When You Least Expect It

4

Chapter 4

"You going to be all right on your own?"

Holly Dae and Nik lingered by the gym entrance, watching me mop the floor with matching concern etched on their faces. The two had changed out of their gym clothes and back into their regular attire.

My hand wiped across my damp forehead, the gesture coming across as more resigned than confident. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You guys can head out."

Nik, arm draped around Holly Dae, offered, "You sure? I could stay back, give you a ride home."

Holly Dae nodded vigorously, their sympathy palpable. I could tell they felt bad about what happened earlier.

Attempting a smile that probably looked more like a grimace, I insisted, "I'm positive, go on without me!"

"Well, we're hanging out at The Grill. You should join us when you're done," Holly Dae said gingerly. They both left after that.

Coach Keller's order was to have the floor spotless, an expectation that carried a not-so-subtle threat of detention should anything remain amiss. I dropped to my knees, armed with a sponge, and began scrubbing the floor with diligence.

For the next ten minutes, I was mopping the floors until I heard his booming voice from behind me, "I hope next time you keep your smart ass comments to yourself."

"Yes, Coach." Sometimes, agreeing was wiser than arguing—I'd learned that the hard way.  

Coach gave a brief look at his watch. "You can go now," he grumbled.

Before he could change his mind, I smiled and sprinted to grab my bag. It was almost three in the afternoon, which meant I had to get to work. School had ended about forty minutes ago, and I suspected Dad was wondering about my whereabouts.

I didn't have the heart to explain that it was because I had thrown up in gym class earlier today. It was just one in the afternoon and I was already on the verge of passing out.

My class stood in a line outside, chins lifted and hands at our sides as if we were being inspected for military service.

"Stand still!" Coach Keller barked, pacing with hands behind his back, a short man with an equally short temper. "Now, it's come to my attention that many of you don't take gym class seriously," he said, his gaze pointedly directed at me.

Beside me, Holly Dae struggled to suppress her laughter. While I wanted to join in, my baggy sweatpants required me to suck in my stomach to prevent them from sagging, a stolen hand-me-down from Montgomery.

"But that's going to change today," Coach declared, treating us like a band of unruly children.

My legs trembled as we stood for what felt like hours, enduring Coach's lecture on the importance of physical education. To stave off leg cramps, I hopped up and down, feeling the chill of the wind on my cheeks.

"We're going to run a few laps around the field and we're not going to stop, not even if it kills us." Coach was practically frothing around the mouth.

There were some stories as to how he ended up being this bitter in life. My favorite one was his wife leaving him for his hotter brother and taking the kids with her.

But on that particular day, standing in the freezing cold, I figured Coach was just an arrogant prick, like most high school teachers, who liked to take out their anger on students.