A Life of Death (Chapters 1-3)

A Life of Death, Chapter 3 - School

Chapter 3 - School

I looked up to find myself on the backside of the school. I wandered around the building, to the entrance. The grounds were vacant with only a few cars drifting out of the parking lot. Birds chirped, disrupting the still silence. The large clock in the center of the courtyard announced that classes had already begun. When I reached the gym, a voice stopped me outside. The other students passed by in a herd as they ran laps.

            “It’s nice of you to join us,” shouted Coach Moyer from the track. It encompassed the football field, not far from the building Mr. Moyer was a bull of a man, weighing at least four-hundred pounds, most of which hung over his waist. His double chin bulged around the collar of his school polo.

            “Sorry I’m late, got caught up.”

            “Well, get with it. Change clothes and join the rest of the class out on the track. You’re running ten laps today.”

            I nodded and disappeared into the locker room. Ten laps didn’t bother me, although, I’d never been the sporting type. By the time I reached the track, half the period was over, and most people had finished the majority of their laps. The track stars were sitting on the well-trodden grass, horse-playing and telling jokes. The rest of the athletes loped down the black avenues. I set a comfortable pace. If I didn’t finish, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The vivid dream from that morning still haunted me. The crisp morning air cycled through my lungs as I thought. It was refreshing. Just then someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I returned to the lonely reality I’d become accustomed to. 

            “Hey, Alex, what happened to you this morning?” asked Jessie, another senior. His brown hair was matted in sweat, but he matched my pace.

            “Nothin’ really, just took my time getting here.” Jessie was one of the few people that might be called a friend.

            “Dude, you don’t look so hot. You sure you’re feelin’ well?”

Before I could answer, Coach Moyer screamed, “Get a move on.” Jessie waited for my response.

            “Nah, I’m good, no worries.”

            “Arturo, did you hear me?” bellowed the coach from the start line. “Get your butt moving and join up with the rest of the football team. They’re about to lap you.” Sure enough, Grant Brogand, the star quarterback was coming up behind us, setting the pace for the rest of the team.

            “Maybe you better go,” I said. Coach Moyer’s face was growing beet red.

            “Why,” asked Jessie, “It aint like he can catch us. I hear he makes the driver’s ed students stop for burgers every time they go out.”

            We both chuckled at the rumor we knew to be true, but Jessie gave in and accelerated around the track before the coach lost whatever patience he had left. Jessie rounded the track and caught up to the others. He was the only one that ever stepped outside the popular group or even spoke civilly to me. The fact that they were all overshadowed by Grant’s celebrity status might have been partly to blame. Although Jessie was good, with Grant around no one else was ever mentioned to college scouts.

            A moment later, the only other person I found worth listening to caught up and matched my stride. “Hey, Paige,” I mumbled.

            “Hey, Alex, how are you?” Her gray gym shirt attempted to make her into a drab clone of the rest of us. But if the school had enacted a uniform dress code, it wouldn’t detract from her beauty. Brown curls bounced over her shoulders like ocean waves. She smiled as she fell in step. For brief moments, she turned her honey-brown eyes on me. They were like amber pools, deep enough to drown in.