Invisible Love - A Brammy Story

Childhood Crushes

By 10 years old, pretty much everybody here at Windenburg Primary School has had at least one crush. In fact, some kids in the 'rebellious' group even claim to have had a 'boyfriend' or girlfriend'. To my dismay, my cousin Cody falls into that category - he's always bragging about how he saved somebody's phone from falling into the road, and how they were begging to go out with him. (I'm not fooled: for one, he uses the same story each time, and - secondly - every time someone says they're 'going out', it basically means that they have the title of 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend', but will never speak to each other or go near each other, and it seems like eye contact is out of the question!) Besides, me and my best friend, Seb, even tried knocking strangers' phones out of their hands and catching them, but - as sports aren't my stong point - I ended up having to pay back one hundred and eighty-six pounds to an elderly lady whose mobile I accidentally smashed the screen of; how was I supposed to know that old women bought such expensive phones?!

Anyway, it was early on a dreary Tuesday morning in November, and I was trudging to school with Seb by my side. I wasn't in any way excited; I despise the never-ending lessons, and the fact that I knew that we'd be running laps around the school field in P.E today made me feel sick. In spite of this, I continued dragging my Adidas trainers through the filthy puddles of Windenburg central, until the dull-coloured, brick building came into view.

After lunch, the time had come for us to participate in the dreaded subject - P.E. I ambled miserably through the school corridor, dragging my ancient, school kit in a small bag behind me. Me, being one of the smaller kids in our class, was pushed and thrown around by the taller children: Cody, who was practically sprinting through the corridor, desperate to be first in the changing rooms, weaved in and out of students, teachers, anything he could find, before anybody could catch him. As you can imagine, it was pure chaos! It was going to be a long P.E lesson, or so I thought.

Just like every other week, I pulled on my white "Windenburg Primary" t-shirt, and, after a few of the boys had confessed to attempting to hide them in the highest locker, my jet-black shorts. As a result, I was, once again, roared at by our sports coach, Mr. Thomas, for being out of the changing rooms last. Sighing, I had to face it; I was temporarily doomed.
"Alright, class, so today marks the day of a new topic in the world of P.E - I want the boys on the field to play football, and the girls to stay in the hall to practice gymnastics!" Coach bellowed.
I'd much rather do gymnastics than boring, old football. In fact, I think I'd rather run LAPS than play football!

Reluctantly, I squelched through the mud leading up to the field, and sat down by one of the goalposts.
"Boys, who's ready to play?!" The same words we hear every year when it's the Autumn Term. "Now, I want you in pairs. Grab a ball, and practice passing!" Slowly, I gazed around as everybody paired up. There was more than one reason why P.E was the worst, as well - it meant that Seb had his English class at the same time, so I had... Nobody. All of a sudden, I was woken from my lonely daydream, as Coach's roar echoed across the playground once again.
"Franklin? Nice of you to show your face - you don't want to be late to your first class!" A small, red-headed boy with a freckled body was silently jogging towards the field, his hands in his pockets, a forced smile pasted across his face. "Ermm.. Why don't pair up with Mr. Villareal over there, we're just doing some football drills!"

Astonished, I placed the ball at my feet, and pathetically kicked it to my partner. It was now that I started to feel a strange feeling, a feeling that I'd never felt before. I scanned all the other boys, trying to figure out this overwhelming sense. At last, I turned back to face the red-headed boy, who was wearing a puzzled look on his face.
"Excuse me? Are you OK?" I briefly shook my head, then attempted feebly to make eye contact with him.
"Fine... Everything's fine." I quietly stuttered. "Anyway... I'm Sammy. What's your name?"