525 Banquet 2 (1/2)

Dinner turned out to be grilled salmon over rice with a side of cooked asparagus and mashed potatoes. At least, that's what me and the Atkins brothers got. Alex was the only special one at the table, eating grilled chicken instead.

He looked up when he noticed my staring. \”I don't like fish.\” He told me with a shrug. Then he started to cut up his chicken.

\”Mom must have selected the meal for us without asking.\” Noah's nose scrunched up.

\”Fish is good for you.\” Zeke said, slicing his salmon like a pro.

Noah made a face as he poked his salmon with his fork.

I tried my best to mimick Zeke's movements, cutting my own salmon up. Then I tried a piece. \”It's fine.\”

\”If you say so..\” Noah cut out a small piece and tried it. Pure disgust covered his face.

I laughed, getting the tables attention. Soon everyone was making fun of Noah for being a baby. Everyone except me and Alex.

Alex scratched his cheek. \”Don't worry, Noah, I get it. Do you want some of my chicken?\”

Noah nodded. He got up with his plate and went around the table to get to Alex. Alex slid half his chicken onto Noah's plate.

\”If you're not eating your salmon, can I have some of it?\” Kelvin asked

Noah obliged and soon started dealing out his unwanted salmon.

I laughed to myself at how Noah suddenly became a waiter, giving some salmon to Kelvin, Garret and Kyle. We were definitely the loudest table, but Zeke didn't seem to mind. He just let the others mess around for a few minutes before signaling to Noah that he should sit back down.

As most of us finished eating, myself included, a tall burly man got up from the coaches table and stepped up to the podium. He tapped the mic to get everyone's attention. \”Hello ladies and gentlemen. As some of you know, I'm Coach Ryan.\”

Polite applause. I clapped as well, at least until Noah gave me a look.

\”Thank you, thank you.\” He spoke with a deep voice. \”This season has been very successful with the team going 19-5. We had the second best record in the league and I couldn't be more proud of the progress these boys have made.\”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Noah smirk. Oh...right...this is the 'freshmen' team. This whole team used to play with Noah when they were growing up. And...he used to be friends with them. With that in mind, I knew where Noah stood on this matter.

\”I'm going to take this time to call up my team and recognize them for a season well done.\” Coach Ryan announced. He started to call the names, one by one, and each player would go up and stand in a line, facing the room.

\”This is our team.\” Coach Ryan stated after calling up his whole team. The crowd clapped one more time. One of his assistant coaches brought up a box and set it down on the floor. Coach Ryan nodded after him, and the other man gave him a stack of papers. \”We have a great tradition here at Watsonville. Not only do we celebrate the team as a whole, we also take a moment to recognize select individuals for their contributions to the team, on and off the field. I'm proud to say that this is the first year, the whole freshmen team made it to the honor roll. They completed the season, maintaining a 3.5 gpa the whole semester.\” The parents all clapped, proud of their kids.

Coach Ryan took his time to pass out the awards to every athlete on his team.

\”We'll get one too.\” Noah whispered.

I nodded. Noah and I had straight A's this whole entire time. It wasn't like freshman year was difficult. I glanced at the twins; I couldn't say the same for them after all.