Oliver Greene
“I’m never going to get this.” Ben groaned.
“Yes you will, you just need to be patient.” I responded. Ben groaned again and leaned back in his chair. We were in Ben’s basement, he was sitting across from me working on a review worksheet I’d given him.
“I’m going to fail the test! Then coach is going to kick me off the team, scouts will never see me play and I’m never going to college and I’ll never play football again!” Ben exclaimed, laying his head on the table as he ranted. I tried to hold my laughter back at his ridiculousness but it didn’t go unnoticed. He looked up at me and narrowed his eyes. “Are you laughing at my pain?” he groaned.
“You’re not going to fail, come on. This is the first question you’ve gotten wrong so far. And we did this material a while ago, so it’s understandable if you’re struggling to remember it.” I rationalized. Ben groaned again and flopped back in his chair.
“It’s only the fourth question on the worksheet.” he mumbled.
“Yeah, but you’ve gotten three right. That’s what matters.” I said, offering him a small smile.
“I need a break.” Ben suddenly exclaimed. I raised my eyebrow at him.
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“Ice cream!” Ben suddenly exclaimed.
“Where do you want to go for this ice cream?” I asked.
“ICS?” he asked, already preparing to stand up. Ice Cream Shuffle is a popular ice cream place in town, and the best place to get ice cream in the state if you talk to anyone from around here.
“Alright, fine.” I said, rolling my eyes. Ben jumped up and we headed upstairs.
“Hi boys! How’s the studying going?” Mrs. Jones asked.
“Taking a break. We’re going to Shuffle.” Ben said as we both put on our shoes on.
“Alright. Drive safe!” she called after us.
“We will. We’ll be back soon.” I replied. Mrs. Jones smiled at me in response as Ben and I headed to the garage. We pulled up to the neon-sign covered ice cream shop, already bustling with people getting ice cream as an end of week celebration.
“Damn. It’s busy.” Ben said.
“We can take it to go. Go to the Hollows.” I suggested, gesturing to Hollows Park right next to ICS. Ben nodded as he turned the car off and we headed for the shop. The door dinged as we walked in, the packed store full of chatter and the smell of waffle cones wafting through the air.
We stood in line, both looking at the menu until it was our turn.
“Double chocolate in a waffle cone, please.” I told the man behind the counter. He started scooping the ice cream when I felt an arm nudge me.
“I’m paying for yours.” Ben said. I shook my head.
“You don’t have to. I have money.” I said. Ben smiled and shook his head.
“Nah, I got it. It’s a thank you for spending your Friday night helping me.” he replied. I smiled back at him.
“It’s not like I had any other plans. But if you really want to I guess that’s fine.” I said. Ben nodded triumphantly as the man behind the counter handed me my cone and took Ben’s order. Ben paid as I grabbed napkins and we headed for the door.
“Yo, Jones!” someone called out. Ben turned around to see Josh, Cal and a few other teammates and girls crammed in a booth together.
“Hey, guys.” Ben said. I trailed behind him, pretending to be very interested in the artwork hanging on the walls.
“What are you doing here? I thought you said you were studying.” Josh asked.
“Uh, yeah I am. Just taking a break.” Ben replied, gesturing to me.
“Hey, you’re Greene’s brother right? The smart one?” Josh asked, his attention towards me now.
“Uh, yeah. Henry’s my younger brother.” I replied. Josh nodded.
“You guys really are polar opposites, huh?” Josh joked, making some of his teammates laugh. I shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess.” I said, quieter this time, feeling uncomfortable. I felt Ben look over at me, seemingly sensing my discomfort.
“Well it was good seeing you guys. We’ve gotta get back to studying, though.” Ben said, trying to wrap up the conversation.
“Ah, c’mon dude. Why don’t you stay? Can’t Greene just like, help you cheat or something?” Josh said, gesturing to me. Ben sighed.
“No, Josh. Oliver is not going to help me cheat or something. I need to study so I can do well and stay on the team, so we’re leaving now.” Ben said, giving a tight lipped smile to the group.
“You’re getting boring, Jones. Not going out with us anymore and now you want to study instead of hanging with us?” Josh said.
“Yeah, Ben, why don’t you hang with us tonight? One night not studying won’t hurt.” A brunette, Olivia, said, batting her eyelashes.
“Sorry, I just really need to focus on school right now. I’ll see you guys Monday.” Ben said, giving the group a wave and turning around. I turned around and hurried out of the store, feeling uneasy and guilty. We walked to the park in silence.
“You okay?” Ben asked softly. I nodded, a tight smile on my face.
“Yeah. Sorry I’ve been keeping you from your friends. I know I’m probably not as fun as them.” I said, forcing a light laugh to try and lighten the mood.
“Hey,” Ben said, lightly bumping into my side with his arm. “Don’t say that. I think you’re more fun than them to hang out with. Even if most of what we do is study. I don’t want you sitting around thinking I hate studying with you or hanging out with you, okay?” he said, sincerity in his voice and on his face. I nodded, an actual smile creeping onto my face.
“Yeah, okay.” I said. Ben nodded and we continued walking in silence. Once we’d made it around the looped trail, we threw our napkins away and headed back to the car.
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