Chapter 4: Confrontation (2/2)
Coach Owen laughed uproariously, slapping Leonel's back even harder than Milan had.
”Finish drinking that green vomit your old man gave you, kid.”
Ignoring Leonel's grimace of pain, Coach Owen walked away.
”… Enjoy it while you can…”
Leonel was too busy trying to calm his pain with ice to hear Coach Owen's last words. But, they were never intended for him to hear to begin with.
After his pain pangs slowly faded, Leonel dug through his locker to find his black bag. Pulling a familiar bottle of green sludge out.
As far as Leonel knew, his father worked in a government division that focused on nutrition and enhanced nutritional supplements. The Ascension Empire believed that while their technology advanced rapidly, the human condition lagged behind. So this unnamed division worked toward maximizing human potential with food.
This gross concoction was one of his father's creations. According to his Gene Assessment, he was slotted in to grow to six feet tall. But, after drinking this poison everyday, he superseded that by three inches and might very well gain another inch or two by the time he reached his twenties.
Of course, Leonel's father was actually a Four-Star General. He only went on to work in this unnamed division after he retired from military service. Then he proceeded to retire once more from said division.
After chugging what remained of the bottle, a familiar scorching pain seared Leonel's chest. But, at the very least, his aching ribs dulled down a bit. It would probably take a normal person about two months to heal, but Leonel would only need about three weeks.
Time ticked by and Leonel was finally the only one remaining. Though he could have used the 'Refresh' ability of his watch, he preferred taking a shower as did most people. There was just something about it that felt cleaner.
Taking his time, he scrubbed every inch of his body before walking out with a towel around his waist and one hanging loosely over his head. Slightly obscured with a pattern of green, purple and brown bruises, his torso rippled beneath the heated steam.
Leonel rubbed the towel through his hair, wincing as he struggled to keep his arms above his head.
Reaching into his locker, he put on a pair of deep blue jeans, a skin-tight white turtle-neck sweater, and draped over a long black trench coat.
'It's only 8 pm right now, dad won't kill me too much if I'm home by midnight…'
Leonel slung his backpack over his shoulder. But the moment he turned, his footsteps stopped.
”What are you moping around for?” Leonel smiled toward James.
”I…”
”If it's a struggle for you to tell me, then just don't tell me. There's no need for you to be sorry, that rookie would have hit me like that whether you caught the ball or not.”
”…”
For a while James didn't know what to say. But, he didn't move out of the way of the door either.
”… You knew you would get the unnecessary roughness call, right?”
Leonel's smile dimmed a bit, but he didn't respond.
”I know you too well. You don't like to lose, but you're too soft-hearted to call me out on my bullshit too. So, you'd find a way to protect our friendship and ignore it, all while winning the big game anyway. Am I right?”
Leonel sighed. ”Is there really a need to know the answer?”
”Of course there is!” James' voice rose. ”If you knew I needed your help, why couldn't you just lose this one time?! This is just a game, isn't it? You've already won three times, did you really need to win for a fourth? You don't even want to be a quarterback!”
Leonel's gaze narrowed. ”Whether I want to or not is irrelevant. In everything that you do —.”
”I already know! I've heard it a million times. Respect and persistence. Respecting this garbage hand you were dealt, you're definitely the first. Congratulations!”
Leonel's eyes flickered with a hint of sadness.
”James, why are you being like this? You didn't even try to talk to me beforehand, we could have come up with a solution together. Did you think using being late to class as an excuse was enough?”
James' expression rapidly changed, flaring with anger, then shame, then finally, capitulation.
”… I'm sorry. I lost my cool. There are just some things that… Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done.”
James shook his head, recollecting himself.
Turning away, James reached for the door. After a pause, he turned back with a bright smile as though nothing had happened.
”Come on, all your adoring fans are waiting outside to crucify me. The party's going down in Blue North Dormitory. We gotta get there before all the booze's gone.”
Before Leonel could respond, James ripped open the door, unleashing a sound wave of flashing cameras and the shrieks of groupies.
In the NAFL, reporters were allowed into the locker rooms. But, since they were minors and the bigwigs were worried about optics, they were forced to wait outside at the Academy level.
At the same time, Royal Blue Academy's campus was usually locked down from outsiders, but there were rare occasions like today where those who paid obscene amounts of money or had appropriate connections could come.
Like this, Leonel was forced to wade through a sea of reporters and fan girls with a bitter smile on his face, James' sinister laugh sounding off in the distance as he ran away.