Five

MATEO 

The chirping of birds slowly woke me. I reached for my phone and checked the time.

5:40 a.m.

I had barely slept. My mind had been restless for most of the night, and I had spent more time staring at the ceiling than actually sleeping.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through it for a while.

There wasn't much to see anyway. My parents regularly checked my phone, so I didn't have many interesting apps or things to look through.

Eventually, I dropped it on my bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. By the time I finished, it was past six. I went downstairs and joined my family for morning prayer.

Afterward, we quickly ate breakfast before everyone went their separate ways. Dad worked as an editor, while Mum owned a large store. Dad usually dropped Lucía off at school on his way to work. I took the bus.

I grabbed a slice of bread and headed downstairs, still chewing as I walked toward the front door then I saw Niko, he was standing outside his house.

My steps immediately slowed as my mind flashed back to yesterday. He saw me and my face grew warm. I quickly looked away, turning my face toward the other side as I walked past.

Don't look at him. I kept my eyes down and walked faster, maybe if I acted like I hadn't noticed him, I could avoid the embarrassment altogether then I heard his voice behind me.

“Mateo?”

I froze, of course he noticed me.

Niko walked up to me. I immediately hoped he wouldn't mention what happened yesterday.

“Hey, good morning,” he said with his usual bright smile. “I've been waiting for you.”

I looked at him. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Must I have a reason?”

I didn't know what to say to that, so I simply dropped the subject. There was no need to make things awkward by talking about yesterday.

We walked toward the bus stop together. Before I knew it, Niko casually placed an arm across my shoulders as we walked.

I stiffened slightly, he didn't seem to notice or maybe he did and simply didn't care.

When the bus arrived, we climbed aboard.The bus was already getting crowded, but Niko quickly found a seat. He looked at me. “Sit.”

I hesitated. “You?”

“I'll stand.” Before I could argue, he moved aside and let me take the seat. I sat down while he stood beside me, holding onto the rail above him as the bus began moving.

I glanced up at him. He was looking out the window, completely relaxed. I quickly turned my head away.

Why is he being so nice to me? I stared through the opposite window and tried to focus on the passing streets but somehow, I was very aware that Niko was standing right beside me.

We reached school just in time. As soon as we entered through the gates, I headed toward my classroom.

Niko, however, immediately spotted Alex and Nia waiting for him near one of the corridors. He walked over to them without hesitation.

I watched them for a moment before continuing. Once again, I found myself alone then I heard someone calling my name.

“Mateo!” I turned around and Sophia came running toward me with a bright smile.

“Hey, good morning!”

“Good morning,” I replied.

She caught her breath before smiling. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“I've been transferred to your class.”

I blinked. “Really?”

“Yep.”

I was surprised. Sophia laughed. “Don't look so shocked. My mum is the principal.”

“Oh.” I stared at her for a moment. “Wow.”

She laughed again. “Exactly.”

Before I could say anything else, I noticed Niko, Alex, and Nia walking past us. My eyes followed them without thinking. Sophia noticed, she suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Mateo, let's go to the basketball competition today.”

I looked at her."Why?”

She didn't answer. Instead, she kept staring at Niko and his friends.

I frowned. What's so interesting about them? “Why are you staring at them?”

Sophia finally looked at me. “Nothing.” that didn't sound convincing.

She still had her hand around my arm as we started walking toward the classroom.

I let her pull me along but I couldn't help glancing back at Niko. He was already laughing with Alex and Nia.

I looked away. Sophia tightened her grip on my arm.

“Come on.”

“I'm coming.”

We continued toward class together. I still didn't understand why she suddenly wanted me at the basketball competition but something told me she had a reason.

After our first period, it was almost time for the basketball competition.

Sophia had spent most of the break doing something neither Daniel nor I understood, she was carefully arranging cookies into a box.

Daniel and I simply stared at her. “What are you doing?” I finally asked.

“Nothing.”

“That doesn't look like nothing.”

She ignored us. Eventually, she packed the cookies into a small paper bag and stood up. “Come on.”

“Where?” Daniel asked.

“The basketball court.”

She grabbed my arm before I could object. “Wait”

“Come on, Mateo.”

Daniel laughed and followed us. When we reached the court, we found seats and sat down. I looked around, I'd never really been to something like this before.

Students were everywhere, cheering and talking excitedly then I spotted Niko. He was already with one of the teams.

I stared. “Is he on the team too?”

Daniel looked toward the court. “Yeah. You know Alex knows the captain. He probably put in a good word for him.”

“Oh,” I said.

I looked back at Niko. So he was playing that was unexpected. Soon, the whistle blew both teams entered the court and lined up across from each other.

Another whistle sounded and the game began. It was intense from the start.

Players rushed across the court, passing the ball and defending their opponents then Nia suddenly scoffed from the sidelines.

Sophia immediately jumped to her feet, she raised a small board above her head and started cheering. “Nia! Let's go!”

I stared at her. She's a fangirl.

The cheerleaders joined in, making the whole court even louder. A few moments later, the crowd erupted again and this time, it was Niko.

“NIKO!”

“NIKO! NIKO!”

His name seemed to fill the entire court. I looked at him. Apparently, people really liked him, he moved quickly across the court, focused completely on the game then, for a brief moment, his eyes found mine.

I froze. He smiled, I immediately looked away. Why does he keep doing that?

The game continued. Niko scored twice, and his team eventually pulled far ahead.

When the final whistle blew, the scoreboard showed 4–1. Niko's team had won. The crowd erupted. 

Sophia immediately stood up, grabbing the little paper bag she'd brought, she rushed toward Nia.

“Nia!” She held out the bag, Nia accepted it and smiled. “Thanks, Sophia.”

I watched them for a moment, Daniel stood beside me. “Well,” he said, “looks like you survived your first basketball competition.”

I sighed. “Barely.” but despite myself, I glanced back toward the court.

Niko was surrounded by his teammates and somehow, even in the middle of all that noise, he noticed me looking.