"I already apologized." The man said while taking the basketball.
Gabby put a hand on her waist, "Who said I forgive you? Tashia bought me the food, not you."
The man imitated Gabby's movements, putting his hand on his waist and mockingly said, "Tashia bought me the food, not you." The man scoffed, "I'm Steven, of course you've forgiven me."
'Oh, so his name is Steven' Michael thought.
"Hmm, don't be too confident!" Gabby said.
"Oh yeah, Michael, this is Steven my sworn enemy." Gabby turned to Michael, "And this is Michael, my best friend."
Steven looked at Michael and then lifted his chin in greeting. Michael awkwardly lifted his chin back. Gabby who saw their interaction could only laugh.
Feeling awkward and unfamiliar, Michael finally walked into the middle of the field alone. He took the basketball and studied it. It didn't take long before he felt a figure approaching him.
Michael turned and saw Gabby's girl friend walking towards him. Her ponytail hair looked disheveled. There were a few hairs that had fallen out of her ponytail.
"Hey, Michael, huh?" The girl smiled, "My name is Tashia."
"Hmm, yeah, Hi." Michael replied briefly.
Tashia walked over and made Michael feel uncomfortable. The girl then took the ball in Michael's hand and invited him to play.
"Let's play basketball with me." Tashia's eyes sparkled.
Michael shook his head and then tried to take the basketball back. A feeling of disappointment appeared on Tashia's face, she frowned, "That's so bad."
Michael ignored her and preferred to keep quiet while looking at the ball in Tashia's hand. When she didn't receive an answer, the girl threw the basketball at him.
"What a rude boy." Tashia grumbled. The woman took off her hair tie and walked away.
After seeing the woman move away, Michael took his basketball. He glanced at Gabby and found her walking toward him. He smiled broadly and met Gabby in the middle, "Teach me how to play basketball."
-
Twenty minutes passed since they started, Gabby realized that Michael could play basketball. Even though the boy was not as skilled as Gabby, the girl was still impressed. Another thing Gabby realized was that Michael was a fast learner.
"You ...You ... quickly learned too." Gabby exclaimed. The girl bent down and grabbed her knees, gasping for breath.
"My coach is great at that." Michael replied.
Michael only needed to see one example from Gabby and then he could copy her movement. This was the first time Gabby felt tired of playing basketball. The girl sat down and wiped the sweat off her face with her sleeve.
A few minutes later, Gabby called her friends to play together.
"2 on 2?" Steven raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. Me and Michael." Gabby pointed to her friend, "You and Tashia."
"Okay." Tashia gave Michael a cold glare.
But of course Michael didn't see Tashia's face. He was too busy watching the interactions between Gabby and Steven. That ugly feeling began to grow in Michael's heart again.
After they finished setting the line, they started playing. In less than five minutes Michael had scored and put the ball into the ring. Standing opposite, Michael realized that he was actually taller than Steven. He smiled derisively when Steven didn't look his way.
"My husband is great!" Gabby shouted as Michael scored again.
"Husband?!" Tashia asked in disbelief.
"Huh? You are married?" Steven took his drinking bottle. Since it was getting late, they decided to end their game. They feared protests by residents or housing security. Beside that, they still have to get up early for school tomorrow.
Michael looked away when he saw Tashia's confused look. The boy sat on the floor and wiped his sweat. He then saw Gabby sitting next to him.
"Well sort of, my parents want him as my husband." Gabby took Michael's bottle and drank it.
Steven nodded his head slowly, as if trying to digest Gabby's words. The man took the towel in his bag and put it on his shoulder.
"Then, when we play again, tell your husband to replace Tashia." Steven grimaced when Tashia threw an empty bottle at him, "You know he can't play basketball."
"Not!" Gabby stood up and grabbed Michael's hand, "Michael can only play basketball if he teams up with me."
Tashia took her bag then said goodbye to go home, "I'll go home first." Without waiting for an answer the girl walked away.
"Tashia!" Steven shouted, the man turned towards Gabby, "Is she angry with me?"
Gabby shrugged, "I don't know." She then looked at Michael, "What did you talk to Tashia earlier?"
"It's just about basketball." Michael answered quietly.
After that, they sat back down and looked at the ceiling. Among the three of them, no one wanted to go home. Even though Michael knew that Adam must have been confused about finding him, he chose to stay with Gabby.
Suddenly, Steven sat next to him, then asked Michael to shake hands, "Hey, good game."
Michael chuckled, "Ah, yes good game."
"Have you played basketball before?" Steven asked.
"No, never." Michael shook his head, "Gabby just taught me."
"Hmm." Steven nodded his head, he stood up and put his bag on his shoulder, "I'll go home first, it's late."
"Wait for me!" Gabby shouted as the girl walked over to Steven.
Michael saw them walking side by side and there was Gabby's laughter. The man sighed and then fell asleep in the field. He used his hands as his pillow.
Michael was lost in his thoughts and was unaware that Gabby approached him. The girl smiled broadly when she looked at her right hand that was carrying something.
Gabby sat across from Michael and then hid her hands behind her, "Michael."
Michael looked up and felt something strange when he saw Gabby's face. The girl held out her left hand, telling Michael to sit down.
Before Michael had time to sit down comfortably, the man could feel something wet on his cheek. Michael wiped it with his hand and saw mud on his palm.
Mud?!
Gabby burst out laughing and crossed Michael's cheek again. The boy grabbed Gabby's hand and pushed it away from his cheek. But Gabby wasn't her name if she gave up easily. The girl pointed her right hand at Michael's cheek.
"You really are disgusting." Michael grumbled, then wiped the mud on his cheek, "Where did you get this mud from?"
Gabby turned and pointed to the end of the field, "Over there. It rained yesterday."
The girl smiled sweetly at Michael, making the boy smile back. Suddenly, he saw Gabby's hand move.
"Come on," Gabby whined, "Don't move! This is fun, I want to paint your face."
Michael blinked and followed her order. He still didn't know why he obeyed Gabby's order so easily. To be honest, he was disgusted and wanted to throw up. Michael had never played with mud in his life. But when he saw Gabby's happy face, the boy couldn't do anything.
Michael watched Gabby's serious face, which looked cute. Her dilated pupils were adorable, her tongue was slightly out and there was mud under her chin. Gabby touched his face gingerly, like a canvas.
Gabby saw Michael's face covered in mud then chuckled, "I paint your face like a little cat."
Michael opened his mouth then took the cellphone in his pocket. He opened the camera and saw his face was covered in mud. There were three lines on both cheeks resembling a cat's whiskers.
"This is not a painting." Michael replied, then returned to put the cellphone in his pocket.
"Hahaha leave it." Gabby took out her cellphone and took a photo of Michael secretly.
Michael took the opportunity to take the mud in Gabby's hands. The man quickly crossed Gabby's forehead with mud. The girl frowned and dodged Michael's hand.
"Not fair!" Michael grumbled.
When Michael wanted to get the mud in Gabby's hand, the girl pushed him. The boy then fell back and laughed when he saw Gabby's face. The girl's condition was worse than he was.
Not only was her forehead covered in mud, Gabby's hair was also covered in mud. The girl folded her arms across her chest and pursed her lips.
"But I gave it slowly!" Gabby raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.
When Gabby wanted to get back at Michael's actions, she heard her mother's signature voice, "Gabby! Where the hell is that kid?! It's eleven and she still has not come home."
Gabby's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly grabbed Michael's hand. The girl stood up, trying to get rid of the mud in her hand. She grabbed Michael by the collar and threatened him.
"Don't tell my mother—"
"Gabby! Wait there!" Her mother shouted from behind.
Gabby removed the grip on Michael's collar and slowly turned her head.