Ash was quiet while I recounted my story to him. When I was done, he just sat back in his bed and stared at me. I didn't see the face of horror he displayed that night when he called me a monster. It seemed more pitiful.

Ash looked like he was about to say something when I heard the gruff of a woman behind me.

"Dang girl you still here? Let the boy get some rest."

I turned around and saw Auntie with her hands on her hips looking down on me. I got up from my chair and apologized. Then I said goodbye to Ash before heading out. "See you tomorrow."

As I left the room Auntie went in and closed the door behind her. "That cat has her paws all over you boy."

I smiled, wondering if that was true or if the reality was reversed.

***

After a week of recovery, Ash was cleared to head back to school. His return was welcomed by the teachers. The students, however, seemed a bit timid.

Especially when the first thing Ash did upon entering the school was to head to me to chat by my locker.

"Thanks for telling me that story Zay," he said leaning up against the locker. "I know it was hard."

I closed the locker door where Ash looked at the graffiti pinning Ash's disappearance on me. Ash took out a marker and crossed out the sentence, substituting it for his own. You can't get rid of me that easily. Then he signed his name.

"So, you ready to get your butt whipped in dodgeball again?"

I smirked. "Oh, you're so going down this time. I won't fall for your cheap tricks."

"Ash," said a squeaky voice from besides us. "You're back."

A group of students who were a bit chummy with Ash before he got injured came up to greet him. Ash smiled and greeted them all as they slowly crowded him to ask him questions about what happened to him and if it was true that his father was the Mayor of Chicago. Meanwhile, I was somehow pushed out of the circle as the group crowded around him.

I wanted to fight my way back in, but I didn't want to take away from Ash's popularity with the others. I was definitely an anchor to his sails. I decided we'd chat during class or after school.

Then Ash calmed down the group. "Guys I have a question to ask you," he said aloud without any care as to who heard. "I heard you've been giving my girl Zay here some trouble."

The eyes turned towards me outside the group. Some of the faces were repulsed. Others looked like they wanted to hide behind a dumpster. A couple even looked at me as if I was some stranger they'd never seen.

Ash took the silence from the group as culpability. He yanked himself free from the group and bowed in their direction. "It was an honor chatting with you guys, but I don't wish to surround myself with fake friends. If you want something from my dad, write him a letter like everyone else does."

Then he turned towards me and smirked. "Bet I can beat you to math class."

Then he sprinted down the hallway, clearly against the rules, but he didn't care. I took off after him, happy to have Ash back at school with me.

***

The apologies flooded in like a dam bursting on the Nile.

Just a week ago they saw me as a monster. They saw me destroy my desk in the middle of class with a single thwack. They heard me call them out for being double standard.

But seeing Ash come back and defend me in front of them, it seemed to make them wake up and realize that they were either: A) being do-do heads and should apologize; or B) if they wanted to be chummy with the Mayor's son, then they needed to make amends and treat me as if I were him.

Whatever their motivation, people sought forgiveness, invited me to parties, and Ashly even recanted her withdrawn invitation for me to try and join the soccer team. As much as it would've been cool to try out and join a club, I ended up turning her down because I didn't need unstable friends either. For me, I'd rather have one real person I could depend on to be there for me than a hundred fake friends who were only there when it was convenient for them.

And I made sure to prove how good I was at a sport that I'd never played before when gym class came. While I was selected to play dodgeball last time, I was with the half of the class that was picked to play Soccer. So was Ashly and Ash, both of whom were on the opposing team. I could tell soccer wasn't Ash's sport when he by mistake scored a goal in the wrong net. He wasn't really popular at that moment.

Meanwhile, I might have tackled Ashly when trying to steal the ball from her and she might have tripped and landed on her face in the grass. Oops. She was fine. Just a little scratch.

Meanwhile, I scored four goals in thirty minutes of play. Our side ended up winning and I got some praise from our team.

One kid named Tyler, whom I only saw in History class, came up and congratulated me. He was a soccer guy, and you know how their bodies are. Freaking sculpture of David masterpieces. I hated soccer guys.

Tyler was covered in sweat; his auburn hair was down to his shoulder. He had eyes that looked like raindrops. His skin was like cocoa butter. He had a birthmark that covered his entire left eye with a patch of darker skin, but he even managed to rock that flaw with his hair acting like a curtain. I wanted to pull it back and explore his scar some more.

Okay, I know that sounded super cringy, but come on, he was pretty hot (and I'll find a way to hurt you if you ever tell him that).

"Zay was it?" he said with a voice that was on the verge of deepening because of puberty. "You were awesome. Forget joining the girls' team. You got all the stuff to play with the boys."

Then he leaned in and whispered, "I think you're even better than me, but don't tell anyone I said that."

He pulled back and smiled, and for a twelve-year-old, he had teeth that looked like it didn't suffer from any cavities. "I can't say the same for that silver boy over there."

"Yeah," I muttered. "Soccer doesn't seem to be his thing."

"So, can I count on you to come to tryouts after school today?"

I was about to answer when Ash came in and interrupted the conversation with his heaving. "Zay, you were a beast today. I gotta hand it to you, your Spanish heritage came through there."

Tyler looked at Ash like he was a monkey who escaped from the zoo. "Sorry, I don't think we've met."

"Ashton," Ash extended his sweaty hand for Tyler. "Everyone calls me Ash."

"Ash huh, guess it matches your getup." Tyler said without shaking his hand. Then he turned his attention back to me. "So tryouts? If you come, I think I saved up enough allowance to grab some deep-dish afterwards."

"Deep-dish pizza is amazing," Ash added, pulling back his hand to wipe it on his gym shorts. Then he tossed his sweaty arms around the both of us and said, "We gotta go to the Brick Oven. That place has the best deep-dish in Chicago."

Tyler pinched Ash's hand off of his shoulder like it was a pair of dirty underwear. "Maybe some other time. So Zay, I'll see you later then."

Tyler jogged back to the locker room as his hair bounced with each step.

Ash poked at my back. "Somebody's got a crush." Then he sniggered. "He's dreamy, isn't he? If only he wasn't such an asshole."

I turned towards Ash and frowned. "Maybe you just kinda cramped his style."

Ash laughed. "Ha-ha. If anything, I saved you. Once he finds out you're not some Evangelical with roots from colonists who settled in Plymouth or Jamestown, he may just toss you aside too."

"You're reading too much into it Ash," I said as I smirked. I lightly pushed him. "Just admit it, you're jealous."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I'm jealous that such great looks and talent is wasted on a sack of turd like him."

I laughed. "Come on, let's get changed."

***

I gotta say, perhaps Ash was right. Maybe my Spanish roots gave me amazing soccer skills that I was born with. The tryouts went off without a hitch and by the end of it, I was called over by the coach who looked at me impressed.

Tyler joined alongside me as he huffed and sprayed water over his face. "Isn't she amazing Coach Beckham?"

The coach nodded. He had a goatee that was groomed brown. His mustache was pretty well maintained. His hair was cloud white however, so I didn't know why he colored his facial hair but not his normal hair.

"She is amazing. Reminded me of myself back in my golden days. Anyway, the league usually separates boys and girls on different teams, but there's no rule saying that they can't be on the same team. And with David's performance slacking recently, I think you'd be a valuable striker to add to the team."

I looked at Tyler who bit his lip in excitement. I wasn't sure if it was that or the news that got my heart racing.

"I don't know what to say," I muttered.

"Say yes I'll join and thank you Tyler for introducing me to the team," Tyler said.

I rolled my eyes and nodded towards the coach. "I'll join."

The coach clapped his hand once. "Excellent. Our first game is Saturday here at home against Excel Institute."

Then the coach reached into a bag and pulled out a jersey that was red with white edging and the number four on the back was stitched in sunshine gold.

"Saturday at 11 AM. Practice starts at 10 AM. See you there Zaslay."

If only I knew then that I'd be too injured to even show up.