**Sade's P.O.V**
"Hey Sade, where's Cairo? I haven't seen him since yesterday. He's not practicing, and your match against another university is on Friday, which will be held here at school. Is he not planning to play? Maybe he wants me to remove him from the team." Coach said while we were practicing basketball here in the gym.
Ever since Cairo left yesterday, we haven't seen him. And today, he didn't show up either. This is the first time he's been like this. I guess this is the first time he's really liked a girl, and it's also the first time he's been hurt like that.
We can't blame him.
"I'm sorry, Coach. I think Cairo's just dealing with some problems." I said.
"Tsk, he better deal with it... his personal problems are affecting our team. It shouldn't be like that. If he doesn't show up today, he's definitely off the team." Coach said angrily.
"And who said I'm not showing up today?" We turned to see who spoke—it was Cairo. He had arrived.
"Tsk, good that you made it. Hurry up, we need to practice." Coach said.
I watched Cairo, but I couldn't tell if he was okay or not—his expression was blank.
"Dude, I thought you weren't coming today." I said to him.
"I'll come. There's no reason for me not to." he replied, sounding unenthusiastic.
We started practicing. The game was going fine, but in the middle of the session, we started having problems with Cairo. He wasn't passing the ball.
"Hey Cairo, what's going on? Are you playing by yourself? Maybe you forgot you have teammates." Coach scolded him, but he didn't say anything.
We continued practice until we were all shocked when Elric collapsed on the floor, his mouth bleeding.
"What happened?" Coach asked.
"He was trying to steal the ball from me, then he elbowed me in the mouth." Elric said. Pointing his finger at Cairo.
"Tss, you're lying." Cairo replied.
"I'm not, it's true!" Elric shouted.
"Hey Cairo, I've been watching you for a while now. Step out and cool off. Don't bring your problems here to the gym." Coach said.
"Fine." Cairo said calmly before leaving the gym.
I shook my head; this is really bad.
"Wait a second, Coach, I'll talk to Cairo. Don't worry, everything will be fine." I said.
"Tsk, fine, help your friend out, will you? I can't just cut him from the team either. He's a good player. Without him, we're at a disadvantage for the upcoming game." Coach said, patting me on the shoulder.
I left the gym and went looking for Cairo. His emotions are his weakness; he's too impulsive. When he's angry, you can see it on his face and in his actions.
When he's sad, you can easily tell. Basically, he's not good at hiding how he feels. While I was searching for Cairo, I noticed a crowd gathering by the bulletin board. Next to it was a TV screen monitor.
A lot of students were gathered there, so I approached to see what was going on. On the TV, Cairo and Aria were arguing on a bench. Could this be the reason Cairo is acting this way? There was also a part where Aria told Cairo to stay away from her. This is bad.
Someone had recorded their argument from yesterday.
"There's Aria—she really thinks she's all that! Does she think she's so pretty? Tsk." one student said, pointing at Aria, who was approaching the TV screen.
Aria looked upset when she saw the video.
Students started moving closer to Aria.
"What's your problem?" Aria asked, clearly not in the mood.
"Hah, you still have the nerve to ask that? What right do you have to treat Cairo Hayes that way? You should be ashamed of yourself." another girl said, throwing the juice she was holding at Aria.
Her uniform got soaked, but Aria just stared at the girl holding the juice. This is really bad—Cairo's fans are all mad at Aria now. Things are getting worse. I wanted to step in and defend Aria. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this; it's not her fault.
"Are you done? Do you have anything else to say?" Aria said, her tone calm but cocky, while keeping her gaze fixed on the girl.
She's really different—she's not like other girls. No wonder Cairo admires her.
The girl was about to say something back when suddenly, Hannah appeared out of nowhere and slapped Aria hard across the face. The slap was so loud and powerful.
"You're so full of yourself, Aria! You've really gone too far! I wish you would just disappear!" Hannah screamed angrily at Aria.
"Oh my gosh, even Hannah is mad at Aria. Tsk, she deserves it." I heard one student say.
Hannah was about to slap Aria again, and I was about to shout at her to stop, but Asher suddenly appeared and blocked Hannah's hand. Everyone, including Hannah, was surprised—we didn't even notice Asher arrive.
"Why are you doing this, Hannah?" Asher asked seriously.
Shock was written all over Hannah's face when she saw Asher.
"Get out of the way, Asher! Let me slap that girl!" Hannah said angrily.
"Hannah, please stop it. Why are you acting like this?" Asher asked softly.
"Because that girl is a bitch!" Hannah yelled, but Asher just shook his head at her words, still remaining calm.
"Watch your words, Hannah." Asher said.
"It's true! Are you stupid, Asher? Can't you see—she's constantly seeking attention from both you and Cairo. Who does she think she is, trying to steal your attention!" Hannah said.
"Stop it, Hannah. You're not making any sense." Asher replied before turning to Aria, who was standing beside him.
"I'm sorry, Hannah, if that's how you see me, but I just want to make it clear that I have no intention of seeking attention. I just want to focus on my studies. But I don't understand why this has to happen to me—I'm getting tired of it." Aria said, quickly walking away.
Asher watched her leave.
"Hannah, this isn't the person I thought you were. How could you do this to Aria? How could you say all those things to her?" Asher said, disappointed, and then he walked away as well.