All Chapters of Boys Don’t Play Fair: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The last bell of the day rang, and just like that, it was over.The whole building seemed to breathe out everyone spilling into the halls, loud and restless.Noah started stuffing his notebook and pens into his backpack, barely noticing when Joe shot up from his desk.“I’ll be right back,” Joe said. “Restroom.” “Okay.”He disappeared, swallowed up by the crowd and the noise.Noah zipped up his bag, wandered over to the door, and leaned against it like he always did. Kids rushed past, all of them loud, shouting about their Friday plans. It felt wild, everyone finally let loose.Joe didn’t come back right away.Five minutes ticked by. Then ten. Noah started scrolling aimlessly on his phone, not really paying attention.Finally, Joe came back and something was off. His face was flushed, like he’d been running, and his eyes looked too sharp, too urgent.“Hey,” Noah said, careful. “You okay?”

Monday hit faster than Noah expected.He handed in his essay first thing. Mrs. Patterson accepted it with just a nod and a small smile a second’s approval, but it was enough.He tried not to dwell. He’d rewritten that essay four times. At this point, if it didn’t work, nothing would.At lunch, Joe found him.“How was your weekend?” Joe asked, dropping his tray at the table.“Fine. Studied. You?”“Volunteered. Pretty dull.” Joe stabbed a carrot. “Did you hear? Swimming practice is today. After school.”Noah blinked. He’d forgotten.He pulled up the email on his phone. Sure enough—3:30pm.“You nervous?” Joe said.“Why would I be nervous?”“Because you don’t know how to swim.”“I do.”“You told me you didn’t.”“I said not really. That’s not the same.” Noah set his phone down. “I can swim. I’m just not great at it.”Joe grinned big. “This’ll be fun to wa

They worked through calculus for another hour. By the time Noah finally shut his laptop, the sun had slid lower in the sky and spilled gold light through the windows. The dust in the air looked like tiny stars.“My brain is fried,” Noah said, rubbing at his tired eyes.“You did good today.” Jay was packing up, putting notebooks into his backpack. “You’re getting faster.”“That’s only because you explain things in regular English.”“So Mrs. Patterson’s lessons don’t help?”Noah laughed. “She teaches like she’s reading straight from the textbook.” He stood up and stretched, shifting shoulders. “You—well, you sound human.”Jay smirked. “Guess that’s a compliment.”“It is.”Noah wandered to the old bookshelf by the window one of those reference sections that collected dust instead of readers. Shelves full of thick hardcovers with boring titles.He scanned the spines, eyes darting.Jay watched him. “What are you looking for?”“We have to use a secondary source for the next essay something

Noah waited outside the locker room, leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone. The hallway barely had anyone in it just a mess of voices drifting through the door. Laughter, somebody celebrating, another cursing a missed shot.Teammates started filing out, nodding or ignoring Noah as they walked past. Marcus from the swim team caught sight of him and stopped, surprised. “Carter? What are you doing here?”“Waiting for someone.”Marcus grinned. “Vale, right?”Noah didn’t answer.Marcus just laughed. “Good luck, man,” and left.Players kept leaving. The hallway emptied out, finally going silent.Noah pushed off the wall and stepped inside.The locker room smelled like sweat and soap. Most lockers were empty just a few towels, someone’s water bottle left behind. Jay sat on a bench at the back, still in his gear, staring at nothing in particular.Noah walked up. “How’s it goi

Noah couldn’t eat. He just sat there at lunch, poking at his food, his attention locked on the senior side of the cafeteria.Jay wasn’t there.“You’re staring again,” Joe said.Noah jerked, pretending not to hear. “What?”“At the empty table. You’ve checked over there, like, five times.” Joe took a bite of his sandwich. “He’s probably in some meeting or whatever.”“I wasn’t staring.”“Sure.”After that, Noah picked at his food, not really tasting any of it.Joe was quiet too had been since last night. He smiled and laughed when he was supposed to, but something wasn’t right.“You okay?” Noah asked.“Yeah. Fine.”“Joe—”“I said I’m fine, Noah.” Joe’s voice had an edge, but then it faded. “Sorry. I’m just tired, that’s all.”Noah wanted to say more. Wanted to ask if Liam had reached out again or if Joe was thinking about running back to him. But he bit it back. Joe woul