63 Goth Phase

"So", Zephyr awkwardly muttered, looking at Alex, unsure how to say what was on his mind, "What's with the lipstick, the t-shirt and the bracelet? Is this the so called 'Goth phase' that a lot of teenagers go through? If so, then I think you should reconsider.".

Alex, who had black lipstick on and a bracelet that you'd typically find on goth people, rolled her eyes and replied, "I'm not going through a phase. I've just been hanging out with Skylar and she suggested I wear something like this".

"Skylar", Zephyr muttered, deep in thought, "As in goth Skylar. The one with all those piercings? The one who gets shouted at every day by the teacher? The one who everyone says has issues?".

Slightly surprised by how accurate Zephyr's description was, Alex nodded, "Yeah".

Zephyr sighed at her answer, "I get that you want to make more friends, but surely there are better options than Skylar?".

"Like who?", Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What about Sofia? She's in the track team and pretty smart. Or what about Amelia? She's in the Spanish club and literature club as well. I'm sure the two of you could spend hours talking about books", Zephyr said, listing two possible candidates.

"They are better options", Alex admitted, "But they're always busy. And it'd be strange suddenly walking up and asking, 'Hey. Do you want to be my friend?'. I'd get laughed at".

"Okay. What about this then?", Zephyr said, "Amelia goes to the library every day after school to read books because her twin brother is annoying. You can spend some time there and then while she's reading a book, you walk up to her and ask if it's interesting, suggesting that you've been considering reading the book and then you continue the conversation naturally from there onwards".

Alex crossed her arms, "Why are you so insistent on me not hanging out with Skylar?".

"One. She's a goth", Zephyr answered, raising a finger, "Two. You two have only been talking to each other for less than a week and you're already trying to dress like her, which is so not you. Three. She constantly gets in trouble with the teachers. If you keep chilling with her, chances are that the impressions teachers have of you will diminish. Four. She's a bad student and has been consistently failing all her subjects, so she might influence you, which could have drastic effects on your future".

"You're right", Alex agreed, looking down at the table, "I don't like her that much anyways, but I don't know how to bring it up to her".

"I know!", Zephyr exclaimed, "Have Skylar come over to your house and suggest you do something stupid. When your mom comes in your room and ruin thing, use that as an excuse to end things".

"Oh My God!", Alex screamed, "You're right. Mom will always ruin things, so when things go wrong, I can just use her as a means of ending things". Giving Zephyr and quick hug, Alex ran out of the classroom, "You're a genius Zephyr".

"I keep saying it. I should have a plaque that says that", Zephyr muttered to himself. For a few seconds, Zephyr watched the retreating form of Alex before realisation suddenly dawned on him, "Damn it! I should've recorded her".

[Time Skip]

"How's this meant to go?", Elena asked as she looked at Zephyr and Nikos who were going head-to-head.

"It's simple", Zephyr answered, "Nikos is going to try, and fail, to beat me at table tennis. He thinks that despite me not having ever played the sport he'll beat me".

"Ha. Kid. You don't even know how hard it is to play table tennis", Nikos boasted, "It's taken me years to get this good. There's no way I'm going to lose to a kid who's only just getting his pubes".

"Don't worry old man", Zephyr countered, "I saw you and Elena play. I'm certain that I'll absolutely trounce on you".

"Big words from a skinny kid!", Nikos exclaimed as he served.

"I'm not skinny", Zephyr argued, adding backspin to the ball as he hit it back, "I'm slim".

"Is that what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night kiddo?", Nikos teased, smacking the ball with as much topspin as he could.

"Nice try old man", Zephyr smirked as he hit the ball towards the corner of the table with the back of his bat, "But you're a couple of years too old to try and beat me".

"You're decent, kid, I'll give you that", Nikos remarked, driving the ball into the corner with a grin on his face.

"And I could hear your old bones creaking from that", Zephyr countered, adding topspin as the ball curved and hit the very corner of the table before going out. "That's 1-0", Zephyr said, smirking as he blew on his bat, "You sure you can keep up?".

"You're unlucky that it's my serve kid", Nikos said, picking up the ball, confident in his victory despite the minor setback.

[Time Skip]

"Yay!", Elena exclaimed, "You won!".

"I did", Zephyr stated with a large grin on his face.

"You did", Nikos said, looking as though his life had been sucked out of him. Looking up at Zephyr, he begged, "How'd you beat me?".

"Yeah!", Elena nodded her head, "Nikos has been playing this since he was a kid. This is your first time playing. How'd you consecutively beat him 11-0?".

"I observed you two playing", Zephyr explained, "And I noticed how certain actions affected the ball. So I simply simulated the moves in my head and removed all the deficiencies and made each move and stroke more effective".

"Gah", Nikos clutched his heart, as he collapsed onto his knees.

Elena, slightly concerned by Nikos' state, comforted him, "Don't worry Nikos. I'm sure that if you practice hard enough, you might lose to him 11-1 instead of 11-0".

"How's that meant to make me feel better?", Nikos gasped, still struggling with what had transpired.

"It's a big improvement", Zephyr commented, "It means that I would have to at least try a bit before beating you".

"Don't be mean", Elena complained, smacking him on the back of his head.

"Yeah yeah", Zephyr waved her off, "Whatever. I'm going to go. You can handle this". True to his words, Zephyr quickly exited the game room and made his way to his room. Grabbing his phone, he quickly went through all the notifications and messages he had received, stopping when he got to a message from Alex. Following the instructions she gave, he quickly dialled his number and pressed call.

A few moments later, Alex excitedly answered the phone, "Hey! You were right!".

"I always am", Zephyr confidently replied, "But for what exactly?".

"It's about Skylar", Alex replied, "I followed your advice and after school, I invited Skylar to my house. She suggested we shave the back of our necks and I agreed. Mom heard and came into the room and ended up accidentally cutting a bunch of Skylar's hair and how she's angry and doesn't want to hang out".

"That's good", Zephyr said, "You're not going to be dressed as a goth anymore are you?".

"No. Not anymore", Alex confidently responded.

"Thank God", Zephyr released a sigh of relief, "So. Are you going to follow my advice for Amelia? Even Emma thinks you two would get along".

"I'll try", Alex muttered.

"Don't be so gloomy", Zephyr muttered, laying down back on his bed.