Change For Me

25. compatible

~~~~

"Thank you for helping me out." Madame Brun enters her classroom first while me, Eva, and Taron follow.

I smile, placing her containers on the desk. "No problem," I say.

Madame is first to open them and reveal a handful of jerseys. "No let's go through—" she stops short, "0h."

A sudden stench fills up the room. We all cover our noses at the repulsive odor, Taron being the bravest one to ask. "When's the last time you wash these?"

"Literally," Eva cringes.

Madame quickly places the lid back and pushes them aside, "the soccer team probably used them last."

"The basketball team aren't using these..." I'm honestly afraid to ask. They can't possibly allow the team to where these jerseys, especially in their current...state.

"Oh no no no," Madame shakes her head. "Since I'm working on the new jerseys, I wanted to clean out the old ones."

"Thank god," Taron puts them in the corner, as far away as possible. "It would've been embarrassing if they showed up in that."

"Nothing to worry! I'll wash them before donating them, or another alternative." Madame takes a seat next at her desk. She instantly relaxes in her chair until a thought comes to mind. "Don't you have some packing to do?"

Eva shrugs, "I finished a long time ago."

"Me too," I sit on top of a desk, leaning back.

"Aren't you guys excited?" Madame's grin widens. "It's so much fun. You'll enjoy it."

"I wish you can come." Taron pouts, making her disappointment evident.

The overnight trip is at a Ranch, located in the middle of no where. Apparently, we learn and participate in activities that correlate with the wilderness somehow. From this snippet, it seems as though everyone's looking forward to it. Considering, we're leaving this upcoming Monday.

"I would love to but this fella," she points at her belly, "would be hard to handle in the wild." She has reached a point of pregnancy where her bump can't possibly grow any further but, surprises us all and continues to.

"My sister said it was fun." Taron says.

"Mine as well! They said it's the one time to make memories." Eva adds.

"This is a trip where the class can get closer together—who are your partners? Let me guess," Madame looks directly at me. "Sofie."

"Yes," I laugh at her accuracy.

"Then, you and Taron." she faces them and they reply with a nod. "As expected," Madame giggles.

The conversation shifts because Taron realizes, "I thought you had to coach today."

"I do but Mr. Mac is handling it. I have a lot of papers to organize for this years' athletics."

Madame appears to be stressed as she picks up one of the many files on her desk.

I frown, "oh no."

"I didn't forget about the volleyball game yesterday. You can't pull off that pout this time." Her eyes peek over the file and are clearly judging me. But to be fair, I've been avoiding the topic. "You could've been a great addition to the team."

"For volleyball?" Taron furrows her brows.

"You should've seen her play. Her set to Jae—I didn't know he could spike like that." Eva explains.

Taron looks at me, "why didn't you try out?"

I don't have the confidence to receive her stare, "I'm too busy, I guess."

"That's no excuse," Madame is opposed to my reason.

"I did try out." I remind them and as the memory comes to mind, Madame's eyes widen.

I was in my elementary school's volleyball team.
Due to only a few years of experience from it, I thought that I had the expertise for high school, and tried out during my freshman and sophomore year. Long story short, it was a nightmare. I've promised to never do it again because of how much I've underestimated the amount of league players in our school, on top of that, the dedication as well.

Till this day, I don't understand how I made the team. It was solely out of luck and coincidence because I rarely contributed anything to the team—bench warmers supremacy—during those two years. Afterwards, I've came to a realization that I didn't enjoy the sport as much as I wanted to.

Taron gasps, "oh yeah! You were on the team."

"Thanks,"  my scoff is for dramatic effect. My contribution to the team as a bench warmer was apparently useless.

"Sorry, I just forgot for a second."

"It's fine," I easily understand because it truly isn't a big deal.

"I have to talk to Jae too." Madame sighs. "He can be a handful sometimes."

"How so?" Eva asks.

"He has so much potential to succeed in greater things, but his attitude needs to change." Madame explains and suddenly becomes frustrated. "That spike makes me want to strangle him for not trying out. The volleyball team this year is...not amazing."

"Well, for Jae, he has a specific way of spiking." Taron starts to move back and attempts to imitate his form.

We're not too surprised when she replicates it almost exactly since she's, for one, in our school's volleyball team and plays in a league.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Eva nudges my shoulder, "you're just good at everything you do. Specifically, adjusting your sets to the specific person."

"Sorry?" I'm still confused at their enthusiasm to the topic.

"I get jealous sometimes," Taron says. "Because use of basketball, Jae naturally has a strong and fast shoulder to properly swing into his spikes."

"Exactly!" Madame adds more to the conversation. "I noticed he tends to prefer a short and straight set. Lucky for you," she faces me, "you achieve the perfect set for him. You two are very compatible."

"Very," I hear the amusement in Eva's voice. Meanwhile, I sigh at the never ending comments about me and him.

I will never stop hearing it from them, will I?

"Anyways," Madame adjusts herself in the chair. "Thank you for helping me today. It's getting late, you should go home and prepare for the trip that's happening soon." She dismisses us quickly as we retrieve our bags from the back of the class.

We say our final goodbyes to one another and head home for the day.

As I walk the opposite direction from Eva and Taron, they ask, "where are you going?"

"Washroom," I clarify, waving to them until I see them the next day.

~~~~