Acceptance | ✓

Epilogue

[ETHAN]

Most of the people in the crowd got up to wait and yell in praise as Devein made the last goal of the soccer match just before the whistle was blown. Devien grinned at the crowd as her teammates huddled around her and screamed her praise. She'd broken the tiebreaker, pushing her school team into the finals.

"I never knew she was this good," Andrew said, sounding impressed. I smiled down at his sitting figure before settling down with the rest of the crowd. Andrew smiled at me when I took his hand in mine before turning my attention back to the field.

A lot of things had happened since the last six months. The book Andrew finished before his arm got broken was now published. Andrew's arm had healed, and he didn't have a cast anymore. Andrew's hen now had a new set of chicks that I, Devien and Roxanne terrorized in union, and Andrew looked and fared better. He'd lost the pale tone to his skin, his hair and eyes were brighter and he'd added a reasonable amount of weight so he didn't look so fragile anymore.

He'd turned twenty-seven along the way and his mother and Ethel had made a fuss about it, sending presents and talking to Andrew over Skype for longer than humanly possible. There has also been a card from my mum, and his uncle surprisingly. Andrew hadn't let me and Devin make a fuss about it, though. We'd just had a family dinner at a restaurant and visited the park.

The two team captains exchanged a brief handshake of sportsmanship before the two teams went about their business and began exiting the field.

Devien was soon running towards us in her now muddy soccer uniform and boots. She got to us soon after bending to give us hugs.

"You did good," Andrew said, handing Devien her phone. She took it, unlocking the screen before a series of sounds were made in an indication of the number of notifications she was getting.

"Didn't you have the phone just before your game?" I asked wondering what kind of notifications a thirteen-year-old girl would be getting.

"People were messaging me, and asking about the game," she said, her eyes not leaving the phone. I rolled my eyes, looking over at Andrew who was looking out into the field.

"I'm leaving with Claire's mum, right?" Devien asked, putting away her phone. Andrew turned his attention to her before nodding. Devien had become surprisingly outgoing in the past few months, from becoming a part of the school's soccer team to attending a sleepover every other day.

"Yes, I have your stuff here," Andrew said, plucking at the handle of the red bag on the floor beside his feet. Devein muttered a small thanks before picking the bag up.

"Aren't you coming to meet Claire's mum?" Devien asked, her blue eyes giving us a curious look. Andrew shook his head, apologizing.

"I wish I could, but I don't think I can stand," he muttered, making Devien look down at his swollen ankle. He didn't even have shoes on to avoid pressure. He was wearing a pair of flip-flops so his ankle could have some breathing space.

"It'll get better," Devien muttered, hiking the handle of the bag that contained her sleepover equipment. Andrew smiled at her, laughing lightly at her faith.

"I hope so," Andrew said, making Devein beam at him. With a loud 'bye', she left us to join her friends who were equally with their own sleepover bags on the field. They were chatting animatedly, laughing too loud once in a while. We watched as a woman with Afro kinks came to file the girls away.

We stayed on the bench for a bit, so Andrew could get a grip on himself. Apparently, jumping to see over the heads of equally enthusiast parents during the game hadn't been a good idea.