Jenna’s car stopped in the parking lot and she shot Zaire a stare that told him to immediately leave.

Gone was the friendship built from singing and dancing to the same song a couple of minutes ago.

‘Teenage girls are complicated!’ He complained internally.

Zaire knew a couple of students had already spotted him in Jenna’s car, but now wanting to upset Jenna further, he decided to simply comply.

He slipped out of the car while it was still parking, walked two cars down, and snatched his keys out of the air as soon as Henry tossed them in his direction.

He and Henry got each other…

“Nice catch!” She admired.

“I always do it to you,” Zaire shrugged. “That means I can react to it anytime,” He bragged.

“Remind me to throw a baseball at your head next time,” Henry cursed with a smiling expression. “If you can catch that, then I have no problem if you throw things at me for the rest of my life.”

Zaire smiled perversely and instantly, Henry knew she had made the basic mistake – never leave anything to Zaire’s interpretation.

“no… no… NO!” Henry broke into a slight jog, constantly glancing backwards. “Zaire… no, no…” Then, she broke into a sprint toward the school building.

Zaire chased after the girl… soon, he scooped Henry into his arms and leapt up the stairs leading up to the main building.

She chuckled and pinched his nose… to anyone else, they may look like the ideal couple but there was nothing but genuine friendship between them.

Zaire eventually released Henry as they made their way through the metal detectors – as soon as they were through, she allowed her body to linger lazily as Zaire dragged her along.

Her head found familiar comfort resting on his shoulder.

Henry disliked the sound of giggling teenagers so Zaire’s shoulder provided a wonderful way to hide from the usual irritations of the morning.

Zaire moved expertly through the hallways, dodging the areas where most people were concentrated, especially people who would try to talk to him and Henry.

Being with Henry helped a lot at keeping the wider population at bay but every now and again, a weird person, uncaring of social norms. would appear.

For them, Zaire humbly spared some time – he liked outcasts the most… and Henry was comfortable with being lazily held in his arms.

At some point, he had become her designated carrier – he was carrying her around.

It was a Monday, and students hadn’t seen their friends in two days, so there were a lot of hugs and kisses being passed around.

Henry and Zaire avoided such affection as the plague.

Just as the duo was about to approach their lockers, they noticed a familiar figure lingering nearby – Clay Boone.

“Gawd… that guy doesn’t know when to give up,” Henry complained.

She tended to avoid Clay due to his extremely high opinion of his game… thankfully, whenever Zaire was around, Clay wouldn’t dare glance in her direction more than twice.

However, Zaire also tended to avoid Clay due to how much the latter’s father supported the school’s basketball team… Zaire didn’t want to become entangled with Bill Boone.

He could not recall anything about The Impulse Series but it only took a couple of months in Reston for Zaire to figure out that Bill Boone was a big-time drug dealer.

Since his stay in Reston, at least two bodies had turned up that the police had covered up – that meant Bill Boon was responsible.

That was also the reason, besides racism, that he was being targeted by The Sheriff.

The Old Man suspected Zaire was at the scene of one of the murders and he was… but he had jumped away and kept quiet about the incident.

After all, he could hardly care about Bill Boone killing a teenage cocaine-head.

It was a simple matter of stupidity killing stupidity.

Zaire placed Henry on the ground and she pulled him down an alternate hall – they successfully avoided Clay Boone for another day.

“That is why I can’t go to your games,” Henry complained.

“Don’t use Dough as an excuse,” Zaire argued – he was also on the team but he didn’t get much playing time.

But this time, it was more because of Bill Boone than racism.

Henry chuckled since Dough was another name for Clay and it was strangely accurate.

“You have to be at the game this Friday though,” Zaire’s tone was uncompromising.

Henry frowned contemplatively, even though she had already decided to attend – best not to let Zaire think that she was so easily convinced.

The duo jogged up the stairs, feeling uncomfortable the entire time.

Stairs were usually required to be somewhere between eight to eleven inches but the stairs at the school were almost a foot and a half high, causing the sensation of falling to assault Zaire and Henry whenever they ascended the death trap.

However, they were the only ones to experience this sensation.

Zaire had a theory that it was because of their spatial sensitivity due to their nature as Jumpers, but he couldn’t share the theory with Henry because she had yet to experience her first controlled jump.

The duo swung back around after a couple of minutes, finding their lockers free of any Boone presence… their lockers were right next to each other.

Henry always joked that the school wanted to place all the outliers in one location but Zaire knew Henry only got a locker due to his insistence.

The school was more than happy to ignore her… apparently, even the administrators didn’t think she would stick around for very long.

Zaire and Henry ignored the noises from chatting teenagers as they worked their way through their lockers.

The lockers swung open…

“Really?” Henry quirked a brow, throwing an accusatory expression in Zaire’s direction. “You’re very tasteless.”

“What?” He asked innocently. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down so I got you a small gift…”

Henry pulled her hand out of her locker, clutching a number 8 basketball jersey with Zaire’s #1 Fan printed on the back.

“I am not wearing this shit!” Henry groaned.

“The other shirt says Zaire’s Girl…” He shrugged, gesturing to the jersey in his locker. “I don’t think you’ll like that one so…”

The rest was left unsaid but Henry knew she had to pick between the two evils – suddenly, Zaire’s #1 Fan wasn’t looking so bad anymore.

“Fine…” She groaned.

It would take considerable physical strain to wear the shirt but she would manage… Henry decided to think about it as Zaire’s Goodbye Gift.

“I think it would look better if the number was four…”

A voice interrupted Zaire’s and Henry’s morning ritual of exchanging complaints.

It was Clay Boone.

Henry quirked a brow. “Shouldn’t you greet your teammate before trying to hit on a girl who has clearly been avoiding you?” She burned Clay while simultaneously directing the conversation to Zaire.

Clay and Zaire were fire and water… especially where Patty Yang was concerned.

The fact that Zaire hung around Henry so much just made Clay want her all the more.

“Kids these days…” Zaire shook his head in a feeble manner, trying to mimic a person of considerable age and wisdom. “They have yet to grow hair on their balls and they already want to hump things with their four-inch dicks.”

Henry covered her mouth… as did many of the students nearby who had overheard the comment.

“Zaire… don’t test me,” Clay threatened.

“Clay…” Zaire’s voice was lower and held something darker than Clay could fathom. “—Don’t test me…”

Henry immediately grasped Zaire’s hand, pulling him behind her as she took a step forward – her intention was not to protect Zaire but to protect Clay from Zaire…

She needed Zaire to stick around and sacking Clay Boone in the mouth was an easy way to expulsion.

“So… Henry. Would you like to—” Clay shook off Zaire’s threat.

“I would not…” Henry’s reply was immediate, not even giving Clay time to complete his flirting.

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask,” Clay frowned, flicking his gaze to Zaire for a split second.

Clay was wondering if Zaire had cockblocked him in some way –if that was the case, Clay would have no more guilt about cutting Zaire’s playing time.

After all, The Boone’s donation to the team gave him benefits.

“I watched your last game,” Henry revealed, uncaring that Zaire would find out she was hiding under the bleachers to watch him. “You missed the rim a ton of times – let’s just say I am the type of girl who prefers the balls go in the hole.”

PSHT

Zaire broke into raging laughter – his finger stroked Henry’s hand… their fingers were still interlocked.

Henry released Zaire’s hand and grabbed his arm, dragging him along rather intimately as a blow to Clay’s confidence – they departed.

“Well… well… you would have liked my balls!” Clay yelled.

A dozen eyes widened in the corridor, casting disgusted or funny expressions at Clay Boone.

Henry wanted to spin around and dropkick Clay in the gut but Zaire’s hand kept her body on the straight and narrow.

They disappeared down another corridor.

--------------

“I know I say this a lot,” Zaire admitted, guiding Henry to their first class of the day. “But you should never approach Clay Boone without me around.”

“I know, I know…” Henry rolled her eyes.

Honestly, if a mere Clay Boone dared to bother her without Zaire around, she would probably beat him half-to-death and skip town the following day.

Zaire could tell as much from the expression on Henry’s face… still, he knew that she would never consider herself a victim until it happened.

Henry knew Zaire was displeased with her answer. “Why are you so protective of me when it comes to Clay Boone?” She inquired. “It’s almost as if you know something I don’t.”

“I told you,” Zaire shrugged, entering the car and making sure Henry took the seat next to his. “I know guys like Clay Boone – they don’t take no for answers very often.”

Henry slid into her seat and pulled her desk out of alignment, screechingly dragging the table closer to Zaire’s desk. “Tell me more,” She hummed.

It was at that time the teacher entered the class. “Okay, class – today we will be covering…” He stated and started a tirade on the types of bonds between substances.

The class started – everyone paid attention.

Well, Henry and Zaire immediately placed their heads on the desk, drifting into a sort of semi-sleep – they had picked the seat behind the largest two kids in the class.

That way, the teacher wouldn’t notice their nap.

Besides, the teacher had long given up on the newest student and it was only thanks to Zaire’s insistence that Henry had yet to be kicked from the class; though she wouldn’t exactly be thankful if she knew that.

……………………………

RING – RING

The bell rang… Zaire and Henry were up a couple of minutes before the bell rang – they even participated in the last two questions of the class.

They had long since learned the secret to a prosperous sleeping career – just make sure you finish strong so the teacher can’t report you without incriminating themselves.

The duo stumbled through the classroom’s door – their legs were numb, so they leaned on each other for comfort.

“That class was excruciatingly boring…” Henry drawled, placing more of her weight on Zaire.

Zaire remained silent for a couple of seconds.

“What’s wrong?” Henry inquired.

The Jumper showed Henry the text on his phone – a text about the basketball team meeting in the locker room… only, he got the text from a teammate instead of the group chat.

That never bodes well.

Henry rolled her eyes. “You know how that will end,” She stated.

Zaire shrugged. “I have a responsibility to the team and I haven’t really been living up to it recently,” He reasoned, trying to dampen the blow to his ride.

“Can’t take care of everybody,” Henry sighed, gently rubbing the hands of her friend.

Zaire kept a tight lid on his emotions but Henry could always tell when he was unbalanced… she liked him unbalanced – the vulnerabilities were her favourite part of him.

“Trust me…” Zaire sunk into momentary silence, recalling his mother and their village. “I learned that lesson the hard way.”

Henry no longer tried to convince her friend – the decision had been made and she couldn’t argue against it, especially since she would have also gone headfirst into the fire.

“You know where I’ll be when the shit turns funny…”

Zaire nodded and split from his and Henry’s usual route.

-----------

The locker room was heated and sweaty.

The moment he pushed open the door, Zaire could tell that something was amiss.

It took a couple of seconds for him to realize what was wrong.

“The prodigal son returns…”

Zach raised his fist and Zaire met his team member with three first bumps in quick succession – it was a code they had established a while back.

‘So, things are that bad, huh?’ Zaire sighed internally.

“You took a long time to come even though the captain was here early,” Clay voiced sarcastically. “Do you still want to be on this team? Don’t you need that five-dollar scholarship, you got?”

Some of the guys on the team shook their heads in disapproval, while others sneered and chuckled.

Zaire found his usual spot on the bench – he sat at the edge, surrounded by eight of the twelve players in the room.

There was a subtle divergence in the group.

“What’s wrong?” Zaire turned to Zach.

Zach sighed. “Boone’s Car Sales got the sponsorship rights for this game,” He revealed.

“Clay’s father always sponsors the games,” Zaire frowned, wondering what had changed. “I mean, he partially pays for my scholarship like everything else in this town.”

“Yeah, but it has never been a direct sponsorship,” Zach revealed.

“And that means I get to decide who stays and who leaves… we need to cut a player for tonight since we don’t have enough jerseys,” Clay announced, eyes narrowing on Zaire. “By popular support, I have decided that…”

The suspense built…

“Damon won’t be playing anymore,” Clay voiced.

Everyone’s eyes widened – Damon was the most unstable member of the team… their eyes scanned around for Damon’s presence but he wasn’t present.

Obviously, he had been told beforehand.

“Are you trying to die by kicking Damon off the team?” Zach scolded. “We keep him here so he does bully the freshmen…”

“That’s why we don’t need him,” Clay’s decision was final. “—besides, there is something else…” Clay continued his announcement. “The game this weekend…” He pretended to ponder deeply. “My formations run counter to yours so I will be getting more game time while you get less, but that doesn’t matter, right? I mean, we average the same points.”

Of course, Clay left unsaid that the only reason he stood a chance at averaging the same points as Zaire was because The South African had fifteen assists, ten rebounds, and eight steals almost every game.

Clay focused mostly on points…

Zaire was not a selfish player – the guys on the team preferred him to Clay especially because of that reason.

Zaire wanted to box Clay for The Captain Position but he knew that wouldn’t end well… he also wanted to quit but his parents had drilled a repulsion to quitting in his bones.

Zach noticed some of the guys were standing up so he signaled Zaire to leave, lest things become troublesome.

Zaire rose from his seat. “I will see you guys at the game,” He stated and quickly made his way to the door.

“Are all Africans pussies?” Clay wanted to provoke Zaire just enough, but the latter would not give him the attention he required.

But Clay knew he just had to hit where it would hurt…

“You like Henry, right? I can’t wait to try her like I fucked Patty after she was through with you…”

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH

Zaire’s steps ceased. “You want to say that again?” He chuckled.

The awe and oohing had ceased, and the players, aside from Zach, tensed because – unlike Clay – they knew nobody had a more vicious mouth than Zaire.

“What’s so funny?” Clay frowned.

“I mean…” Zaire shrugged, knowing he could destroy Clay in a few words - maybe it was his hormones, but he couldn’t stop himself from wanting to get even. “I never kiss and tell but have you ever had that sinking feeling in your gut… kinda like what you’re feeling right now?”

“And?” Clay started to fidget, preparing for an attack from Zaire.

But that wasn’t what he was referring to.

“Well, I can tell you it’s not in your gut… that’s not where it began,” Zaire leisurely continued his journey to the door as he spoke. “It’s your dick – that sinking feeling during sex with Patty is very real. I know I don’t have to tell you where all that extra space in her pussy comes from…”

Zaire even grabbed his dick through his pants, highlighting the impressive size Patty was taking before she was with Clay – his meaning was obvious.

Clay couldn’t fill Patty because he had ploughed the land too deep already.

All the team sucked in a cold breath of air.

What made the matter burn even more for Clay was the fact that the basketball team had all taken baths together before…

Patty had become a taboo subject exactly for this reason – Clay could not compare to Zaire when it came to sizes, and if the cheerleaders were to be believed, The South African also had a talented tongue.

Clay’s vision turned red – his objective was to bait Zaire into attacking first…

But…

Not all things turned out as planned.

Clay was met with a fist in the face as soon as he attacked and without wasting a single second, Zaire dashed into the crowd of his stunned teammates.

He never ran from a brawl… especially not one with kids, so it was better to take the initiative.

Hell broke loose in the locker room, and even Zach wasn’t spared – he fought anything in striking distance since nobody would spare his impartiality any mind.

………………………………

A couple of minutes later…

The announcement of the players was being held – the cheerleaders danced in the stadium.

Everyone had gathered for the presentation – it was a Reston, or really, a basketball, tradition.

The announcer had spent fifteen minutes hyping the crowd. “Now, let me introduce you to the team that will be representing you this weekend against The Rebels… join me in welcoming, Brexton!”

The crowd stood and cheered.

Patty danced with more enthusiasm, expecting Clay and Zaire to enter at any moment… she hardly had an interest in any of them but she liked seeing the tension between them.

Clay was too immature.

Zaire was too unfeeling, and of course, he had too much baggage as well.

Jenna, from her seat in the bleachers, gritted her teeth, fighting against the bubbling excitement that always came when Zaire played basketball.

But…

“Where are the boys?”

No one showed up.

----------------

Henry remained inside the bathroom, smoking the weed that aided her in keeping away the seizures.

It wasn’t exactly legal to smoke in school, even if it helped with her medical condition.

Luckily, though she hadn’t been in Reston for long, Henry knew all the places teachers and students avoided – those were her havens.

It was also in one of those places that she first met Zaire.

The cheering from the stadium was so loud... until it wasn’t – she could guess what had happened.

It had been obvious and it was hardly the first time this had happened – Zaire and Clay fighting over Patty Yang though both of them were already sleeping with other girls.

Henry couldn’t understand – there was nobody more similar to Zaire than Clay… but maybe that was the reason why they loathe each other so much.

“There is no winning an African, six-five basketball player in a fight, is there?” Henry mused, deciding if she had to rush to the locker room to join Zaire in the fight.

He wouldn’t want her to but she was a loyal friend.

“I would have gone for the balls,” Henry reasoned, thinking about the ways she could survive a fight with Zaire. “I know his balls hang really low…”

……………………………

The day continued normally.

Henry was back in class – all the previously planned events were cancelled, leaving many people disappointed.

Not many things happened in Reston so when something did happen, it was approached with anticipation unlike any other.

The matter of the fight had spread, and Zaire was the butt of the joke… though, the few people who knew Zaire well could tell that he wasn’t the one to lose the fight.

Still, it was a squabble – everyone knew.

Henry awakened at the usual time, five minutes before class would end… she habitually extended her hand to the nearby desk before she recalled that Zaire was not there.

All the boys had been shipped to the hospital – of course, there were no serious injuries… a bruised rib here, a swollen eye there, and multiple lacerations requiring stitches.

Luckily, Zaire and the other boys had the presence of mind to avoid serious injuries… if Zaire wanted to hurt someone, he would have used his elbow instead of his fists.

Rumours echoed around the school, though the bit about Patty had been withheld.

‘Zaire is in the hospital…’ Henry grimaced – that was one place she was not going to visit Zaire.

At best, she would show him a bit more skin the next time they went to the lake – that should be reward enough for his perverted eyes.

Currently, Mr. Shelly was distributing the papers that he was supposed to grade last semester, but somehow only now had time to give them back – a mere couple of weeks before the final projects were due.

“Katy, keep up the good work,” Shelly encouraged, choosing what students he complimented very carefully – he was already kissing asses to move up in the world. “You got a B+.”

Townes, one of three autistic students at the school, started to shift uncomfortably in his seat, searching for something that was missing from his desk.

“Townes, you got an A+ again,” Shelly called aloud, but anyone could tell his tone was less than amicable.

Townes was smart but his future prospects were limited, so there was no need to kiss up to him.

“Townes?” Shelby questioned again when there was no reply – he couldn’t allow a student to slip by without showing him the proper respect.

Townes became fidgety. “Someone took my pen,” He cried.

“Oh, come on… not this again, Townes,” Shelby groaned in frustration.

“Who took my blue pen?” Townes questioned, rising from his seat in an uncontrollable burst of nervousness.

That was Townes… if something was out of place, Townes could not focus on anything else.

The entire class started to giggle at Townes’s plight.

Henry was not laughing… Jasmine was not laughing… Tom was not laughing…

But everyone else laughed…

Henry raised her head from the desk, catching the moment the student in front of her slipped a blue pen into his desk.

‘Assholes exist everywhere…’ She thought.

“My blue pen was stolen,” Townes insisted.

“Townes!” Shelly growled, frustrated that Townes was about to throw another fit inside his classroom.

Actually, Shelly innated disliked the very idea of Townes - he believed that autistic students didn’t belong inside his classroom… it made his job a hundred percent more difficult.

“My blue pen was right here,” Townes gestured to a location on his desk.

“Sit down!” Shelly yelled, causing Townes and several other students to flinch. “I am sick and tired of you disrupting my class!” He continued.

“But someone stole my pen,” Townes argued but this time, noticeably weaker – he slowly slid back into his seat and avoided eye contact with everyone.

Towne’s skin burned with their gazes, and while that wouldn’t be a problem for anyone else, it was a problem for someone autistic.

“Sit your butt on the chair before I tape it,” Shelly growled, towering over Townes confrontationally.

Shelly felt larger than life at that moment.

“But my pen,” Townes was on the verge of tears.

“I don’t care about your pen,” Shelly explained and pointed. “Look… you have a black pen and you have a red pen! You have two pens!”

Seeing that no one else was about to speak up, Henry raised her hand in the air, and her mouth moved with the potent disdain for authority that came naturally to her.

A large part of it, admittedly, was learned from Zaire’s vicious tongue.

“I have a question for you, Shelly…” Henry pronounced each word with emphasis – it was the proper thing to do but she somehow made it sound disrespectful. “Why do we have to call you a ‘Doctor’? You’re not exactly a Ph.D., are you?”

Henry casually used her hand to prop up her chin, endless mocking curiosity on her face. “I actually looked you up, Mr. Gibson… you did your post-grad at the University of Cincinnati, right?”

Shelby paused, his chubby face jiggling as his eyes sharpened. “Young Lady, choose your next words very carefully,” He warned.

A faint smile tugged at Henry’s lips when she heard the subtle threat – only idiots threatened in the open. “Well, they publish their doctoral dissertations online,” Henry smirked.

“Okay… that’s enough,” Shelly raised his hands authoritatively, gesturing for Henry to be quiet but she refused.

“Your master’s is there… It’s a rambling piece of shit, but it’s there,” Henry’s eyes widened as if she had made a discovery.

“Principal Office, Henry!” Shelly ordered.

“But it’s just odd I couldn’t find your dissertation,” She added.

Shelly dodged the students’ desks as he made his way to Henry. “We’re going to the Principal’s Office.”

When Shelly latched onto Henry’s arm, she immediately started to panic… with Zaire around, she wouldn’t have been so bothered but at this moment, she felt truly defenceless.

She lived on the edge but she didn’t have edge-like experiences… so, for a moment, she was at a loss at how to react other than panic.

“Let me go!” She yelled, fighting back as much as she could, but Shelly was larger and stronger.

But suddenly, Henry gave up all trace of fighting, and under the astonished eyes of everyone in the classroom, she had an episode…

An epileptic episode.

Henry dropped to the ground, partially guided by a nervous Shelly who didn’t know what to do – it was a miracle that he hadn’t dropped her on the ground.

“Give her some space,” He warned when the students were about to crowd Henry. “Someone, get a doctor!”

The desks shook subtly with Henry’s episode, but this phenomenon went unnoticed by everyone but Townes.

Of course, Henry ended up in the very same hospital Zaire had been sent to.