The mildew of rancid sweat welcomed me as I entered the door of the boys' locker room. The odor was from the basketball players of Westdale and Central High School. They are changing out of sports uniforms into their ordinary clothes to head home.

I took my place on an empty bench near my locker, inches away from Landon's and a few other friends.

Several other boys fumbled inside the locker room, howling loudly in either victory or frustration. At the game today, our team won by a few points to Central. Maybe it was a little repulsive since Central is our hugest rival out of all the district's high schools.

Nearly everyone who attends our school seemed happier about it than us players. On my way to the locker room, I saw students bump each others' fists, the coaches of various sports teams perform high fives, and our principal doing a festive dance in the middle of the court.

My favorite part of the game was not winning. It was the support after that made me feel gracious inside and out. Today, the support I mainly got was high fives and pats on my back. However, there was one thing that sparked all my attention from everything else.

It was from a girl who had the spirit to thank me for getting her a ticket to the game. It was Rose, the person I've been right about all along.

"That girl you were talking to earlier seems friendly," Elijah Walker admitted truthfully, glimpsing up at my face as he slipped off his sneakers.

"Yeah, I'm surprised she offered to pay you back. Usually, all the other girls would do the opposite." Landon Archer appended, his caramel-colored eyes focused on the dark red shirt clenched in his hands.

He did have a point. Often, I would pay for snacks, game tickets, and other things for someone, specifically a popular girl. They'd never say anything about paying me back in return. Not that I cared about receiving anything back anyway.

"I know," I replied deliberately, "She's nicer than most girls in our clique."

"You said it," Elijah declared, nodding his head in agreement.

"Mhm," My voice trailed off.

I let out a huge sigh as I hurriedly foiled on a cleaner set of clothes, the same ones I wore to school today. My dark red t-shirt, jeans, and Air Jordans were enough to blend in with the outdoor brick walls of the school building.

After stuffing my basketball uniform into my locker, I closed it shut as I waited for my friends to finish. Landon and Elijah were both replacing their uniforms with their usual clothes to head home.

"It looks like we're all done." Elijah whistled to himself, slamming his locker door shut as he tossed his backpack on his shoulder.

"We are." Landon added, motioning us to the door, "Let's go, guys."

One-by-one, we shuffled out the door of the locker room. We made a beeline for the back exits of the main gym. Since the other entrances were packed with people like sardines in a can, we have no choice but to head out here to get home quicker.

The sun shone vividly as it fell, blending in with the multiple pastel tints of the sky. The red brick of the school stood high against the sky with the feeling of dignity, especially since we had won the game against Central. I couldn't help but crack a smile to look back at our victory.

When the three of us reached the back entrance of the school, we headed for our separate ways, instead of getting a ride from our parents.

My parents, unfortunately, couldn't attend the game, despite how much they wanted to. They both had work plans. It's not that I don't mind that they didn't come. It feels nice to have them watch me play after plenty of practice.

My shoes brushed against the hard, cement sidewalk. My house is only a few blocks away from the school, so it wouldn't take long for me to get home. I passed Redbridge Street and Third Avenue, which led to the street where my house stands. As I continued to walk, I saw the lights inside of homes turn on, shining through the empty spaces that the curtains of their windows left. The sun began to get fainter with every moment that passed. I walked to the front porch of my home, fortunate that I did not have to walk through complete darkness.

I fished my house keys out of the front pocket of my backpack, fumbling it through the keyhole to open the door.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home." I called out the moment I reached inside, examining my surroundings to see where they were.

They were nowhere in sight, but I could hear their inaudible conversation as they rushed from the living room to the front area.

"Tyler!" Mom squealed like an energetic toddler while squeezing my hand, "You're here! How was the game?"

"Hey, Champ. Did you do great at the game?" Dad challenged with a bright grin.

"The game was good. To our surprise, we won against Central by a few points." I informed them, gaining an astonished yet proud look from Dad and a gratified look from Mom.

"Really?" Dad cheered in unison, "That's amazing, son."

"It is." Mom added, her smile growing broader, "Dinner is almost ready. Go put on something else to wear so we can eat together."

"Thanks, I'll be down by then." I acknowledged, my face lighting up as I jogged up the flight of stairs.

I'm happy that today, we'll get to eat together. Usually, when my parents have to work late, I have to eat alone, with no one to keep me company.

My bare feet brushed against the tan, plush carpet on the floor as I entered the door of my room—my solace. I turned on the lamp on my left nightstand, providing artificial light at a small portion of the dimmed room.

I set down my black, heavy backpack at the edge of my bed as I scurried to my closet to find something comfortable to wear. After choosing my favorite black jeans and a grey shirt to match, I took them to the bathroom to wear after a short shower.

After about twenty minutes, I wandered downstairs to the dining room, following the delicious smell of food.

"I made your favorite meal—lasagna!" Mom chimed while holding up the aluminum container to set on the table as I stepped inside the dining room.

I could smell the delicious aroma more than anything else laid on the table to eat. Lasagna is something I'd prefer over anything else in the entire world to eat. To me, I only ate it occasionally, rather than all the time. But no matter what, I always adored the meal.

"Thank you so much, Mom." I acknowledged, plopping myself into a chair, "This looks great."

"He's right. It looks delicious, honey." Dad added, gazing at the lasagna with joy.

"I'm sure that it is." Mom gleamed with a pleased smile, "Let's dig in."

I cut three slices of lasagna and set them onto each of our plates with a bright grin. Next, I dipped a spoon into a bowl of string beans on my glass plate.

Today has been quite an incredible day. Not because our team won the basketball game or I get to eat my favorite meal of all time. It is because I'm starting to see that Rose isn't shallow, like most people I know.

***

The endless number of muffled conversations and locker doors slamming echoed through the corridors of the school. Students scurried up and down stairwells while stopping at spots to have quick discussions with friends.

I am trying my best to make it to math class in time with Landon without having to start a group conversation with strangers who adored me or friends of all kinds. Because our team won the game last night, I'd get three times more attention than ever.

"Remember, don't stop by to talk with people. We need to get to class as soon as possible," I whispered to Landon, nudging his arm with my elbow.

He threw me an informed look, his eyes rolling playfully. "I know, I know. We will avoid them as much as possible."

"Great," I stated, my lips puckering into a grimace as a few students snapped a few pictures of us on their phones.

While letting out an enormous groan in disappointment, I quickly escaped out of the hallway into the warm yet tedious environment of Ms. Jennings' classroom. My seat is at the far right side of the classroom in the back, where anyone would think that I wouldn't get noticed there.

Because of who I am and my reputation, that's nearly impossible for me.

I slumped into the dark blue chair of my desk. Fortunately, it didn't have a puddle of water or chip crumbs on it.

Today would be a long day.

***

My head started to hurt as I casually walked out of math class for lunch. Ms. Jennings made us answer grilling math questions the whole period, which was not pleasant. Math has never been my favorite subject in school. It's not that I'm doing horrible in that class—I'm doing exceptional. Maybe it is the endless amount of numbers that made me dislike it.

I let out a muffled sigh as I made a beeline to the gym and out the back doors. It leads to the bleachers of the football field. I plopped myself down on the hard, green grass under the bleachers, where my closest friends and I meet up and chat like regular people.

I decided not to buy any lunch today, mainly because I don't have the energy to face hundreds of people who'd probably want to take a selfie with me in the crowded corridors—and even worse, the cafeteria. Taking selfies with strangers is not what I want to do. I want to be like a normal person—who does not have to worry about being surrounded by multiple people who adore them.

I swigged down a bit of my crisp bottled water, gazing at the football players throw the ball from person to person. At least I wasn't the only one who decided to skip lunch today.

"Tyler," Elijah Walker started in a stern voice, "Are you not going to get any lunch today? You need to eat."

His piercing blue eyes were icier than a frosty glacier. Based on how long I've known him, he isn't doing this to nag me. Whenever he tells someone to do something good for them, he's only concerned—like a real friend.

I frowned, gesturing to the half-empty water bottle next to my lap. "No thanks. Plus, I already have water. It should be enough," I grimaced.

"That water is not enough to keep you full." Landon stated gravely, picking up a granola bar from his tray, "Here, you can have my granola bar."

"Thanks, I guess." I acknowledged, carefully grabbing the bar out of his hands.

I unraveled the wrapping of the bar, inserting a piece of it into my mouth—relishing every bit of it. I never knew that a plain granola bar could taste so good. Maybe it is because I feel hungry. There can't be any other reason why.

"So, do you guys have any plans for today?" Elijah queried, breaking the expanding secrecy among us.

"Not much, Eli." Landon grunted, his shoulders shrugging neutrally, "There's no practice today, so just homework."

"Same for me," I responded bluntly, swigging down the last bits of my water.

"In that case, same." Elijah groaned through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese.

The creamy, yellow cheddar cheese stuck to the macaroni lured me as if it was calling out my name in a heavenly melody. Rarely, I prefer school food over anything else—but since I felt hungry, I felt the opposite.

Elijah and Landon are right—I do need to eat, so I don't starve for the next few periods. Perhaps I should be like a ninja by quickly getting my food and leaving the lunchroom. But now, there is no point in that. Our lunch period would be over in about fifteen minutes, hardly giving me the time to eat. After all, it would take a while to get to the lunchroom from the football field.

I let out a huge breath, attempting to get myself together. I plastered a smile across my face, covering up my starved appearance. My friends weren't buying it one bit.

"I'm going to buy you something from the vending machine on our way to our next period." Elijah sighed, nodding his head from side-to-side in objection, "I will not let you sit here and not eat."

"Yeah, I agree." Landon crossed his arms, his frown fading into a pensive expression.

"I could buy snacks myself, but fine." I gave in, feeling defeated.

Sooner or later, I'll have to find a way to get lunch without being welcomed by mobs of people. It's not that I hate attention—I dislike it.