Theatre Geek - (R.B.) - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

IN THE few weeks that Julia knew Aaron, she felt herself growing closer to him. He was more of a friend than just a classmate. Yes, much to her surprise she found out that Aaron was actually in one of her early bachelorette classes, and according to him, he took it because it was an easy way for him to win a sports scholarship at UCLA by the end of the year.
Aaron was kind, caring, and practically everything someone would want in a friend. At first, Julia wasn't so sure about him and worried that he would ignore her once they reached school, but nothing changed regarding his behavior towards her. He was still the calm and slightly clumsy person Julia had befriended when she had no one. Nini often talked to her about how Aaron would look at Julia or smile in the halls in a funny little way, but she didn't believe the assumptions to be true. Julia would often just wave them off, although the naïve side of herself smiled inside, fluttering.
When Aaron asked her to meet him at lunch the week before, he instead got her to meet him someplace else.
As Aaron and Julia sat in the library on the eve of the opening senior's soccer match, the sky growing ever slowly darker; he seemed more edgy than usual. He was sitting still, staring off into nowhere while she read her book. Julia could barely hear him breathe. His silence was scaring her a little. So, she looked over the top of her novel, knitting her brows.
"'Ron, are you feeling okay?" Lowering her book, Julia inspected her friend. He shook his head and sympathy brushed over her immediately. "You'll be fine, just remember what you're doing this for, sometimes that all it takes---"
"Lia, I'm still versing the Shermer High students, it's hardly a Labrador retriever. There's no knowing how the match will be like, it's not that I'm worried or anything, but that's exactly how I'm feeling. We've lost every single game in the past against them because of those fools---"
"Stop thinking so negatively, and just remember to breathe. That's vital when you're versing your arch enemies. Lack of breath could cause unconsciousness, and that would not look very good in front of the school," Julia said in a matter-of-fact tone, not being entirely serious. Aaron was about to speak up, but she cut him off, "not finished. Where was I? Oh yes, because if you happened to faint from lack of breath, I wouldn't hesitate to tell everyone that it was because you forgot to breathe when I reminded you every single day until the game." Aaron smiled sheepishly and she ended with, "plus, I wouldn't be the one carrying you to the nurse's office. I'd just refuse."
That's when Aaron laughed. She could tell that his nerves hadn't completely gone, but to her relief, at least he was laughing. Well, it made things better, at least for her.
"Not even if I had broken a tooth, or fractured a leg?" Aaron questioned, leaning forward on his hands with an amused smile stretching across his face.
"Not even then," Julia mumbled, closing her book completely. Page 266, she thought.
"Not even if I was foaming at the mouth, evidently poisoned?" He asked. One lock of his hair was sticking slightly higher than the other, catching the light of the sun from the nearby window.
"Aaron, you shouldn't complain. If one of the other team members tried to poison you, that would admittedly no longer be a task for me to handle," Julia gave him a skeptical look.
"Okay, picture this. What if one of the soccer balls - and trust me, those things are hard - hit me straight in the stomach? Would you carry me to the nurse's then?"
"I'd tell you to walk yourself." She wasn't even sure if she was smirking, it was feeling like some joke. Her eyes squinted from the strain of trying to keep her mouth as straight as possible.
"What if I was writhing in pain?" Aaron asked, trying to come up with as many unlikely scenarios in his head as possible. Something that Julia wished sincerely would never occur, but since the boy was a senior soccer captain, anything could happen.
"You're moving, therefore you're fine."
"You are much eviler than you look and come across as," he then said, scrunching his nose.
"I know," Julia laughed. "But you know I wouldn't actually leave you there to die, don't you?" She asked, slightly concerned that he may have thought she was speaking the truth earlier.
"I know, I know, you were just kidding," Aaron chuckled. "If you did happen to leave me, I would just haunt you as a ghost. Oh, how you'd regret it!" He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind him.
Just then, the school bell rang, showing the end of the lunch period and the start of the classes. Julia shoved her book into her backpack, and only then did Aaron realize that his mind side-tracked about his original intention of inviting her to eat with him that day.
Aaron walked Julia to her next class, while he had a spare block so he could catch up on his soccer practice with some of his mates.
"Thanks for the advice today," he said as soon as they reached Julia's English Literature class.
"It's nothing, really. Anything for a friend," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow sometime."
"Wait, hold on. There's something---" Aaron reached inside his backpack and pulled out his red and white scarf that had his initials engraved in it. "Is it okay if you wear this on Saturday? It would, uhm, make me feel, er---"
Julia just laughed at his shyness and took the scarf from him, wrapping it around her arm, the material soft beneath her fingers. "Of course," she replied, cutting him off. Aaron was going slightly pink on the cheeks.
"Thanks, I just thought maybe, you know. I'm not saying you have to support me, in fact, don't support me, no, please do...you know what I mean," he explained awkwardly, fumbling with his words. Before Julia could say anything, Aaron had quickly walked in the other direction faster than normal.
Shaking her head at his silliness, Julia had entered the classroom, remembering to tuck the scarf in her bag - a misunderstanding was the last thing she wanted. Taking her usual seat beside Nini, she just smiled at the girl, and just then, Ricky had sat on the desk right in front of her.
"Nini, Jules," he greeted, nodding to both of the girls with his trademark grin. "And how are---"
"Be quiet, the teacher might hear," Nini shushed the boy, putting a swift finger to her mouth to motion that he should not speak.
Much to Nini's overall annoyance, the teacher had finished his lesson the very minute after and had assigned a small assignment meant to be due by the end of class. As everyone paired up with their friends, Julia had agreed with Nini that they would split the work and just share answers afterward. So, while it was pretty much silent at their table, Ricky was having a genuine conversation with Big Red on the table ahead of the girls.
Though Julia had tried her hardest to tune out the boys' words, her attempts became failures as they were speaking right in front of her, anyway. So, she unwillingly heard shreds of the conversation that was making the two boys so happy.
"I heard the new captain of the team is apparently a transfer student from New York. I heard that he's sick with a ball," Red said, his voice filled with interest. His assignment sheet was just pushed off to the side, while his friends' were lying on the floor.
"Who's the guy?" Ricky asked, leaning forward to keep his voice at a low volume, but it was unsuccessful.
"Uh, I think I heard someone say that his name is like Aaron or something," Red answered, shrugging his shoulders.
Ricky furrowed his brows in confusion. He recalled hearing that name earlier, but it was kind of like a blur at the moment. Aaron, Aaron....oh.
"He's probably not that great," Ricky said, grabbing his fallen paper from the ground and shifting his gaze away from his best friend.
Big Red had rummaged through his dirty backpack for a second before placing a small crumpled piece of paper on Ricky's desk. When Ricky glanced at the paper, there was an indistinct expression on his face, one that Julia couldn't understand.
"I don't think I'll go," he said, putting the slip of paper back on the desk.
"Dude, what?" Red exclaimed loudly but quieted down his voice when he heard many forms of shh coming from the people seated around him. "The senior's soccer match is the single greatest thing that ever happens at this school. How can you miss that, when I somehow afforded tickets for us?"
Julia had stopped listening by that point. It would only take a fool to not realize that Red had given Ricky tickets to Saturday's big match. She fiddled with her hands nervously, suddenly remembering the time when Aaron had sneaked in a ticket in her backpack the week before. And no matter how many times she complained about how the tickets were expensive - and good lord, those things were unnaturally so - Aaron had continued to wave off her retorts and insisted that she came to watch.
Well, Julia being herself, couldn't keep denying. It was a very generous offer that she couldn't let go of. Plus, Nini said that she wanted to, and they needed someone to go with, anyway.
Saturday could not come quicker.