Ao'nung was annoyed. He knew none of these people would make it past the first round of tryouts, if they showed up at all. He wasn't stupid. He knew why way over half of the people who came to the meeting were girls, despite the small number of women that were actually on the swim team. He looked to Rotxo for support, only to see mirrored panic on his face. He looked around, eyes wide. He suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him, more intense and warm than that of the crowd around him. He turned to look. Neteyam's light brown eyes stared up at him, the small smile on his face angling the corners of his eyes upwards. Ao'nung grinned. "Can I have two schedules? One for me and Lo'ak." He nodded, handing him two pieces of paper. "So are both of you trying out?" Neteyam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, someone has to give him a ride." Ao'nung laughed and looked down at the pages in his hand, trying to come up with something to say. Before he could think of anything, Neteyam was gone, the back of his head disappearing through the group. Ao'nung sighed.
Rotxo noticed his friend's discomfort and cleared his throat. "Okay. The rest of the schedules will be placed right here. On the edge of the stage. My co-captain and I have to take these back to the trophy case." Rotxo turned and grabbed one of the trophies, motioning for Ao'nung to do the same. He smiled in appreciation. "Thanks, bro," he whispered as he grabbed the other two. "You're good," he muttered, looking over his shoulder. "Oh, look, there's Reya." His sister pushed herself up onto the stage, pulling the fliers into her lap. The crowd of pushy girls was quickly replaced by a crowd of pushier boys.
Ao'nung groaned in disgust and walked over to her. He stood behind her, trophies still in hand. He felt rather silly at that moment, but he hoped the people around him couldn't tell. "Oh, hi," Tsireya grinned up at him. "Hey," he replied absentmindedly, not looking down at her. "Hey, Ro," he called over his shoulder, gesturing to the crowd with his head. Rotxo came up to him, following his gesture. "Is that fucking Lyle?" he hissed, pointing. "Don't point, idiot! But yeah, I think so." Reya pulled a face. "Is he trying out?" Ao'nung shrugged. "I hope not," he mumbled. "Okay, go back to class," he shouted at the crowd, gesturing dismissively. "Don't get us in trouble. Please," Rotxo added, grinning. Ao'nung snorted and turned to make his way to the trophy case, beckoning his friend and sister to follow.
Tsireya and Ao'nung returned to anatomy just a few minutes before the period ended. "I'll text you guys the notes I took," Neteyam offered. Tsireya thanked him for the both of them as Ao'nung packed her binder and computer into her bag for her. "I don't understand how carrying this purse is comfortable," Ao'nung commented, examining his sister's bag. "First of all, it's a tote. It's cute. Look at the little flower. Second, I like it. I think it's easier and it makes my back less sore." Ao'nung rolled his eyes dramatically and stuffed his own belongings back into his backpack. "Kiri uses a tote bag, too."
Tsireya nodded. "See? It's cool. Better than whatever you have. That shit looks industrial." Ao'nung scoffed. "What does that even-" "Like you're going camping," Neteyam offered, grinning. "Camping? First of all, I wasn't even talking to you." Neteyam sniggered under his breath. "Second of all, I have to have a lot of supplies in here. For instance, I have one of my student's back-up epipens right here." He slid the pen across the table to him. Neteyam looked up at him in disbelief. "I, uh, don't think you're supposed to have that..." he murmured, rolling it back across the table to Ao'nung. "Oh my god. You are definitely not supposed to have that," Tsireya gasped, looking at him with panicked eyes. "You are both right! I am not! But, it's just her back-up. I'm sure it's fine." They stared at him with open mouths. Neteyam let out a shout of laughter and shook his head. "Ao, please return that epipen," Tsireya half-shouted. "Chill, dude. I will, I will. It's fine."
Neteyam was perusing the bookshelves of the library during their shared study hall period. He had a small stack of books in his arms, and was reading the back of one now. Ao'nung was seated at one of the tables, trying to review the lesson plan for his next period, but all he could think about was what books Neteyam was reading. Ao'nung loved reading, and used to come to his mother's book clubs. He bet Neteyam liked fantasy books. Something about his energy suggested he would like reading about a world that didn't exist. Or, maybe he was into sci-fi post-apocalyptic. Both genres would make sense to Ao'nung.
He saw Neteyam start to turn in his direction and quickly moved his eyes back to his computer. When he looked back up, Neteyam was sitting at another table, on the far side of the room. He was leaned over a book, the stack of at least 4 more next to him. Ao'nung smiled at how horrendous his posture was.
Neteyam Sully:
(Ao'nung) send me the anatomy notes (Ao'nung) and fix ur posture for the love of god
Ao'nung watched Neteyam pick up his phone and instantly raise his head, looking around. He made eye contact with Ao'nung and shook his head, grinning.
Neteyam Sully:
(Neteyam) For that comment, no I will not
(Ao'nung) lmao (Ao'nung) my bad (Ao'nung) please
(Neteyam) No.
(Ao'nung) pleaseeeee (Ao'nung) 🙏🙏
"Here." Ao'nung flinched and looked up from his phone. Once again, Neteyam was looking at him with eyes upturned from his smile. "Here," he repeated, gently waving the paper in his hand. Ao'nung took it, realizing that it was the anatomy notes. "Thank you," Ao'nung whispered, getting out his own paper. Neteyam's handwriting was small and slanted. It was mostly neat, but Ao'nung noticed that at the end of sentences it would slip into cursive in an effort to keep up with the teacher's words. Ao'nung glanced up to see that Neteyam had returned to his book at his table.
Ao'nung felt something click in his stomach as he got to his feet slowly. Something was both holding him back and pushing him closer. He wanted to know what kind of books Neteyam liked. He was scared to ask. He sighed to himself and made up his mind.
"What are you reading?" he asked, sliding into the seat beside Neteyam. "Hmm?" he asked, looking up from his book. "I said," he looked at Neteyam as he reached for one of his books. "What are you reading?" Ao'nung read the cover of the one he had picked up. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Neteyam grinned. "That one's for Kiri," he explained, snatching it back. "She's making me read the first one so we can talk about it." Ao'nung gave him a look of disbelief. "I also... wanted to read it," he admitted. Ao'nung grinned. "I thought so. I like The Hunger Games. I knew you liked the, kind of, post-apocalyptic type." Neteyam shot him a sideways glance. "How did you know that?" Ao'nung shrugged. "Gut feeling," he muttered, smiling to himself.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
