Vendetta

Chapter 13: Across the Gym

Dakota
~~~~~

Inside my own head, things seemed much more hectic. There was an endless amount of stress, just endless clouds of emotion raining thought down upon my mind and imagination, throwing my mind in turmoil and making me more agitated than ever. Although my mind's eye was wandering way above the clouds, far beyond my reach, touching probably the stars, soaring out of Earth's solar system and our galaxy, my hands were on autopilot. I sat at my aunt's piano, the grand piano that used to belong to my mother. My fingers threw themselves across the keys hitting sharp F's and low A's.

Winter by Vivaldi.

A faint, distracted smile, slithered its way onto my face. I smiled at the thought of my mother, her beautiful smile, brightened the entire room around her. She was a lovely woman, too sweet, too great for the world she lived in. I loved the way she sang, knowing lullabies in languages that were barely spoken nowadays. Her voice was beautiful and rang through my thoughts. Anger filled my heart so abruptly, it made me cry out. My hands smashed against the keys, creating a deep, angry sound. I leaned on my hands breathing deeply.

I hated him.

***

Two girls whispered to one another in the seats behind me. I wasn't sure if they were oblivious to the fact that I could hear them or if they just didn't care.

"He's so fucking fine," One girl said to the other. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my sketchbook and an old black pencil from my bag. I flipped through the pages of the many different landscapes, faces, and things I had drawn. I found a blank page in the back and began sketching the face that hadn't stopped flashing behind my closed eyelids when I dreamed. Mr. Andrews began his drone about the history of America in front of the class. No one seemed to be paying attention, most of the class with their heads down or looking at their phones. I pressed my pencil tip to the paper and sketched away, now adding detail to the eyes that belonged to my mother. I stopped and stared at them. It was almost too real, almost too true. She felt so close. Felt like she was really there, staring at me, pinning my soul to the seat. I blinked hard, clearing my damning thought,  and continued.

***

I pulled the red shirt with my school's logo over my head and bent to lace my shoes. I slammed my gym locker shut as I walked away to the gym.

"Today, we're doing basketball." Ms. Crown blew her whistle and went to go stand by the other gym teacher. I went for a basketball and dribbled it, tossing it into the net easily. The swish of the net left a satisfied smirk on my lips. I felt eyes on me and I continued to do this, I decided to ignore them. The feeling felt familiar. For the past week I'd felt a set of eyes on me almost everywhere I went. At first, I thought it was just me...

I shot the ball and it hit the backboard with a bang, bounced off the rim, and through the net. I turned.

She stared at me.

Her long, straight hair was pulled into a high ponytail. Even in her gym clothes, she looked regal. Her posture was impeccable and her hands were in her lap. She smiled at me. From the bleaches, her white teeth flashed. I licked my lips. I turned away from her and went for the basketball that had rolled towards the gym door. We played basketball for a short while. Finally, the bell rang, and I went to go change, along with the other students.

***

"Get your head in this ring, man," Gabriel patted my head with his gloved hand. I rolled my eyes, focusing back on what I was doing. I slammed my fist together, and bounced from foot to foot, balancing my weight. Gabriel and I circled each other, our eyes focused on our opponent. he swung first, aiming for the left side of m head, I dodged, landing a smooth right hook to his ribs. He grunted, but swung again, this time connecting with my cheek. Anger fueled my next move. I switched my stance putting my weight on my right foot and throwing a punch with the left side of my body. The next few blows were harsh and hard. We dodged, we landed, and we circled. He landed a few solids, I landed more than a few. sweat trickled down my forehead. My muscles were tense and my movements were quick. Boxing made me feel exhilarated. It made me feel undefeatable. I loved it. The thrill of the punches. My body longed for this. These long nights of the week.

Gabe leaned into his blow, putting full force into it. I leaned away from it and used his momentum to excel my blow, hitting him square in the face.

Thud.

Gabe hit the ground heavily with a grunt.

"Look man," He said an amused glint in his eyes. "You hit like a fucking rhino." He rolled onto his stomach and did a push-up, standing. I was grateful he could take a hit.

I laughed wiping sweat from my brow with my arm.

Across the room, the gym door swung open, and in strutted the girl from gym class. She was clad in black Nike leggings and a black Nike sports bra. Her hair was braided into two neat braids that hung low down her back. I couldn't help but stare. Her fucking body was gorgeous. The curve in her waist made my mouth dry. Her pink sports bag was hanging off her shoulder. She stopped to talk to Mr. Coleman at the counter, laughing a little. He jerked his head in my direction. She looked over, and our eyes met. She turned away quickly, ending the quick conversation, and turned towards the benches against the wall. She pulled out her bright pink boxing gloves and hand wraps.

"She's fine as fuck, man," Gabe nudged my shoulder his eyes on the girl as she bent to tie her shoes. I agreed with him with a nod. 

I turned to him unexpectedly and punched him lightly in this side. Light enough that it wouldn't hurt, but hard enough that he could feel it. 

"Ow! What the fuck." He looked at me his eyes opened wide, his mouth open, feigning hurt. "The fuck was that for?" He asked incredulously. I rolled my eyes walking back to the center of the ring.

•••
Hello, guys. I hardly ever leave authors' notes but I think it's about time I should. I've been meaning to ask...can you please tell me what you think? What did you feel when you read this?