Monday, November 2, 2009. TICK TOCK TICK TOCK was the sound of the clock, the only thing that could be heard in the small classroom while the teacher gave a boring lesson and the students had their eyes fixed on the clock, waiting for the school day to end.
"Ding ding ding," the sound of the bell broke the silence inside the classroom while the group of students quickly stood up and headed straight for the door, straight home or to any other place that wasn't school.
"Don't forget to read pages..." the teacher tried to say toward the swarm of students who hurried to leave the classroom as if the door would disappear if they didn't hurry.
At the back of the classroom, a person stood up to begin stretching, trying to remove the stiffness from his joints.
"They should make bigger desks," the person in question couldn't help but mutter, aching from spending several hours sitting in his small desk.
And it was because, standing at 6'7'', things became uncomfortable for someone of his size.
Finishing his stretches, Aaron slung his backpack over his shoulder while heading to the hallway in search of his friend to head to the gym.
Exiting into the hallway, Aaron didn't notice the person walking in front of him, ending up bumping into her.
"I'm sorry," Aaron said quickly, looking down to see a mane of blonde hair adjusting her glasses.
"Don't worry," Hannah said quickly while she bypassed him, trying to pass through.
"Hannah, right?" Aaron asked quickly, catching the attention of the girl in question, who slightly furrowed her brow.
"How do you know my name?" Hannah asked doubtfully and somewhat intimidated by the height difference between them.
"We share some classes," was the answer from Aaron, who for some reason couldn't help but notice her blonde hair in the front row in the classes they had together.
Looking closely at the books Hannah had in front of her, Aaron quickly read the title of the nearest book his eyes caught.
"Are you taking advanced chemistry?" Aaron asked, somewhat surprised to see that she was taking courses that were ahead of her year.
Somewhat doubtful, Hannah nodded timidly, slightly lowering her head.
"How adorable," Aaron couldn't help but think upon seeing the girl's attitude.
"Anything else?" Hannah asked, seeing that Aaron simply stood there looking at her.
"Just surprised," Aaron said, while that comment made Hannah slightly raise one of her eyebrows.
"Don't take it the wrong way, I'm just surprised that someone in 9th grade is taking advanced grade courses," Aaron said quickly, trying to make his previous comment not look bad or make Hannah get the wrong idea.
That simple compliment made Hannah's face blush slightly while she whispered a low "Thank you," this time raising her head to look into Aaron's eyes.
After that comment, they remained quiet, staring into each other's eyes in a silence that wasn't uncomfortable, as if neither of them wanted to break that space.
After that, Aaron cleared his throat slightly while starting to say, "Hey, if you don't mind, could you..." Aaron was starting to say until he was interrupted by a voice coming from behind him.
"Aaron!" it was Meghan's voice, who approached from down the hallway.
A slight trace of discomfort appeared on his face upon hearing Meghan's voice behind him. "Meghan," Aaron said, turning toward her, forcing a smile.
"I saw you in the hallway and thought we could go to the gym together," Meghan said while hooking her arm onto Aaron's shoulder.
"Who is she?" she asked, her eyes finally fixing on Hannah, who was in front of them, squinting her eyes at her.
"She is Hannah," Aaron said, pointing to Meghan who was in front of both. "Hannah, she is Meghan," Aaron finished saying while making the corresponding introductions.
"HMM," was the simple sound Meghan made while Hannah shrunk slightly, intimidated by the way Meghan looked at her.
Not knowing what else to say and feeling the tense atmosphere in the hallway, Aaron decided it was time to leave. "We have to go to the gym," Aaron said, giving Hannah an apologetic smile.
"I should go too," Hannah said, returning the smile, which did not go unnoticed by Meghan, who furrowed her brow more than usual and slightly pushed Aaron with insistence.
"We have to go now," Meghan said, dragging Aaron toward the school gym.
"See you!!" Aaron shouted, turning his head back.
"Good luck!!" was the last thing Aaron could hear as he was dragged away by Meghan and they turned the corner of the hallway.
Once they turned in the hallway and lost sight of Hannah, Meghan couldn't help but address Aaron.
"What did you want with that girl?" Meghan asked Aaron, paying special attention to any gesture he made.
That simple question made the smile slowly fade from Aaron's face while his brow slowly furrowed at the question.
"We were just talking," was the dry response Aaron gave Meghan, who was not entirely satisfied with that answer.
"Are you sure?" Meghan said, insisting a bit more, not being entirely satisfied with the answer Aaron gave her.
"Does it even matter?" Aaron returned the question to her, a bit tired of Meghan's baseless interrogation.
That simple question left Meghan silent for a few seconds, hurting her pride.
"Hmp," was the only sound Meghan uttered as she turned her head away and moved away from Aaron, implying that she was upset with him.
Rolling his eyes at Meghan's capricious attitude, Aaron kept walking forward and opened the gym doors, being greeted by the sound of balls bouncing on the court and the voices of the people inside.
Once inside, Aaron's gaze couldn't help but settle on a table in a corner where a coach was handing out team apparel, from jerseys to footwear.
That was another reason why Aaron liked choosing Christ the King: the fact that it was a Nike-sponsored school.
That meant that every new season Aaron could get a new set of Nike gear completely free.
Approaching the table and looking closely at the apparel, the man in front of the table addressed him directly.
"Name," the man said mechanically without looking up from the list, as if he were used to this process.
"Aaron Reed," Aaron said quickly, causing the man's gaze to rise and give him a look.
"Oh, so it's you," was the last thing he said before writing something quickly on his clipboard and turning around to pick an apparel kit.
Receiving the uniform extended to him, Aaron couldn't help but give it a meaningful look, feeling the weight of the team colors.
The uniform was white with dark brown lines and the name and number in gold, giving it a neat and clean look.
His gaze lingered a few seconds too long on the number in the center. "15" was a good number that defined his status.
"Pick a pair from those over there," the man in question said, pointing toward a corner where a large number of boxes with shoes inside were piled up.
Directing his gaze there, Aaron approached with enthusiasm and began to check the boxes thoroughly.
"Nike Air Max Hyperize," Aaron thought, seeing the pair of blue shoes inside the box with a futuristic aesthetic, standing out for its high-cut silhouette and improved sole for maximum cushioning and support.
"Nike Air Max Stats," directing his gaze toward another box where there was a pair of black and red sneakers with a sturdier design than the previous ones, offering more support.
"Nike Zoom LeBron VII," was the next pair that caught Aaron's attention, seeing the black and white sneakers of the future King of the NBA; they had a stylized and sharp style and with the padded interior to cushion the jumps.
Finally, his eyes settled on one last pair. "Nike Blue Chip II," pure white sneakers with the Nike silhouette in blue as the only detail of the pair; with a minimalist design, they were functional sneakers.
Passing his gaze through each of the pairs carefully, Aaron made a decision and chose the Air Max Stats, which offered him more stability due to the air unit under the sole.
"Good choice," said the person in charge while noting Aaron's choice on his clipboard without saying another word.
"Go to the lockers to change," was the last thing he said as he turned around and began to assist the rest of the young men arriving.
With a shrug, Aaron picked up the shoe box and began walking to the locker room the person in charge had pointed out seconds before.
Once inside, the boys who were talking among themselves a few minutes ago fell silent, and all eyes turned toward Aaron.
Undeterred, Aaron entered with a steady pace, feeling the looks people gave him wherever he passed.
"It's him," whispered one of the boys as his eyes followed Aaron's silhouette.
"He doesn't look like much," another responded while a trace of envy and jealousy could be seen in the look he directed at Aaron.
"He's here," said Roland, looking with fury toward Aaron while notifying Maurice that Aaron had arrived.
"I see," said Maurice, turning and giving Aaron a meaningful look as if he were evaluating if he would be a problem for him in the long run.
"Do you think he'll be a problem?" Roland couldn't help but ask with a bit of panic in his voice, imagining Aaron stealing his spot in the starting five this season.
"Not for the moment," Maurice said without concern in his voice, which relieved Roland.
"But you better step up or you'll lose your place," he finished saying in a deep and threatening tone.
At that, Roland's face paled thinking that he could be displaced in his final year of high school by a new student, especially because he hadn't had many offers to play at good colleges.
Of course, playing for a team like the Royals opens doors, but none of the programs that approached him were D1, and those that were, were very weak programs.
While that conversation was happening, Aaron finally found a locker with his name and jersey number, which Aaron opened to leave his things and begin to dress.
"Not bad," Aaron said, looking at himself in the mirror in the locker room once he had all the team gear on, giving slight hops trying to get his feet used to the new sneakers.
"5 minutes, boys!!" Artie said, poking his head through the locker room door, making those who hadn't changed yet fully change their clothes.
Aaron, already ready, left the locker room slightly excited.
Leaving the locker room, Aaron saw that there were already some boys around the court talking among themselves or practicing shots with the balls that were all around the court.
Taking a panoramic view of the court, his gaze settled on a particular person who was practicing shots.
Approaching that person, Aaron saw the shooting form of the boy in question while giving him a pat on the shoulder.
Startled by the touch on his shoulder, Drew gave a slight jump, surprised by the shock, turning to see his great friend already dressed in the team gear.
"Phew," Drew couldn't help but whistle at the vision of Aaron in uniform. "Dude, you look like a professional player," he finished saying while giving him a look from top to bottom.
"You don't look too bad yourself," Aaron gave his compliment toward Drew as well.
While both were talking, a whistle blast pierced the entire gym, making several heads turn in the direction the sound came from, seeing Coach Joe Arbitello already standing with his clipboard in hand.
"Line up," was the only word he said as the practice began.
Authors thought's
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