Saving Amaya

Chapter 14

Monday is my first day back in school and I could not be more ready. I have been going stir crazy in this house for two weeks now, so I'll gladly accept the mundanity of the public school system.

Today I try to dress as average as possible in skinny, blue jeans and a fitted sweatshirt. My hair has seriously faded, far from the electric blue that it was a month ago, and my roots are now glaringly long. I'm faced with a decision, redye my hair the way I normally would or grow out the color. I know what an average person would do.

I know what the person I'm pretending to be should do. But it's my hair. My hair is different from my clothes or my makeup. I've been dying my hair since the third grade, I haven't had my natural hair in almost a decade. My hair was the first way that I expressed myself, to lose the colorful hair dye would be actually saying goodbye to that happy third grade girl with a pink streak and gap-toothed smile.

Still, I pull it into a ponytail and try not to cringe at the sight of myself in the mirror. No makeup. No piercings. No colorful hair. Just plain the way I always hated it.

When I head down the stairs Blake and Liam are talking about the plan for the day. Blake has football practice after school so Liam and I will drive separately from him.

"Ready to go?" I eye the bowl of fruit on the counter, but decide against grabbing any.

"Yep yep." Liam swings his keys around his finger as Blake grabs his bag.

It's not a long drive to school, just a couple of minutes, but it feels like an eternity. There's this odd sense of dread combined with excitement. I'm excited to be back in school and, most importantly, out of my house. But this is my first day back in school after my attempt.

If I thought people had material to work with before, imagine what shit they'll say now.

We get to school pretty early because I have to talk with the football coach. After three years, I'm quitting the football team.

I love football. I love playing and knocking boys on their ass, but I hate being on the football team. I hate the other players and I hate the coaches and I hate that everyone hates me. So I'm quitting. All of it. Football, wrestling, shot put, mathletes, art club, I'm quitting all of it.

Why should I stay in these clubs when they all fucking hate me?

The office of the football coach is inside of the boys locker room. This means every time I need to talk to him, I have to track down a boy to go in and get him. Luckily, a freshman is walking in just as I get there.

Blake and Liam left to go to their classes, so I just waited for Coach Jensen.

Coach Jensen is a middle aged, pot bellied man that can't stand me. He hates that I play on his team, but he hates even more that I'm fucking good. It's okay, because I hate his guts.

This misogynistic ass has been out to get me for the last three years. I had to work twice as hard as any of the boys to prove myself. If he had it his way, I would never see any time on the field. But like I said, I'm fucking good.

When I see his shiny, bald head round the corner, Coach Jensen grimaces as he looks at me.

"Hey Coach, I wanted to talk to you-"

"Amaya, I need to tell you something. Unfortunately, due to recent events you will no longer be able to participate in sports here at Briar Creek High." His wrinkled face holds no remorse as he drops this bomb on me.

Sure, I was here to quit, but I wasn't here to get kicked off the team.

"Excuse me? Sports? I can't wrestle or throw this year either?" I promised myself that I would maintain my composure, but that is quickly slipping away from me.