They were both silent for moments. Casey felt someone was behind him. He looked back only to see Mr. Frank Hudson, the coach to the school's football team. As far as they could recollect, they had no business with him or the football team.
"Good morning sir". Casey said nervously.
"Good morning boys. Cody, how are you feeling now?" Mr. Hudson asked out of concern.
"Quite better sir." Cody replied.
"I know you might be pondering about my presence here because you don't have any affiliations with me. Well, I have a reason for being here".
They turned to each other in confusion and back to him.
"I saw all your performances at the talent show and none of my players have what you've got".
"Sir, it was an epic fail. It went viral". Casey countered.
"I don't allow mistakes to decide for me; instead I find the best mediums to rectify them." He said and paused to see if they still their eyes and attention fixed to him.
"So how about Cody Morris be the assistant captain of the football team and Casey 'Manuel be the coach for the junior football team." He said in a suggestive tone. Actually, it was more of compulsive than suggestive.
"No sir". Casey replied politely.
"Nonsense, I would not hear of it. You guys have the potential and that's what the football team needs."
Casey and Cody turned to each other for approval and then back to him.
"Okay sir, we accept"
"Okay. I will come and brief you guys about everything and Cody, I wish you speedy recovery."
"Thank you, sir". They said after him.
. . .
It was soon the end of lunchtime. Casey pondered at the invite as he strolled through the school premises. Cody too couldn't get it off his mind. They couldn't quite place the dramatic turn of events. The epic fail shattered their hopes but now the invitation to the school football team had its way of pacifying them.
It was soon the close of the day's academic activities. The bell chimed to establish that fact. Melissa walked up to the desk; this time not in the company of her friends.
"Hey, what do you want?" Casey asked with a shrug.
"It's nothing actually. I see you are still heart-broken. That epic fail really crushed your spirit so bad. I hope you recover soon." She said, expressing pity on her face. It was not genuine.
"Haters got to hate." Casey said.
"No, you got it wrong. Winners got to win and losers got to lose. You see, I am a winner but you and my brother are big losers". She said, chuckling loudly.
He couldn't take it anymore.
"There's one thing you don't understand now. Who you are today does not matter but what's in you does. The end does justify the means". He said in his usual way that was hard to detect whether he was angry or not.
Before she could say another word, he took his backpack and walked away. He had planned to study till 3:30 p.m. before he went off to see Cody but Melissa's irrational behavior made his plans flexible. He had to check on Cody earlier than he had expected.
As he walked on, he tried placing differences between Melissa and Clara. They were both celebrities but way different. Clara was his mother, comforter and everything while Melissa was working towards shattering her brother.
"I'm so lucky to have Clara". He thought.