Friday, 14 October, 15:35 GMT 13 years ago

"Hey, you alright?" Dean asked as she stared out of the window at the orange and brown hues of the fallen leaves.

"Hm?" Drew asked as she turned to face her longtime friend. "Um, yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because you've lost three in a row to me," Dean said.

She smirked at him and then laughed. "Set it up again."

o-o-o

Monday, 19 September, 10:15 GMT 13 years ago

Drew packed up her bookbag as she stood up from her desk at the front of Professor Conner Ingles Advanced English Language class. She looked up to see the tall American basketball player leave the room a few minutes after the recess bell had rung. She took in a deep breath.

"You all set?" Dean asked as she nodded. He placed an arm on her shoulder leading her out of the classroom. They walked down the hallway heading to the atrium for the short fifteen-minute recess.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I just," she shrugged. "I'm finally caught up on the first two weeks of school that I missed."

"It would have taken me a whole month, mind you," Dean smiled. "You're such a geek."

"Thanks," she said smirking. "I'm trying to get back into the routine of things."

"That healing incident took a toll, huh?" he said as they continued to walk.

"That was the longest I've been bedridden so far," she shrugged. "I'm just glad everything turned out."

"So, have you spoken to him yet?"

She took in a deep breath. "I think he's trying to avoid me like the plague."

"You don't know that," he smiled. "Besides, you would probably be able to cure that."

"Ha ha, funny," she said before stopping in her tracks as they entered the atrium. She saw the cool kids hanging out at a couple of the benches at the other end of the glass-walled structure. Phillip sat with Briana Wells, girlfriend number 8, while Aston Baguio stood against the wall talking to others from the cool crowd.

Phillip glanced her way and then turned back to conversing with everyone around him. The blonde girl kissed his cheek. Drew blew out a breath.

"We should head straight to Professor Kloetzel's Advanced Chemistry class," she said softly.

"Sure," Dean said shrugging his shoulders as they made their way past the students taking their break.

o-o-o

Friday, 14 October, 15:45 GMT 13 years ago

"Yeah, four in a row," Dean raised his arms up in victory as Drew stood up.

"Break time," she smiled, shaking her head as the rest of the club members took the same cue. They headed to the snacks table just as the tanned young man entered the classroom holding two large boxes of pastries.

"Delivery," Aston smiled as he placed the two boxes on the table next to the two bags of potato chips and the package of store bought cookies.

"Who ordered that?" Drew asked as she looked at the rest of her mates.

Aston looked at his order sheet and shrugged. "It doesn't say who ordered. But it's already paid for."

Drew canted an eyebrow at him skeptically. He smiled.

"We've got Spanish rolls and meat and vegetable empanadas, or pasties as we British would call them," he said as he opened the boxes. "We've got chocolate, yellow and ube flavored cupcakes."

"Wow. Get these plain cookies out of the way," Dean joked.

The twelve other Chess Club members nodded as they would never look a gift horse in the mouth. Everyone grabbed a piece of pastry and grabbed a bottled water before heading back to their seats.

Drew picked out an ube flavored cupcake with ube buttercream frosting from the box. Aston studied the young lady for a moment.

"So, how's your Year 13 going, Drew?" he asked as he leaned against the table.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Are you planning to try out for the basketball team again?" he asked nonchalantly.

She paused. Dean's ears perked up. "I only tried out last year because Phillip Martinez wasn't coming to tutoring," she took in a breath. "I don't have Professor Kaiser this year to mess with my marks.

"And I don't think Professor Kloetzel does projects like Professor Kaiser," she said as she took a bite of her cupcake.

Aston smiled at her. He shrugged as he stood up. "You and Phillip seemed like besties by the end of the year," Aston said. "At least that's the impression that I got."

Drew could feel her ears starting to burn. "We were tied academically. Me joining the team was a means to an end," she rationalized.

"Okay," Aston nodded as Dean approached the two. He grabbed another pasty and waited next to Drew. The black haired young man smiled at the both of them. "I'll let you smart people get on with your board games."

Both Drew and Dean watched as the son of the local baker left the classroom. Dean looked back at Drew. They both snickered.

"Come on, let's go back to our board game then," Drew said linking her arm with his.