Dean went back into the gym, and it was the guys' turn to play now. He jogged to the center of the court, glancing over at Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily, who were all sitting together on the sidelines.
Suddenly, "thump," a basketball was thrown hard at him, and Dean caught it. He saw Ethan, looking furious, glaring at him.
"Hey! Let's play. If I win, you have to stay away from them, got it?" Ethan said.
"Hmm, sorry, but I'm not interested," Dean replied, tossing the ball back to him.
"I don't care," Ethan shot back.
They started picking teams. Ethan chose all the decent players, and Dean was stuck with the rest. Since Dean was the tallest guy on his team, he was put at center, even though a few players on the other team were his height, and Ethan was even taller.
"Whistle!"
The game began. The referee tossed the ball up. Ethan, also a center, immediately jumped for it. Dean, meanwhile, looked relaxed, but when the ball started to come down, he quickly leaped and grabbed it. He then dribbled past Ethan and the entire opposing team, jumped from the free-throw line, and slammed the ball through the hoop. "Blam!" Dean's first dunk opened the game. After landing, he looked at a stunned Ethan. He ran over to him.
"I win. Don't challenge me again," he whispered as he passed him.
"W-what? No way! How can you do that? Where have you been all this time if you can dunk like a pro?" Ethan yelled, turning to Dean as he jogged back to his side of the court.
"I just didn't want to stand out, you know?" Dean replied, jogging away and flipping him off.
"Grrr... damn it," Ethan muttered, his face red with frustration.
Dean stood with his back to the hoop, right under the net. Suddenly, he felt someone staring at him from behind. He looked over and saw Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily all with wide, sparkling eyes and big smiles. They were clearly in awe and couldn't believe what Dean had just done.
"Ugh... now I'm the one who caught their attention. All because of that idiot Ethan," Dean thought to himself, turning his focus back to the game.
After two 10-minute rounds, the game ended. Ethan's team won, but he hung his head in shame because he hadn't scored a single point, thanks to Dean's defense. Dean walked back to the sidelines to swap out with another guy who hadn't gotten a chance to play yet. When he sat down, Claire and Bianca, who were on his left, and Ruby and Lily, on his right, all looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"What? My team lost, didn't it?" Dean said.
"Haha... to the four of us, you won," Claire said.
"She's right, and it's not just the four of us," Bianca added.
"Take a look," Ruby said.
Dean turned around, and sure enough, a lot of his female classmates were staring at him in awe. He really stood out today.
"Man... I really didn't want to stand out. This is all because of that dumbass Ethan," Dean said, looking down and covering his face with his hands.
----
After gym class was over and he had changed, Dean went back to his classroom. He sat down at his desk and looked outside; a light rain was still falling. "Ughhh," Dean yawned and stretched, then leaned back, watching the raindrops. Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder. Dean turned to see a female classmate standing next to his desk.
"Hi, Dean," she said.
"What's up, Monica?" Dean replied.
"Oh, nothing. You were just so cool out on the court. Can I ask you something?" Monica said.
"What is it?" Dean asked casually.
"Who are Claire and Bianca to you?" Monica asked.
"Oh... they're friends and employ—"
"Future wives," Claire and Bianca interrupted Dean. They had been standing right behind Monica.
"Huh?" Monica was startled and turned to see them standing there with their arms crossed.
"Where did you guys come from?" Dean asked.
"We got drinks from the vending machine," Bianca said, tossing an unopened water bottle to Dean, who caught it immediately.
"Thanks," Dean replied, opening the bottle and taking a drink.
"Sorry, I'll go back to my seat now. See you later, Dean. Maybe we can talk again sometime," Monica said.
"Yeah, okay," Dean said.
Monica immediately left Dean, and Claire and Bianca watched her until she sat down at her desk. After that, Bianca sat down next to Dean and Claire sat in the desk in front of him, because Bianca used her "skills" to make the boy who was sitting there move so Claire could take his place.
"Natalie was here, right?" Claire asked, turning around.
"Yeah, she talked to the thugs at this school," Dean replied.
"Hmm... the thugs whose was Heather's boyfriend?" Bianca asked.
"Exactly. It seems they were the ones who reported what happened yesterday to the police," Dean said.
"How do you know?" Claire asked.
"I followed them to an empty classroom down the hall," Dean replied.
"Oh, I see," Claire said.
"They didn't talk about us, did they?" Bianca asked.
"No, we're safe. Don't worry," Dean said.
"Safe from what?" a woman's voice asked.
Dean, Claire, and Bianca immediately looked behind Bianca. Natalie was standing there with a wide smile on her face and her hands on her hips.
"Whoa, why are you here?" Dean asked, surprised.
"Oh, I heard your class was here, so before I go back to the office, I thought I'd stop by and say hello," Natalie said casually.
"I see. Is your business finished?" Dean asked.
"Not yet. I'm still missing a lead," Natalie replied.
"Oh, okay," Dean said.
"Do any of you know anything about a student named Heather, from 11th grade?" Natalie asked directly, looking at Dean, Claire, and Bianca.
Dean, Claire, and Bianca fell silent. They looked at Natalie, who was smiling but had a serious look in her eyes who seemed to be observing their facial expressions.
"We don't know anything. We're a 12th grader," Dean said.
"Hmm... okay, I'll be going now. I'll stop by to your cafe later, bye-bye," Natalie replied, checking her watch and giving a small wave.
"Okay, see you later," Dean said.
Natalie turned and walked toward the door. Dean, Claire, and Bianca let out a sigh of relief. But as Natalie walked away, she glanced back and gave a small smile.
"From their expressions, they know something. Now this case gets interesting," she muttered to herself, continuing to walk out of the classroom.