PART EIGHTEEN | THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Dad was rarely in the house. But when he took a break from work, he often got into a fight with Mom. The biggest commotion was when he forgot to take off his shoes before entering the house. That was outlandish, so ridiculous.

I sling my bag over my shoulder. Walking hurriedly to the changing room, I steady my breath before pushing the door open. The changing room is packed with girls and smells like mixed perfumes. Some of them don't bother to take off their clothes in the stall, hanging around in bras and undies.

"Where have you been?" Julia asks me as I reach her by the locker. She is already wearing a white tee and shorts.

I glance at her, "Places." Then grabbing my practice attire from my bag. The same thing as Julia's but in a smaller size.

She rolls her eyes on me, "Places like Antarctica?"

I let out a defeated sigh. Julia wouldn't let it pass until she gets the answer. "I was meeting Jeremy. He left his book in my room yesterday," I say in a low voice, preventing a chance of someone eavesdropping on the conversation. Julia gives a weird smile and wiggles her eyebrow.

"How is it like?" She asks.

"What?"

"Is he good in bed?"

I flush at her question. "We didn't do it. End of discussion." I flee to the stall next to us, leaving Julia and her laughter.

*

It was Monday, the next day after our night stroll. Jeremy was serious about he waited for me by my locker. He leaned on the metal material when I arrived, hands shoved in his pocket. Normally, people would be scrolling on their phone while waiting but Jeremy just stood there looking to his feet. The fact that he still didn't use a phone was worrying indeed.

"Hi," I said. "I'm sorry about my brother last night. Oscar was... being Oscar."

He giggled and nodded. "S'okay. If I had a sister as pretty as you, I'd be very protective as well."

I smiled. "You'd be a good brother."

"I suppose," he said. We walked through the hallway. I sensed students were flickering to our direction but no one seemed brave enough to say a word. Jeremy didn't notice, or pretended not to notice. "The den or cafeteria?" He asked.

"Which one are you comfortable with?" I asked back, but my eyes on the floor. Avoiding the gaze of students passing by. I could see Jeremy smiled from my peripheral vision.

"I could tell you're not comfortable with me in the crowd," he said softly. I snapped my head to him.

"No, it's not like that," I said quickly. "I just didn't like people staring at me. It's obnoxious."

"I know," he said. "Let's just eat at the den."

"Thank you," I said. We continue walking to the exit with all the gaze following us. I was sure Jeremy and I would be on the headline of their self-published tabloid.

The following day was the same. He waited for me by my locker then we walked to the den. We kept it casual, like a friend hanging out, to avoid unnecessary gossip. On Saturday, after his practice and my morning routine with the girls, he showed up at my door. He brought a bouquet of sunflowers as he always did.

"Your brother?" He asked, stepping inside my house. I stopped him by grabbing his upper arm gently.

"Your shoes, Jer." He looked down at his shoes and to my bare feet.

"Sorry," he muttered, hurriedly taking off his shoes and placing it on the rack beside the door.

I smiled. "Oscar's working," I said. "Are you afraid?"

He giggled. "No. If he's home I'd like to greet him first."

"Sounds good."

Jeremy greeted my mom politely in the living room. She smiled and said, "Nice to see you again, Jeremy. Do you want a cup of tea?"

I silently giggled, remembering their first encounter was an afternoon tea session. Jeremy accepted the offer with a smile and a thank you. He placed the tea on my desk once we were in my bedroom. I sat on the edge of my bed.

"I finished reading your book," I said.

"It's a good read, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I said. "Did your friends know that you read a lot?"

"They knew. But never bring it up to our conversation," he said. "It's not their interest."

He walked to my bed idly. The bed pressed down as he sat next to me.

"I can see that. You're a nerd trapped in a jock body," I said. He let out a chuckle. From his expression, I could tell he wanted to kiss me. When his lips met mine for dozens of times this week I was starting to get familiar with its softness. He placed his hands on my neck to draw me closer. My hands reached the hem of his shirt, grazing his bare stomach and chest.

"Do you want to take off your shirt?" I asked.

He giggled at my ears then shook his head. "No. As much as I want it, I ain't comfortable with your Mom downstairs."

I could feel my face was turning crimson. "Oh," I said. "Yeah. Sorry. It was embarrassing. Sorry." Then pulled out from his embrace. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ears and fiddled with my fingers.

"Next time, when we're alone. Okay?" Jeremy touched my kneecap gently. I tilted my head to face him and nodded. "I didn't know your hands were so sneaky," he said with a playful smirk.

I snorted and said, "I'm not that desperate. Trust me."

"Oh," he said. "I wished you were unbuckling my pants instead of roaming my torso. It seems more temptin'. Maybe I can change my mind." He bit his bottom lip to suppress a mischievous smile.

I couldn't help to laugh and shoved his shoulder gently. "Nah. You're rejecting me in the first place. No second chance." I stuck out my tongue at him mockingly.

He laughed and shook his head. "We better do the actual homework, then."

*

Ten minutes later, we are already lining up in the field. Danielle, our coach, stands in front of us. The boys from the football team are also practicing. Jeremy saunters into the grassy field with a ball on his hand. He looks beautiful as always.

"He is so hot in those pants, isn't he?" Monica whispers to Amy, loud enough to be heard by the rest of the girls. Amy nods and stares at him longingly. When he walks past us, Amy greets him. Then he replies with a simple nod.

"Good luck for the match tomorrow," she says cheerily.

"Thank you," he replies. I glance at Jeremy to find him staring back at me. A smile creeps on his face in a split second, then back to his normal expression. No one even notices the smile. "I should get going," he says. He glances at me once again before jogs to his teammates.

"Tara-Jane," Danielle calls me. I snap my head to her direction. "Lead the warming up session."

I move forward, quitting the line. I have a strong feeling that today is the day when Danielle would announce the new captain of the team. And it brings me back to a conversation with Gwen several weeks ago. Suddenly, I feel sick.

I lead the warming up session as Danielle instructed. When we are done, she claps her hand twice to earn our attention. "Everyone listen up! I have an announcement to make," she declares.

I swallow hard. My hands and feet fidgeting crazily. Eyes fall to the grass below. "From now on, Tara-Jane will be our captain," she says with her typical smile. Big and wide kind of smile. I hear everyone on the line is cheering and clapping their hand. Julia even screams happily.

"Coach, are you sure? She is just a junior." I lift my gaze from the grass to see Amy is speaking. She looks shock by the news.

"I have been discussing this with the teachers and also Gwendoline before she moved out. We agreed that Tara is capable despite she is just a junior," Danielle says firmly, emphasizing the word just. Amy shuts her mouth. Now, she looks furious. I understand her feeling.

"That's the announcement. Now, let's continue our practice."

My feet are still planted on the ground as the rest of the team follows Danielle. Julia slings her arm around me and says, "Look at you, Captain. Loosen up a bit."

***
The idea of a creative A/N is running out. Just drop everything here. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy!
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