MATTHEW'S POV
I dragged my feet towards the gymnasium. On my way there, my mind was in a daze. It kept wandering to Elijah and I's short exchange of words. Our conversation seemed ordinary to those who heard it. Little did they know the hidden message behind it. It was all in his tone. Elijah sensed something was wrong, and without a doubt, he wanted to find out what it was.
I was so troubled about thinking of another excuse that I didn't even realize I was already at the doorstep of the gym. The glass door allowed me to see through inside. I saw a few of my classmates and numerous older people warming up inside. About fifteen people were already there.
I pushed the door open and was greeted with a bright light that came from above. That very same light reflected the polished, beige floor of the gym. The bleachers or seats were located at the left side from the entrance's point of view, while a stage was present across from the bleachers at the left side of the entrance. On each side though - just a few feet next to the door were basketball rings with a digital scoring board on top.
I walked towards the lockers which were beside the bleachers. On the left side were the boy's and the right side, the girl's lockers. I noticed my schoolmates had already changed into their gym attires, meaning I had to change into mine as well.
I grabbed the black jersey shorts and the white t-shirt. Then, on the other side of the bleachers were the restroom where you could change or do your business.
Pushing the door of a cubicle, I loosened my tie before fully taking it off. I unbuttoned my shirt and stripped off of my pants. I put my jersey shorts on and wore the white t-shirt. I folded my school uniform so it could fit in the same locker.
I made sure the red button in my pocket was secured. I pushed open the cubicle's door and exited the restroom. The gym was pretty big, so just walking from one side of the place to another could be so tiring. Thanks to seven years of track 'n field, I broke no sweat.
Mister Jacob looked up from his clipboard, and from the sight of me, he grinned. "Matthew Martinez! How are you? I haven't seen you since the first day of school."
The gym teacher gestured for me to come closer. He nudged me on the side when I stood beside him. "Are you skipping school already? Now, know this, kid, just because you can outrun the hall monitors or security guards, doesn't mean you should do it. If you ever need to increase your stamina, I'm always free after school." Mister Jacob laughed, hands akimbo. "Maybe we can figure out who's the fastest!"
I rubbed the back of my neck nervously as my eyes flitted to my left foot wrapped in layers of bandages.
'Yeah, maybe not in another few days.'
I didn't say that to him, of course. Instead, I said, "I'll think about that offer, mister Jacob. I also think my stamina's decreasing."
The gym teacher gasped. "Oh, no. We can't have that now, do we?"
"Nope."
It was one of those experiences when you and your teachers threw away the formalities and talk to each other like normal friends. Well, with our age gap not that far, I had a fun conversation with mister Jacob. Our topic was mostly exercise and sports. I just found out mister Jacob was the captain of the soccer team.
"What about you, Martinez? What was your obstacle course in the track n' field?" Mister Jacob asked me as his gaze constantly darted from me and the entrance. When a person walked in, he wrote something on the clipboard before giving me his attention again.
"I was usually the candidate for sprinting or the hurdles. Anything that mostly involves running. But I sometimes fill in the position for javelin throw and long jump as well."
"Ah, yes. Sprinting, javelin throw, long jump, and hurdles. I remember the time I tried to ran for hurdles, it was such a-" Mister Jacob stopped mid-sentence when a person had entered the gym. It wasn't only mister Jacob, but also the rest of the students. I didn't want to be left out so I also copied their actions. My jaw dropped when I saw an elite standing in the doorway.
It was Zed.
I was wondering what got everyone's attention to him. I studied him up and down and that was when I realized something.
He was wearing his red button.
The students near me started to squeal but tried their best to seem calm and mature in front of the elite. The other students couldn't resist anymore and started whispering to each other while keeping their eyes on Zed.
"Oh gosh, it's an elite!"
"I'm so lucky to be put in this class."
"He's so handsome."
"Do you think I should say hi to him? He looks approachable."
"All the elites look approachable. They're one of the kindest students in school! As long as you don't try to invade the elite building. You have a death wish if you do that."
'Will this also be the treatment I'll get if I reveal myself as an elite?'
Zed rotated his head around the gym, taking the humongous place in. His eyes landed on me. He was about to open his mouth to greet me, but stopped once he saw the pleading look in my eyes.
He tilted his head in confusion. Zed opened his mouth once again but mister Jacob cut in. "Go put on your gym attire first before joining us. We need to wait for about five more people." The teacher sighed. "Good thing the gym class doesn't take as many students as the other classes."
Zed followed mister Jacob's orders and disappeared into the restroom once he grabbed his clothes from the lockers. On the way to the restroom, he gave me a sideways glance, as if saying, 'you have a lot of explaining to do'. I gave him a small smile in reply.
"Well, out of all the students in school that could be put in my class, an elite showed up." Mister Jacob mumbled. "The others better not ogle at him too much. I still have teaching to do." The moment he said that I wanted to gesture to some of the girls who shot him a dreamy look.
The teacher sighed. "I doubt it though. When I was still studying here as a student, whenever an elite is within their radius, they'll act like a fan who's meeting their idols for the first time. It was a lot crazier back then."
I smiled at that. Every student here did seem to idolize the elites. I got that they admired them because of their kindness, smartness, and they're independent. But I sometimes wonder what the elites did to give the 'normal' student those kinds of impressions.
"One elite will already make the students hard to control, what will happen if another one showed up?"
I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat. 'I'm right here.'
Maybe it was best if I don't set up any alarms that I was an elite. Not that I looked or acted like one anyway.
Zed exited the restroom. Almost automatically, the students parted to make space for him, like there was a barrier around Zed that the 'normal' students have to stay away from.
Zed stood next to me. I put a good distance between us to avoid any suspicion. The captain raised an eyebrow at my actions and I whispered so he was the only one who could hear me. "Poerg." Later.
I had spoken in Hakel language - the language of the elites. Zed understood what I said and faced forward, acting like he didn't know me and ignoring the stares from the normal students. I heaved a sigh of relief when he did that. I didn't want the others to know I was an elite. At least not yet.
Mister Jacob caught my attention again and we continued to talk about sports and exercise.
"Why don't you also join the soccer team, then? Like me. I bet you're good with your feet." He nudged me on my bad foot - the one that got wounded a week ago. I suppressed a scream when I felt a throbbing sensation shoot up my leg. The teacher noticed my reaction and looked down at my foot. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw the white bandages circling my ankle. "What is-"
I had shuffled my foot away from mister Jacob's line of sight as he looked up when a student entered the gym. The guy looked pretty bored like he would rather die than be here. But his expression changed when his eyes landed on Zed. The black-haired boy felt his gaze on him and flashed him a smile, making the guy almost pass out.
The student who had entered straightened his posture and held his head up high in contrast to his slouching and frown a second ago. I chuckled at the scene but remembered that mister Jacob caught sight of my injury. I better think of an excuse quick.
The gym teacher wrote down on his clipboard, grumbling, and turned to me. "What is that, kid?" He motioned to my foot. So much for trying to hide it. I scratched my head and gave him a sheepish smile. "It's just a scratch, sir. I fought with a cat the other day."
It wasn't technically a lie since I did get scratched, but it wasn't by a cat. He didn't need to know that.
Zed coughed beside me. I thought he was hinting at exposing me but he mumbled. "Ashley would've hit you for that."
I was confused about what he meant. I decided to question him later.
"And what did you do for the cat to attack you?" Mister Jacob laughed. He didn't focus on my foot anymore. I celebrated in my head as I diverted the topic.
"It was already old and feral, okay?" I raised my hands. "I was trying to show it some love but it scratched me instead."
"Oh, what a cruel life." The gym teacher said dramatically.
"You got that right." I smiled wryly. It was a cruel life. Creatures that shouldn't have existed were trying to wreak havoc on Earth. And my dad died keeping them at bay. Now, I had hurt myself by those very same creatures. But the difference between my dad and I was he died protecting the others, while I had gotten hurt because of my poor life choices and disrespecting someone.
Zed pursed his lips in a thin line. He knew what I was talking about. I could see him nod subtly. He agreed.
"Anyways," Mister Jacob said, stopping me from almost being sentimental. "Go to your places, or just prepare to run. I want you all to form three lines! Don't mind your age or height. We still have three more students to wait for."
We obliged. Zed gave me a look and formed a line with me being in front of him. A girl with brown hair and dark blue eyes hurried to get the spot behind Zed. When she successfully took that spot, she stuck a tongue out to her friends who glowered at her in jealousy.
I could see Zed sweating. He looked uncomfortable by the lovesick stare the girl was giving him and that she was pushing her body against him. And it was obvious that she was trying to get close to him. Zed, trying to uphold the elite reputation, didn't say anything and was trying to suck it up to not come off as rude.
I shook my head at the girl's endeavor to capture an elites' attention. I grabbed Zed's wrist and pulled him in front of me, meaning I was now behind him in the line and the barrier between him and the girl.
The girl fumed in anger, her face turning red. But I knew she couldn't do anything as she didn't want to embarrass herself near an elite. The girl whispered-shouted to me. "What do you think you're doing?!"
I turned around and gave her a stern look. "Compose yourself when around an elite. You're making us look bad with your poor attempt at flirting."
I didn't know where my words were coming from, but I had to act like one of them - trying to seem like a 'normal' student that also wanted to become an elite. To further make it believing, I had to care about a 'normal' fellow student and stop her from making a fool of herself.
The girl blushed a deep shade of red when she realized what she had done. She bowed her head and mumbled an apology, though it sounded insincere. A guy from beside me in another line gave me a thumbs up, seeing the whole thing. I returned one to him.
Zed turned a bit to give me a grateful smile. I said to him in a low voice, "Yu Jafet" 'You're welcome.'
The captain grinned even wider before facing in front once again.
-
Practice was done. It was about noon when we stopped running to eat lunch. Everyone in the room, including mister Jacob, left the gym to go and buy lunch. Zed had also gone with them, leaving me alone.
I wasn't really hungry despite the hell mister Jacob unleashed on us by running. Well, at least for the others. I was still in top shape since my stamina didn't decrease one bit. I knew because while the other students looked like they were about to drop dead. I kept running with Zed, I couldn't help but limp at times when I tried to keep up with him. Mister Jacob praised the both of us for that, not noticing how I couldn't put a lot of weight into one foot.
Right now, I wasn't thinking about that, even if it boosted my self-confidence. My mind wandered back to Elijah. I didn't know what to do. Should I just come out clean to him? If I do that, he might say to take him to the elite building for proof, and I couldn't do that, resulting in him being angrier.
If I continue to hide it, then it would backfire twice as bad. I was also running out of excuses to tell Elijah.
I ruffled my hair in frustration. I grabbed the white towel that hung around my neck and rubbed my face with it, stressed invading my mind.
Someone snapped me out of my thoughts as a cold object was put on my nape. I jumped at the sudden contact, also because it was so cold. I turned to see who it was and saw Zed snickering at me. "You know, if you continue to be so troubled by something, you'll have more wrinkles by the frown on your face and white hairs by overthinking too much."
I smiled a little at that. What he said reminded me so much of how Samuel would joke.
I didn't retort anything back. Instead, my eyes trailed to the plastic bag and a soda can on his hands. "What's that?' I pointed at the bag.
Zed sat beside me on the bleachers as he pulled two things out of the bag. Two lunchboxes.
"Samuel found out we were in the same collaboration class. So, he made me deliver this to you." He gave me one of the lunchboxes and also a soda. I opened the box to see sunny-side-up eggs with sausages on top of white rice.
I inhaled the aroma of the meal and exhaled deeply. I was feeling awful again. Even after everything that night, he still made me food as he said. I truly didn't deserve a friend like him, and he didn't deserve the disrespect I showed.
"I don't understand two things though..." Zed began as he pulled the lid off the soda can, creating a loud popping noise and a small sizzling afterward. "Why are you hiding the fact that you're an elite?" He took a sip of the cold beverage.
I glanced away, thinking if I should tell him or not. I kept lying to other people, and it was starting to come back to me. I shouldn't also lie to Zed. And it'd be nice to talk to someone about all this. Since Zed was older than me and a captain, I figured he might give some good advice.
"Well, I just don't want certain people to know about it..." I sighed. "... Also because I can't trust my mouth anymore. I don't want to risk revealing the secret." I toned my voice down at the last word.
Zed nodded in understanding, accepting my reason. "What about you and Samuel? He still cooks for you and I can't help but notice the both of you aren't talking to each other the whole week."
I looked up to the ceiling, feeling the bright light burn my eyes. "I also don't know. Ever since I ran from him after the fight we had in the underworld, I get why he didn't want to talk. I just don't know why he would still cook for me." I chuckled. Zed didn't find that funny. Rather, his eyes widened and eyebrows knotted together.
He spoke slowly, "You ran away from him... After you two fought about something?"
I nodded in shame. Zed shook his head and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "Oh, no. So, that's why he's acting like that... It's coming back to him."
I raised an eyebrow at what Zed mumbled. I leaned closer to him in hopes to know the reason why Samuel ignored me so I could make it up to him. "Why? What is it?"
Sadly, the hope I felt turned into worry at what Zed said next. "Matthew, Samuel... had it rough two years ago. What you did may have triggered bad memories."