Apartment 2B 21:00
After that, the conversation returned to being informal and they began to talk about how the day went for each one, until Paola began to talk about the gossip she had found out at the neighborhood hair salon.
"And you won't be able to believe what I found out today," said Paola in a gossipy tone, while telling the hottest gossip in the neighborhood.
"It turns out that Mr. Martinez is cheating on his wife," she said as if it were the latest news in the world.
"No," said Melissa just as surprised, without being able to believe what her ears were hearing.
"And that's not even the worst part," said Paola with an intriguing tone, trying to generate more drama.
"There's more?" asked Melissa, wanting to know more about that matter and giving free rein to her gossipy side.
"It turns out he's cheating on her with his brother's wife." Paola leaned forward, lowering her voice as if the walls of the building had ears, while seeing how Melissa opened her mouth dramatically trying to process what she was hearing.
"No..." was the only thing Melissa could let out while she tried to process.
While both women were gossiping, Aaron could be seen with a bored face while his sight was fixed on his plate, as if this were the day-to-day routine.
"Are you done?" said Aaron, already a little tired after listening to 10 full minutes of senseless gossip.
At that, a look of shame was seen on Melissa's face while she turned her head to the other side; while Paola glared at him for being interrupted.
"Respect your elders," Paola told Aaron with an authoritative tone.
"I thought it bothered you that I mentioned your age," said Aaron, rebutting what Paola said with logic.
"Sometimes it's useful," was Paola's only answer, trying to give the matter as finished.
"Then you're not worried that you already have more than..." Aaron said, until he closed his mouth suddenly seeing how Paola glared at him; and he knew he would suffer if he finished that sentence.
"What were you saying?" said Paola with a fake smile and squinted eyes, looking dangerously at the young man in front of her.
"Nothing," Aaron said quickly, while raising both hands in a sign of surrender.
"Aha..." was the only thing Paola said, not believing him at all.
"By the way," Paola spoke, breaking the tense silence that had been generated in the room.
"Many of the ladies in the salon have daughters or granddaughters about your age and they want to introduce them to you," said Paola now with a wolfish smile, seeing how Aaron's before serene face changed quickly to one of annoyance.
"Ugh," was the only sound coming out of Aaron's mouth at this situation.
"Not again," said Aaron in an irritated tone at this situation.
And it is that, now that he has begun to mature and lose the baby fat on his face, Aaron happened to look more attractive. With a square and angular jaw, together with his high and marked cheekbones and his blue eyes, Aaron was quite a heartbreaker for all the teenagers in the neighborhood and the school.
"I don't have time for that," was Aaron's simple and blunt answer.
"Sure?" Paola asked in an interrogative tone, trying to get more information out of Aaron.
"Yes; and more now that I'm going to start training," said Aaron, avoiding looking directly into Paola's eyes. Since the real reason why he was not looking for romance was due to his last experience in his other life.
"Because you are entering an age..." Melissa began now from her side of the table, while putting both hands in front.
"No, no, no," Aaron said mentally, already after discerning what his mother was going to say.
"Please, don't talk to me about what I think you're talking about," Aaron said hurriedly, trying by all means to avoid having that talk.
"I think it's time we talked about the subject," said Melissa seriously, without waiting for objections from Aaron and with a determined look.
"Please, no," Aaron said desperately, while covering his ears, not wanting to have the talk about sex with his mother and his aunt present again.
"Stop being so childish," said Paola exasperated, rolling her eyes at Aaron's childish action; who despite being so mature for his age, could not avoid having those childish moments.
"We already talked about that at school," was Aaron's sharp answer, trying by all means to avoid having that conversation with both women.
"Yes, but it's not the same as talking to someone you trust," said Melissa with a smile, trying to calm Aaron down.
"I think I already know what needs to be known about sex," said Aaron in a resolute tone. "And not only the theory, but also the practice," Aaron said to himself mentally.
"Really?" was the question Paola asked him in an interrogative tone, not entirely believing Aaron's story.
"Sip." was Aaron's answer.
"I just have to make sure to always use a condom," said Aaron with sufficiency, believing that he had finally avoided having that conversation.
At that answer, Aaron saw how his mother's and aunt's faces went blank, as if they were processing that in truth that was the answer Aaron gave them.
"Ejem," Melissa cleared her throat.
"While protection is important, there are also other aspects you should know about sex," said Melissa seriously, trying to make Aaron understand that he could not avoid this conversation even if he wanted to.
"Ugh," was Aaron's simple response, seeing that in any other way they would have the conversation.
"First of all, you don't have to force yourself to do it; everything comes at its due time and..." Melissa began to say. A talk that lasted approximately 10 minutes, covering all the topics.
After that talk, a deathly silence fell in the kitchen of the small apartment, while Aaron tried to process what he heard in the last 10 minutes and Melissa and Paola expected him to assimilate it all.
"Do you have any questions?" said Paola, trying to make Aaron return to reality.
"Yes," said Aaron regaining his senses.
"Shoot," Paola told him with a smile.
"First of all, I can ask anything and you will answer, right?" said Aaron seriously, looking directly into Paola's eyes.
"Sure; if I told you everything that I..." Paola began to divagate, when remembering moments that Aaron did not even want to imagine or hear.
"Paola!!" Melissa shouted, this time a bit scandalized at her friend's divagation.
At that, it was seen how Paola regained her senses and how shame appeared on her face, when remembering that she was about to talk about her sex life in front of her innocent nephew.
"Eeh... what were we in?" Paola asked with a smile of shame on her face, when remembering that she almost traumatized her nephew.
"I was going to ask you a question," said Aaron, trying to retake the original thread of the conversation while pretending he hadn't heard the last part of what his aunt said.
"Yes, right; your question," said Paola quickly, trying to quickly change the subject while waiting for Aaron's question.
"What's going on between you and Hector?" Aaron asked seriously, without taking his eyes off Paola's face.
At that, Paola remained silent for 10 seconds, until she lifted her wrist and said: "Look at the time, it's already late, I have to go." Quickly she stood up and prepared to walk straight to the door.
"But how do you know that if you don't have a watch?" Aaron asked, trying to corner his aunt.
"Anyway, we already finished dinner, so I'm leaving," said Paola, opening the door quickly.
"Good night," was the last thing Paola said before turning and slamming the door shut, giving the topic as finished.
"HAHAHA!" At that, Aaron could do nothing more than laugh at his aunt's cowardly flight.
"That's not funny, honey," said Melissa with seriousness, while trying to suppress the smile that wanted to form on her lips.
"She said I could ask her anything," said Aaron, remembering the words of his aunt minutes before.
"But she was referring to the other topic," said Melissa, not letting herself be fooled by Aaron's words.
"Well..." said Aaron, stopping laughing.
"Are you sure you don't have any questions on that subject?" asked Melissa with a tone that let it be understood that she was not in for jokes.
"All good, ma; I don't even have a girlfriend," said Aaron, giving to understand that he didn't want to have to talk about the subject again, especially with his mother.
"So there is no girl you are interested in?" asked Melissa, trying to get some information from her son.
"None on the radar," Aaron replied quickly.
"Or is it that perhaps you like..." Melissa began to say slowly, trying to be as understanding as possible.
"No, no," said Aaron quickly, cutting off at the root the thought that was forming in his mother's head.
"I'm just very busy, that's all," said Aaron, trying to put an end to the whole conversation and with a quick glance, saw the clock on the wall and saw that it was 22:00.
"Look at the time it is; I have to go to sleep now," said Aaron while faking a yawn, giving to understand that it was already time to sleep.
Quickly he stood up while taking his plate to the sink, to then head straight to do his routine for sleeping, without even looking at his mother's face.
20 minutes later, he was already changed and ready to go to bed.
"Time to practice," Aaron murmured to himself as he prepared to lie on his bed and let himself be carried away to his mental space to practice.
Once recumbent and with a constant breathing sign that he was deeply asleep, Aaron's mind was taken to the same court where it all began, already almost 10 years ago.
The first times Aaron found himself in this space, he thought he was crazy and that he was simply in a very realistic dream; but after a while he realized that the movements he made when he became Olajuwon remained recorded in his subconscious and in his muscle memory.
But of course, knowing them was one thing but replicating them another. The first times Aaron tried, his movements were clumsy, as if his body could not keep up with his brain; but after countless years and training, he finally managed to replicate most movements and, as things go with his growth, he can easily reach 6'11'' or even 7'.
Another thing he learned is that he didn't have a system in itself, not even an AI or a voice that gave him tasks to improve his progress; he simply had that court and the Olajuwon template. That was all he received when he returned to be 5 years old.
But a few years ago, he discovered one last detail and it is the ability to be able to bring his rivals directly to this space and be able to practice his skills against them. Of course, for that, certain conditions must be completed.
The first is that he must have enough visual information of the opponent to be able to create the mental image in this space; the second is that he must be a player at his same level, so he could not bring or face legends or NBA players; and finally, the last one is that it allows him to fuse characteristics of one or more players to create new opponents or simulate scenarios with different opponents.
"Well, let's see," said Aaron, while he began to imagine Deandre and, slowly, on the court appeared the same boy with dreadlocks, but with a blank look on his face as if he were lifeless.
After that, he was seen performing again the In-and-Out he had done that same afternoon against Aaron. While he was doing that movement, Aaron could be seen going around him, seeing how the movement and the mechanics behind it worked.
After the 10th repetition, Aaron paused it, while picking up a ball and beginning to try the same movement. First slowly, trying to accustom his muscles to the sensation of the movement, to then slowly increase the speed.
Once he began to get the hang of it, Aaron began to simulate an old rival in front of him in the defensive position, while testing the movement in action.
Slowly he began to approach dribbling the ball, to then approach and try to perform the In-And-Out, but he lost the ball against the rival.
After that, a concentrated look was seen on his face, to then invoke Deandre again and watch with attention the movement once more.
"So the elbow is placed like this, along with the knee," Aaron muttered, detecting the flaws in his previous execution, while again beginning to try the movement.
So he spent the whole night in that space practicing, until a sound from the outside pulled him out of his trance to then slowly get up.
With a lost gaze and still recovering his senses, his hand went instinctively to his phone to turn off the alarm.
After that, focusing his sight, Aaron directed his gaze towards the screen to see the time.
His face reflected surprise as soon as he saw that it was 7:20 Am and that he was late for high school.
"Shit, I'm going to be late!" was the last thing Aaron said, getting up suddenly from the bed.
Authors thought
What did you think of today's episode?