A Father's Love

Ch. 11- Never Like That

Poppy's POV

"I mean, who's idea was it to give us PE last period on a Monday. We are year nine's; practically loyalty in this place and they decide that it isn't above us," Louise grunted, waving her hockey stick about carelessly.

"I don't know but how much do you bet it's that witch over there," I replied, smiling and nodding over to our middle age PE teacher.

"Hurry up, girls!" Mrs Lockman hollered from the other side of the mud field at us and a few other stragglers. We reluctantly jogged towards her and her growing hub of students.

"Right, let's get right to it; two teams, clean game," she ordered shortly, as soon as we came within ear shot. The mob of students split quickly and me and Louise quickly volunteered for defence knowing that was the role you could get away with not really doing anything.

"So, I heard you and Dominic are getting friendly then?" Louise teased, nudging me as we made our way to the back of the pitch.

"It's not like that. We are just friends," I told her, rolling my eyes, as my trainers scuffed the mud.

"But that is how it starts," she pushed, like she had any idea about relationships, "Then its boyfriend, then husband, then it's the father of your kids, then it's"

"Ok, shut up," I interrupted, she chuckled quietly and then kicked mud at me. I was quick to retaliate but this time it slathered down her face, and I watched her grin as she swiped it off her perfect skin.

"You ruined my contour!" she shrieked as I threw my hockey stick on the ground, now assured she wasn't actually mad at me just wanted a good laugh. We play wrestled with mud on the field, throwing mud at each other when a couple of nearby classmates got involved.

"Girls enough-" Mrs Lockman bellowed, jogging towards us as we all stopped peering through mudded lashes, all of us giggling to each other. I glanced down at myself, for the first time noticing how dirty and destroyed my kit was; jogging bottoms covered in mud, polo damp with the early October dew "Six laps around the field. Don't dawdle,"

"Gods sake," Louise muttered, all of us starting to jog slowly around the field trying to get the punishment over as quickly as possible all of us picking up our pace. We finished quickly and headed inside to change and clean up as best we could with Ella's makeup wipes.

"I will be contacting all of your parents and you will have a lunch detention," Mrs Lockman announced to the final four in the changing rooms, I felt my stomach drop at the thought of Jake receiving a negative call. I shoved all of my kit in my bag and muttered a quick excuse to Louise as I dashed to the PE office.

"Mrs Lockman," I asked, my voice losing it slightly.

"I've already spoken to them Poppy, no point trying to get out of it now," she replied coldly, not even taking her eyes off the computer screen. I sighed as my worst fear became reality, Jake knew. I waited outside for Louise and Penny figuring that they would be not nearly as worried as me and would calm my nerves. We started walking through the corridors to the side gate.

"Poppy!" I heard shout behind me, I recognised it and turned as did Penny and Louise and as expected our music teacher; Mr Jordan waving frantically at us with a bunch of papers clasped in his hand. I stepped closer to him, trying to let my expression less irate, hoping that he would keep this choir joining speech short, "I'm glad I caught you,"

"Yes sir," I replied politely, the posters he had in his hand came into focus now as he was shoving one in my hands.

"It's a local group that are holding auditions for their classes," he said responding to my mental question, "I think you would be perfect,"