SAVANTS
The Chapture 13

"Zoe!" I protested, his words were too close to Zed. "Don't make me look stupid."

"Miss Congeniality shows her emotions! I know you must have it somewhere" said Zoe, fascinated by my sharp answer.

"You'd be like that if you had to live like me. No one bothers me seriously."

My emotions only rose by one level as the three of them laughed out loud. "So I'm a joke, huh?"

"Sorry, Sky." Tina raised her hand to prevent me from leaving. "Just you look really fierce when you say that ..."

"Yes, it's really scary" Zoe agreed, struggling not to laugh. "Like Bambi with Uzi."

"And, to be clear, none of us thought you were a fool" Tina said.

"Obviously not" Zoe interrupted.

"But I have to agree with Zoe" said Zed, holding a grin. "You look scary sometimes. Maybe I should teach you a lesson. Be careful!" He rubbed his hand lightly onto my arm and walked away, leaving the three of us.

"Well, that's a sexy ass," Zoe sighed, enjoying the back view.

"Don't talk about his ass" I said annoyed. It makes them go again. "And stop laughing at me!" Did he warn me again?

"We'll try, but it's hard when you say things like that." Tina nudged me. "Tell us that it's your ass (Zed) that needs to be protected, then we'll stop, won't we, Zoe?"

"Well, I might see it but I'll stop saying it" Zoe grinned, ignoring the entire class that went into the lab. Tempting me was much more fun than anything a Biology teacher could offer.

"That's not my ass" I said.

"But I think it could be yours. He must've approached you." Zoe carried her bag.

Tina retreated to let Zoe in, then lowered her voice. "We were just kidding, Sky, but, seriously, I was thinking that Zed was up to something. I've never seen him act so well, on a girl."

I glanced down the corridor to make sure he was actually gone. 

"You noticed?" I said.

"It's hard to miss. Last time you two were together, you almost bled."

"Yes, but he's still Mr. Arogan."

"It could be that she's changed" she pulled my bag strap to make her point. "He always kept his distance before. I wish he would do it now. He's not your type."

I frowned. "So what's my type?"

"Like bambi, I guess." He smiled at my complaints. "I mean someone who will be gentle. Romantic behavior, walks, roses and chocolates, that kind of thing."

"And Zed isn't that?"

"I don't have to tell you. For a girl with a hard shell, it doesn't matter, but you're more like a marshmallow, don't you?"

Did i? "Maybe. I don't know what I really am."

"You're gonna be careful?"

That's what Zed said. "I don't know what to think. She can't expect me to fall in love with her after the way she treated me"

"Only you remember that."

"I didn't know he was after me."

Tina glanced at her watch and pulled me to class. "Aren't you the one who's interested in her first?"

I quickly learned that Wrickenridge High School was obsessed with sports. I didn't even think of cheerleaders, it was much deeper than the strange desire to wear a short skirt and shake a pompom. First, we are all expected to support our team even though we are not playing. Unlike in England— I don't know if my sixth college has a team.

"Okay, so baseball is about how fast you can get the team out and then how many runs can you score when you get in?" I repeated, taking a handful full of popcorn. Zoe's father, who was guarding a beverage stand run by the PTA, gave us extra large portions and treated us to drinks. "You switched after three guys came out."

Tina placed a shadow of a hand over her eyes and spread her legs. It was cold at this altitude but the sun was quite hot. "That's it"

" They chose to wear this weird uniform because ...?" I saw Zed struggling to make a baseball strip of long white pants look cool. They resemble teenagers who gather for a strange pajama party.

"Tradition, I guess." Tina.

"Protection," replied Zoe—dia turned out to be a bit of a baseball fanatic. It has its own catcher gloves and everything. "It's necessary to cover the skin if you

want to go home"

The teams are milling. Aspen just gutted our batsman and is now ready for their blow.

" Zed is our best player?"

"He could have won this match. He's a little erratic. Making Coach crazy." Zoe drank her soda. "All of his brothers, besides my dearest Yves, were on the team when they were at Wrickenridge, but none of them went on a sports scholarship. Coach Carter tried to persuade Zed— his last chance at Benedict—but he couldn't get Zed to commit."

"Hamm." I saw Zed move his finger over the ball. His face was firm with concentration but somehow he was as far away as if he was hearing music that no one else could hear. His first throw beat the batsman for miles. The audience screamed for them.

"He's in top form" Zoe said.

"Hi, girls!" Nelson jumps to Tina's side, shaking her makes Tina's popcorn fall.

"I'll help you take it," he offered, staring at her lap.

"You're not gonna do it." He cleaned the popcorn seeds from his feet quickly.

"You ruined my pleasure." Further.

"Now it makes me feel so much better." Answer Nelson.

Nelson sighed dramatically, then sat back down to watch the match. Ever since our conversation in the music room, I felt a lot of sympathy for Nelson and hoped his long-term play for Tina's affections would work. He didn't give her much encouragement.

"Zed from earlier looked over here" he said as the first man attacked.

"Yes" Tina unknowingly offers him a handful of popcorn, too engrossed in playing to remember that she's upset by Nelson.

"He keeps looking at our bench, doesn't he?" Nelson gulped down his canned drink.

"I wonder why it's looking at us" said plain Zoe, before ruining the effect with a laugh.

"He doesn't even know I'm here." I blushed when I realized that I was claiming to be the reason for her interest.

Nelson crossed his legs beside Tina's. "He knows, Sky, he knows you're here"

"Wait a minute." Zoe took a picture of me with her phone. "I want to capture this for posterity. The girl who caught the attention of the mighty Zed Benedict" She showed the picture for my approval, she used the app to add the crown but I still look a little better than in my school ID. "She's just dating girls from out of town. I think I saw one of the exes there, it was there, her name was Hannah, captain of the Aspen team."

I felt a wave of jealousy that was completely irrational. The girl has beautiful legs as well as her armpits and beautiful blonde hair— is quite the opposite of me. The cheerleader, who I think is very silly, in her interpretation is very sexy. I just hope Zed doesn't notice.

Uh, am I jealous?

Of course Zed will see it. He's a man, isn't he?

Tina, Nelson, and Zoe were still debating my love life while I got lost in the fog of my mind.

"Being British means Sky may be exotic enough for Zed's taste. Not from boring old Wrickenridge" Tina speculated.

It was the first time anyone had implied that being British was an advantage. I've tried to blend in but maybe the difference is a good thing?

"I think it would be better if he left Sky alone" Nelson said, revealing his protective nature. Now that I know him better, I am considering changing him as a Defense Doctor.

Tina nodded. "Yes, we better be compact against him, keep him away from Sky"

Zoe protested with Tina's proposal "What? And ruin the fun? Just think—Zed dating a girl from Wrickenridge—it would be the most exciting thing to happen here since Gold Fever."

"And you don't tend to overestimate Zoe" said Tina flatly.

"Never!"

"Excuse me, guys, I'm here, you guys are either planning my love life or lack thereof for me, but maybe I have an opinion" I said, half amused, half irritated by them.

Tina offered me the popcorn. "What do you think?"

"Actually, I don't know—but I'm looking for answers. As I said before, Zed and I—it won't happen. I don't even like it."

Zoe rolled her eyes at me. "Sky, you don't have to like a guy like that. You only need to date him—once or twice. It'll change your reputation for the rest of your life."

"What's? Utilizing Zed?"'

" It's true"

"I'm not like that Zoe"

"I know"

Shouts of excitement in the crowd echoed as the second player attacked.

Zoe jumped to her feet and performed a small victory dance. "The coach will kill himself if he can't get him to try a scholarship."

Nelson whistling. "He must be, he's too good to waste his talent."

But then something changed. I could see it in the change of expression on Zed's face. His distant gaze faded, making him somehow more present, more like everyone else. The pitch went from amazing to very good. The next hitter managed to hit him almost out of the field. The students of Wrickenridge groaned.

"He always does that" Zoe lamented, "doing it well and then stepping back. He has defeated Aspen and now …!"

And now they fight back. Zed shrugged and handed the throw-in spot to his team-mate, giving him the chance to finish off Aspen.

He can do it. I know he can. Zed could have won it quickly but he chose to withdraw. As Zoe said, it was annoying.

"Why did he do that?" I wondered subconsciously with my slightly loud voice.

"Do what?" Tina squeezed the Popcorn wrap and threw it in the trash. "Return from your game you mean?"

I'm nodding.

"He lost interest. Maybe his heart wasn't there. The teachers always told him that he was too arrogant to cope with his inconsistency."

"Maybe."

But I'm not so sure. He's still playing well, I'm sure there's an extra edge that he's not showing anyone. He deliberately kept his game a little blunt. I wonder why he did it.