✔︎ | Part of Me (Trilogy)

4 | so far away

4 | so far away 

congratulations 

My peers are already by our volleyball nets, and I sneak up, hoping Axel doesn't notice me showing up late. He's unpredictable when it comes to phys. ed. Sometimes he calls me out in front of the whole class, and I get completely embarrassed, even though it's usually my fault. But, he's not here today at all, and instead, some random substitute is pretending he knows what he's doing. 

I wander up behind Tasha and squeeze her waist. She gasps and pulls me closer, "where the fuck is Axel? This dude is terrifying."

I shrug. "I don't know." 

Tasha frowns like I should know. 

"You!" The teacher is snapping his fingers, and it takes me a moment to realize he's talking to me. I blush immensely and gaze at him in confusion. "Do you have a late slip?"

I shake my head. "Should I get one?" 

He motions for me to move to the front of the group. "Give me ten pushups and I'll let it slide this time." 

I frown. In the sand? No way. "Where's our student teacher? The sub doesn't usually control the lesson." 

He crosses his big, burly arms, and his bald head shines under the sun as he furrows his brows. "He didn't show up today," the teacher affirms, "ten pushups or I'm marking you absent." 

"Fuck no," I mutter, glancing at the hot sand under my feet. 

"What did you just say to me?" He leans in, towering over me. 

"I'm not doing any pushups," I mumble, my voice shaking. I've had it for today. I don't care that he's a teacher. I can't do this anymore. I can't keep it together. 

"Swear again, young lady," he threatens, "and I'm sending you to the principal's office. On the ground," he yells, "or I'm making everyone do twenty pushups." 

The class whines, and me, being the wonderful person that I am, can't make them all do pushups too. I groan in annoyance, tears threatening to spill from my eyes, as I get down onto my hands and knees and start doing pushups. I get through about seven before I fall onto my stomach, out of breath, and start sobbing, well — pretend sobbing, and shove my face into my arms. 

I feel like there's no hope for me until someone yells, "Hey!" I don't even have to look up to know who my saviour is. His voice comes closer and he mutters angrily, "what the hell are you doing?" knowing damn well he's done the same thing to me. But he drops to his knees beside me and rests his cool hand against the back of my sweaty neck to comfort me. 

"Are you the peer helper?" The teacher asks. "You're late." 

"Sorry," Axel mutters, standing back up. "I'll take it from here."