I walked in the gym and tried to find a teacher. I could already see some students running laps or stretching. Someone blew a whistle. The gym teacher pointed at me to come over. I walked over to him. "You new?" he asked. He was tall and muscular with a bushy beard. I nodded and handed him my schedule. "Kinda late for you to be joining us, ain't it? I'm Coach John, I'll be your teacher for the rest of the year."
"That's what happens when you move from New York to New Jersey," I said as a fact. No school in New York City wanted to accept me and we didn't bother to checking other neighboring cities. Mom told us that we're moving after Belleville High School took me under their wing. He handed me my schedule back.
"You need gym clothes every day, black shorts, have to be knee length, and a black t-shirt. Tennis shoes aren't required, but try to bring them because you never know when we're gonna run or play a sport. Let me give you a locker." He walked to the girl's locker room and knocked on the door aggressively. "Ladies, I hope you're decent, I'm coming in." He opened the door after a short pause and I followed him inside. He gave me a lock and key. "Don't lose the key, there's only one spare. Ladies! Hurry up and stop trying to be pretty, there's no one to impress out there!" I chose a locker furthest away from everyone else's and put my messenger bag in, locking it inside. I put the key on my lanyard that also held my ID and walked out with everyone else.
"New girl, hurry up, or you're going to make us run!" someone shouted. Usually, I would have walked slower, but I didn't like running, so I walked a little faster. I stood in the back, furthest away from everyone.
"Class! Today we're playing a classic game called dodgeball." Many people groaned and a few high-fived one another. "Coby, Karla, you two will be the team captains. Choose your teams." Two kids walked up to the front and started pointing at people.
"New girl! I want you in my team," Coby shouted. I walked over and waited as everyone got to their team. I didn't know anyone, so I didn't pay attention until something Coby said caught my attention. "Am I stuck with the loser? Don't make us lose, nerd. Or else you'll regret it." I narrowed my eyes at him and saw Mikey shuffled to our team's side.
"Alright class, you know the rules. No kicking, no punching, do not directly throw the balls in people's faces, loser team has to run ten laps around the gym. Coby's team, to the right. Karla's team, to the left," Coach John explained. He placed twenty dodgeballs in the center of the gymnasium. He blew his whistle. "Go!" I ran and got two dodgeballs. I ran back to the back. I tossed one to Mikey.
"Try not to get hit," I told him.
"It's kinda hard when everyone is aiming at you," he shouted back.
"Duck!" I yelled. We both ducked and managed to not get hit by 9 dodgeballs. I threw the one I had and hit a boy in the arm.
"Carlos, you're out!" Coach said and blew his whistle. "Noemi, Joseph, Daniel, out!" I caught a dodgeball. "Marcus, out!" I spotted Tony on the other team. He made eye contact with me, His eyes widening. I picked a ball from the floor and shuffled around to find the right place to throw it at him. I saw a few people point at Mikey. There were 8 people on the opposing team and 5 in mine, 6 of them aiming at us. Mikey was barely hanging on, he only managed to dodge the balls because I told him to move or because he fell to the ground.
"Mikey! Move," I shouted. He glanced at me in confusion. I sighed desperately and pushed him aside. I caught a ball, threw it, ducked as two shots came racing towards me, and dodged the other three. I grabbed a ball and threw it at Tony. It hit him in the chin. While everyone was distracted, Mikey threw two and it hit two guys in the back.
"Cortez, Matthew, out!" Coach shouted. It was now four on their side against Mikey and me.
"Take the bitch out," Karla said with a laugh and pointed at me. Bring it on, I thought. I caught a ball, making Karla get taken out, and dodged the other two. Mikey got hit in the face by one of the guys, making him stumble and fall. Coach John blew on his whistle.
