Forty

One thing that was as important to me as the picture of me and my grandma was a shirt. it was one of Kat's. While I did move on with my life after her death I kept that shirt in my locker to remember her. I had thought my lockers were the safest place for things like these, but with all that's happened I can say I was sorely mistaken.

"What the hell..." I sighed angrily under my breath. One of the guys seemed to catch it and came over.

"Holy..." He whispered. Our murmurs and whispers drew the attention of every soul in the room and eventually everyone was coming over, including the coach who had just entered.

"What the hell Martin?!" He shouted, calling me by my last name.

"I... I don't know, I think someone might have sabotaged my locker." Was this going to become a thing now? Is there someone out to get me? I still don't know what I did to deserve this.

"No, they were looking for candy." The coach spouted with sarcasm "NO SHIT IT WAS VANDALISM." He yelled as if it were obvious, and it was.

"Nicholas, show him where the spares are. Hurry up, I don't want anyone being tardy, especially for this game." Coach shooed us off with a sigh.

"Understood." Nicholas responded, throwing out a goofy salute.

We got out in the now almost abandoned halls of the school and headed for what I assumed to be the coach's office.

"Dude, I think someone is pranking you. Nicholas said, walking alongside me.

"It's much more than a prank." I informed him.

"It's far beyond personal now. When I find out who did this it's not going to be a pleasant sight."

"Yo man, I think you need to chill. You don't want to repeat the Parker incident do you?" He reasoned

"It's much more serious than that, and there's no going back now." I grumble. The 'Parker incident' Nicholas was referring to was something that happened a couple of months after Kat's death. I overheard some of my classmates talking trash about Kat and her suicide. Looking back on it now I know they were just immature and idiotic, but back then I didn't give a shit. During lunch break, I hauled Parker out of the cafeteria and into the dirty school bathroom. He was demanding that I let him go the whole time. I shoved him against the wall and began throwing a barrage of solid punches at him. By the time I felt like he'd had enough my fists were covered in blood and let me just say he looked much worse. I panicked and left him in the bathroom, sitting in a puddle of his blood. Most of it was from his nose but I cut him up pretty bad.

One of the students found him there and took him to the nurse's office. When he regained consciousness he told one of the teachers that I was the one who beat him. I ended up getting suspended for a long time. But after that incident, everyone didn't dare mention her name, whether it be good or bad.

I've had anger issues for awhile now, but they haven't really been anything to worry about as of recent. Aside from me getting easily pissed off by my friends and family, they haven't been present, and when I met Yibo they became almost non-existent. He's like the ice to my burn, he keeps me calm and happy. Whenever he's around things seem much more bearable. Hopefully, he brings me good luck for the game tonight.

Speaking of which... I have decided to tell him how I feel, whether or not he returns those feelings. I just hope he won't resent me if he doesn't feel the same way I do. But like I said, I'm going to tell him, right after the game is over.

"Here we are." Nicholas said, snapping me from my thoughts. He pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door to the coach's office. We entered the darkening room, the setting sun shining its final seconds of light through the blinded window near the coach's desk.

I looked over to Nicholas to see what he was doing since we were supposed to be looking for a spare uniform for myself.

"Yo man, can you help me with this? I may be strong but I can't lift this heavy ass wood by myself." Nicholas struggled, trying to move an old wooden bench. I chuckled a little before giving him a hand. We moved the bench out from under a closet. I parted the doors and saw a handful of uniforms hung on a rack. I searched for my number and grabbed it before heading back to the locker room.

"All right boys, we gotta get out there and

show em what we're made of!" Coach began. "We stick to the plan no matter what, you hear me? No matter what!" He commanded. "We're strong, so we can pull it off, but if one of you gets out of line you'll bring the whole team down, got it?!" He yelled.

"Yes sir." We responded, loud and clear.

"Alright let's get out there!" Coach shouted. louder than before. We collected our helmets and gear before charging out the door and onto the field. Just as we entered the chill of the night air the stadium lights came on, lighting the field. The crowd cheered as all the players ran onto the field. Both teams were prepared for the game. Anyone could tell that we all were a little nervous, but I was determined to win.

I scoped the bleachers and saw all of my friends and family screaming and cheering me on. It didn't look like Xichen was there though. I suppose he needs his space.

"Get your head out of the clouds Xiao" Coach yelled, capturing my attention.

Yibo's Pov

Zhan's team charged right at the beginning of the game quickly taking the lead. The other team didn't look like they wanted to fight back. I mean I'm no sports guy but even I could tell something was up. A quarter of the game was up already and the other side finally started covering more ground. Even though they found some treading they were still far behind. Watching Zhan take down the opposing team with his sharp reflexes and powerful charges got me excited. I found myself standing up and cheering with the rest of the crowd. His parents' cheers stood out though. Darby's shouts were like supersonic waves, moving visible objects. Obviously, I'm exaggerating a little, but she was definitely proud of her son, and so was I. The rest of Zhan's friends seemed to be into it as well. Ji Li and Yubin ended up betting on opposite teams. I don't think they really knew who was going to win but decided to do it to spice up the game.

Someone on our team was running past several of the opponents, charging for the touchdown, it was like the whole team was coordinated behind an amazing strategy. Just as he was about to make it there he was brutally tackled, sending the crowd in gasps and murmurs. Things got heated pretty quickly.

No one would have imagined the other team catching up, but it was happening right in front of everyone's eyes. All of a sudden I was feeling anxious, I wanted Zhan to win since I know how much it means to him, so seeing the other team catching up to them like a horse to a rabbit is unsettling.

This went on for a while and only got worse, they haven't scored a single point since. I could tell they were under pressure, including Zhan. They'd been playing the same way without changing up their strategy, and every time someone did something different the coach would snap at them. It looks like it's his fault why they're losing. Zhan started thinking out of the box and ignoring the coach's instructions. I could just barely hear him yelling through the noise of the crowd, even with his raised voice Zhan continued to ignore him. The whole team eventually broke the formation they were using throughout the game. The coach gave up on trying to convince them, tossing his hat to the grass and turning his back to them.

After ditching their strategy they finally began scoring again. It was already too late, however. The opposing team had a massive lead, one that would be impossible to catch up to. They took the win, annihilating our side. Zhan looked devastated. Everyone walked around the field as if they'd lost their souls. We were all pretty disappointed, not in the players, rather the outcome of the game. They all shook hands and did their formalities before leaving the field.

People began leaving the bleachers and returning to the school. The cold night air was kicking in. I didn't notice it until the people around me started getting up, with the heat of their bodies disappearing. I sat there and watched as Zhan stood on the field, looking up to the star-filled sky. I was about to go down and try to comfort him but he went into the locker rooms before I could approach.

I stood from my seat and headed inside. Soon enough I was in the halls of the school, surrounded by unfamiliar faces. I scanned through the crowd, trying to find Cindy or Zhan. It wasn't until later that I found Zhan. I could tell he was disappointed, but he seemed to be holding it together. I approached him but the halls were still too loud for my voice to reach him, so instead, I followed him. He went out to sit on the bleachers, where silence captured the air.

"Uh... hi." I approached nervously. He quickly turned his head to me, looking surprised.

"Hi." He said with a faltering smile.

"That was bad... wasn't it?." He chuckled. resting his chin on the back of his folded hands.

"No, you guys did well" I complimented, trying to cheer him up. "Especially you." My voice lowered. He turned his head to me once more with a solid smile on his face. I couldn't hold back a blush, it probably wasn't too noticeable in the dark though.

"The strategy you guys used during the first half is what got you guys down though. It started out amazing but quickly went downhill." I informed him, but I'm sure he probably knew this.

"Yeah, the coach is stubborn. He ordered us to stick to the plan even when it was failing. He sighed. "I stopped listening to his orders, now he's blaming me for screwing up the game.

"Gosh, he's a total butt head. You guys only lost because you stuck to the plan and that was his fault." I spoke with my words growing heated.

"That's the thing though, the plan seemed like it could have worked when reading it on paper, but the other team figured out how to counteract it in no time flat. That's unusual so we weren't prepared." He explained, releasing a sigh. He seemed to go back to his gloomy self, lost in thought. I didn't want to bother him so I just sat beside him silently. The sound of the wind crossing the large open field, carrying the night air, and the chirps of the crickets, were all so peaceful. I wish I could just fall asleep here with Zhan, that would be a dream.

"Yibo..." Zhan called, drawing my attention.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"I want to tell you something." He said, with our eyes now meeting. My heart skipped a beat upon contact.

"Okay..." I replied softly. "THERE YOU TWO ARE!" Meng yelled, bursting through the door from the school's interior. Cindy and Zhao followed behind her.

"The guys were looking for you." Zhao informed, as they reached us.

"Crap, I forgot about the after party." Zhan sighed before standing to his feet.

"Are you coming?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Uh..." I pondered. I don't know if that would be the wisest thing for me to do. I don't want my father to see me coming home after twelve. I'd probably lose that many years of my life. "I'll have to pass." A disappointed look crossed his face once more. I feel bad but I don't want to come to school tomorrow with bruises all over me.

"Alright, maybe another time." He forced a smile before turning to leave.

"I forgot... I was supposed to give you a ride home." He said, looking back at me wearing a sad expression.

"I'm not coming to the party so I can give him a ride." Cindy insisted.

"That would be great. Thank you." He said, smiling at Cindy

"Wait, um, what did you want to tell me by the way?" I asked, lifting my hand to him.

He paused for a moment then looked at the floor. "It can wait." He sighed.

"A-alright." I mumbled.

"Well we'd better be heading out. See you guys tomorrow." Zhan said, tossing up a wave before walking off with Zhao and Meng. We all said our goodbyes, then it was just me and Cindy.

"You're a lifesaver, you know that." I praised Cindy.

"I know, what would you do without me." She brushed her hair to the side with a smug smile. Moments later we both erupted into giggles.

"Really though, this is a big help. I would not want to walk back home in the dark." I said as we were preparing to leave.

"You're very welcome. I wouldn't want you to be walking home anytime!" She said, grabbing her bag. "Now let's go!" She dragged me out of the school and into her car, or her mother's rather. She turned the heat on low to ward off the chill in the night air. I leaned back into the seat and looked off into the distance ready to head out. She popped on the radio before pulling out the driveway. It was on some

meditation station. We broke huge smiles,

looking between each other. It wasn't something either of us would normally listen to but I didn't care which station played right now, I just wanted something to listen to.

"Want me to change it?" She asked, looking over to my lifeless body slouched in the seat.

"Nah, it's fine." I replied, still wearing the goofy smile. The music was relaxing, so much so that I almost began to fall asleep right in the car. Nothing but the peaceful music on the radio and the sound of the

tires on the road and engine of the car loomed within the vehicle.

"I think I know who's been sabotaging Operation Zhan..." Cindy said suddenly, getting me to sit up straight and stare at her with anticipation. I really want to know who it is, mainly so I can ask them why they're doing it. It always drives me up the wall when trying to figure it out.

"They only sabotaged the first phase, so could it have been a simple prank?" I pointed out.

"Well that's the thing... Zhan told me someone trashed his locker in the boys locker room before the game." Cindy said with a serious look. Crap, are you kidding? I guess there's no other possibility then. I guess Operation Zhan is back to square one again. I was waiting for some kind of follow up but Cindy went silent.

"Well.... who is it?" I asked after a moment, leaning a little closer.

"I can't say just yet. I'm not one-hundred percent sure it's them so I can go around spreading rumors." She sighed.

"Can't you at least tell me?" I gave her a puppy face.

She pouted "I'm sorry, I can't let them know we're onto them. I want to play it safe so I don't blow my only chance to expose them." She explained. I can understand that, it's just not knowing is so painful.

"Alright, I'll wait for you to get more evidence on them." I said in defeat, slouching back in my seat. She giggled and returned her focus to the road.