A players heart ❤️

Chapter 1: The First Glance

From A Player’s Heart

The morning sun cast a soft glow over Avogadro’s High School, students moving in clusters as laughter and chatter filled the air.

Clara practically bounced with excitement as she walked beside Elara.

“Oh my God, my weekend was so fun!” she gushed. “What about you, Elara?”

Elara adjusted her bag on her shoulder, her expression calm as always.

“As usual.”

Clara sighed dramatically. “You seriously need a life.”

Before Elara could respond, a loud wave of screams echoed across the school grounds. The sudden noise made her pause.

“What’s going on?” she asked, frowning slightly.

Clara’s eyes lit up instantly. Without another word, she grabbed Elara’s hand and began dragging her toward the commotion.

“Clara—wait! Where are you taking me?” Elara protested.

Clara turned back with a grin. “Jack is in school!”

Elara groaned under her breath. Of course it’s about Jack.

“For goodness’ sake, Clara, he’s not your type—”

Her words were cut short as they reached the crowd.

A sleek car had just pulled up. The energy in the air shifted immediately as students gathered around, whispering, squealing, and pushing closer.

Then the door opened.

Kelvin stepped out first, effortlessly confident, followed closely by Jack. The crowd erupted.

“Kelvin!”

“Jack!”

“I love you!”

Some girls even threw roses toward them.

Elara blinked, clearly unimpressed. “Huh. That’s what I can never do,” she muttered. “Let’s go, Clara.”

But before she could turn away, something unexpected happened.

Kelvin removed his sunglasses slowly—and his eyes landed directly on her.

Not the crowd. Not the girls screaming his name.

Her.

Elara froze.

For a brief second, everything seemed to quiet down. His gaze lingered, curious, almost intrigued. It made her uneasy.

Why is he staring at me?

She quickly looked away, her heart beating faster than she cared to admit.

“I—I need to go,” she said, stepping back.

Just then, a familiar voice broke the moment.

“Hi, babe! I’m in school.”

Ruby walked up confidently, slipping her hand into Kelvin’s arm like she belonged there.

Kelvin finally looked away from Elara. “Hey. How was your night?”

“Good,” Ruby smiled. “I’ll see you at the cafeteria during brunch, okay?”

“Sure.”

She waved lightly and walked off, satisfied.

Beside him, Jack smirked. “I’ll be heading to class. Catch you later.”

“Yeah,” Kelvin replied, though his eyes briefly drifted back to where Elara had stood.

But she was already gone.

A few minutes later, Elara and Clara walked down the hallway.

Elara crossed her arms. “You need to stop this nonsense about Jack.”

Clara gasped. “Nonsense? It’s called having a crush! Like a secret admirer situation.”

“You’re taking it too far.”

Clara narrowed her eyes playfully. “You’re acting like you don’t like Kelvin.”

Elara scoffed immediately. “As if he likes me.”

“Hmm…” Clara hummed suspiciously.

“Ruby shouldn’t even hear something like that,” Elara added quickly. “Change the topic. How was your class?”

Clara’s expression shifted. “It was fine… actually, I got assigned a project.”

“That’s good,” Elara said. “Who’s your partner?”

Clara hesitated dramatically. “Just guess.”

Elara raised an eyebrow. “Ruby?”

“No.”

“Elara folded her arms. “Then who?”

Clara exhaled. “Ethan.”

Elara stopped walking. “...Am I dreaming?”

Clara gave a weak smile. “No. It’s a nightmare.”

They both stood there for a moment, already imagining the chaos that would come with it.

Somewhere across the school, Kelvin leaned against his locker, distracted.

For the first time in a long while, the most popular guy in school wasn’t thinking about the crowd, the attention, or even Ruby.

He was thinking about the quiet girl who didn’t care.

Elara.

And that single glance was only the beginning.