The Wallflower of Parkview High

Chapter Eight

The next few days in PE were extremely hard for me. I got exhausted easily and it was common that I was breathing heavily or feeling as if I was gonna throw up.

However, nothing prepared me for what we were going to be doing on Wednesday.

"Today is the last Mile before the mid year test in January, so you better make it a good one." Mr. Greene told the class.

Of course. I thought. Of f*cking course.

I should have used common sense to realize that I would have to run this Wednesday, after seeing everyone else run the week before. However, I was too caught up in my own personal thoughts that it just...slipped my mind.

Soon after, Mr. Greene dismissed us to go change, leaving me with a feeling of dread. Despite this, I stumbled inside the locker room, not wanting to stand there and look like a weirdo.

As soon as I got into the locker room, I opened my locker, changed quickly, and made my way to my spot outside. I sat down and closed my eyes, wishing that this was a dream. That I would open my eyes and be back in my old bed in my old house at my old school where I actually knew some people. That mom and dad were back together, that dad didn't lose his job...

However, when I opened my eyes, I was still sitting outside, the sun shining in my face, knowing that I was about to run a whole mile. A pit settled in my stomach at the thought of it.

"Noah, are you okay?"

I looked up just as Zander plopped down next to me.

"I...I don't...Yeah, I'm fine, I guess..."

"Hey, It's just one mile, it's not that bad-"

"For you!" I exclaimed, glaring at him.

"Okay, calm down, I was just saying-" he said, holding up his hands like he was surrendering to me. I just huffed in annoyance and turned away from him, not wanting to deal with his sh*t right now.

About a minute later, mostly everyone had finished changing, so Mr. Greene dismissed us to go jog out to the cones on the far side of the field . Once we did that, he led us through a series of stretches before blowing his whistle. I looked around all confused, before realizing that people had started running. I sighed and started to lightly jog after them.

That's when I realized...it didn't hurt that much. Happy with my realization, I kept at that pace for a while, not wanting to go any faster and make my legs ache.

However, Mr. Greene had other plans. As soon as he saw me, he blew his whistle so loudly that I feel like my eardrums were going to burst.

"Noah, run faster! It's already been five minutes and you're still on your first lap! Some people are already done!" Mr. Greene screamed, mentioning to Zander and a few other people who were lining up behind the water fountain, probably craving water after their run.

"B-But-" I gasped.

"Run faster!" Mr. Greene demanded. I couldn't help but follow his orders and sped up my pace just a little. As soon as I did, my legs began to ache. However, I didn't want Mr. Greene to scream at me again, so I continued to run.

Must run faster, must run faster... I repeated in my head as I ran. The more I ran, the more I felt like I was going to collapse to the ground. My lungs felt like they were on fire and there was a dry patch in my throat that made it hard to swallow. My breaths were getting heavier and heavier and I was feeling a bit light headed. It didn't help that the blazing sun was making the back of my neck sweat.

Must run faster, must finish at least one lap...

By now, my heavy breaths were turning into wheezing and my legs felt like they were going to fall off. My side now ached immensely and I was feeling more and more light headed.

Must finish my first lap... I thought to myself before my eyes slowly closed and I saw black.

~~~~~~

When I woke up, the first thing I did was blink my eyes very fast for a few minutes to get adjusted to the bright light that was steaming down and into my face. That's when I realized I was lying down in a very familiar bed, a very familiar stuffed animal cow tucked in the croon of my arm, in a very familiar room.

My room.

Instantly, memories of what seemed like happened only minutes ago raced into my mind. The Mile...Mr. Greene screaming at me...Trying to run faster....How every part of my body hurt at the time.

Speaking of which...

I couldn't help the cry of pain that escaped my lips as a wave of pain washed over me. I tried to move around under the duvet that was covering me, but it didn't help, only making the pain worse. I'd debated burying my head into my pillow but pushed it out of my mind when I realized that I would most likely suffocate. I ended up just lying there, clutching George to my chest, trying to stop my tears from falling.

I was laying there for a few minutes when I saw the door open and dad step in, Charlotte following behind him.

"Noah, you're awake!" Dad exclaimed, sitting down in my desk chair and turning it to face my bed.

"W-What happened? Why am I here?" I murmured.

"You fainted while running in PE." Charlotte answered, adjusting the duvet so that it was fully if covering my body.

"I did?"

"Yep. Mr. Greene called Dad right away and he freaked out, picked me up from the house and began driving to your school. We had to carry you to the car and into your room."

I didn't say anything and instead listened, snuggling deeper under the duvet, craving warmth.

"Everyone was staring." Charlotte continued, her eyes filled with wonder. This boy with dark hair found out and kept asking if you were going to be okay."

"D-Damien?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Come on, Charlotte, let's let Noah rest for a few hours." Dad said, standing up and making his way towards my bedroom door.

"Alright."

And with that, they left, leaving me to mull over my thoughts.