And number 9; Screw number nine! Arian wasn’t leaving until the jerk had gotten a freaking broken nose!
Why was he so mad?! He fumed, awaiting a pass.
Well, there wasn’t enough time for the young master to figure out why because Bianca FINALLY returned a pass! Natalia, who was dusting dirt off her clothes didn’t see the ball coming.
The crowd gasped and sat at the edge of their seats. There was no way she was gonna dodge the ball without getting hurt!
Before Arian could miss a heartbeat, the JERK was faster and pulled her away. Unfortunately, they lost their footing and crash landed, tumbling over each other on the hard floor until they stopped.
Everyone let out a scream!
Elva, Nicky, Jeffrey, Ricky, the officials and a large crowd flew to them in a second. The first aid team also came.
Leonardo was cradling Natalia tightly with his other hand shielding her head. They tried to stand but chuckled and ended up slumping back down again. Ricky moved to help Natalia while Jeffrey bothered with Leo.
Aside a few minor scratches, the princess was fine but Leonardo had a sprained wrist which hurt when touched. The medic team swung into action. First aid was applied and he had to wear a bandage around it. Natalia felt awful watching the whole procedure. She felt bad seeing him hurt because of her.
The crowd slowly dispersed as the game resumed and the last team was called out to play.
Jeffrey Campbell was teamed up with Nicky Winterfield against Elva Thompson and Ricky Winterfield.
Now, that was quite the funny one.
Different from what happened in the previous game, each partner seemed to be against each other rather than their opponents!
Arian walked back to the VIP shade and sat with a relaxed temperament, opening another can of soda from the cooler up there. His heart was strangely glad the smiley face wasn’t hurt. But somewhere deep and frosty…. the young master was more than pleased the jerk got hurt!
At least, he didn’t have to do the dirty work himself.
However, when Leonardo and Natalia walked back to their seats and she showed care to him, the satiated look slowly morphed back into a deadly frown…
***
Natalia felt horrible seeing Leonardo get hurt protecting her. Halfway through the game, she walked him over to the boys locker room and helped him hold his water bottle against his will.
Leonardo De Luca found it adorably funny and didn’t bother hiding it. But the princess was unperturbed. Right now, HE was her responsibility! She insisted and so he let her.
They left the court hearing the coach bawl out her lungs and blow up her whistle all in the process of instructing the gamers where their target-focus should be!
When the duo got to the boys locker room, Leonardo smiled in thanks and gently touched her cheek.
Natalia returned it before hesitantly stepping away for him to walk in. In her short vacation out in the world, she’d learnt a little of the bravado the species called ‘males’ like to put on in certain situations.
So she stood at the door for some minutes, straining her ears and waiting to hear him scream out in pain of any kind…. but it never came.
Maybe he was really okay. She thought, nervously biting her lip and turned to go.
But she froze.
Arian!
Arian Dé Argent was silently watching from halfway down the hall with an unfamiliar look merged with the usual coldness in his eyes, which made the princess more nervous for some reason.
A warning bell rang out in her head, reminding of certain consequences but she unconsciously pushed it away. They stood in silence for minutes, simply staring from the distance between them.
Arian was also coming to the boys locker room…. not stalking!…. but strolling casually with his hands in his pockets when he sighted the two. An alien feeling swept through his heart and he didn’t know what expression showed on his face.
Suddenly, Natalia gasped and ran away when she saw other boys from their class coming in groups behind him. Apparently, the game was over.
She met Elva and Nicky already at the girls locker room worrying about her location than at their…. particularly flushed appearances. They freshened up and re-dressed into their previous clothes.
Yeah, the hall was cool!
Shower cubicles stood at one corner of the room while at the other corner, dressing tables with all brands of beauty products were seated available. The rest of the hall contained lockers and little dressing rooms spacious enough for one person at a time. Benches were also made available for sitting.
In summary, it looked like an elite backstage room for celebrities!
Natalia changed back into her simple summer wrap dress and was in front of a mirror, brushing her hair when the B. R. A. T. S strutted in. The bubbly chartering in the room seized instantly.
The princess silently groaned, forgetting they were in the same class.
Bianca spotted her target right away and smugly catwalked over. The girl who was using the dressing table next to Natalia’s bulged her eyes and vanished in a second!
Bianca got to the table and pretended to arrange her perfectly braided ponytail.
“Oh my. I hope you really are okay? It’s a shame I didn’t watch properly before passing the ball to you.” She shared a faux apologetic smile and her girls laughed.
Their legendary evil laugh.
Elva scoffed angrily and Nicky glared hatefully, but Natalia wasn’t bothered. She returned the smooth plastic smile.
“Fortunately, I’ve come to notice early that poor eyesight is a trend in this school. So, don’t worry. I didn’t take yours to heart.”
Bianca paused and scowled viciously through the mirror. However, seeing that Natalia wasn’t disturbed she continued fingering her braid.
“I’m certain it must have stung so deep when Arian was paired up with me. Fate seems to be drawing us closer to each other than I thought, don’t you think?” Natalia chuckled dryly.
“And I’m certain the word is ”teamed”, not paired… ‘Cause with you? I’m sure no one can survive that.” She breathed innocently and wore her headband. Stifled giggles went round the room.
“Excuse you?!” Bianca bawled aggressively and faced her, throwing away her facade.
“Honey, I don’t run after boys…. especially those that can’t stand the sight of me. Un-un!” She clicked her tongue.
“Rather, they come chasing after me… Plus, I guess it must’ve hurt a lot when your wish wasn’t granted.” Natalia gingerly placed her hair brush inside her bag.
Elva and Nicky were done and waiting patiently at the door for both her and the face-off to end.
“What wish?” The stung bee snarled. The princess slowly applied lip gloss to her pouty lips, intentionally holding the almighty queen at a standby before dumping it into her bag as well.
“Wishing it was you accidentally falling into Arian’s arms instead of me and Leonardo. A shame though.” She sighed and gently shut it.
“You’re a damned bit…” Bianca started to cuss.
“But better luck next time…. if there’d be one.” Natalia cut her off with a sweet smile and walked out with her friends.
“Bitch!” She finally screamed and smashed her dressing mirror with the lotion she was gripping…
***
The girls headed to the cafeteria for lunch. And like yesterday, only Elva and Nicky were. Natalia had gone over to get…. or more precisely, GRAB poor Leonardo De Luca from wherever he was!
Elva couldn’t help the thought and laughed out.
She had witnessed the princess on her caring side. And if you think Elva was worse, then Natalia… was a pro!
They got to their private booth, the one they’d gotten used to, and sat. Nicky loved it because it was somewhat secluded and drew less attention. But since the newbies joined her?… Let’s just say the girls were sorry.
After placing their orders, Nicky went off to talk with her brother. It still freaked Elva out to find out they were siblings. No, twins to be accurate! The resemblance was so clear but she was too dim to actually notice!
Elva knew she had to tell Nicky sooner than later about her past with her brother. She also knew that Ricky probably kept his sister in the dark as well to give her the chance to tell her first.
However, Elva knew she had to tell Natalia first and their friendversay was tomorrow. Then, she would tell her new best friend.
Nicky smiled at Elva from where she sat next to her on the table and she smiled back, hoping the smile would remain after she’d confessed.
Just then, Natalia and Leonardo walked into the cafeteria with the princess gently cradling his left hand like it was gonna fall off the next minute.
“….”
Seriously, he’d sprained his wrist. Not his entire body!! Elva deviously thought and swallowed a chuckle. She was such a dramatic package!
Natalia brought Leonardo to their table and literally hauled him in the booth before taking her place at his right.
Pardon. Not only did she bring him along, she also brought along every pair of eyes they’d passed by.
And she didn’t seem to care!
“So, what are you guys doing over the weekend?” Nicky glowed, poking at her burrito.
“Nothing much… We’re occupied this Saturday though, but we’re free the Sunday after.” Elva answered.
“Perfect! How ’bout we go to the movies then? Heard there’s a hot rom-com being premiered.”
Elva shrugged and nodded, taking a bite from her cheese sandwich at the same time. Then they turned to Natalia who wasn’t paying attention.
“Nat, what about you? You up for it?” Elva asked as the princess ordered lunch for both her and Leo.
“Huh?… Yeah, yes, sure thi… You’re not having chorizo while I’m here! It’s a spicy sausage and by some silly accident, I don’t wanna see you choke on my watch! A sprained hand is enough. I think you’ll go for pea soup?…. No, no, you might also choke on some peas. So caesar salad?…. But what would go best with…” She murmured thoughtfully, scrolling through the menu.
The girls looked pitifully at Leonardo’s face…. which was priceless!
“You know what?” He uncomfortably cleared his throat. “You sound worst than my mom. Thanks but I’ll place my order myself wh…” He tried to grab the tablet but Natalia pulled it back with a disapproving frown and hit him!
“Ouch!” He yelped and hastily blew on his hurting hand. Natalia gasped and began fussing, taking over the blowing with an awfully apologetic look on her face.
Elva and Nicky stared at each other, then burst out laughing! Leonardo was obviously faking it and the clueless princess didn’t notice!
Realization hit Natalia when the person she was feeling so guilty for started a silent chuckle. She raised her head with disbelieving eyes and almost hit him again but settled for a scowl instead.
“I’ve got it!” She chirped brightly. “You’ll have chowder (a thick soup made with fish and vegetables) and coleslaw later on.” (Coleslaw is a dish made of raw cabbage, carrots, onions and the likes mixed with mayonnaise and eaten with meat or salad.)
The Princess smiled at her conclusion.
Nicky wickedly cackled while Elva’s sympathetic look remained. Unknown to all of them, the dramatic princess was just getting started!
“Leo, you from around here?” Nicky curiously asked after she placed their orders. “You have an accent that is somewhat being shaded by an average North American’s.”
Leonardo raised his sullen eyes from Natalia to her and nodded. “No, I’m not. My parents are Italian but we move around a lot because of mom’s work.”
“Oh.” She breathed.
“Is it just the three of you?” Natalia asked pouring him a glass of water. He slightly lowered his eyes which held a mixture of emotions, mostly pain.
“No, it’s no longer the three of us. Dad died when I was ten.” He muttered and Natalia almost kicked herself in the butt!…
Chapter 22