Leaving The Friendzone

Chapter 4

Elena Sergio.

Frustration and exhaustion were taking turns gnawing at the endings of my nerves. At the end of every day at school, I was undeniably tired, but today's took the top. All that energy I'd acquired on first seeing KJ, and all that plotting on how to talk to him now that he'd already made the first move when we were in history class, seemed to have dissipated by the end of the day and for the entire forty minutes of the last period, PE, all I wished for was to go home.

To go home and tell Karen all about today. About KJ. How he'd talked to me, how it seemed like he was an angel that'd been dropped from the sky only to turn human once his feet touched down.

Of course, I'd have told Matt about it first, before anyone else, because he was my best friend and that's what best friends do, but he was being a party pooper and was unsupportive of me admiring KJ, and if there was anything I needed at the moment, it most definitely wasn't a killjoy to frustrate me even further.

And to crown it off, the weather was so freaking hot! Running around the tracks under the hot sun in sweaty clothes and equally sweaty bodies weren't exactly my idea of fun, even though I was an amateur at having fun anyway.

At first, we were doing sprints, short bursts of running, 50m, 75, 100, and then back again, but now I was tired.

Panting, my shirt sticking to my body, I slowed to a jog. And then to a walk, trying to catch my breath.

"Pick up the pace, Sergio!" Coach Daniel, our PE teacher yelled and blew his whistle.

Feeling I could go no further, I raised my hands in the air, shaking my head. "I'm burned out, coach. Tapping out."

"Well then, leave the line. To the bench!" Again, he blew his whistle.

To say he loved blowing his whistle would be an understatement. If Coach Daniel could go one day without blowing a whistle through one or his lips, I'll break my piggy bank and give away all the money I had been saving for the year.

Taking off my glasses and using the bandanna I tied around my wrist to wipe the sweat on my face and going down my neck, I sauntered over to the bench where other exhausted or lazy students sat, fighting for their breaths too.

Taking out my water from my bookbag, I took two huge gulps of the water sloshing inside it before I sat down on the wooden bench.

"Look who's tired." The voice came to me as I put on my glasses.

I looked up at once and my gaze fell on Anabel. She had PE with me too.

"Look who's getting a sunburn already too," she spat, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to her right leg so her hip protruded. "Are you sure you didn't put on sunscreen today? Don't want you getting skin cancer at only what, 18?"

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want, Anabel?"

At my words, she gave a mirthless laugh. "What could I possibly want from you? Your pale skin? Hell, no. You look like some plucked chicken or something."

"As do you," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" She raised her voice.

I remained silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said and uncrossed her arms. "I'm just here to warn you to stay far, very far away from KJ. Do you get that?"

I raised my gaze back to her then. "Would it hurt you to do the same?"

"You know, it's bold of you to even think KJ would be interested in you. I mean, have you looked in the mirror lately or something? What would he possibly want to do with someone that has your type of face."