"Go easy on me, 'Kay?"
As I stood on the basketball court, I couldn't help but utter those words.
It was Tuesday, after school.
And instead of being in the music room with Soriel or on my way home, I was outside.
With Tristan.
"Nah. You'll be alright," Tristan replied.
He held a basketball in his hand and bounced it off the floor a few times.
I frowned.
"Fine…"
Tristan threw the ball to me, and I caught using both hands.
"Your ball first," he said.
I began to dribble the ball a bit.
And then I rushed at Tristan!
When I appeared right in front of him, I dashed to the right.
Finally, I took a shot.
'Oh….'
I missed, completely.
"Damn, you suck," Tristan remarked, his face blank.
"Shut it," I retorted.
I went over to the ball, picking it up from where it fell.
Then I returned to my previous spot and tried the same thing again.
This time, I lost control of the ball while dribbling, leading to Tristan scoring on me.
This sequence repeated over and over again. And every time, Tristan took the ball, blocked my shot, or I missed.
"Damn it!" I said after I missed another shot.
"Flick your wrist more. Stop just pushing the ball," Tristan advised.
I picked up the ball again.
I dribbled it for a few moments and then rushed at Tristan again.
'What if I…'
This time though, instead of changing my body's direction, I switched the ball from my left hand to my right hand.
Taking a step to the side, I shot again.
'I understand it now.'
Whoosh!
The ball went right in the basket.
"I'm the best player of all time!!!" I gloated.
"Now do it again."
"Actually, on second thought, let's play a different game."
**
Bam!
I kicked the soccer ball away from Tristan.
We were now playing in a soccer field we found nearby.
'Crap.'
Before the ball went out, I quickly ran as fast as I could and stopped it.
Taking a quick breath, I dribbled towards Tristan.
And then I outran him to get to the goal.
'I am a striker!'
I kicked the ball lightly and it went into the goal.
"Alright, let's take a break now," I said.
"Got it," Tristan replied.
The two of us went to the store to get drinks and then found a bench to sit down on.
"That was pretty fun," I said.
I kept my eyes in front of us, watching cars zoom past.
"Yeah, it was," Tristan replied.
We had always planned to hang out eventually, but never picked a day.
So Tristan randomly called me out there to hang out.
"Hey, Elliot. Do you think we'll always be friends?"
I paused at the question.
'Why is he asking that? I feel like I'd be more likely to ask that…'
Ignoring my curiosity, I answered.
"Yeah. Definitely."
No matter what world we lived in.
No matter what challenges we faced.
I would always choose Tristan as my best friend.
For a moment, I saw a small smile appear on Tristan's face.
"Like how you definitely won't confess to Soriel?"
My face flushed red.
"Damnit man, c'mon!"
We both began to chuckle.
Then, we both laughed for a while.
I laughed a good bit harder though.
And when we stopped, we both simply stared up into the sky.
"Man, I can't even confess to one girl…"
I paused for a moment, knowing my next words.
"Guess I'm a pretty big idiot."
Internally, I apologized to Soriel.
I just wanted to self depreciate, just this once.
"I can't even…skip school to sleep at home. So I guess we're both idiots."
His sentiment made me want to slap myself in the face
But, it was still a sentiment.
That was something to smile for, right?
"Yeah."