Twisted

vi. caught in the act

vi. caught in the act

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Roxanna was having a hard time doing her next step. At some point, she chastised herself for not planning thoroughly. She knew that if Gwen were in her position, she would plan things first, from minor to major details, before taking action. Roxanna also knew that if Gwen discovered that she had lost track of time owing to her excitement and recklessness, she would be disappointed.

Gwen disliked having reckless people around her, even if they were just strangers. She often perceived it as an act of foolishness and it stressed the hell out of her.

To gather ideas, Roxanna had watched countless dramas; read books and articles; and spent her time researching on the internet for days. Had she come up with a proposition doing so? She had not. She also couldn't fathom how characters in movies and books could come up with such a brilliant plot to agitate the main character so quickly.

Roxanna loathed her mental block even more.

She knew she was doing her best, yet why did it seem as though she was failing? She couldn't even see the aforementioned silver lining.

"Woah, that was close," her partner in their physical education class uttered as she nearly missed the baseball Roxanna tossed at her for their activity. She then threw the ball back to Roxanna.

Roxanna caught it. She asked, "Shall I throw it at you once again?" They were in an open-space area, doing a demonstration of the game, baseball. They had been throwing the ball at each other for the last few minutes.

"Go," said her partner, fixing her position. "Let's do it until the period ends. We still have plenty of time left."

"Okay then." And so she threw the ball towards her. Her pitch, however, was fast and strong—enough for her partner to totally miss it.

It's fine to miss a catch in a game, though not when the ball's trajectory will hit someone else.

That someone was Gwen, who was calm and clueless. The baseball was ready to strike her in the face. One would think she had no time to react.

"G-Gwen, the ball!" Roxanna yelled as loudly as she could, her eyes widening.

One's thought didn't become a reality. Gwen had reacted. With her bare hands, she caught the baseball. Her shock, on the other hand, was not so noticeable. Her face remained expressionless.

Gwen gently put the ball on the glove of Roxanna's partner. "Be careful next time, Beatriz. You might miss again. Worse, someone might get hurt."

"G-Gwen." Roxanna's heartbeat became rapid as she approached her. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were there." Deep inside, she blamed herself.

Gwen looked at her, still expressionless. "Aim better next time. Your pitch is so fast, Beatriz can't handle it."