Daisy in a Meadow

11 - Captain

A week flew by. Malcolm and I remained close as ever, and Andre was begrudgingly warming up to me, although he wouldn't admit it. Of course, Elias and I still couldn't stand each other—that was never going to change. Although, it had become a regular occurrence for me to spend lunch with the trio, as, in Malcolm's words, I was too awesome to spend lunch hiding away in a smelly washroom. Whatever that meant.

And so, on Monday the following week, I was at my locker when a pair of hands suddenly covered my eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Gee, I don't know... Heather?"

Malcolm dropped his hands and looked at me, half-shocked half-angry. "Hey! My voice is not that high pitched."

"She was joking, dummy," Andre snickered from next to him.

I giggled, though my smile dropped once I glanced up from my locker. "Is that...?"

Malcolm and Andre both turned around. The three of us stood in a straight line with our mouths agape.

"What—"

"The—"

"Fudge," Malcolm finished.

We both gave him a look.

"What? There's children here?" He gestured at me.

"I'm older than you."

"Tomato tomato," he waved me off. "Can we focus on the matter at hand? What the duck is Elias doing in a football jersey?"

He asked the very question that everyone was wondering. And by everyone, I meant the multiple people in the hallway that were gawking at Elias. He strolled down the hallway with a blank, uninterested look, hardly noticing the attention he was receiving. The football jersey he wore accentuated his broad shoulders, and his dark hair was effortlessly disheveled in the just-rolled-out-of-bed way.

I wiped at my mouth to make sure I hadn't accidentally drooled. It seemed I wasn't the only one affected by his appearance. Whispers of admiration, desire, and even jealousy erupted throughout the hallway.

Elias arrived to a stop in front of the three of us. We immediately attacked.

"Why are you wearing a football jersey?"

"Since when are you on the team?"

"Why didn't you tell us you were trying out?"

"Fucking relax," he ordered the three of us. We each fell silent, waiting for him to divulge.

Elias gave a glance back at the rest of the football team, who I didn't even notice had been standing behind him. He lazily dismissed them with a wave of his fingers, and they went scat.

"I tried out for the quarterback position last week, and not only did coach put me on the team, he also decided to make me captain. He hadn't seen talent like mine in years." At my disbelieving look, Elias gave me a smug wink. "His words, not mine."

"Wow, congrats, man," Andre patted his shoulder, looking fairly impressed, which was rare.

"Wait, if you're the captain," Malcolm began, "then that means—"

"Anthony Miller isn't captain of the football team anymore," I quietly finished in shock.

"Not just that. He's actually off the team," Elias casually said, as if he hadn't just given me the best news I'd heard in years.

"What?" I squeaked.

"Well, as captain, I have to approve everyone who makes the team, and I simply don't think Miller brings enough to the table."