Hold Me Closer

Chapter 5

Zinnia looped her arm through Clare's as they walked in the gym to the locker rooms. It was now Wednesday and they had the ever so dreaded gym class. Zinnia laid her head on Clare's shoulder and sulked about having to go outside in the chilly weather.

"I don't wanna go out there!" Zinnia complained, "It's still damp from when it rained last night! Why do they make us do this?"

"Only a few more gym classes, Zinnia." Once it passed the 23rd of October they could finally use the indoor gym. Today was the 9th so that was only 13 more days till then.

"Hey Zinnia!" Gem exclaimed, coming up behind them, "I'm sure you're so excited to see your buff as hell boyfriend today, aren't you?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Zinnia argued, her face flushing a light pink. It almost irritated Clare how Zinnia obviously she liked the boyfriend joke.

"Not yet." Gem teased. She pushed the locker room door open for them and held it open. "Hm, what are we playing today, do you guys know?"

"I'm not sure," Clare replied, "Whatever it is though I'm sure I'll butcher it."

"Of course you will," Gem opened up her locker and started changing, just like everyone else, and soon enough they were heading outside.

"Brr!" Zinnia grabbed her arms and rubbed them, trying to warm herself up. "Gym just has to be the first class of the day. The sun's practically still rising."

"Hurry up girls!" Their teacher, Ms. Lucker called to them, "I know we're all cold so let's get warmed up with a warm up that we all love! Gimme five laps, let's go! Come on now!" She ushered all the students off the bleachers to go run around the court. Felix pushed his way forward due to his athletic prowess, the kids behind him cheering him on. He made it look so graceful and effortless-almost looking like he was floating with his long slender but muscular legs.

"Admirable." Zinnia huffed under her breath as she made a slow jog around the court, Clare following next to her.

"Faster now come on!" Ms. Lucker clapped her hands together in an encouraging manner.

"Nobody's gonna be warm with any pace slower than Felix's."

~~~~~~~

The class all took a deep breath, for they had just finished their workout they do at the beginning of every class. Nobody liked it. It was always some really hard cardio workout. They all got sweating for sure, and no one complained about being cold after.

"So, class," Ms. Lucker started, "Today we will be working on our soccer skills. So, let's create some teams. Hmm... Lena go red, Sid go blue, Felix go red, Macy go red too, Clare go blue, Zinnia blue..." That was good. Neither Clare nor Zinnia were placed on red with Felix, but let's just hope they don't crash into each other while playing now. "Okay, that's everyone. Now you all remember how to play a soccer game from last class, so go to your sides and get ready. You'll all go when I blow the whistle!" Everyone got into some random places spread across the field, ready to score some goals.

Clare was not a very athletic girl so when it came to sports she always tried to stay away from everyone and hide in the back. That way, she wouldn't get into anyone's path. Clare took a small lunge stance and placed her hands on one knee. Her teammate, Sid, crept up close to the ball, trying to intimidate the other team's players with a harsh stare-only to come off looking constipated.

Tweeeeet!

The whistle blew, meaning the start of the match. Clare took some steps back, making sure not to get in her teammates' way of sprinting across the field. Sid tried to kick the ball with a mighty foot, but ended up slipping on the damp field and falling on his butt. The opposing team's players chuckled at his embarrassing mishap, and used it to their advantage. It did look like a very hard fall, so Clare ran up to him to make sure he was okay. He was an interesting kid that reeked of sweat, but she didn't want him to get hurt.