Approaching Nevel

Shawn rotated off and allowed Julian to play. Compared to him, Julian wanted to play more than he did. And so, Nevel and Julian each took one side of the court and they would not be allowed to cross each other's side. From afar, Shawn could tell that there was a rift between the two boys. Not just them, many others aren't willing to talk to Nevel.

Shawn does not keep up with the year level's drama and he couldn't be bothered to do so. Yet, in his mind, there should always be a reason behind why someone is being ostracised. Nevel seemed pretty fine to him on the outside, but there were always two sides to the story.

With Nevel and Julian's game over, Shawn went on court with Julian this time. This was the perfect time to ask his friend on that topic, "So what is up with everyone and Nevel?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Julian spoke indifferently.

"Why is everyone avoiding him like the plague?" Shawn clarified his question in the crudest way possible.

"Did no one tell you about it?"

"No, no one talks to me."

"True, you're always sleeping."

"…"

"Well, for starters," Julian thought about it, "The dude was extremely weird when he was in primary school. He once walked up to me and out of nowhere, touched my butt. He had also eaten my food in the cafeteria, thinking that it was funny."

"Then, in terms of year 7 to 9, did he do anything weird anymore?"

"I don't know dude. I don't keep up with him. Recently, I do know that he tries to go up everyone and offer them sweets to eat. He would always have a pack of Hi-chew in his pocket and would give them to anyone that asks him."

"He seems pretty lonely." Looking back at Nevel, the boy was sitting there quietly, spinning his racket in his hand.

"Nah, I see it more like he is a weirdo that likes giving others candy for attention."

The two of played finished their match and the games rotated again. Eventually, PE came to an end and everyone changed back into their school attires and headed back to class. Shawn's mind was still focused on Nevel. This wasn't like him to care about others, but what caught his attention was the loneliness in his classmate.

When he was in primary school, Shawn was once like that. It wasn't because of a stupid reason or anything, but more that he was quiet and shy around others. He didn't dare or know how to approach his classmates and during lunch time, would sit by himself and eat his meal. To him, Shawn's childhood was just eat, study, sleep. The word 'play' could be loosely used for rest time on Sundays.

Seeing Nevel having to use candy to get social interaction with others, it made Shawn remember the socially awkward boy that he was in the past. Now, although Shawn wasn't any better at making conversations with others, he was still able to make some friends along the way. Kenny, Julian, Emily, those were people that he knew would call him, their friend. Whereas for Nevel, the boy had no one.

From what he had gathered from his clique was that Nevel, back then in primary, was a snitch that loved to complained to teachers about what others did. From their standpoint, Nevel was an annoying brat and that stigma stuck with them ever after three years in secondary.

Thinking about it, Shawn decided to do something out of someone else's regards. The next PE lesson came along and it was Badminton class again. Shawn volunteered to take Nevel in his team. This had surprised Nevel greatly that he was being included in by someone.

"You play badminton often?" Shawn asked while warming up with Nevel on the court.

"Yeah. I have badminton practice on the weekends." Nevel did not hide anything.

"You practice with your family?"

"No, with a coach."

"Oh wow. You love badminton?"

"It's alright." Nevel shrugged his shoulders. He did not really have an opinion about the sport.

"Then, are you good at any other sports?"

"Hmm, what do you mean by good?"

"You know the ins and outs of the sport."

"Mmm… I would say I can play badminton, soccer and tennis quite well."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive." Shawn tried smashing the shuttlecock, but it failed to go over the net.

Nevel saw what went wrong with Shawn's smash and gave him pointers, "You need to wait a bit longer for the shuttlecock to fall down before smashing. It had hit the rim of the racket."

"Alright," Shawn tried the smash again and with Nevel's signal, he managed to hit the shuttlecock over the net, even though the hit didn't have much power. Still, he was thankful for his helpful pointer.

When the lesson was over, it was now lunch time and everyone was starved from the physical workout. After purchasing his food, rather than heading over to his usual table, Shawn walked past it and headed for where Nevel was sitting. Everyone in his clique was surprised by his decision, but they didn't mind it soon after as they had just thought that Shawn would eventually realise Nevel's true personality.

Unbeknownst to all, Shawn did not mind Nevel one bit. Though he was awkward to be around, it was only because Nevel rarely got a chance to have a proper conversation with others. For Shawn, who couldn't care much about making small talk, this was just as fine of a spot compared to his usual table seat.

"Are you sure you do not want to hang out with your other friends?" Nevel spoke insecurely.