Chapter 24 - Game Night Rumours

Right now, he was so angry he could kill Ron. You don't use violence except in self-defense or the defense of another. He was so angry. He felt moisture on his cheek and wiped it away.

A hand pulled him back and he noticed that Thoko had been yanked back as well. She pulled an earbud out of her ear looking annoyed at Bryan. Bryan smiled at both of them.

"Slow down. You guys will burn out before we even hit the track at this pace. It's not the 100-yard dash at the Olympics. We need to keep it together for the game tonight." Bryan teased.

Thoko looked sheepish and Will nodded. By the time they got home, they had just enough time to grab a shower then head to school. When they got to school Will placed a hand on her waist and guided her to the café. Bryan grinned. Not many people came to breakfast but a few students could be seen taking off their grey overcoats and grabbing breakfast.

"Mrs. M, you should eat." Will walked her to the short line.

Teachers were given first preference in lines at HSE. Principal Smith made it clear, often at assembly, that while their money got them into the school it was the teachers who turned them into decent human beings. As seniors and sportsmen, Bryan and Will also managed to get away with jumping the line.

It helped that it was a group of freshmen girls in line too. They were flattered that Bryan even bothered to ask if they minded. Which of course they didn't; he was cute, friendly, and charming. What was not to love about him?

By lunchtime, the rumor was buzzing across the school. Lavender Cross, the American History teacher, pulled Thoko aside as students rushed to the Café for the first lunch period. It was almost like walking against a tide.

"Hey, Ven. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Musa, you've barely been here a month and you're all over the rumor mill!" Lavender stage whispered as they walked to the Café. Thoko rolled her eyes. She could feel Lavender's purple eyes watching her as they made their way through the throng of uniformed students to the Café.

"What did I do now?"

"Rumour has it that your husband is jealous that you took the B-Boys to dinner and not him last night."

"B-Boys?" Thoko asked dryly.

"Bryan and Billy of course!" They walked into the Café; it stopped functioning. Everyone stopped to look at Thoko and Lavender who sat down at a staff table.

A waiter came to take their order. The ladies ordered and their food arrived in minutes. The waiter didn't come back with a card machine and Thoko shrugged it off.

Staff had a monthly limit on their staff cards as a benefit of being on staff. No one had ever gotten close to reaching the maximum although some of the first teachers had tried. Students either paid cash or had pre-paid accounts.

"So, is it true?" Lavender's eyes watched Thoko's face carefully.

Thoko laughed. "No, it's not true, sorry."

Lavender pouted, "None of the rumors about you are true! Why is the grapevine always so wrong about only you?"

Thoko paused in her eating to look at her colleague. "Only me? Honey, Ronald is angry because dinner at Giuseppe's was three k."

Lavender choked on her Caesar salad. "You went to Giuseppe's with the B-Boys? You weren't in any of the pictures! You're the friend whose birthday Giuseppe's wife came out dripping in gold to see? Who are you?"

Thoko sighed, "Would you believe me if I told you?"

Lavender's eyes opened wider. "Who are you?" She whispered.

Thoko smiled. "Just an average woman. Now eat up. I feel like a circus freak with all these kids staring." Thoko had already polished off her tuna melt that she'd pre-ordered at breakfast.

She was making good work of eating her pumpkin pie with relish. Lavender kept stealing glances at her. Thoko called a waiter over. "Hi. Do you guys have vanilla ice cream?"

"At the moment we have Devonshire ma'am." The young man replied.

"Excellent. I'll have that. Two scoops please."

The waiter bustled off. The wait staff at HSE wore the standard black trousers with white shirts with the school colors on the cuffs and collar and hems (on the trousers and skirts). The waistcoats of the wait staff also alternated between grey and ruby red.

"What on earth cost three k?" Lavender asked.

"Giuseppe's ego." Thoko snorted. "I don't know, Ven. I'll call him and ask." The waiter placed a bowl of ice cream before her.

"You have his number?" Lavender squeaked.

Thoko nodded and ate. "He's married to my friend. He is my friend. That's how I got the reservation. We need to get going."

"How do you stay slim and eat as you like?"

"I run with a footballer every morning. Except for Sunday and some Saturdays."

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Bryan watched Will stare off into nothing. He waved a hand in front of Will's face. Will looked across at his friend and smiled.

"A million for them?" Bryan asked unsmilingly.

"He almost hit her. I don't know if I can live with myself if he does."

Bryan sighed and stood. He pulled Will up with him. They walked away from most of the students in the Café's outside eating area.

"You will. We'd kill him before he got another chance." Bryan looked at his friend. "I told him so."

Will looked panicked for a second. "And he didn't do anything to you?"

'Will, any guy who hits a woman is not likely to hit a man bigger than he is. Ron's lean but this is season time. I've got at least 25 pounds on him and 4 inches. I train regularly. Need I continue?"

"We can't kill him. She loves him."

"Maybe you can't." Bryan frowned darkly. For some reason, Ron just really pissed him off.

Will smiled. "I can't. That would be wrong…really, wrong." He grinned, but it sure sounded like instant justice.

"Hey, Bryan." A leggy black-haired girl came up to them smiling. Her grey uniform skirt was just barely long enough to be standard. Her white blouse was probably a size small. Her green eyes appreciatively looked Bryan up and down.

"Hey, Jessica. Now's not a good time."

Her smile faltered. "Okay…should I text you about the English term paper?"

"Uh, no; I'll call you. I'll be on campus this weekend so talk to your dorm supervisor about when would be good and let me know when I call."

Her smile returned. "Coolies," She waved and left.

"Are you okay? A horny, teen, female just begged for your attention and you brushed her off?" Will put his hand to Bryan's forehead.

Bryan laughed. "I was thinking…while I haven't been the most immodest teen male- what if when I meet "the one" she's been around the block more or as much as me?" Bryan took a deep breath.

"I think I'd actually be hurt soo...since karma is such a lovely doll let me not tick her off and do things I'll regret later. That speech you gave me when we were training on Sunday got to me."

Will blushed. "It wasn't a speech; it's how I feel. Sex should be special if not for one person, a select few not the whole grade."

Bryan winked at him. "Yeah, I know who your 'one' is."

The bell rang and the boys headed to class. Soon school was over and it was time to prep for the game. The boys drove home and found Thoko in the kitchen cooking.

"How did you get home?" Will asked after giving Thoko a hug and kiss on the cheek.

She squeezed him back and went back to cooking. She bit into a carrot slice. "Ven gave me a ride. I figured you'd be hungry so… if not, we can have this for dinner."

Bryan stood frozen in the same spot, staring at the two. Thoko put two perfectly cooked chicken breasts and placed them along with two others from a bowl on two plates next to small portions of steaming brown rice on either side of a large bowl of salad and a gravy boat.

"Bryan, are you okay?" She asked pausing her actions to look at him. Bryan nodded. He exclaimed that he was starving and picked up one of the forks on the countertop.

After eating the boys went upstairs, showered then went to school. There they did their pre-game ritual of getting to the field early and helping Coach set up. Ven was going to the game so she passed by the house to pick up Thoko.

When Thoko walked out of the house in heeled ankle boots with fur lining, slim fit jeans, and a leather jacket over a form-fitting black polo Ven wolf-whistled.

"If you were single I would make guys pay me for your number," Lavender told Thoko as she got into Ven's red sports car. "Those boots are too cute."

"Thanks, you clean up nice too," Thoko said as she took in her friend's black, faux mink jacket and royal blue jeans with black boots.