Invictus

[Captain Canada]

i got questions but imma chill for now

djp already has the notebook out

solid start to this, interested to see where life takes Zane without his parents. And to finding out what happened to his mom since I'm assuming Rasheed is still in jail.

Appreciate you following along, brother

“Damn, Cam - that monkey got a hold on you like I’ve never seen before.” Cam laughed a little too hard in response.

A blonde chick named Bianca, that can't end well at all. Especially a poor, little rich girl. Steer clear Zane!

Ain't no blondes over here, my boy.

[Caesar]

Ain't no blondes over here, my boy.

Swore that said blodne. In any case, point remains

[djp73]

Bianca got black hair smh

[Captain Canada]

Chapter III: Show Me Real

The weight room was dimly lit, only illuminated by the sound of metal plates clanking together. The early morning cold didn’t breach its doors, despite its valiant efforts.

Zane breathed hard, trying to regain control before venturing for another set of heavy squats. The end of the football season combined with the increasingly cold outdoors had locked any opportunities for him to get better into this small room, its smell a mix of anti-septic spray and sweat-stained equipment.

After his breath stilled, he willed himself back under the bar, feeling the cool steel on his gray-now-blackened Upper St. Clair football t-shirt. He braced his core, took a deep breath, and heaved the weight off the rack. Finding his center, he began his set. He struggled to keep his slowed tempo on the movement; his legs begging him to hurry it up before they quit.

At the bottom, he pushed with all his might, feeling the sting of his legs wanting to relent but refusing to. At the top, he took a quick breath and repeated.

Over and over again. His knees began to quake. Sweat filled at the brim of his hairline, threatening to drop to his brows. Until he was satisfied and felt himself growing concerningly weaker, he pushed through.

At the end of the set, he racked the weight. His legs thanked him for the slight reprieve. He took a seat on the bench in front of the rack and peeked at the time on his phone.

6:38 A.M.

Staff would begin to fill the classrooms, preparing for yet another Monday. He was lucky that Ron, the custodian that liked to listen to his Oldies and get a start on the day, had taken a liking to him last year and allowed him to hit the gym early in return for fulfilling his morning coffee run.

Zane checked his texts while the clock on his phone counted down his rest. He silently protested it getting lower and lower before he was greeted by his most recent text threads. He checked the notification of the football team’s group chat - someone was getting roasted for posting their fit for an upcoming date. Zane scrolled absentmindedly.

He noticed a text from Cam: “Mom flopped on the car this morning. Link me a drive home after school?”

And then, the surprising one: “Come find me during lunch.”

Bianca.

Zane highlighted the text and responded with a simple thumbs up emoji. He sighed, swiped away the alarm going off.

He got back under the bar and stared at himself in the mirror, willing himself to one more challenge. Down he went.

***

“Now remember everyone: your topics for your Current Events paper are due soon. The idea is to find a world event that you can argue has had a long-lasting impact on how we perceive society here in the United States. Please remember that it requires approval. It’s due Thursday morning.” Ms. Young exclaimed, trying to cut through the excitement of the bell for lunch.

Zane had floated through the first few periods as best as he could. Starting with English, followed by Sociology, and now World Issues. The early morning lifts had been particularly draining. Hopefully, Bianca could be coaxed into sliding to a coffee spot for another hit of caffeine or he would never survive through his afternoon Calculus or History classes.

He entered into the bustling hallway swarmed with students flowing out of their respective classrooms. He caught a little standing space to be able to slip his phone from his sweatpants’ pocket. He flicked it open and went straight to his thread with Bianca.

“Where you at?” he thumbed quickly, doing a quick scan of the flooding crowd as if he could magically get a sign on where she might be. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Meet me at the parking lot, we’re getting Starbucks.” she responded. Zane grimaced at having to stomach Starbucks, but resigned himself to caffeine being caffeine. He entered the stream and followed the crowd leading towards the closest ‘Exit’ sign.

Every few steps, he would catch a pat on the shoulders and knowing nod from someone passing him in the crowd. It had been like that ever since the final game of the season.

His meteoric rise in popularity had been surprising. Don’t get him wrong - he wasn’t as humble as Cam might claim him to be - but the sheer size of Upper St. Clair High was sizable. It took a lot more than one touchdown to get him the attention he had been gathering for the last handful of days.
Usually.

He pressed on and made his way out into the crisp Pennsylvania air. If you weren’t prepared for it, it may take your breath. It hadn’t reached its full potential just yet; another month or two would see the temperature decline rapidly.

Zane reached Bianca, who tapped idly on her phone as she leaned onto a column waiting for him. She wore chocolate brown oversized sweatsuits. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, face scarce of any evident makeup. Even effortless, she was breath-taking. He got caught staring for a moment before giving her a nod.

“I can’t wait to get off campus, let’s go” she said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him to her car parked nearby. A pristine white and black Range Rover.

“Jesus” Zane muttered to himself as he rounded to the passenger seat. She peeked over as if she thought to say something, but kept to herself. They both climbed in and the car roared to life.

The rhythm of Kehlani filled the enclosed place, the tone of easy, subtle R&B floating in the space between them.
Zane looked at the dashboard, Kehlani’s tattooed figure filling the cover art as the song continued to play. “Didn’t know you had this in you if I’m telling the truth.”

“I told you you don’t know me despite our little show & tell at the party last weekend,” she responded, peeling out of the parking lot towards the local strip mall at a speed that almost made Zane grab onto something. “What do you think I’m into? Fucking Taylor Swift?”

“You fit the mold.”

“Oh shut the fuck up, I have a kaleidoscope of music interests. That’s why you respond to my texts and go to Starbucks with me.”

Zane chuckled. “Starbucks? Not really beating these white girl allegations. I’m assuming you’re Greek?”

“Anthopoulos as a last name really doesn’t leave much to the imagination, does it?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Unlike the last name Jones. Jesus, even your last name helps with your enigma branding.” she chided, cutting off incoming traffic to take a sharp left into the Starbucks parking lot. Zane caught a breath in his chest before coughing it up as she stopped only to back into a spot. “What?”

“Ain’t no way you actually passed your driver’s exam?”

She gaffed, mouth open as she stared at Zane jokingly, clicking her seatbelt open. “I’ll have you know I passed with flying colors, sir.”

“Who was your instructor, Evel Knievel?” he joked back. She gave him a state that sat a moment too long before climbing out of the car towards the coffee shop. He watched her walk a moment, taking in the sight before following.

***

“All I’m saying is that you got a whole other semester to cuff and smash on the finest girl in school and you telling me y’all are just ‘getting coffee’, what kind of shit is that?” Cam beckoned from the passenger seat as Zane waited in the long line of cars begging to get out of the busy parking lot.

“Man, what the fuck are you even talking about?” Zane responded, exhausted with the conversation already. The day had proven long. The week even longer.

“Bianca Anthopoulos could step on me tomorrow and I might fuck around and thank her. She’s a senior, so she got that older woman appeal. I don’t know how you’re not seeing what I’m seeing.”

“I see a girl who’s graduating and going to run track at a Division I school next year who took me to get a coffee because she’s bored and her friends are lame. What exactly am I missing?”

Cam clapped his hands together and presented them to Zane, his face acting as if the answer was literally printed on them, point blank.

“She’s an athlete, legs long as shit, going to be some running superstar and her ass texts you of all people, how are you not putting two and two together?”

“You’re just talking man, just like her and I are. I don’t know a thing about her” he responded, furrowing his brows as his driving frustrations grew. “Holy fuck, these people can’t organize a line to save their lives.”

“Nah man, you’re just salty that I’m right, but it’s fine. You can just hand her off to me and we’ll just move on” Cam said, clasping his hands together and rubbing them in his best Birdman impression. He peeked over and saw the look of doubt Zane was giving him. “You don’t think so?”

“Don’t know if she can fuck with a white boy she might step on if she ain’t careful.”

“Man, fuck you.”

Zane shrugged, inching closer and closer to the front of the line to finally exit the parking lot. He couldn’t help but think about it though. She was older, and as much attention as she was giving him, it felt standoffish. Like she could just turn around and disappear back into obscurity at any time.

He shook the thoughts out of his mind as he hit his indicator, and turned out of the parking lot.

“Girls like short kings, man. You need to get with the times.”

[redsox907]

Zane slow playing the track baddie - hate to see it

[Caesar]

Interested to see where this is going with Poor Little Rich Girl (tm). Zane might be walking into some fuckery

[Captain Canada]

Zane slow playing the track baddie - hate to see it

My guy just getting to know her now

Interested to see where this is going with Poor Little Rich Girl (tm). Zane might be walking into some fuckery

[Soapy]

“Girls like short kings, man. You need to get with the times.”

real.

[djp73]

aint no way Bianca knows who Evel Knievel is

[Captain Canada]

“Girls like short kings, man. You need to get with the times.”

real.

aint no way Bianca knows who Evel Knievel is

Faith in the new generation, my good brother.