Where Courage Ignites

4. Caught

I clutched my phone tight to my chest as I stood at the window, waiting for Troy's car to roll into our driveway. I already had my book bag secured over my shoulders so I could sprint from the house. A green sedan was slowly approaching and I felt my heart rate quicken, but I recognized the driver to be an elderly neighbor as he passed by. Behind the sedan, a sky blue pickup truck nearly passed by the driveway before making a wide turn up to my house. I felt frozen in place, a small smile tickling at my lips. This is actually happening. What exactly it was that was happening, I didn't know. The possibilities were endless.

My pocket vibrated and I read the message from his number: Here. I reminded my legs that they needed to move us and off we went. I opened the door and pushed my backpack onto the floor of the vehicle. "Hey! Sorry for the mess," he said in regards to the jacket and basketball on the seat.

"It's alright!" I heard my voice slightly shaking.

He folded his jacket before gently placing it on the backseat, then carelessly tossed the ball over his shoulder into the back.

I pulled my body up into the truck and quickly shut the door and fastened my seatbelt. "To Calvin's Coffee?"

"Yeah, do you have everything?"

"Yes," I rushed, anxious to leave. "We should probably get going. My parents want me home in time for dinner."

"Sure! Mine too probably. That's a good point."

He kicked the vehicle into reverse and just when I thought we were in the clear, my dad's face appeared at Troy's window.

Dad asked, "So, what's going on here? What's the deal-e-o with you two?" I wanted to fall through the earth just to be gone from the interaction.

"We're going to a coffee shop to study," he said and I mentally let out a sigh of relief. Certainly we had to be over the most awkward of it.

Nope.

Dad asked, "Not trying to date my daughter, are you?" All the air rushed from my lungs like I had been punched in the stomach.

"No, sir."

"I'm only embarrassing Gabriella." Dad smiled cheekily and I cringed deeper into the passenger seat. "I'm her father, after all. What else would I do?" He tapped Troy's car door twice and said, "Looks like my job is done. Have fun you kids, but not too much!" He pointed warningly at Troy before chuckling to himself, "I'm only joking." He went into the garage.

"So that was your dad?" Troy asked as he pulled out into the road.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. He likes making things awkward."

"It's okay, I've been through worse. Like those awkward middle school years, you know?"

"Yeah, totally!" I actually didn't because I was homeschooled. "I actually don't because I was homeschooled."

"Oh man, I wish I had been homeschooled during that. Just hide me away from everyone until puberty passes."

I laughed, "It couldn't have been that bad."

"I don't know. Maybe it wasn't. Sometimes I just overthink things. Make things out to be worse than it is, or was." Troy said.

"I understand," I stated simply.

Troy rested his vivid blue eyes on me, an empathetic smile playing on his lips. It felt so real for a situation so entirely unbelievable. Troy seemed perfect. Yet somehow, here we were talking about overthinking, something I thought only people like me did.

I was surprised when he had already put the pickup truck in park at the front of the little café. I opened the door and crawled down to the asphalt below where I flung my bag over my shoulder. I glanced up at the café I would soon be entering, judging the cloudy windows and swooping overhang.

"You enter here," Troy said, smiling at me from the entryway with the door held open behind him.

"Thank you," I said, apprehensively entering the café. My eyes widened in surprise at the sight. The counter appeared to be a massive bar made out of a single slab of dark, glossy wood. Stainless steel barstools and chairs riddled across the concrete floor, and a mirror ceiling was above the entire café. It was a surprisingly stylish sight compared to its deceptively plain exterior. "Wow," I said in awe, gazing at the overflowing bookshelf.

"Wasn't expecting this, were you?" Troy said proudly, coming to stand by my side at the counter.

"Not at all." I smiled.

"I had the same experience my first time in here."

"I guess this is a lesson in judging book by its cover."

"Exactly, you should only judge a coffee shop by the quality of its coffee. I'm telling you, Gabby, Calvin's has the best in Albuquerque."

The ginger haired, fully bearded barista asked, "What can I get for your folks?"

"Coffee, black."

I ordered a hot chocolate. When the barista turned to start on our drinks, I asked Troy, "Are you a big coffee drinker?"

"Oh yeah, my dad and I share a pot every morning."

"Wow. That's a lot."

Troy chuckled, "Yeah, doesn't feel like it anymore."

The barista sat the drinks down on the counter with a soft clank, "Here you go. It'll be six, eighty-two."

I said, "They're separate."

Troy insisted, "Together." He raised his credit card to the man. "I got it."

"Thank you, but you don't have to."

"Consider it my thanks in advance for answering the many questions I'll have on tonight's homework."

"Deal," I smiled, snaking my fingers through the handle of the mug and raising it to my mouth to blow on it.

"You absolutely must show me how to do the homework so fast. It's been taking me forever! I have to see how you do it."

"I'll help you through it, but we have to be careful given Mr. Brannigan's suspicions."

"You're right. I'll leave a few wrong on purpose," he smirked. "How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" I laughed.

The barista returned Troy's card to him and we set up in the back of the café where the last uninhabited table awaited us. He gently placed his mug on the metal surface and lowered his backpack onto a neighboring chair while I mirrored his actions.

I asked, "Do you mind if I work alone for a little? I work best when I'm in my own little bubble, you know?"

"Yeah, that's fine." A few minutes of calculations and scribbles passed before he suddenly asked, "How are you doing these?" It took me a moment to exit The Zone and address him. I glanced over at his work and saw that he had only started, yet abandoned the first five problems.

I flipped a couple pages back in the book. "Here, try this one," I pointed him to a step-by-step exercise and leaned back in my chair as he started on it. I strained my head side to side to crack my neck when my eyes just so happened to spot an interesting character. A man in tight black shorts entered the coffee shop with his bicycle in hand. He leaned the bike against the large bar and casually strolled over to the front where the barista stood idly by. I watched on as he placed his order and simply took in his presence. His blond hair was chunked together in dreadlocks reaching just past his shoulders in length. When he crossed one foot over the other I noticed the nearly black color of the bottom of his bare foot.

I spoke quietly to Troy. "That man over there," I nodded towards the gentleman. "What do you think his life story is?"

Troy looked at me curiously. He parroted, "What do I think his life story is?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not sure." He chuckled. "Do you do this with everyone you meet?"

I shrugged. "If they interest me."

"Oh really?" A little smile appeared on his lips. "Did you come up with a backstory for me?"

"I don't believe I did, but I'm sure I could come up with something if you want."

"Please!" His face lit up. "I'll let you know if you're right or not."

"Alright." I leaned back in my chair, looking Troy up and down as though I could read through his appearance to his past. "You've lived in Albuquerque your whole life."

"Correct."

"Your favorite sport is basketball."

"Also correct."

"You value your friendships more than anything else."

"Are you sure we don't know each other from a past life or something?"

I laughed, "Do me."

He readjusted his chair to face me better and began, "You're a new girl."

"Right so far," I confirmed.

"You love…" His lost eyes scanned me hopelessly, "Cats?"

"Um," I glanced side to side. "I've never owned a cat."

Troy laughed. "Let me try again. You…" he looked at me intently, his eyes beautiful blue eyes bouncing from one area of my face to the next before settling on my lips, "You like hot chocolate."

"I do like hot chocolate. How could you possibly have known that?" I teased, raising my drink to my lips and sipping my hot chocolate.

"Lucky guess."

I giggled, we sat for a moment simply smiling at each other before I shied my eyes back to the book. "We should probably get back to work on these."

Another forty laborious minutes passed before we could finally close the book and lean back in accomplishment.

"Christ," he sighed heavily, his shoulders slouching forward in defeat. "This class is so wild. I can't believe he expects us to learn all this. Did your parents or whoever already teach you these things?"

"My mom did. She helped me learn all this before I started at East High. Without her, I wouldn't be able to get into Biology so early."

"You mean you're not a senior?"

"No, I'm only fifteen," I admitted.

"And you're in senior honors biology!" He exclaimed, appearing impressed. "Does that make you a genius?"

"No," I shook my head as I blushed. "I don't believe so."

"Well, you're a genius in my book."

"Thank you, Troy," I giggled.

"But, while you may have all this school stuff figured out, I can shoot baskets around you all day. There's no way you could score on me."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest. "What makes you so confident?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You think you could?"

"I know I could, Bolton."

He laughed. "Game on!" He got all his supplies back into his backpack with one swoop across the table. I hurried to gather my things and caught up with him at the truck. He tossed me the aux cord after we were both in and said, "No pressure, but I may or may not judge you based on your taste in music."

I jokingly scoffed, "I'm not concerned. I only listen to the best." I rushed to find perfect song, but suddenly my library appeared full of trash.

"Let's hear it!"

I forced myself to just click one, selecting Machu Picchu by The Strokes. The opening note climbed to a crescendo before giving way to the first rift. The rumble of the bass vibrated my seat and the lead singer's voice drawled out the opening line. I slowly moved my eyes over to Troy slow enough that he wouldn't notice me gauging his reaction. He had his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows low with his lips slightly parting, appearing almost confused by the noises coming out of his radio. I pulled my phone out of the cup holder by the aux cord and said, "Let me pick another."

"Wait." He rested his hand over mine to stop me. I looked over to him as his head slowly started nodding to the beat. He put his hand back on the steering wheel and sent me a big smile. "I approve."

"You like it?"

"I do! It's kick ass, but also chill."

"If you like this sound, I can make you a playlist. I'll put it on a flash drive or something."

"Please, that'd be wonderful! I need some new tune recommendations."

He parked on the street in front of a captivating modern house with massive windows and a metal sculpture in the lawn. Without taking my eyes off the breathtaking building, I blindly pulled my bag up to my lap and asked, "This is your house?"

"Wasn't expecting this from the son of the gym teacher, were you?" Troy jumped down from the truck and came to my side to help me down.

"Not in the slightest." I took his hand and crawled onto the rich green lawn. "So what's the story? Big lottery win?"

"Keep guessing. I'll let you know when you get there."

As we walked towards the driveway, I guessed, "Won a lawsuit?"

"No." He dropped onto his hands and knees and partially crawled underneath the deck on the side of the house.

"Got lucky with investments?"

His voice echoed from beneath the concrete deck, "No." He tossed a basketball behind him and it rolled to my feet.

"Invented something?" I captured the ball beneath my foot.

He wiped the dirt from his hands onto his jeans and said, "No."

"Business owner?"

"Not quite." He bent down and picked up the basketball from the ground, and then spun it on the tip of his finger.

"Not quite? Business…manager? Oh! CEO!"

"My mom, yes." He took a shot for the basketball hoop far on the other side of the driveway and it swished. "My point." We took turns doing some practice shots before he annihilated me for a couple rounds of horse. Next, we entered an intense game of one-on-one. New Girl vs. Team Captain. He expertly blocked my shots and weaved around me to land his, reminding me of the score with each point he made. Once the sun hid behind the house and put us in a shadow, he asked, "Should we call it game?"

With sweat dripping down my forehead, I panted, "Next point wins."

"Deal." I reached my hand out for him to shake, but when he did I knocked the ball out of his grasp. Before he realized he was no longer in possession, I lined up my shot and scored.

He shook his head. "You play dirty."

I smiled. "Hey, good game."

"You too."

Troy turned the pickup truck into my driveway and parked it before the engine slowly coughed until it silenced. "Same time tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good," I said.

"Have a good night."

I opened the door and crawled down the side of the massive truck and pulled my backpack out. I closed the door and began my trek up to my house. I glanced behind me when I heard the roar of his engine starting up again, taking in the sight of the vehicle one last time.

I pushed the door open and what awaited me immediately dropped the smile off my face. My mother stood with her arms crossed around her chest and a suspicious eyebrow arched. "Who was he?"

"Just…Troy," I answered.

"Just Troy?" My father spoke up, walking out from behind my mom and standing next to her, crossing his arms similarly.

"I - " I sighed exasperatedly, "We were just studying! I told you!"

"Lower your voice," mom slowly ordered.

My dad vouched for me, "They did tell me before they left that they were studying." He's always the first to fold, but I knew it'd take more to convince my mother.

"I asked you before whether you were meeting with a boy or a girl and you said girl," she growled. "Then I requested to meet this student and you purposely hid him from me. You've both lied to me and gone behind my back today. You are grounded! No computer and no cellphone for the rest of the night. Do you understand?"

"Mm hmm."

"Yes?"

"Yes." I rolled my eyes. "We made plans to study together again tomorrow, can I go to that?"

"I'm inclined to say no given your attitude this evening."

"My attitude doesn't change the fact that he and I are sharing a book," I couldn't help but smile since she couldn't argue with that. "One that I need in order to do my homework."

My father nodded along understandingly. "She needs to borrow his book," he repeated to my mom.

My mom quipped back to me, "Invite him over and study here. There's nothing wrong with our dining room table."

"There's nothing wrong with our dining room table, honey," my father said to me decidedly.

I said, "Pick a side, dad."

He raised his hands defensively in response. "I'm done with this. I agree with whatever mom says." He retreated to the back porch. "I'll be grilling if anyone needs me."

My mom and I remained in the foyer, eyeing each other down like an old western standoff.

I asked, "You really want a guest over with all these unpacked boxes still here?"

"Gladly."

"Well." I stepped over the welcome rug around her. "That's your choice. I just hope he doesn't find it tacky. Wouldn't want to make a bad first impression." I could feel her eyes burning into the back of my head as I walked up the stairs to my room.


A/N: Thanks for reading! What did you think of Troy and Gabriella studying together and playing basketball? How do you think it will go when Troy gets introduced to her family?