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“Asao! Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“A new student! Man, I hope she’s hot. We could use more girls around here who are actually worth looking at.”
I tossed the ball back to Jaden. “Jaden, shut up. Let’s finish this drill before the coach comes back and piles on more stuff for us to do.”
Every year, the same guys who were on the team last year still have to try out. A week before summer ends, the coach calls us in for warm-up drills to check if we’ve stayed in shape. Two hours of practice later, we were finally dismissed. I dashed to the locker room, took a quick shower, and changed before the others had even finished.
Jaden gave me a playful punch in the chest. “Asao, dude, let’s go check out the new girl.”
“Nah, you’ll just call me and give me all the details anyway.”
Jaden laughed loudly. “FUCK YEAH, I WILL!”
I bolted out of the locker room, glancing at my watch. Shit, I’m running late. Gotta get home before my dad gets back. I rushed out, breaking into a run. The sun was blazing, and the sky was a perfect shade of blue just another scorching summer day. I don’t know why I bothered with the shower. After running three miles, I was drenched in sweat, like I’d just gone through practice all over again. I made it home just in time, relieved that I still had an hour before my dad returned. It’s just the two of us my mom left when I was a kid. I guess she wanted a more glamorous life, and my dad couldn’t afford that. We live in a small, one story house with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s home. And home is everything.
After my shower, I went to the kitchen and started on dinner. My dad can’t cook to save his life, and my skills aren’t much better, but we make do.
“KIDDO!”
“Seriously, Dad? At least change out of your work clothes before sitting down!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll change.”
“And don’t forget to shower, too!”
“Yes, mom!”
Dad works construction, so by the time he gets home, he’s covered in dust and dirt. I can’t stand wearing outside clothes in the house for long, I usually head straight for the shower when I get in.
“What’s for dinner?”
“Mac and cheese with potatoes.”
“Potatoes?”
I shrugged. “We need fiber.” It was all we had left. I didn’t want to send him out for groceries after a long day at work..
____________
Dad was already snoring on his favorite couch, the TV still blaring in the background, when I finished dinner. I scribbled a quick note on a sticky pad, just a simple “Gone out. Be back later” and stuck it on his forehead. That way, when he woke up, it would be the first thing he’d see.
I stepped outside, taking a long breath of the cool night air. The quiet, open sky always gave me a sense of peace, like it was the one place I could think without any interruptions. I used to hate living so far from school, but since I found this hill, it didn’t bug me as much. We live on the far edge of town, in a small neighborhood with only about eight houses. It’s affordable, at least.
The town had been rebuilt after it was destroyed. Now, big mansions dotted the area, while our neighborhood still had the smallest houses, smaller than most people’s garages. I liked to climb up the hill behind our house and just look out over the neighborhood, waiting until every light was off. It was a routine I couldn’t break. I couldn’t sleep unless I did it.
I lay down on the grass, staring up at the sky, watching the moon and stars break through the drifting clouds. Just as I started to relax, my phone rang. It was Jaden.
“Yeah?”
“Man!” He sounded disappointed. “She’s a guy! Seriously, dude, how do we end up with more dudes than girls at this school? I thought they were supposed to be more women than men in the world?”
Jaden was smart, but he liked to act like a goof. By now, I could tell when he was being serious and when he was just messing around. But no matter what, he was a good guy. Unlike most of the students who made fun of “scholarship kids,” Jaden never treated me any differently. His family could’ve easily afforded private schools, but mine couldn’t.
The mayor gave me a scholarship, and Jaden is the only one who really treated me like a friend. He is my best friend. Basketball had also made school easier for me being one of the star players meant fewer people bothered me.
“Yeah, something like that,” I said.
“So why do I keep seeing more dicks than breasts?” Jaden asked.
“You could always call your Friday night hookup,” I teased.
Jaden snorted. “Yeah, I guess. Whatever. How’s your dad? Still hurting?”
“I’m not home. He passed out after dinner.”
“Want me to come hang out with you?” he offered.
“Nah. Tomorrow’s the first day of school, and I don’t think you’ll be able to sneak out.”
“Asao, sometimes you sound like my mom. Fine, I’ll pick you up at 7 a.m. And don’t even try to tell me you’ll walk.”
“You gonna be with that girl when you pick me up?” I asked, half. laughing.
Jaden chuckled. “And what if I am?”
“I’ll walk,” I said, hanging up before he could say anything else.
Jaden’s one night flings always annoyed me. They were spoiled, demanding, and exhausting to deal with. It was one of the reasons I broke up with Sabrina. It wasn’t just her I was dating, it was her and all her friends. It was never just the two of us. What a headache.
By the time the last light went out in the neighborhood, it was already 10 p.m. I got up and walked back home. When I entered, there was no sound from the TV, so I knew Dad had gone to bed. I locked all the doors, checked the windows, ironed my uniform, and double checked my bag for tomorrow.
Then, with everything in order, I crawled into bed, ready for the new school year.
Note: sentences in italics means that they’re thinking/ own thoughts 💭
