Leus
"Captain, I am sorry for what happened earlier. Do not worry. I will do my best in the game." I said and bowed.
Our coach scolded our captain a while ago, thinking we had not attended our training. Since he was late for a few minutes, he did not know that we were already at the field, and we ran upon hearing about the incident.
The captain shook his head and tapped my shoulder. "It's okay. I was aware of her condition and her story. I already explained it to our coach, so you do not have to worry about it either," He replied. "I would let you go if you even asked for my permission. That is the right thing to do, Leus." He added.
"Thank you, Captain." I said my gratitude.
We are happy that our team captain is very cool and understands us better than our coach. I'm thankful he is not strict like the other captain from different sports.
"Anyway, I heard from my friend that she was viral on social media." That statement by the captain piqued my interest.
I turned back to him. "What are you talking about?" I asked back. "Her? As in Aera?" I confirmed again.
Captain nodded. "Why?" Keon commented.
"Is it about what happened a while ago?" Cavin asked too.
He shook his head and got his phone out of his locker. "No wonder you do not know about it. I just got the news from my friend, too." he replied.
Our phone was confiscated early in the morning. If we are having a practice, we always put our phones away to focus on our training.
Did something happen?
"She was viral for her amazing beauty." Captain said and showed his phone to us.
It was a photo of Aera. She was smiling in front of the camera, and her background was of busy people doing their things. She was also wearing a simple dress and a headband. Her long, curly hair matches her well.
The following photo showed her holding a stuffed toy in her right hand, facing the Ferris wheel, and looking back at the camera. She was not smiling, but she was gorgeous. There are also solo photos of Lance and a couple of shots. They look cute, though.
Then we watched a short commercial-like video about the amusement park and made the two of them the main characters, inviting the people to visit the amusement park.
"She is really pretty. In those photos, she looked like a model. She will do well in modeling." Ricx commented.
Captain nodded, putting his phone in his pocket. "Next season, let's ask her to be our muse," He shared. "I also learned that is why those bullies visited her this morning. The students there hear them talking about it." He added.
"Who is your spy? How do they know a lot about it?" Allen asked.
"Do you know the captain of women's badminton? We saw each other a while ago. She was aware of Leus' being friends with her. That is why she told me. I also heard that the men's badminton club had already asked her to be their muse this season, but she turned them down." he replied.
No wonder. I will ask her later. I need to save my seat. I did not know someone was trying to ask about it already. They might be able to steal her away from our team. That is a big no no.
"I will ask her later," I told them, making them nod at me. Captain waved his hands to get our attention. "I am still not done with the gossip, team." He said.
This is not a serious meeting about our game, okay? This is a gossip time.
"When they asked her, Aera almost ran away from them. After that, they planned to ask her individually. That's where they were able to talk to her. It seems they scared Aera that time, making her run away from them," He shared. "After Aera turned them down, they asked why she did not want to. Then Aera replied that she did not deserve it and that she was not that pretty. She had to explain her condition about being afraid of crowded places. She also reasoned that their team might get bullied because they have her as their muse." He continued.
"She has low confidence." I commented.
"Indeed, but after that, they did not force her anymore. After a few days, Aera visited the gymnasium and gave them all muffins as her apology. She never handed that food to them by herself but left it in front of the door. She leaves a note saying she made those foods and takes it as her apology." He added.
"That's what kind people would do." Drake said.
We need to build her confidence. "Let's do our best to help her gain confidence. Then she will be confident enough to accept our invitation to be our muse," I shared my plan. "I will go now. I will eat with them." I said and ran out of our room.
Instead of heading to our room, I went to our cafeteria to look for them.
I told our classmates to bring her with them at lunch since she is close to them already. I am not worried about her being uncomfortable. Our classmates treated her better than I expected. I also asked her if they were saying something wrong to her if I was not around with her, but she said that they were making her feel at home.
"Leus! Here! Here!" Carlo yelled from the left corner of the cafeteria. I ran towards them and sat beside Aera, which was empty.
"How was the class a while ago?" I asked them.
"All good and boring. However, we got a short quiz a while ago. You have to take it after class alone," Dwayne replied. "You have to suffer alone later. Good luck!" He added, teasing me.