39

I watched with my hands clenched as the basketball I threw for the third time hovered around the ring. Third time was indeed a charm-its desperate attempts to escape from the hoop succumbed to gravity as it entered through the net and plopped right into my hands.

"Gosh, nice job, you finally did it!" Adelynn cheered, applauding. She then raised her palm, as though she signaled for a high five, but proceeded to dodge my reciprocating hand. "But you still have a long time to go!"

I pursed my lips; why she intended to do that, I wished I knew-perhaps as some sort of a joke or something. My nerves were pricked by her actions, but I forced myself to chuckle and pretended I saw that coming, regardless of whether it sounded fake or not. I don't know Lynn can be such a prankster too...

Seb raised his arms at me, requesting the ball. His figure was small due to the distance and so with all of my utmost strength, I stepped forward and flung the ball up in the air. Luckily, it reached him and he somehow caught it with one arm; not even his entire body budged.

The men quickly pursued after the silver-haired man as he dribbled through the court, fighting for possession of the ball, but he blocked them with his back and slipped through them. With a smirk, Lynn watched as Seb jumped up high and slammed the ball on the hoop, earning him cheers and praises.

After a few more laps around the field, Edward eventually jogged towards us. Seb offered the basketball, but Edward shook his head and waved the back of his hand. Huffs and puffs rocked through him while he slowly caught his lost breaths, rubbing the dripping sweat off his chin, before he snatched his bottle he had placed beside me.

"Why don't you go and play with them, Ed?" Lynn asked, raising an eyebrow at him and placing her arms in her hips.

His response was not as expeditious as how he ravaged all the contents in his bottle, his dignified gaze cast up high towards the horizon smeared with various shades of blue.

"After all of that bullcrap? Fuck no," Edward grumbled and brushed the back of his neck. "I'm taking a break from it. I'm gonna focus more on my work now."

Ironically, I found myself surprised at how unperturbed I was. Steering clear from those triggers was an understandable decision, especially when there were familiar faces from the team. In fact, Edward had been the primary source of their attention for most of the part, Jason being the most obvious one. Thankfully they were mature enough, unlike that Alfred jerk, to know his personal space.

He seemed to have taken notice as well.

"No matter what they do, I won't be back," he reaffirmed, clenching his hands. "They were the ones who told me to scram off and so I did, for their reputation. That fucking asshole better be the happiest man alive."

"Yes, Ed, we get it, you hate your team." Lynn sighed as her gaze gravitated to Seb and the boys as they zoomed through the court for the ball. "I was saying you should enjoy basketball as it is, just like Seb. Don't let them drag you down."

He said nothing, rather his attention crept upon me when I acquired a basketball rolling towards my direction, having been abandoned by the other students. My spirits lifted up as I successfully dribbled the ball, but when I slowly transferred it to my left hand, it broke off and bounced away. I still can't do this right...

"You're doing good, Rena. It needs a lot of practice using your non-dominant hand," Edward suddenly advised as he picked the ball up and bestowed it to me. "A lower stance helps you control and protect your ball, don't bend your knees too much."

"Okay... will try." With the ball clutched in my hands, I slightly straightened my body, keeping my legs steady.

"Good, now try dribbling it."

As much as he claimed to cease with basketball for a while, Edward was the one who proceeded to teach me a myriad of basketball techniques. What got me was... they were all unprompted. I never asked, or even had the fleeting thought of asking him.

He just did it on his own accord.

Nevertheless, I accepted all of his suggestions with open arms-of course I was more than happy to. As sparks illuminated his eye, the strained features in his face slowly disappeared into the void while he showed me all the proper postures. Heck, he even demonstrated how to accurately shoot the ball into the ring.

Now this was the Edward we were all familiar with. The one who would ramble on-not that it was a bad thing-about his interests, never hesitating to further explain. In fact, he was finding his silent voice back each day. Certainly, this will also help him calm down.

However, even the warmth pumping through me was not enough to chase off the patronizing guilt of what I had committed last night. It still latched onto me, eating me out to its heart's content, laughing at all my unavailing efforts.

***

Usually gym class was where I wished time would zoom past by, but currently, I wished... it could stretch a little longer, even at the cost of my muscles succumbing to exhaustion.

After Lynn and I dressed ourselves back in our school uniform, she stretched both her legs and arms above her head and cracked her hips, making me do the same as well. God, did that feel so satisfying.

"How's your biology project going, Rena? Have you done it?" she asked as we left the locker room, meeting up with Edward and Seb.

"M-Mark and I are still working on many of the parts, we're barely halfway there," I answered, dusting my skirt off any dirt. Feels so good to be hanging out with them.

"How about we go hang out in my house tomorrow and finish up with this? It's been so long since we all met up after all," Adelynn suggested, clasping her hands together while she whirled on her heels to face me and grinned. "Get Aly to come along too, Rena. I bet she needs more than just our help, perhaps mental support too." She giggled at that.

I chuckled nervously. Aly's massive biology wreck was that notorious.

Out of all everyone's homes, Adelynn's house was the one I hardly stepped upon back then; all the details were faint and obscure in my mind. I believed I went there only once or twice, and that was because we were picking her up for our trip to the mountains and the amusement park. Well, this was finally my chance to get in more touch with her.

"Are you saying we should be her therapist?" Seb stared with wide eyes, before he snorted loudly. "Heh, I'll rather jump off the plane, thanks. The therapist probably needs therapy if they counsel her."

"Nah, that's just you." Adelynn retorted, slapping his elbow. "Seriously, can you both just form a peace treaty or something, at least try to... communicate like you're not each other's enemies?"

"That won't happen in a million years. I can't stand her ass being all pompous as though she owns the world," Seb mumbled. "She's constantly making me lose my brain cells."

Aly will probably say the same thing, that's for sure.

"You know her best friend is hearing all of this, right?" I knew she was referring to me.

"Ah well, no offense to Ren, of course!" Seb immediately reasoned. "The bad blood's just between her and me."

Honestly, I didn't know whether I should feel offended at his disparaging comments or not, but I found myself leaning towards the latter. I was pretty sure they had used every single insult that existed as ammos against each other: piece of shit, asshole, idiot, dumbass and endless strings of slanders that they could conjure within a snap of a finger.

I was so used to it, I did not even bother. On the other hand, Edward's brow twitched as he rolled his eye, although he chose not to engage with the conversation and paced silently beside his best friend, drowning in his own daydreams.

Speaking of which, now that both Seb and Lynn had both invited me to each of their respective hangouts, this was perfect timing I had been looking for.

"Um Seb, Lynn..." I quickly drew their attention and for some reason, Edward's as well. "Can I both have your numbers? I just r-realize we have not exchanged contacts."

And without second thoughts or further interrogations, they both handed me their contacts, huge smiles played on both their expressions. However, I could feel my ribs concaving when Edward loomed over me-like his gaze was glued to me while nothing else mattered. This was not the blank, impassive stare he would usually give off to his friends-this was the same stare during PE class... as though he wanted to share something.

What's he gonna say to me? Why is he not saying anything?

"I'll text you my address!" Lynn announced. "W-Where are you located, by the way?"

"Eh, um... in Euclid Avenue," I blurted out, my attention was still on Edward.

"Right, you're not that far from Ed's! Take the bus to Hamilton Avenue and meet with Ed first, then he'll guide you to my house," Adelynn snapped her fingers. "Easy peasy!"

"A-Alright, I'll tell Aly about it."

"Yay, let's get rid of this stupid project tomorrow!" Adelynn punched her hand against the air.

We eventually dispersed to our respective classes, but Edward... this guy would not stop throwing glances at me and had me fidgeting at every step. Unfortunately, his mouth was completely zipped shut; in fact, I realized he never uttered any word since PE ended. He was also the one who broke the chains of our gazes, and before I had the chance to call him, he had assimilated with the crowd that was pouring out from the doors of classrooms.

Seriously, what's he up to? Filled with nothing but immense curiosity, I journeyed through the compacted hallway, pondering all the possible answers. I think he's trying to talk, but something must have held him back.

Perhaps, he wanted to have some private time with me?

***

And as I expected, the moment I told Aly we were hanging out at Lynn's home to complete the dreaded project during lunch, her frazzled, pale face-probably from her PE class-recovered back their colors. She then pumped her fists together, her mood having been lifted back up.

And as for my hangout with Seb... well, that was for another discussion.

Naomi and Sam's teases quickly assaulted me when I explained to Aly she would need to go to my house first, then go alongside Edward. They even went as far as demanding that she should leave Edward and I alone in the bus, but she dismissed them off, much to their dismay.

Surprisingly, witty remarks were not her next responses, instead she snickered sheepishly, sticking out her tongue while she scratched her head. When she explained her reaction, the girls, Mark and I almost collapsed from our seats.

"There's no way I'm going up the mountains again if Rena's not with me, tee-hee!"

"Jesus, your sense of direction can be so catastrophic," Naomi scoffed.

And another thing to add to the surprising factors, Aly did not specifically smack Naomi-she even braced herself-for her comments. Instead, she was... all smiles and sunshine, as though nothing-not even her next class, biology-was tearing her down in any way. And when Aly hummed a random song as she finished her food, which had Naomi and Sam staring at each other.

"You are overly happy... it's actually kinda concerning," added Naomi.

"I just can't wait for tomorrow!" Aly chirped, as though the sun rays radiated out of her. "I wanted to finish that shit quickly so I could relax over the weekend!"

Naomi hummed.

"Now that I thought of it..." She turned towards me. "I can't believe it. We're all hanging out again on the weekends..."

"What do you mean?" I cocked my head.

"Us, Ed, Lynn and Sebastian, we're going back to those simple times, girl. The nostalgia is so strong on this one." she beamed. "We used to hang out a lot, remember? And it's all going to be so much fun. Although, sadly... Raphy isn't with us."

Raphael... Whenever I recalled how similar his vibes were with Edward as they shared each other's energy, I could not escape the heaviness weighing in me. I stared down at my own food as the air felt a little colder than usual; because that tragic day was all that filled my memories. I don't blame him for being missing in action.

"Anyway, I'll probably bring in some snacks, like I always did!" Her grin gradually creased into a thin smile as she patted my shoulders. "And perhaps... you can even bring in some bread too, Ed would definitely appreciate that."

Well, she was not far off from seeing through all of my plans.

All the pastry recipes I have checked out were already swirling in my head; the salted butter rolls, donuts, homemade biscuits or scrumptious muffins. Just thinking of it made my taste buds yearn for their soft texture and sweetness; and perfecting my baking skills were all that I needed. Imagining Edward-being my first customer-gobbling them up mercilessly was a scene I was looking forward to.

All of these ideas had me wanting to jump into my kitchen right this instant. If those pastries turned out well, Dad would consider selling them in his restaurant.

"Gosh, I can't be much prouder of you, Rena," Aly abruptly announced while we were tidying up our trays and bags-it was not until a few minutes that the bell for our next class would blare through the cafeteria. "Like seriously."

"Oh um..." I shook myself back to reality. "For what though?"

"Being Ed's friend. That guy seriously trusts you a lot more than before, girl!" Aly proclaimed as she caressed my back. "Not an ounce of regret in approaching him, right?" She winked.

The old me would harbor those regrets; regrets on why I would bombard myself into his life randomly, where I could have simply admired him from far and carried on with whatever we were doing. The thought of a second chance of friendship sounded like a make-believe situation-and I was fine with it-particularly with all those awkward moments I have with him because of how much I stuttered.

"If you were naive like what that idiot said, you would not have progressed this far." Aly reminded me once more of those stabbing words and I could not help but to smile faintly. I guess Florence had genuinely irked her to the core, and the determination of proving her wrong burned in her eyes.

I should be the one to do that. I can't stand myself being like this either.

When lunch time gradually ended, Sam and I quickly headed for the class everyone had always dreaded, Mr. Stooge's chemistry class. Before I managed to enter though, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Edward leaning against its doors. With crossed arms, he skimmed throughout the area, as though he was searching for someone. Right, Ed and I have the same classes throughout the whole day.

Sam nudged my hips and smirked, I did not even need to be thrown aback anymore. Then, without my acknowledgement, this woman had the audacity to vanish into the classroom-how did she manage to gain the speed of light?-leaving Edward to spring from his slouched position and approach me, and for myself to tend with my awfully loud pounding heart.

"Rena," Edward called out. "You're almost late."

"Yeah..." I scratched my cheek and forced myself to laugh as we both rushed in at the same time. "Good thing he's not here yet."

I am not going to get detention at the end of the week..

"...Are you gonna be busy after school?" He suddenly asked which had me all perked up.

"Uh, I don't have much," I murmured. "D-Do you want me to accompany you to work again?"

"I don't have a shift today... I was thinking if we..." Edward momentarily paused, as he briefly looked away for a moment, before he took a breath and peered straight at me. "...could go somewhere."