Changing Strides

~Chapter 14~

  I strolled into school, the first day of the last year. My walk had a slightly newfound confidence, my class was the leader of the pack. The oldest and wisest. Well, that stereotypical phrase isn't always true of my classmates. In fact, as I walked down the hallway, groups of my classmates were running down the halls, acting like lunatics. Boy did they drive me crazy.
Next thing I know, I was shoved to the ground, winded. I looked up to see a boy with golden blonde hair and bright green and wild eyes staring at me. His face turned bright red and behind us, his friends started laughing. He was quick to stand up and brush off his clothes. I cleared my throat to speak, but the boy ran off without giving me a chance to open my mouth. I stood up, shaking my head in half shock at how quickly things unfolded. Of course, I'm not exaggerating. Some may think so, but I'm not, especially when you notice all of your friends standing around you concerned.
For a second I wondered why. Then, I remembered that once you're injured, you stay injured in that person's mind. I looked around the people confused, then Sammy came to the recuse. She shoved people away, breaking up the large group. She high fived me like it was a big act. I laughed and went along with it.
As Sammy and I walked down the hall, I couldn't hep but to think about the boy. I wondered why I was so intrigued. Maybe it was his stunning green eyes, so vivid, it seemed like I was going to be lost in the amazon forever. Or maybe it was the way my heart fluttered for that moment we locked eyes. I knew this was the beginning of a feeling for love, but it just didn't feel like it. Heck, I didn't even know the boy's name.
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As if I didn't think the teachers could get any worse. Of course though, the world has to prove you wrong. Every. Single. Time. I do have to admit that most of the teachers are nice. English teaher, AP Biology teacher, art teacher are all nice. Though I thought AP Calculus would never end.
The teacher spent over an hour talking about the rules and risks of taking an AP class. Don't forget that she would also mention that being the top upperclassmen has it's mostly downs too. It was her name though that made me want to burst out laughing. The name was most fitting for her most boring personality, Mrs. Blahas. Yes indeed like talking to no end, turned pural. I wasn't the only one to think this either. For most of the class I listened to kids beside me whispering jokes about our newest teacher. And to think this was only the start of the school year.
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School quickly wrapped up and I greeted Sammy by her locker. We chatted for a bit until the conversation turned to volleyball. We became more talkative then song birds in the morning. "Hey, so Claire, you trying out for volleyball?"
"Heck yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, I guess it was a stupid thing to ask."
"Eh, it's cool...so, what are you aiming for?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ya know, like JV or Varsity?"
"Huh?"
"Oh...duh. Sorry, forgot we were seniors."
"Haha, don't worry, it's cool."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Hey, do you want to go practice at my house?"
"Sure, do want to see if the others want to too?"
"Why not?"
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My friend's laughs were extremely loud. I don't even know what set them off. I stared at them like a lost puppy and they continued to laugh. Maybe it was something I said, I don't know. I shrugged it off and served the volleyball.
After a couple rounds, Sammy and Amanda needed a breather. Kristen, Jordyn, and I were all laughing at them. That's when we realized that we were all quite out of shape. We finally agreed that we should try some strengthening exercises for our core and legs.
Our conditioning lasted about thirty seconds. As it turns out, Kristen and Jordyn ended up being the most fit, taking charge and claiming they didn't need to do this. I was in the middle, I would do whatever, ok, that was until we did our first thing. Push ups. Now, no one really wanted to do them, but thanks to years of helping around the barn and riding, I was able to handle them. Though Sammy and Amanda had no such luck. They flopped to the ground after two push ups. I looked at the display before me. Two chests heaved on the ground from laughing so hard. I was starting to wonder how much coffee my friends had this morning. Sammy had her face buried into the ground. She raised her head and tried to breathe through her laughs like a fish out of water. Amanda rolled onto her back, her laughs being the loudest and filling the air around us with a bubbly mood. As far as I was aware, we were all far away from being ready for volleyball tryouts. Coincidentally, tryouts were tomorrow.