"It's not like that!" Mikayla quickly stepped back from Cassius, afraid that Mrs. Walker might misunderstand them. "We broke up a long time ago."
A fleeting coldness crossed Cassius's eyes, but his smile remained. "Even after breaking up, we can still be friends."
Mrs. Walker looked at both of them with curiosity, as if trying to uncover some secret. "You broke up? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were here to invite me to your wedding, haha."
"Why did you break up? Weren't you very close in high school? If it weren't for your good grades, I would have separated you two back then."
Mikayla shook her head, her hands gripping the hem of her dress. "We weren't suitable for each other, so we broke up."
Mrs. Walker gave Cassius a hard pat on the back, making him yelp. "You didn't cherish her, did you? Did you scare her away by bullying her all the time?"
"No, I wouldn't dare!"
Mrs. Walker smiled at Mikayla. "It's okay, you can tell me. I'll help you teach him a lesson."
Cassius looked down at her like a forlorn puppy, his voice filled with mock grievance. "What's so bad about me?"
Mikayla's heart skipped a beat as she looked into his moist black eyes, not knowing if he was acting or if it was genuine. She turned her head awkwardly. "There is nothing good in you."
Mrs. Walker chuckled. "I'm really getting old; I can't understand young people's relationships anymore." She glanced at her phone and hurriedly said, "I have a class meeting to attend. I need to go."
"Alright, Mrs. Walker. We'll treat you to a meal next time."
After seeing Mrs. Walker off, Cassius turned to Mikayla. "Shall we take a walk?" Mikayla nodded, and the two walked side by side to the playground in silence.
Suddenly, a basketball flew toward Mikayla. Cassius swiftly caught the ball and tossed it back to the student who came running after it.
"Thanks, senior!"
Cassius waved with a smile and turned back to Mikayla, who was standing there dazed. "What? Are you stunned?"
Mikayla muttered a quiet "thank you." She didn't want to admit that the moment had brought back memories of when he used to protect her like this, making her heart race.
Her mind wandered back to the past, to where their story began.
During that period, the school held basketball games for all grades, and all students were required to cheer for their class teams during the late evening break.
Mikayla, bored, sat with her chin in her hands on the bleachers while Linda was beside her, frantically working on an English test.
"Finished! Finally done!" Linda capped her pen and nudged Mikayla. "Mikayla, please come with me to the English teacher's office! Please!"
Mikayla hesitated, glancing at Mrs. Walker nearby. "Mrs. Walker is right there. If she catches us sneaking away, she'll scold us to death."
"Oh, no, it won't happen!" "I'll be back in less than ten minutes, and I won't be found out!" "What's so great about this competition? Let's go, let's go!" Under Linda's persuasion, Mikayla reluctantly followed her.
The two of them crouched and quickly sneaked away from the court. Luckily, Mrs. Walker didn't notice. Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, someone called her name from behind, "Mikayla!"
She turned around to see a tall, clean-cut boy running towards her, arms outstretched to catch a basketball thrown from the other side. Bathed in the early summer sunlight, he looked ethereal. Mikayla watched him, entranced. He smiled with an easy confidence, sweat trickling down his face as he shook his head, dark hair falling over his forehead.
For some reason, Mikayla thought he looked like a dog shaking off water after a bath.
"Watch where you're going." His clear, youthful voice reached her ears.
"Oh." Mikayla watched him return to the court, lost in thought.
"Hey! Isn't that your new desk mate? You told me he looked intimidating, but now I see he's got some charm." Linda whispered in her ear.
Mikayla snapped out of her daze, her lips moving without sound as her cheeks turned as red as peaches ripe in june.
"Mikayla! Linda! Where are you two going!"
Uh-oh! Linda quickly dragged Mikayla back to Mrs. Walker, holding the test papers and pleading. Meanwhile, Mikayla's eyes kept drifting towards Cassius, hiding the flutter in her heart.
