String of Fate

Chapter Seventy Four

I hated gym classes. They should not be compulsory. Not everyone was made for sports and it was stupid that schools forced everyone into participating in the lessons. I would much rather be in the IT classroom playing some games. The school filter didn't do a good job at blocking some of the online gaming sites – I had found various Tetris and card games that helped to pass the time in school. Luckily, I only had a couple of months left before I was out of this place. The end of the GCSE's could not come soon enough.

While the class was playing basketball, I tried to stay on the side lines out of the way because I was not a sporty person. Due to my ridiculous height, and how lanky I looked, the PE teacher seemed to think that I was good at basketball. Just because I could reach the hoop with very little effort did not mean that I was any good at the game. It didn't mean that I knew how to play the game. It definitely didn't mean that I wanted to play the game.

But none of the teachers actually ever cared about what we wanted. They just wanted an easy lesson that was over as soon as the bell had rung. I always felt like it was rare that a teacher actually cared about the students individually. We were just a group of people that the teachers would talk to for an hour and then forget about until the next lesson rolled around.

One of my classmates bumped into me as they dribbled the ball down the court and I stumbled into the supply cupboard at the side of the gym. Before I landed on my back, I caught myself on the doorframe and looked around hoping that nobody had seen that, not expecting anyone to be in the supply cupboard during gym.

I was surprised to see a girl sitting on the pile of old mats out of view of the door. Her blond hair fell down past her shoulders in loose curls as she turned to look at me. I noticed that she hadn't bothered to change from her school uniform, although she had taken her jumper off. Her gym back sat untouched next to her backpack as she had been reading instead of actually taking part in the gym class.

I was too surprised to say anything to her, and I was actually a little annoyed that she had seen me. I heard the whistle blow and the teacher called my name. I rolled my eyes and headed back to the game of basketball that I wish I was skipping. I was not good at the game just because of my height. Sometimes, being tall sucked.

At the end of the lesson, the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Finally, Monday was over. I almost skipped out of the door. I loved the end of the school day so I could just go home and avoid people. I was not a very social person. I noticed the girl from the cupboard already leaving when I headed from the gym, only carrying my bag since it was quicker than changing back into my uniform – and too much effort to change back.

I was surprised by how much she stood out amongst the rest of the droves of students that were leaving the school grounds. I quickly caught up to her and fall into step beside her. I was a little curious about her – she stood out so much now but I hadn't really noticed her before. "Why were you hiding in the storage cupboard during gym? Do you ever take part?"

"It's an easy place to hide in when skiving and nobody ever thinks to look for you there. Teachers always expect you to either be in the changing rooms or just skipping the lesson altogether. I hate any form of physical activity, so, naturally, I hate gym. I skip as often as I can, which is why you probably don't recognise me." She replied, looking up at my face as we walked in the direction of the gate. "What are you going to do about it, anyway? Tell on me? I don't actually mind. I doubt you're the first person that has done that and I can just find somewhere else to hid. Just remember, when you're spilling your guts to the teacher, my name is Krystal Stevens."

At this point, we had just exited out of the gate from school. She turned away from me and started heading in the direction that she needed to go. Then, she surprised me by stopping and turning around to look at me. "You know, I've always been kind of curious since you're like the tallest kid in school. How tall are you, anyway?"