The Khigir Hunters

12. Disagreements

My feet hurt. My legs hurt. My everything hurts. Ugh.

"H-hah, we- we made it." Brayden puffed with difficulty. He was right, objectively speaking of course. He and Charlotte finished last, in fact I congratulated them as soon as they crossed the finish line.

"How far did you make it?" Brayden shuffled towards me.

"Well according to Miss Peterson," I cast her a look, "only half a mile." Braydon hummed in acknowledgement.

"You'll do better next time." Charlotte tried to cheer me up. I gave her a soft smile.

"Alright, that's a wrap for today! We'll be up and at 'em tomorrow. Some of you should try to improve in this area, seeing as we are going to be focusing on it for the remainder of the year." Miss Peterson shot a glance my way. Hooray, running all year.

We were finally allowed to head back. What a great class it is to be surrounded by a bunch of sweaty, hungry-eyed peers, I wouldn't want it any other way. I didn't miss the way Javier and his buddies looked at me during the whole ordeal either. I shuttered at the thought.

"Every damn day..." I mumbled to myself. Brayden cocked an eyebrow.

"Practice makes perfect!" Charlotte chirped. Brayden and I hummed in acknowledgment, too tired to argue. We were only a couple feet from the building when Miss Peterson's phone suddenly rang. She visibly sighed and reluctantly answered it.

"Really?!" She abruptly cried out in disbelief, casting a glance at the bunch of us. "I'll make sure myself." With that she swiftly tucked her mobile in her pocket and began to watch us like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"What do you think is going on?" Charlotte whispered.

"I don't know, something must've happened," Braydon scratched his head. "I haven't seen Miss Peterson so worked up before." We walked next to our other classmates, who threw equally confused glances at Peterson's sudden change in demeanor. Everyone's frivolous conversations quickly died down to curious whispers. 

Javier and his buddies were now in front, leading the pack back to the gym. Just as he reached the front door, Peterson snapped.

"Hold it right there!" She demanded, instantly earning our attention. "No one is going to enter the gym for the rest of the day." She eyed us all skeptically. "There's been a drug bust." Panicked whispers emerged around me. I nearly burst out laughing in disbelief. Charlotte looked like she just saw a ghost, and Brayden had his typical impartial look.

"Who would bring such a thing to school?" Charlotte whispered incredulously, holding her hand to her chest almost as if to steady herself from the shock. Javier on the other hand decided to test his chances.

"We need our uniforms for track though, couldn't we run in and-"

"No, absolutely not!" Javier looked mildly insulted, an interesting appearance to be frank. Meanwhile the rest of us weren't happy to learn that we wouldn't be allowed to collect our things- which included our cell phones since they were prohibited on the track. I was completely fine with that until I realized two things: One, Karine's jacket is laying on the bleachers, and two, Dimitri and Jay are probably going to wonder what happened to my brand new bag and phone they- er Leon provided. Either way I was in hot water. 

A sudden breeze chilled me to my bones, causing goosebumps to climb up my exposed skin. Ah right. Let's not forget that I'm dressed like a walking whore. Fabulous. I crossed my arms in a vain attempt to still my shivering. I wouldn't mind literally being in hot water right now.

"Well, seeing as there's only five minutes left and this is last period, "Peterson began, "you all can be dismissed, except for Javier," she looked directly at the red head, "you'll be coming with me." You could see fear written all over his face, but he quickly tried to conceal it.