Saint Palisade's

[ 7 ]

THE clock above Mr. B's head seemed to reverse time. Ben sat at his desk, head drooping, waiting for the bell to sound. Every student in the room had lost interest, carrying on their own private conversations and playing games of football with paper. MJ and Atlas, seatmates, were playing tic-tac-toe in the corners of their composition notebook paper.

"The content covered in our class today will be summarized in a paper that you will submit to our Google Classroom by Sunday night." Mr. B calmly punished the class of 25.

A few shocked faces made Mr. B smile. "You guys weren't paying attention. That is your punishment. The requirements of the assignment will also be on Google Classroom."

The class collective groaned as the bell rung. Ben hurriedly packed up his notes and textbooks to hurry off towards the gym. MJ and Atlas walked behind him, trying to remember the information that Mr. B had taught.

"Why's he in such a hurry anyway?" MJ craned his neck to watch Ben practically run down the staircase.

Atlas shrugged. "He likes to exercise to let out anger."

"Anger? What's he angry about?"

"I'm guessing AP US History... can't be too sure. He'll be fine as soon as he dribbles the first basketball in sight."

MJ slid his hand down the railing at his side. "Maybe it's his frustrations about Veronica." He nudged Atlas with his elbow.

"I wish... Ben doesn't like to mess around with girls anymore. It's not like him... he used to be a playboy and everything." Atlas and MJ pulled the gym doors open.

A sunbeam struck MJ's face, creating a glow that revealed the amber in his eyes. "Shame, he has plenty of material for that here."

Atlas frowned. "I guess, but maybe it's for the better. He seems more focused on college and all that."

"I could never."

The three boys walked out of the men's changing room clad in their sportswear. They approached the court with swagger and confidence, walking like it was a scene out of a movie. Their hair moved perfectly and in rhythm, their shoes squeaking, and a basketball tucked under MJ's arm completed the hypebeast look.

MJ's eyes glimmered. He dribbled the basketball and did a few tricks before starting the 2-on-1 half-court game.

"Uh... would you guys mind if I joined you?" Isaiah hung on the backboard, touching it without even jumping.

Ben recognized him from the first day. "Isaiah! Man, where have you been?"

MJ and Atlas looked on. Atlas rested his hands at his hips, kicking at the ground with his worn Jordans. MJ tried to spin the ball on his finger a couple of times.

Isaiah smiled guiltily. "Around. Didn't mean to disappear though."

"Join us." MJ nodded and chest passed the ball to him.

Isaiah caught it with a bit of recoil. He scrunched one side of his nose and dipped his eyebrows a bit. "Game on."

The four players put their hearts into it. A game of 2-on-2 seemed like it was an NBA championship game, all of them competing for MVP. Atlas was the leading scorer, smiling after every lay-up and hanging on the rim after every dunk. Isaiah didn't fall too far behind. His specialty was obviously blocking due to his sheer mass of height. He would slap down almost every shot Ben attempted to make from the three-pointer line. MJ and Ben... well they were tied for third.

Veronica and Cameron managed to sneak down from their classroom and into the gym. They walked with class and elegance, perfect posture and hair flips. Both of them were in their school uniforms, as expected. Except Veronica had unbuttoned two buttons and untied her hair, instantly transforming her into a model who made the boys and girls weak at the knees. Cameron had her pullover v-neck sweater on and had a headband pushing her hair out of her face. Serena and Blair but the St. Palisade's version.