The necklace Kalila gave me worked after all, however I hadn't totally decided to meet up with her though. Throughout the whole day at school, I thought about possible excuses to not go. At lunch I barely touched my food I was so troubled. I noticed far off Kalila seemed to be acting like she normally did conversing with friends and all. Carlos even sat by her and made her laugh; that's when I looked away.
At gym it was dodge ball day and I dreaded dodge ball. I didn't even understand why people made such a big deal about it anyway. We were divided into teams Carlos was on opposite teams and when he gave me that look I knew he was targeting me. He whispered to a couple of guys and they were agreeing with each other. The coach blew the whistle and the game started. 3 or 4 kids had already been hit for rushing at a ball. Like I always did I tried to stay as far back as possible and sometimes I would sneak out without even being noticed since I was so quiet. The game had been going on for a few good minutes and our team was diminishing quickly because the other team had better players. I figured I could get by sneaking out but the coach was watching closely.
As numbers grew smaller and smaller I began to worry. I wasn't the type to have balls hit me. I didn't like the feel, and the balls we had were supposedly soft and safe to throw without causing much harm. I hid behind people as much as possible and soon there were only about 5. Carlos easily disposed of them and all was left was me.
I was terrified. There were at least 12 left on theirs and Carlos was definitely eyeing me now. The ball in his hand was gripped tightly, ready for a hard throw. I panicked. Never was I good at dodging things and Carlos was vey athletic. Sports was easy for him. My team wasn't rooting for me instead, they were feeling hopeless. They were competitive and me losing the game to them, they would take it very seriously. I bit my lip. Carlos wasn't the only one holding a ball. Carlos swung his arm back and hurled the ball. It was fast. Usually if it happened I would have let it, but my instinct kicked in and dodged. More balls hurled and I dived, went left and went right. Grabbing a ball I gripped it not even thinking of aiming and swung hard hitting one of the kids. Everything was going fast, and I was doing so well dodging and throwing them back managing to wipe a few I even caught some bringing a couple back. My team began to cheer and stare at me half mesmerized by what was going on. I felt happy and energetic as they called my name out over and over and something within me just wanted to beat the other team, just for them. Another ball tried to get at me to the right but I dodged and soon it was just Carlos. He looked disdained, and didn't know what to do, but he kept his cool composure because it was not like his first time being in this position. I thought I'd have the upper hand of having the rest of the players I was able to get back beat him, but they were tired and moved more slowly now, Carlos got them out one by one, and now, me and him.
I was less confident than I was before and more worried now. It was like something out of a western scene. The good guy and the bad guy with their guns in the holsters of their belt. Their fingers carefully moving waiting for the others to make a move before they did. Eyes half squinted yet cautiously watching. I could imagine a western music playing in the background, but all this sounded ridiculous. I didn't bother to move my feet or it would trigger him to throw, so I waited and the crowd waited. They were tense and you could hardly hear them breathe. Someone had to make a move. Your going to get out anyway, so just throw the ball Malachi. My doubts told me. Though it was true and very tempting I didn't want to. I didn't want to let them down, I wanted to actually prove something. I found it satisfying having the people that mocked me now admired me. I couldn't lose this, no. As fast as I could, I didn't even look at him, I reached for the ball and swung as hard as I could, and I heard a loud noise echo across the room.
I didn't look, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I missed.
My team began to scream. They were mad, but as I listened, they weren't screaming because I missed. I had actually HIT him. I raised up my glance and saw Carlos on the floor. I hit him in the gut. My teammates ran over to me and cheered loudly and happily. I found myself being lifted up. At first I didn't know what to do, but a big grin escaped from my frown and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the fame for this moment. The coach blew the whistle. "Ok you guys calm down, games over get dressed you guys." The crowed broke away and I was left alone, but I had a big smile on my face. It was nice
"Good job Mal!" A guy patted me on the back in class. "Nice throw you did dude!" Another chimed. "Man, you were beast!" Another called out from the back. I blushed from all the adulation that was coming from all my classmates. Kalila, looked confused from why all of a sudden these praises were being throwed at me, but she slowly brought up a small smile and looked at me proudly.
I never really had this much attention before. After all I spent most of my time hidden inside a cold and dark shell. It felt great. Even though it was a victory for me, Carlos didn't take it lightly. After being examined by the nurse, he trudged back to class and whenever I just so happened to glance back at him, he shot me a terrible look that could kill. To keep Myself from jumping out of my skin, I just pretended to not care. Such a small price to pay for gaining something out of life. I was kind of even dreading stepping out of the class when the bell rang too, because of the fear that he would beat me up. Luckily enough, he never did approach me.
When school ended. I found Kalila at her locker, and she was waiting for me. I knew exactly why. A nervous tenseness began to rise in within me. I didn't want to face this yet. I didn't even make up my mind. "I told the principle we were staying for after school sports practice, so we are going to the gym. You ready?" You ready Malachi? Are you ready to put your life on the path of risk? I hesitated at her question. She sensed I was being cautious and said "It's ok. Just take it a step at a time." they were very calming and reassuring so I reluctantly followed her to the gym. As we walked along the hallway, she asked me "So, what did it feel like Kicking Carlo's butt in dodge ball?" I chuckled and told her that it made me feel big inside for that moment. I then confided that I was kind of worried about what he would do next. She shrugged her shoulders and said "Don't worry about it Mal. To be honest, your the bigger person, and he's just-a coward. I think you can take him." she nudged my shoulder teasing me with a light giggle. When we got to the gym she slung her bag on the bleachers and leaned against the bars. I casually strolled around. "So...Where is this Cyd guy?" I questioned. My answer was giving to me by this familiar voice. "Good to see you, Chosen." I whipped around. The same man that I had saw that day was the man called Cyd.
