Under these Stars

Chapter 24: Food

A couple weeks has passed since I last saw Mason. With CIF finals coming along, my coach has been pushing us harder than ever. I come home exhausted and then wake up to go to school and practice. It's a cycle of tiredness. The California Interscholastic Federation for the Southern Section final playoffs are this weekend Corona, CA. Currently, we are not taking it too hard because coach wants us to be in our tip top shape this weekend.

It's currently Wednesday. As the playoffs get nearer, I get more nervous. This the final show. This is where I could potentially be contacted for schools for a verbal commit. Then, potentially, I can sight a National Letter of Intent for the specific university.

I sit at my desk, looking at the secondhand of the clock tick so slowly. As soon as the bell rings, signaling the end of class, I grab my belongings and head to my locker.

"Hey! Dela!" Someone calls out to my name. I spin around immediately to search for the person. I glimpse at Hunter running towards me.

"Hey!" I grin widely, happy to see him but also a little nervous. Ever since my little outing with Mason, I have been avoiding both Hunter and Mason for one-on-one interactions. I feel something for the both of them, but also haven't had the time to analyze what exactly these feelings are. Thus, I ignore the feelings and focus on academics and soccer. I really don't have much time to do anything else what with my busy schedule. 

"I haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" He walks alongside me. 

"I've been well. I'm just a bit stressed for my upcoming AP exams, normal exams, and CIF."

"CIF playoff is this Saturday right?" Hunter asks. 

"Yeah." I grimace. "We are leaving Friday morning. So soon..."

"...And we are playing the previous champions from last year." My stomach clenches in anxiety as I say this. There's a lot of pressure for this game. 

"You'll do great. I believe in you." Hunter smiles warmly and places his hand briefly on my shoulder. "Let me know the details to when and where your match is."

"You're not going to drive there, are you?" I ask surprised. "It's a five hour drive from here."

"Of course I'm going to go. It's your last game of the year. Also, some of my friends are playing anyways so I'm going to support them too." He explains. 

"Okay," I feel a little relieved for some reason. 

"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" I ask since I can tell he seems excited about something, or at least more happy than usual. 

"Guess who just contacted me for soccer?" 

"Stanford?" I say my first guess.

"Unfortunately, no..." He pauses, "Cal Poly Slo contacted me and I'm going to sign the NLI for them." 

"Congratulations dude!" I cheer for him happily and hug him impulsively. 

"What happened to the other schools you were looking at it?" I ask curiously.

"Well, I heard from some of the UC's, USC, and privates, but I'm ultimately looking for somewhere that is affordable and in state. I also ended up visiting a lot of the campuses. I liked San Luis Obispo the most. I guess it reminded me a bit of home. My second choice would have been either Berkeley or LA, but I think I don't want to stay in the city."

"Wow, those are all great offers. Hey, you do what makes you happy! We can celebrate once CIF is over and I'm done with sports for a while. Sorry I've been MIA for a while though."

"You're all good. Don't sweat. We still have a few more months until graduation anyways." 

I glimpse at my watch and realize I'm going to be late for practice. "I have to go for practice, but let's hangout sometime...like a congratulations thing!" I state before running off in a rush.