Zeke

Zeke hadn't imagined that hell would look this festive. Not only was he surrounded on every side by children and families drunk on holiday cheer, but he was being also forced to participate. The idea of these juvenile games made his stomach turn, made all the worse because he'd somehow found himself partnered up with Sterling.

And this was all thanks to one person.

Alicia.

He felt the muscles in his jaw strain as he looked down at her. Alicia and Celeste were ahead of them in line, his parents up front at the registration table. He stared into the back of her head, wishing his focused glare could light a fire like sunlight through a magnifying glass.

As if Alicia could feel a prickle of heat, she whipped around to look at him. She held his stare for a moment, her eyes narrowing, before she turned back around.

Zeke's ever-present frown deepened. He wished there was a way to get back at her for this...

Still waiting in line, Zeke's eye was caught on the other teams leaving the registration table, their arms laden with their supplies. They carried laundry baskets spray-painted in red and green and festooned with ribbon. Inside was a sack filled with what looked like painted sponges.

"Are those foam fruitcakes?" Zeke asked as the other teams passed him by. "Where does one even get foam fruitcakes?"

"The Internet, duh," Alicia said, turning around again. "You can get anything on the internet these days. You should know that. You were some kind of tech mogul, weren't you?"

Yeah, emphasis on the past tense, he thought. He wanted to return a snarky, but instead, he looked away, trying his best to ignore her. He had promised his parents civil, and she made him want to be anything but.

"So, what's the objective again?" Celeste asked her dad.

"One person throws the fruitcake," her dad shouted back as if to inform all of them. "The other person catches them with the basket. The team that makes the most throws moves onto the next round."

"Sounds simple enough," Celeste said with a nod, looking at the other to see if they had understood.

"If that's the case," Sterling piped up for the first time, turning towards Zeke. "Then you should probably be the catcher."

Zeke snapped out of his thoughts and frowned. "What? Why?"

"Because I'll be the better throw," Sterling explained like it wasn't even up for debate. "I played a ton of basketball growing up."

"Yeah, you, Olly, and Will practically lived on the court," Alicia said, her eyes dreamy with nostalgia. She looked so pretty when she wasn't scowling... which, unfortunately, was whenever she looked at him.

Sterling grinned back at his friend, looking proud. "Yeah, and I never missed a shot."

Alicia nodded. "You were pretty good."

"So?" Zeke interjected. "I played baseball, and I was a pitcher. A great one."

"Maybe in, like, middle school," his sister said, stifling a laugh. "You quit in high school and it's been more than a few years since then."

Alicia giggled that damn giggle...e.

"Hey!" Zeke shot back at his sister, fighting the flush of heat on his face. "I only quit the team because I had to focus on my studies. Coach Reynolds said I had real potential."

Alicia scoffed and shot him a cutting look. "And we know how much potential counts for."

He stared back at her, his own gaze sharp. She returned it with the same amount of venom.

The challenge was still there.

Why was he bothering with this? He wanted to turn on his heel and march out of there, but he caught his mom watching him over his sister's shoulder. By the look she was giving him, she wanted to remind him of a certain promise.

His promise that he'd behave and...

Give Sterling a chance.

He took a deep breath and once again did his best to ignore Alicia. By the smug smile that tugged at her full lips as she turned back around, she took it as a victory.

By then, they'd reached the head of the line, and his dad had started handing the activity supplies back. Alicia took one basket for her team, then shoved the other back at Zeke.

Zeke glared at her, took the basket, and pushed it into Sterling's arms. Sterling looked bewildered and pushed it back. Zeke shoved back, giving Sterling a determined look. Though it seemed that Alicia had already decided for him, he wasn't just going to roll over.

"I'm going to throw," Zeke warned, pushing the basket towards him. "You can catch."

Sterling held firm. "But I never miss."

Celeste was watching them both with worry, while Alicia just looked annoyed.

"Oh, come on Zeke," she said, "let Sterling throw, so we can get this over with—"

His dad had rejoined the group. "What's going on here?"

"They're arguing," Alicia tattled, "over who gets to throw and who has to catch."

"Well, well, well," his dad said, leveling a perfect dad stare at Zeke. Another warning. "If there's a debate, then the only civil way to settle it is to... flip a coin." He gave Zeke one more warning look. "Deal?"

"Fine," Zeke muttered.

"Works for me," Sterling said with a shrug.

"Let's go for it, then," his dad said, digging his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a quarter and pinched it between his finger and thumb. "Ready? Call it!"

His dad flicked the coin into the air.

"Heads!" Zeke said quickly.

"Tails then, I guess," Sterling said, disinterested.

The coin spun in the air...

Zeke couldn't help but grin at it. He looked at Alicia, his turn to be smug. "Did you know that, by the numbers, it's better odds for heads? Statistically speaking, it's—"

The coin fell back down, and Herb caught it. He turned it over and slapped it on the back of his other hand before pulling away to reveal...

"Tails!" his dad cried. "Zeke catches, Sterling throws."

Zeke's face fell. "What?"

Alicia chuckled. She yanked the basket out of Sterling's hands and once again shoved it at Zeke. Zeke grumbled but took it.

His father waved them on towards the game pitch. Zeke followed, though his legs felt like they were made of lead. He wished he was anywhere but here.

"Ugh," he muttered to himself. "This is all so stupid. What is even the point of this stupid game?"

Behind him, Alicia snickered.