Aria's P.O.V
Just like I promised myself before—that I would join the art club—I did it. I auditioned again, and finally, I got in. I'm officially a member of the art club now.
"Congrats, Aria, and welcome to the art club," Denzel said. I smiled at him.
"Thanks," I replied shortly.
"I'll go ahead. I still have other classes," I said to Denzel as I excused myself.
"Okay, see you around."
Then I started walking toward the classroom. While I was walking, the speakers around the university suddenly turned on. Then, on the big screen monitor, I saw… Cairo? Why is he on the TV screen?
I stopped and stared, just like everyone else around me. All the students halted in their tracks and looked at the screen.
"Everyone, listen up! Starting today, I don't want anyone hurting Aria. Anyone who tries will have to deal with me," he said seriously on the screen.
O__O My eyes widened at what he said. He actually announced that to the whole university.
Some students near me turned to look at me. I didn't know how to feel at that moment. I just felt uneasy, especially with the way they were glaring at me—but none of them approached me.
"Tsk, what's going on? Is Cairo and Aria dating now?"
"I don't know. But that girl is such a witch."
"It's so annoying. Why is Cairo acting like that with her?"
"Does Cairo like her or something?"
That's what I overheard from the students around me. I just hurried to my classroom. Almost everyone I passed by gave me nasty looks, but none of them dared to do anything. Still, their glares felt like I'd been stabbed a thousand times.
When I arrived at the classroom, our P.E. professor was already there.
"Aria, are you and Cairo together now?" one of my classmates asked, and everyone stared at me.
"Uh… no, we're not," I replied.
"Out of all the people Cairo's bullied before, he's never made an announcement like that—forbidding everyone from hurting one of his victims," another classmate added.
"Class, take your seats. I have something to say," our P.E. professor said, so the questions stopped. Thankfully, because I didn't know how else to answer them. I just went straight to my seat and sat down.
"Okay class, today we're going to the gym to watch the varsity players' practice game. This is our way of supporting them for their match tomorrow against Winterville University. And tomorrow, you're also required to watch—that will count as your attendance in P.E.," our prof continued.
My classmates were thrilled since they'd get to watch Cairo and Sade. After a while, we headed to the gym and sat on the available bleachers. The game hadn't started yet. On the other side of the bleachers, it looked like the varsity basketball team was still having a meeting with their coach.
"Aria, just because Cairo said anyone who hurts you will have to deal with him, that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay away from him," I heard a student beside me say while I sat on the bleachers. And I wasn't wrong—it was Hannah. I turned to look, and she was sitting right next to me.
"I did what you asked. But I think, Hannah, it's Cairo you should be talking to. Tell him to stay away from me," I said calmly.
"You're so full of yourself, Aria," Hannah said in irritation.
"Sigh… Haven't you known him for a long time? You know how stubborn he is—when he wants something, he goes for it," I replied.
She gave me a sharp look, like she wanted to pull my hair out, but I chose to ignore her.
Moments later, I saw Cairo walking toward us. He came closer and closer until he finally reached us.
"Cairo, good luck on your game tomorrow. Do your best, okay?" Hannah said with a smile. Cairo nodded, then turned to look at me.
"Aria, don't go missing tomorrow, okay? You better watch the game," he said to me. I just nodded.
"You're in trouble if I don't see you here at the gym tomorrow," he added.
"Tsk. I'll obviously be here—watching the game is part of our P.E. attendance," I replied.
"Good," he said.
Soon after, Cairo went back to his teammates to start the practice game.
When the game began, the female students—Cairo's fans—cheered loudly. Same with Sade; he had a lot of fans too. As for me, I just sat there quietly watching them. But I couldn't help but admire Cairo—he was really good at basketball.
He looked so cool on the court, but honestly, he could be really annoying at times. I don't know if I'm just being delusional, but every time he scored a shot, it felt like he looked right at me.
I clapped for all of them anyway—they were all talented.
Then, by the gym entrance, I noticed Asher and Luna standing there. I didn't realize I was already looking in their direction. They were both smiling as they watched the game, and Luna was cheering too.
I could see that Asher was happy—he was smiling. I wasn't sure if he had ever smiled like that whenever he was with me. I couldn't help but feel sad, though I didn't really know why. It was as if I wished I could also see him smile like that when he was with me. I just watched him, noticing how happy he looked being around Luna.
A moment later, I saw Luna whisper something to Asher. He leaned down a little to hear her, then suddenly the two of them high-fived and burst into laughter again. They looked so happy together. But I was startled when, out of nowhere, a ball came flying and hit Asher right on the forehead.
The ball was thrown hard, and the impact made Asher stagger backward. He nearly fell, but thankfully he managed to grab the doorframe of the gym for support. I immediately heard the coach blow his whistle. I turned my attention to the basketball players—what just happened?
"Oh no, Asher got hit by the ball. Why did Cairo throw it at him?" I heard one of the students sitting on the bleachers say. Hannah quickly got up from her seat and ran toward Asher.
Wait, what? Cairo was the one who threw the ball at him? Tsk, why would he do that?
I wanted to go check on Asher, but I saw Luna already helping him, checking his forehead where the ball had hit him. I glanced at Cairo—his teammates were talking to him, and he had a frown on his face. He looked irritated.