Rise of Theo

Chapter 5 : Gym

All I heard was the whistle. 
Then a dodge ball (Which seemed like Godzilla's' head) hit my face.
I didn't really care. I just wanted to get out of Gym.
I hated Gym as much as I despised Molly.

I wasn't really the "get physical" type. I could barely lift a bowling ball; let alone beat someone at dodge ball.
I tried to pretend I was macho and I shrugged off the excruciating pain that the dodge ball caused.
I needed to look good for the cheerleaders to notice me. 

Coach Brent didn't allow the guys and girls to play together so Espin and the other girls had to sit this one out. 
Lucky them.

Coach Brent was a Buff Dude. He looked like one of those people who could crush a soda can with their forehead.
He always wore a gold Rolex watch that he'd constantly be staring at. 
He was almost bald but he hid it well with his Yankees Cap. 

I stepped out of the court and sat down at the long loser bench. My team was basically the The Dream Team. 
We were the team that could only dream of winning. 
Even I looked like giant compared to them.

The other team. Well, the other team were just gorillas. All of them looked easily over 200 pounds. 
Most of them were just Football Players with Broad shoulders and thick skin.
Coach Brent likes to put them against us for 'target practice'.

This wasn't particularly my idea of fun.

As soon as the game began, all hope was lost. 

Dodge balls were hurled out within the first few seconds.
Unfortunately, all of them were coming from the other side
It was hell for my team. Heck, it was worse than hell. 
Imagine the worst place on earth. Now, make that a hundred times worse.
That was the game going on right now.

The guys on my team were coming off one by one. 
Soon, there were only three left. 

Just then, the weirdest thing happened.
Jonah Tyson, from the other team, threw the ball a little too slow.
It directly landed in the hands of a kid from the Robotics Team.

I got called in.
I don't know why. But Coach called me in.

My head already hurt from the falling-on-table incident. I didn't know if my body could take any more.
I tried to get up from what seemed to be the most comfortable seat at that moment.
A kid from my team flashed me a "Hope you survive" thumbs up.
I gave him the Death Stare and I went inside the court. 
I pretended to stretch my body just to delay some time. But before I could complete three arm-stretches; the coach pushed me in.

As soon as I got in, several dodge balls were hurled at me. 
I managed to sidestep on most of them, but the last one was coming directly at me. 
A kid from my biology class 'took the bullet' and went out. I wasn't sure but I think he actually wanted to get sent out. 
I mean, he took the easy way out.
The other two kids beside me went out the same way. They left me; alone; discharged.
As soon as the last kid left, another ball was flying furiously at me; and it looked like it had my name on it.

Suddenly, it was as if time slowed down. The ball was moving in super slow-motion. 
The air started to feel a bit...queasy. 
I looked around. The ball wasn't the only thing was moving slow.
Everyone in the gymnasium seemed to be moving at a snail's pace.
The Cheerleaders jumping for support, droplets of sweat trickling down the other team, my team bowing their head down after realizing that this was the final shot of the game. 

I almost forgot about the ball which was rocketing towards me with the speed of....Well, a turtle. 
I couldn't believe anything that was happening. 
Was this a trick? An Illusion? No, that didn't seem like it.
Maybe I was still out cold from the hit on the head at recess. 
But whatever this scene was...It seemed cool. 
I felt a surge of power rush through me. But it wasn't the evil kind of power. No. It didn't seem...chaotic.
Instead, this rush just got me moving. 

I stepped forward. Well, everything in the room except me, seemed to be moving slow.
There was now just a few feet between me and the ball. I took one step to the right.
I pushed my hand in front of the trajectory of the ball. It felt incredible. I could, literally, feel the force that the ball was coming in.
I decided not to waste anymore time on being awe-struck. My hand went forward and I held the ball.

Everything was back to normal. Well, normal speed, anyway. 
No one could believe what had just happened. I caught a ball from their team captain, 
The Team cheered, even Coach Brent and Espin looked surprised. 
Heck, I still didn't fully understand what happened. 

I turned around and flashed Espin a bright smile. But she seemed to mouth something like "LOOK BEHIND YOU".
I gave her a confused look and slowly turned back. 
Another Dodge ball was being hurled by the other team. 
I quickly ducked and sent the one in my hand back at them.
Whoa. 
Since when was I this agile?

I decided not to question myself. I had to concentrate on surviving. 
I knew this was an early hope, but I suddenly had the desire to actually win the game. 
I pressed the feeling inside for now. 

I got up from crouching and stood erect. 
With another geek-roar from my team, I decided I sent another guy out.
There were still three left on their side. 
One other player was allowed to enter after I caught the ball, but as soon as he came in, he got hit and got sent out. 
Jeez, I thought, Were they planning for this?

Another wave of dodge balls were coming my way. 
Time didn't slow down this time. 
Great, I thought. And Now I get to feel the pain.

All I did was blink.  
Next thing I know, two dodge balls were in both palms of each hands. 
Don't ask me how. I didn't know either. 

This time, I gave the Coach a smile. He just looked at the other team with utter disgust. 
Now, it was face off time. There was just two people on the court. 
One player each team. 
I looked at the player in the other team. He kept staring at me. As if he was in some sort of trance. 
I tried to throw the ball as hard as possible, but my muscles failed me.
The ball went slow enough even for a kindergartner to catch. 
But he didn't try to stop it. The ball just bounced of him and fell to the ground. He didn't even try to dodge or even move.

The Coach Blew the whistle. Next thing I see, is the Chemistry team trying to lift me on the shoulders. 
We won! 

I shrugged off my teams attempt to carry me off and I headed over to Espin.
"Theo! That was amazing. How did you move so fast?", she grinned. 
"What? I wasn't moving fast. The rest of you were -" 
My conversation with Espin ended with a giant shadow behind me.
I turned around and saw Mr.Monroe. 
But something wasn't the same. Mr.Monroe was wearing...formals.
He never wears formals. 

"Ah, Theo. I saw the game.", He said with a concerned look in his eyes. "We need to talk."