Overtime (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 8

Wherever you go just always remember. We're never alone, we're birds of a feather.

I’m actually in a good mood on Friday. Tanner and I didn’t study at all last night when he came over, but we had a long talk together. He’s so easy to talk to; I feel like I could ramble on forever when I’m with him.

Even the burden of fourth period gym can’t bring me down. Nobody ever tries in Gym so it’s a complete waste of my time. When we play team sports, the boys all pass it to each other and the girls just sort of awkwardly stand in little clusters talking to each other. The boys are also competitive with it and it makes me want to tell them to pipe down. This isn’t the fucking Olympics.

I walk in the girls’ locker room with Kristen babbling behind me. Her parents are pretty much always fighting and just about every day it seems like she has a new story to tell me about one of their arguments.

I jam my binder in the locker and whip out my clothes. It doesn’t take me longer than a minute to change into a fitted black Under Armour t-shirt and a pair of white track shorts. Kristen doesn’t shut up while she changes into her clothes either.

Emma, one of the girls in my class who’s actually decent enough to talk to every once in a while, strolls in.

“Mr. Decker says we’re taking it outside today,” she announces to everyone. About a dozen groans echo throughout the locker room.

Kristen shakes her head at the news. “It’s official, I hate my life.”

“What about Bradley?” I ask, winking, as I put my hair up in a high ponytail and push it back with a thick black headband.

“Turn,” I instruct her.

She turns her back towards me and lets her hair loose out of its ballerina bun she was rocking today. Kristen’s hair extends about halfway down her back, but I can braid it pretty quickly. She always has me braid her hair for gym class.

“Ug, I feel like he doesn’t want to spend time with me anymore,” she replies as I twist the sections of her hair around.

“Aw, Krissy,” I coo.

“Whatever, fuck him,” she states.

“Ooh, feisty. I like it,” I tell her, smiling. “Hair tie?”

She hands me the ponytail holder and I tie off the braid.

Kristen grins and then continues with her story as we head out the door.

“Like, I’m not going to go out of my way to talk to you if that’s what you thought,” Kristen says.

I nod. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Plus, he’s an ass around his friends.”

“Isn’t every guy?”

“Well he needs to get his shit together,” Kristen tells me.

I actually laugh at that one.

Kristen beams. “Get his priorities straight,” she adds.

I shake my head, snickering. “Get it together, Bradley.”

We erupt in a fit of giggles as we walk out the track. The boys are out and ready like always. Usually when we go outside, it’s just to run. Occasionally, we’ll play soccer out of the field, but mostly everything is done inside. Where there’s actually air conditioning.

Mr. Decker is already barking out orders. He’s really not too bad out of the gym teachers but he has obvious favoritism towards the boys, probably because they do all the work in the class. He doesn’t punish the girls or anything, but he does a lot of yelling towards us to start moving around. I don’t necessarily blame him, though.