F***in' Arizona

A Simple Smile Can Go a Long Way (Chapter 3)

*Author's Note: Quick note, this will be the only chapter that switches from Nova's POV to Ari's POV within the same chapter.
Carry on.

"Girl I so wish I was Blaire. I can't believe she gets to date someone like Ari. Ugh, he is so good looking and sweet," Maya says to me at school the following Monday after the monumental football game.

"Maya, why are you so obsessed with him? He's literally just an "all-American" white boy. And not even a super special white boy. You can literally drive to the nearest Walmart and find another just like him. Sure, he's cute and he's nice, but he's like the Troy Bolton of our school. There is no way he would be interested in girls like us. Jocks date jocks. It's how its always been. That's just how the hierarchy game goes."

It had been our lunch hour and Maya was walking me to my next class before it started. She did this almost everyday because I have the class with Ari and she likes to sneak a peek at him from the door like your typical crazed fangirl stalker.

"I don't understand why you walk me to class just so you can see him. How do you even know if he's here today or not? I haven't seen him at all today yet," I tell her.

"I haven't seen him yet either, but we just won the game, he'll be here so people can congratulate him. Oh! Look, here he comes! He makes that school uniform look so good. It grips him in all the best places. I'm gonna say hi to him!"

If the word "cringe" could be a person, it would be Maya Esperanza Reyes.

"Girl, it's literally a school uniform. We all wear a variation of the same thing. Does this mean you think Khalil Mason looks good in his too?" I ask laughing because I know for a fact that she cannot stand him.

Khalil Mason is this tall lanky weird guy with too much of an affinity for Star Wars (which Maya hates). He has had the biggest crush on Maya since middle school but she's always made it a top priority to ignore him.
He's always following her around like a precious lost puppy trying to gain her attention, but she never really gives him the time of day because she is dead set on Ari. I've tried to tell Khalil before that he may as well give it up, but just as she's dead set on Ari, he's dead set on marrying Maya one day.

"Bitch don't play with me. You know I can't stand Khalil's weird ass. Besides, Ari makes the uniforms look good in a Greek god type of way! He looks like a tall glass of almond milk that I am dying to drink with a side of those Manila cookies."

Yep, that's my friend you guys.
I playfully shriek and laugh at Maya as I watch her as she watches him.

Arizona gracefully walks down the hallway with his best friend Charlie, another popular "All-American" brown-haired jock. A harem of groupies following after them looking like the sad saps they are. Ari didn't notice us standing in the doorway of the classroom at first, but of course Maya made herself known.

"Hi Ari! Hey, Charlie."

Arizona looked up and finally noticed us standing in the way.

"Oh, hey Maya! How you doin' today?" Ari asks, gently smiling.

I could tell Maya was internally squealing because she was having an actual conversation with the boy of her dreams.
This was not a drill.

"I'm good! You guys played a great game on Friday. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Totally entertaining! And it was super uncalled for when those two guys tackled you the way that they did."

"It's football Maya, that's how the game goes; they're gonna be rough," Charlie inputs but no one hears it but me.

"Yeah, everyone knows they're pumped up on something unnatural. It's over now though, we won the game and I'm proud of the guys," Ari states. He glances over to me who has been standing quietly listening to the conversation take place, "Hey Nova. You doing ok too? Were you at the game with Maya?"