His Number One : The Sequel to Chemistry

Chapter 5

Tyler rushed down to the office as the first bell of the school day rang. This wasn't an easy task; dipping and dodging through groups of friends and pairs of couples that is. He bumped into at least five people. Three of whom sucked their teeth and glared at him angrily, while the other two quickly apologized. So he was more than relieved when he finally reached the front office. Once he opened the door and saw the line of people in front of him, the relief quickly vanished. Many students stood in front of the front desk behind a few parents who were now talking to the receptionists about something Tyler just knew wasn't nearly as important as his high school basketball career.

After many seconds of anxiously listening to parents complaining about their child's grades and demanding a parent-teacher conference, he decided to take a seat on the small couch on the back wall of the office. Maybe the line'll go down faster. He looked up at the clock in the corner of the ceiling. There were eight minutes left before the bell for first period to ring, and he had to call home now before his father left for work. Stephanie was already at the elementary school down the street. His only chance lie in the hands of his father.

One by one, the office began to clear up, and Tyler stood up to take his place in line.

"What do you need?" the dark haired, middle aged receptionist politely asked once it was his turn.

"I need to call my dad," he answered. He hoped the despair on his face added some effect.

The receptionist gave him a discouraging look so he furthered his request. "It's an emergency."

The lady picked up the phone from off her desk and said, "What's the nature of the emergency?"

"Uh," Tyler began. She had started punching the area code in but abruptly stopped after this nervous hesitation. "I left my sports physical at home. I need it to try out for basketball this afternoon."

"You're going to have to come back during your lunch period to call," the lady said. She slammed the phone back on the hook and it landed with a loud 'thud'.

"I have to call now though. My dad'll be leaving for work any minute."

"I'm sorry," the receptionist assured him. But her tone and the expression on her face said otherwise. She looked past him and around to the next person in line. "How can I help you?"

Defeat spelled itself out over Tyler's face as he stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. He threw his back against it and sighed heavily. There was no way he wasn't going to be on that basketball team this year. Basketball was part of his life. It was his release. Other people wrote in their diaries, talked to their parents. Tyler had basketball. And although he wasn't the best at it, it was the best of him.

He quickly stood up from off the door, snapping out of his own mind, as his eyes watched Lauren walking past him from a distance. Alone. This made him smile because Lauren was never walking by herself. She was always alongside some other guy. But today she was alone.

"Lauren!" he shouted. He started towards her as she turned to the caller of her name.

A smile formed on her lips. A genuine one. Not the fake, 'Hey, Tyler! I'm walking with another guy right now but I'll text you when I get home, okay?' smile she's been throwing at him since as long as he could remember.

"Hey!" she greeted brightly as she placed an arm around his waist. The other hand was down by her side holding a binder.

Tyler placed his arm around Lauren's shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, they actually looked and felt like a real couple. It felt to them as if every eye in seeing distance were on them, and every conversation that consisted of even the loudest whisper were about them. They were that on-again off-again couple that people loved to feed off of. As soon as they heard something happened between these two, they would stop talking about whatever the subject was just to discuss the latest news on Tyler and Lauren. They could've been the school's power couple if they weren't so corrupt.