Chapter 3

  I shut the door and then proceeded to walk my normal route to school. I saw Ayumi waiting for me. "I was waiting for almost ten minutes." "Sorry. I thought I was on time." "I'm just joking. You gotta stop being so serious all the time." I let out a sigh of relief as I felt a tug on my hand. "Let's go before we're late for class." She led the way holding my hand as we walked to school. I blushed a bit and she teased me for it. Luckily for me, we were at school so we released our hold on each other hands and headed for our classroom.

  At the back of the classroom were Samantha and Alexander. As soon as they noticed Alexander, ran to us and hugged me. He apologized for being so harsh and begged for forgiveness. After a while he let me go and reached out his hand for a fist bump and then said, "We cool?" I smiled then said of course. We then had a group hug which came to a stop as we saw the rest of our crew. "Long time no see," Vickie said while hugging Samantha. "Nice to see you again Ayumi." said Sarah. "It's been a hot minute since I have seen you Shane." "Ready to get your ass kicked in Brawl." "I've been practicing so I'll beat you this time." "If you say so."

  "So we were thinking about having a sleep over. Are y'all up to it?" I asked. "Once my parents are okay with it." Shane replied. "I guess it would be fun." Vickie added. "Sounds like a nice idea." Sarah answered. "Where would it be though?" "We haven't thought of that yet my main dude Shane." "We could have it at my house. I have an extra room so the boys and girls can sleep separately." "Ok then it's settled. We'll have a sleepover at Sam's house but when?" I wondered. "How about this weekend?" Ayumi asked.

  We all agreed and continued talking until Ryan came in. He stared at each of us coldly then went to his seat. It as an awkward moment but at least he didn't say a word. "Teacher is coming soon so please go to your assigned seats." Peter said. We reluctantly dispersed and headed to our seats. "So welcome back to school. Let me congratulate Ryan for having the highest average in the entire year." The entire class clapped for Ryan. Despite our differences, I still clapped because he deserved it. "Also, since the old leaders of the clubs have left except cheerleading has left our school and headed for university there will be club elections. Since you all are seniors, you are able to run for leadership. "

  I doubted that I'd be picked to be vice captain or captain of the team so I decided not to run. I wondered if Ryan was going to try out for leadership. For some reason if he did, I would vote for him. I guess it's because I saw how hard he worked during summer. He always got there extra early and carried out some drills by himself. If he didn't treat my friends like trash, I would be his friend once again because to be honest the only reason I stopped being his friend ,other than his behavior, was because of my dad. He told me that friends were a distraction but I learned this was not so after I met Samantha and Alexander.

  We were both chosen to be the new leaders and then we shook hands. We then played some matches with the rest of the team. Lunch was over and I met up with the group to tell them the good news. Of course they said I should have been captain instead of vice captain but I didn't feel that way. "As much work I put in I can see that Ryan puts in more effort just by watching him. He kinda inspires me to put in more work." "I disagree but it's up to you dude." Ryan then walked up to us and gained our attention.  "Good job on becoming vice captain. Let's lead our teammates to victory."

  I nodded and then initiated a handshake. He reluctantly accepted it then headed to his seat. "Woah, is that the same Ryan we all know and hate?" "Maybe our uprising over him last time humbled him." said Sarah. "But still, he barely shook his hand. Total noob." "My dude Shane is right. Even is his stupid face he had a bad look on his face." "You cannot go from being a total jerk to being a saint that quickly even if he had all of summer break to do so." "Yeah, I think I'm going to agree with Samantha. At least he's showing a little respect to you though." Vickie stated.

  We continued talking until classes started back once again. As much as vacation was fun, it felt nice to return to school. It was a much better experience without my father pressuring me to keep up my good grades. For once, I felt like I was at peace with myself. I was a bit scared that this feeling would come to an end but I just hoped for the best. Classes had come to an end and I was talking with the gang before Ayumi and I left for home. "How was school for you all?" Ayumi asked. They all had few complaints but they generally enjoyed being back at school.

  "Well, it's time for me and Ayumi to head home." "Yeah, see you all tomorrow." "Bye bye Ayumi and Kennedy!" Vickie shouted. We took our leave and began talking along the way. "So, Ken. Do you still miss your father?" "Yeah. I doubt he'll be the father I want him to be but I just can't seem to miss the old him." "What's the old him like?" "He used to be so proud of me when I brought home good grades. Also when Ryan and I used to hang out, he used to make sure that I was brought home safe. I can even remember my favorite family moment as a kid." *flashback*

  Younger me was snoring loudly while in a deep sleep. He stayed up all night in anticipation for his fifth birthday. Unfortunately, his body gave out and he slept for the entire morning. "Wake up Kenny!" She kept pushing me in an attempt to wake me up. "I guess you are going to miss out on your party." At first the statement didn't phase me but eventually I eagerly got up from sleeping. I was surprised to see a Digimon theme birthday party. The cake had my favorite digimon at the time, Agumon, on it. I was so elated and at the end of the day my dad took a picture of my mom, him and I. *flashback ends*