Chapter 20: West Zone
He brought a board that displayed the West Zone Table.
Mumbai U19 was top of the table with 26 points. Followed by Gujarat U19 with 24 points and Saurashtra U19 with 22 points.
The race for first place was fierce and was entering sudden death. Any slip-ups could cost them qualification for the Nationals.
"We're finally first," he said with a smile. The players also applauded.
"Soak in the feeling while you can because we need to sharpen up. Although you guys played well, you lacked creativity in the middle overs. If not for Aryan, sorry to say but we'd have lost. So from today, we will be setting most of our focus on how to capitalize and finish games," Coach Kulkarni said.
"So go home and rest because your hellish training will begin soon," he added.
Aryan, who was looking forward to more training, smiled.
Aryan asked Coach Kulkarni if he could go home with his mother to which he said yes.
Aryan, after showering, changed and went to meet his mother at the parking lot.
On his way out of the stadium gate, Aryan heard someone call his name.
He turned back and saw a brown-haired girl with big hazel eyes that seemed like you would get lost in if you looked in them long enough.
Aryan stopped and waited for the girl to catch up. It was his sister's friend, and he still couldn't get that familiar feeling off his chest, so he decided to confront her.
"You know, it seems I'm the only one who's lost. You seem to know me and I get a feeling of familiarity whenever I see you, but at the same time, I don't think I know you—or I don't remember at the very least," Aryan said all this in one breath.
The girl smiled and said, "I've gotten girlish now, that is why you don't remember. Aryan, it's me, Ananya."
Aryan stood there staring blankly at the girl who seemed to be waiting for something, and sure enough, it hit Aryan.
"Wait, Anu? Our neighbors? Wait, wait, but you were a tomboy... or looked like a boy," Aryan said the last sentence in a low tone.
Ananya, slightly embarrassed, said, "Yeah, that's me. Hi, Aryan, nice to meet you again," she said while she stretched her hand forward for a handshake.
Aryan didn't leave her hanging and shook her hand.
"So you moved back or?" Aryan asked in a questioning tone.
"Yeah, we never sold the flat, we just rented it out," Ananya said.
They both stood there not knowing what to do until Ananya broke the silence. "So you in high school yet?"
"Nah, will be in the coming semester though," Aryan answered before asking, "What about you?"
"High school sophomore. I will also be in my final year next semester."
Aryan remembered that Ananya was older than him by 3 years and some months.
They both stood face to face with Aryan being a bit taller than Ananya, who stood at least 170cm by Aryan's estimation.
The silence was awkward until Riya found both of them standing together.
"Come on guys, Mom's waiting for us," she said, not noticing the awkward atmosphere.
They both followed behind her as they got to the parking lot.
While driving, Priya asked, "So do you finally remember her?"
Aryan, who was beside her in the front, answered, "Yeah, but you could've told me in advance so that I wouldn't treat her as a stranger when I met her outside."
Priya laughed before Aryan, a bit annoyed, looked at the rearview mirror once more before putting his earbuds on.
The ride home was just Aryan listening to music while Ananya and Riya spoke to each other in the back.
Both Aryan and Ananya would steal glances at each other, but at times their eyes met and they would look somewhere else.
Priya looked at both Aryan and Ananya through the mirror before smiling and focusing on the road.
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Priya parked the car in front of the apartment complex driveway before turning off the engine. Aryan, who felt the sudden lack of motion, quickly woke up.
He had dozed off on their way home from the stadium, exhausted from the match.
Not waiting for them, Aryan quickly grabbed his heavy kit bag before exiting the car. Ananya just looked at Aryan as he got out, watching the way he hefted the heavy equipment with ease.
Aryan didn't wait for the girls and quickly got inside the building, taking the stairs two at a time.
After going up to his room, Aryan dropped his bag and opened the window blinds to look at Ananya, who was heading to her wing of the complex after she got down from the car.
Her apartment was just adjacent to that of Aryan's, separated by a small courtyard. As she was walking, as if she felt something or someone looking at her, she looked in the direction of Aryan, who quickly ducked down below the window sill.
Ananya, noticing that it was Aryan who was looking at her, smiled to herself before walking off towards the lift.
Aryan, who didn't know why his emotions were all over the place, fell onto his bed before dozing off again.
Aryan was woken up by chatter a while later as he heard sounds of talking and laughing coming from the living room downstairs.
Aryan decided to go and check it out but decided against it since the odds that he was going to meet Ananya were high, and he didn't want to risk it as he hadn't gotten his mind right after the awkward staring incident.
Aryan, suddenly remembering something important, called out to his System mentally and navigated the new panel.
It had cost him 10,000 Legend Points to upgrade to Level 4, and the impending update to Level 5 was going to take a massive total of 67,000 points. Aryan didn't know why it was that specific; the System could have just opted for a fixed and rounded number like 65k or 70k.
Aryan quickly navigated the holographic panel, trying to look for new features.
"Max, what does the recent update come with?" Aryan asked.
"Ding."
[The unlocked features this time are Traits.]
Aryan, who seemed to be waiting for the System to continue but saw no answer coming, decided to ask, "Max, is that it?"
[Yes.]
"Wait, ten thousand legend points just to unlock Traits?" Aryan said, a bit annoyed.
After not gaining any more replies from the stoic AI, Aryan decided to go to the Trait Hub.
(To be Continued)