"He's so lucky you came, I would have taught him a lesson!" Lucas said to himself as Philip sat him down on one of the benches.
"The sooner you tell me what's popping with you, the better for us! You've been acting weird since morning!" Philip said.
"Bro I'm fine! Wanna babysit me?!" Lucas asked in a loud tone. The other guys in the arena looked at him for some time before continuing with what they were doing.
"Lucas!" Philip said almost angrily. Lucas sighed.
"I'm sorry, sorry about that, but nothing is wrong with me, real talk!" Lucas said as he scoffed.
"There's no sense of truth in what you just said". Philip said.
"Okay. Good for you". Lucas said. Just then, the assistant coach blew the whistle.
"Huddle up boys!" Mr. Henry said
The boys then rushed up to him and formed a circle.
"I'm sure y'all are aware of our game coming up in two weeks?" He said.
"Yes sir!" The boys said in unison. Then, they were quiet.
"We need to play smart and strong and for that, we'll have practices like never before! Y'all will sweat and work your asses off so as to win our opponents and bring victory home!" He said.
"Yeahh!!" Some boys said in unison happily as they clapped. Philip and Lucas sighed.
"Alright, we're running a full court scrimmage today. Two teams, one court. Play hard like it's a real game!" The coach said.
"Yes sir!" The boys said.
In less than five minutes, they all split into two separate teams. Lucas and Philip were on the same team. Bryan who was on the other team then walked up to Lucas. Lucas sucked his teeth.
"We're gonna beat your asses ten!" He said with a smirk on his face. Then, he went to the other side of the court. Lucas frowned his face. He was hell bent on beating Bryan's team. Philip then ran towards Lucas breathing heavily.
"Bash whatever he said". He said as he ran back to his spot.
The boys were standing in their positions, waiting for the whistle to be blown. The air inside the arena was warm and thick with anticipation and the sharp smell of polished wood and sweat. Lucas wiped his hands on his shorts, still standing in his position. Across from him stood Bryan with a cocky grin plastered on his face. Bryan leaned in slightly.
"I await your team's loss ten! My team's taking this one!" He said as he smirked. Lucas scoffed.
Mr. Henry's whistle pierced the tension.
"Center court, let's go! Lucas, Bryan. Jump ball!" He said in a loud tone. The arena quieted as both players stepped into the circle. Mr. Henry held the ball in one hand and blew the whistle.
The ball soared upward. Lucas launched higher, leaping the ball to one of his teammates.
"Let's move!" Lucas shouted already sprinting down the court.
The scrimmage exploded into motion. Sneakers pounded, players yelled and passes sliced through the air. Bryan and his teammates played aggressive but Lucas and his teammates played smartly, crisp passes, tight defense and fast breaks!
Midway through the game, Bryan threw a three-pointer and threw his hands up.
"That's how it's done!" He said in a loud tone with his gazed fixed on Lucas who was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.
With under a minute left and the game tied, Lucas stole the ball near half court. He dashed forward, weaving through two defenders from Bryan's team with his heart pounding heavily. He faked left, stepped back and launched a shot just inside the arc. Th ball said, swing and swish! The arena erupted! Bryan's team scrambled but the buzzer went off before they could answer. The game was over! Lucas and his teammates had won the scrimmage.
Lucas rushed up to Bryan laughing.
"Seems like you and your teammates need some more work to do!" He said. Bryan frowned his face angrily. Then, he walked to the bench and sat on it as he took his water bottle from his bag and drank the water that was in it.
Mr. Henry clapped his hand from the sideline. "That's the kind of energy your coach and I want from every flipping game!" He said happily.
Lucas jogged back to his teammates as they shook hands. The sting of sweat on his brows felt more like victory than exhaustion.
"Someone's happy". Philip said as he handed a bottle of water to him.
"For real bro!" Lucas said as he smiled.
"That's good". Philip said as he walked away, heading to the locker room.
"Hey Bryan!" Lucas shouted from where he stood. Bryan who was still sitting on the bench looked at him angrily. "Better luck next time!" He added as he smirked and walked out of the arena into the locker room.
"Ooohhh!" The other boys in the arena said as Lucas left the arena.....