The Beaten and The Ginger

3. Another P.E. Class

     If there was one thing Simon hated more than fourth period, it was P.E. class. The only good thing was that he had Piggy there with him and he was able to watch Ralph from a distance.

     Simon and Piggy always tried to change in the corner of the locker room, as it was uncomfortable to change in the middle of the room like the popular kids. It always took forever to get changed, because the popular like to wrestle before P.E. It didn't take Simon a while to get changed, but he always liked to stare at Ralph. Ralph took forever to change, and that was the only thing that Simon found interesting in P.E. 

     Simon and Piggy quickly changed and sat down to watch the popular boys. It looked like Ralph had been working out a lot more since his biceps looked bigger every week. He didn't have abs, but Simon just liked to stare at him. Simon wished he could also work out to try to defend himself when the bullies came but Simon couldn't even speak back to his mom properly and the thought of going to the gym with a bunch of fat middle-aged men sweating on the weights and not cleaning them off after scared him. 

     Today Jack and Roger were having an arm wrestle, and Ralph was telling them when to start. Simon didn't pay attention to the arm wrestle as Ralph hadn't changed into any of his P.E. Clothes and only had his boxers on. Simon tried not to stare, but his eyes kept going back to Ralph's arms. They were so perfect. It was not hard to imagine what touching them felt like.

     Simon was jolted back to reality when he felt Piggy nudge him.

     "Your staring is getting out of hand and you're blushing so hard you look like a tomato," Piggy whispered into Simon's ear.

     "It's a little hard not to stare when Ralph is right there," Simon whispered back. 

     "Just try not to make it too obvious. You know what would happen if anyone other than me found out."

     Simon looked up as he heard cheers and saw that Roger had won and was getting patted on the back. Jack's face turned red in anger and humiliation at losing to Roger. For the 30th time today, Simon's eyes strayed over to Ralph to see his reaction and stare at him. 

     "What is going on in here?" The P.E. coach shouted.

     "An... arm wrestle?" Ralph replied when Coach looked at him. 

     "You guys should be changing and then coming out to start class. Not whatever this is. I expected better from you."

     "Sorry, Coach," the boys said in unison.

     Simon and Piggy got up to head into the gym, but before he made it out, Simon snuck one last glance at Ralph before he went. One that didn't go unnoticed by Jack.

     When they got in there, they saw all the girls sitting on the bleachers waiting for them. The rest of the boys came out after Simon and Piggy and they all sat on the bleachers.

     "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Today we will just be playing basketball," Coach said. "Two people to be captains and meet in the middle to choose who you want on your team."

     Simon groaned internally. He and Piggy were always chosen last in the teams and they were never passed the ball. They got up and met in the middle. Jack and Ralph were the team captains.

     "Rock, paper, scissors for who gets first pick?" Jack asked.

     "Sure," Ralph replied

     They did rock, paper, scissors and Jack won. 

     "I want... Simon." Jack said after a moment of careful consideration.

     Simon was very confused. Why on Earth would Jack pick Simon? People always picked him first over Piggy but never first over anyone else.

     "Well? What are you doing just standing there? You're on my team, so get over here." Jack demanded.

     Simon quickly walked over there after Jack said that. He could hear murmurs of confusion from the people in class.

     After everybody had been chosen, they grabbed a ball and began to play. Jack had the ball and started to run over to the other side of the gym. Ralph immediately tried to block him, and Jack threw the ball over to Simon. Simon wasn't expecting this as he never got passed the ball in P.E. Was something wrong with Jack?

     "YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CATCH THE BALL WITH YOUR HANDS NOT YOUR FACE!" Jack screamed at Simon after the ball hit him straight on the nose. Simon fell down and landed right on his tailbone.

     Simon reached up to touch his nose and make sure it was alright when he heard a crash and Piggy yelling about his specs.

     "Oh no!" Piggy gasped. "I lost my specs."

     Simon heard a crunch and looked up. The ball had been thrown and when it made it to the floor, it crushed Piggy's specs.

     "HEY! I told you to play basketball, not hurt each other!" Coach yelled. "Ralph, help Simon to the nurse. Piggy can go too. Without his specs, he can't do anything." 

     Simon looked over and saw Ralph walking over to him. His heart started racing and he could feel his face heating up. Ralph reached out a hand and Simon hesitated before he shakily grabbed it. Ralph easily helped Simon up and then went over to help Piggy. While Ralph did that, Simon looked around for some tissues. Coach was heading over with a box of tissues, and he handed them over to Simon.

     After Simon got the tissues, he walked over to where Ralph and Piggy were waiting for him at the gym entrance. 

     "Are you alright, Simon?" Ralph asked and Simon nodded in return. Luckily, the tissues were covering his face or else Ralph would have seen Simon go redder than before. 

     The nurse's office was at the front of the building, far away from the gym. Simon knew Piggy was going to struggle to walk without his specs, but Simon couldn't help but feel jealous when he saw Ralph's hand around Piggy's shoulder blades, guiding him.

     They finally made it to the nurse's office and by that point, Simon had almost gone through the entire tissue box because his nose just wouldn't stop bleeding. They walked into the nurse's office and saw her sitting at her desk.

     "Oh goodness!" She exclaimed. "Whatever happened this time?"

     Ralph sat Piggy down on the extra chair beside the desk and answered her. "We were in P.E. class and Simon got hit with a ball straight in the nose."

     Simon was thankful Ralph didn't ask about her saying "this time" because he didn't want Ralph to know that Jack and his gang beat up Simon and Ralph quite often. So often that both Piggy and Simon were on first name bases with the nurse. She never asked them questions, but always patched them up and told them to be careful.

     "We'll sit down, Simon, and I'll get you all patched up." Simon always loved how kind the nurse was, even though she had to deal with high schoolers all day.

     After the nurse Simon, Piggy, and Ralph headed back to the gym to gather their things. They had gotten their things and were outside school, about to part ways.

     "Wait guys." Ralph said. "You guys should have someone walk home with you so that you stay safe."

     "We have always walked home together before and never had a problem." Piggy said. "There's no reason for you to walk us home now."

     Simon knew that was a lie. Many times when they have walked home, Jack or Roger have been waiting to beat them up. But it was better if Ralph didn't know that.

     "Alright then. See you guys tomorrow?"

     "Yes," they both replied. "See you tomorrow."