Neteyam sat with Tsireya and Ao'nung in anatomy today, after much insisting from her. Ao'nung hadn't acknowledged him yet, but Tsireya saw him fix his posture as Neteyam sat down, briefly looking at him before returning his attention to his phone. Tsireya was trying very hard to make Ao'nung join in their conversation. "Neteyam, have you found any... lacrosse teams in the area?" she asked, kicking Ao'nung under the table. Her brother simply shot her a glare, not engaging. "Not yet, no. I haven't really looked, though." Tsireya nodded. "You know, Rotxo and Ao'nung are co-captains of the swim team. You should join!" Ao'nung grumbled something and slumped onto the table, wrapping his arms around his head. "Swim? I don't know... Lo'ak played soccer back at home, so maybe he'd be good at kicking?" Tsireya felt her face flush. Of course Lo'ak plays soccer. That made so much sense. Neteyam laughed softly. "Most of swimming is your shoulders, actually," Ao'nung mumbled. "What?" Neteyam asked, leaning in slightly to hear better. Ao'nung picked his head up, blinking hard. "Most of swimming is in your shoulders," he repeated. "Your shoulders are probably stronger than his. If anything, you'd be better," Ao'nung gestured to Neteyam's arms. The boy was wearing a slightly fitted plain black short sleeved t-shirt, with the sleeves rolled up just a little and pinned with a safety pin. Neteyam shrugged. "I'll see," he said. Ao'nung laid his head back on top of his folded arms with a sigh.
Ao'nung was called to the office over the intercom. His head shot up and he looked around nervously, getting to his feet and heading out the door. In his absence, Tsireya took it upon herself to get to know Neteyam better. "You know, there is actually a funny story about those cookies," she whispered. He looked up from his phone, grinning. "Ao ate all of the ones we made after you guys left. He didn't realize we were saving some for you. So, I made him make more. At, like, midnight, he left and went to the corner store to get one singular egg." Neteyam exhaled sharply through his nose. "And, he woke me up to ask me where the sprinkles were!" This made Neteyam laugh, his eyes squinting into his smiling cheeks. Ao'nung returned to class with a full Walmart bag. He set it on the table with a wet thud, wiping the water off of his hand onto his pants. "What's in there?" Neteyam questioned, moving his paper away from the damp bag. "Wetsuit. I left it in the shower, drying. I guess when Rotxo used our shower this morning, he didn't take it out." He sighed, moving it to the floor and going to grab paper towels. "My dad brought it to me," he explained when he returned. "Are you going after school again?" Tsireya asked, helping him wipe up the water. "Mhm," he mumbled. "Oh, can we come watch?" she asked suddenly, mind whirling with ideas. Ao'nung froze, looking at her with a tense look on his face. "Who's we?" he asked, going back to his wiping. "Me, Rotxo, and whichever Sully's want to come," she replied, shooting Neteyam a pointed glance. Ao'nung sighed. "Why do you want to watch? I don't even know what the waves are like," he protested, his voice whiney. "Because it's a nice day, the beach is beautiful and I don't think they've seen much of it yet, and you're a lot better than you give yourself credit for!" she stated, giving him a pleading look. Ao'nung snorted. "Okay, fine. As long as you guys don't distract me." Neteyam looked between the siblings nervously. "What do you say, Neteyam?" she asked, grinning at him. "I'll have to ask my parents," he mumbled, looking down at his hands. "Yeah, of course," she said hurriedly.
They were working on an online assignment for the remainder of class. The room was mostly quiet, save for quiet whispers amongst the tables. Tsireya had made Ao'nung put on his blue light glasses, despite his annoyed protests. He had asked her why she cared so much. She had simply stated that she worried for his eyes, with the extended sun exposure from surfing and the amount of time he spent using technology. Neteyam had grinned at their small argument, shaking his head softly. Ao'nung had been listening to music while they worked, loud enough for Tsireya to hear it outside of his headphones. When a girl with long red hair approached Neteyam, Tsireya noticed how quickly he had taken out one of his earbuds, but pretended like he wasn't paying attention. She tapped him on the shoulder, jolting him out of his work. She giggled behind her hand as he spun around in surprise. "Sorry," she murmured, looking at him with deep-set brown eyes. "...It's okay..." he said awkwardly, smiling a painfully fake smile. Tsireya scoffed behind her hand, disguising it as a cough. The girl shot her an annoyed look. "My name is Serena," she said, her voice soft. "Hi," Neteyam said, turning back to his computer. Tsireya kneed her brother in the thigh, gesturing with her chin. He looked up with his eyes first, following his gaze with his head. "Your name is Netium, right?" she asked. Neteyam blinked. "What? No, it's Taylor," he responded, turning his head to the side but shooting Ao'nung a glance. She heard her brother snort softly. "Taylor? But I thought... okay," she said hesitantly. "Can I help you, Serena?" Neteyam asked, not unkindly. "Do you have instagram?" she asked, smiling brightly. "Yeah," Neteyam said, turning his back on her. She frowned and shrugged, returning to her seat. The boys burst into laughter after she was gone. "Why did you tell her your name was Taylor?" Tsireya asked, thoroughly confused. "Because, yesterday, Ao'nung thought-" "No reason," Ao'nung cut him off, grinning. "I guess they just sound similar," Neteyam shrugged, shooting Ao'nung a lopsided smile.
RoRo🏊:
8:26 am: can i have a cookie at lunch 8:26 am: lo'ak said i can it's fine
(tsireya) 8:28 am: no they are for tuk 8:28 am: don't take cookies from a baby
8:28 am: lo'ak said that bitch grown as hell
Lo'ak🌌:
8:28 am: Tsireya I swear he is lying!!!! I did NOT say that about Tuk‼️‼️‼️
RoRo🏊:
8:29 am: he's lying he totally did
Tsireya sighed, smiling. "Neteyam, do you think your brother would say, and I quote, 'that bitch grown as hell' about Tuk?" Ao'nung let out a choked laugh, looking at her in shock. Neteyam's eyebrows rose as he grinned. "Who, my sweet baby brother? No, of course not," he said, eyes darting to Ao'nung. "Mhm. Sure," Tsireya rolled her eyes. "Would you say that about your sister, Ao'nung?" Neteyam asked, laughing gently. Ao'nung eyed Tsireya. "Well, this bitch is in fact grown as hell," he said, premeditatedly dodging her slap. "Tuk, however, is like, 8? So no, I wouldn't say that about an 8 year old," he finished, grinning widely at his sister. "I am going to tell mama you called me a bitch," Tsireya threatened, eyes narrowed. Ao'nung pulled a face of over-exaggerated fear, clasping his hands together before his face. "Oh no, Princess Reya, please do not tell my mother!" he begged, struggling to hide his grin. "Mhm. Right," Tsireya said, reaching for her phone. She displayed her screen to him, finger hovering over the call button next to her mom's name. "So you'd be okay if I just-" He knocked her phone from her hand onto the desk. "No!" he yelped, eyes wide. Tsireya cracked up, laughing loudly. "Wuss," she hissed, giggling. "Pick it up." Ao'nung handed her phone back, his face flushed. Neteyam was laughing quietly behind his computer. "What's so funny, Neteyam?" Ao'nung questioned, glaring jokingly at him. "You've met my mother, right?" Neteyam nodded, trying to hide his laughter. "That woman is horrifying. You'd be scared shitless of her, too." Tsireya nodded in agreement, grinning.
"Is your internship next period?" Tsireya asked, leaning over to her brother. "Nah, next period I have study hall. Internship is my 3rd," he explained. "Oh. I wanted you to bring me lunch," she sighed, frowning. "Why?" he asked, brows furrowed. "Did you leave yours at home?" She nodded. "Oh. I'm sorry," he said, looking at her apologetically. "Internship? Where do you intern?" Neteyam asked from across the table. Ao'nung's expression cleared as he turned to face him. "I student teach at the elementary school." He grinned. "In Ms. Chacon's 3rd-grade class." Neteyam's face lit up. "I think that's Tuk's teacher!" he exclaimed. "I've got to tell my parents about this, they'll think it's so sweet," he whispered, grabbing his phone. Tsireya smiled at him. "I don't know, maybe. I've forgotten their names, and I didn't really talk to Tuk yesterday," Ao'nung answered, looking back down at his computer. The bell rang soon after, and Tsireya scrambled her things together, throwing them into her bag. She put on Aquaphor as she did so. "Want some?" she asked her brother, offering him the tube. "I'm sure your lips are crispy after being in the ocean so much." "Crispy? Damn," Neteyam laughed. "They are not," Ao'nung muttered, but he snatched the tube from her hand anyways.
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