Be My Addiction

3 • Assembly

Eugene

Ethan didn't look the way anyone had remembered him. Of course everyone matures a bit through the summer but Ethan.. he looked completely different. Not only had his features matured but his energy was just different.

Broken.

It might have been just me, but I could feel the way Ethan had been affected. I could tell by the way he held himself, that his brother didn't survive. Why else would he look so... damaged? Currently, Ethan's eyes looked sunken in as if he hadn't slept for weeks and his clothes looked thrown on half-heartedly as if he just didn't care. Before summer, Ethan had a fair group of friends. He wasn't popular but he was known enough for people to give him a few waves and smiles in the hallways. 

But now...

But now, it was clear that Ethan walked the halls alone. No one knows what happened after the accident, but anyone could tell that his old friends looked away as he walked past. 

I watched as he moved with his eyes to the floor.

It must be hard for him to be here, surrounded by all these people who knew something so private, so personal. You could only guess how he feels.

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The assembly went according to plan. Everyone was excited for the football team tryouts but the excitement dropped when we had to get back to how we would go about our day. We went over all the regulations such as dress code, the schedule and more. The school schedule was a block schedule. That meant we had a total of eight classes - including a study hall period. Every Tuesdays and Thursdays, we went through the even-numbered classes (2, 4, 6, and 8). On Mondays and Wednesdays, we went to all of our odd-numbered classes (1, 3, 5, and 7). On Fridays, we went through all the classes. We call this a fast Friday because all the classes were faster than usual. The fourth hour was study hall so the classes went by first, second, third, and instead of going to the fourth hour, we went to fifth then fourth. That way the study hall, or advisory, was the longest class to fit in all three lunches that the students were split into. 

It's not as confusing as it sounds.

After we went through everything, the students slowly left the gym with their schedules in hand. Everyone headed to their first assigned classes. Today would be a fast Friday schedule, even though its only Monday.

My first hour was football so I headed to the field with my team. We gave each other playful shrugs until the coach gave a gruff grunt.

"Alright. Gather around" the man motioned for us to circle him. Of course we did. No one went against the coach. Coach Wright was his name and he was 6'4" with the build of an ox. We've learned not to go against his rules. He could be incredibly strict and tended to make us run laps around the field if we didn't listen. 

Everyone stopped talking and gathered around him. "Good now. First, everyone, let's congratulate our new quarterback" he motioned to me "Eugene will take the place of Nick" Nick was the guy who moved away. 

Everyone's attention turned to me with playful nudges and more rough playing. Coach Wright chuckled and gathered everyone's focus. 

"Ok now, it's a new year so that means tryouts" I glanced between the team to see a few grins and a few didn't look so pleased. He continued "so everyone needs to be on their best behavior. The tryouts are in a few weeks and when they start, remember to keep your eyes open for people you think would benefit the team" the coach had us observe the people trying out and if they had skill or potential, they had a better chance at being in the team. 

I remembered a few of the freshmen who seemed interesting in joining, not to mention they had the build for it too. I'd have to do my part and encourage them to join. Hopefully they'd do that instead of joining the soccer team. Our school had an incredible amount of school spirit but the soccer team and football team always fought to be the most popular sport in the school.

When the bell rang, which was less than an hour from when we got there, we all separated and headed to our next classes. 

I wasn't much of a fan of school but I did fairly well. I managed to keep a good grade because, without that grade, I wouldn't be able to be in football. 

And football was my sport. Without the team and my position in the game, I'd probably be the type of kid who failed or even dropped out. 

I'm not kidding.

It's probably like that for most of the members too. Besides the occasional entitled preppy kid, we all worked for our place in the teams.

Of course that meant we wouldn't go easy on the fresh meat either. It was the beginning of a new season and we all were a little excited for the recruits.

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After practice, we all separated to go to our classes. None of them were as fun as football but I had a few with some people I know, and even Algebra 2 with Veronica. So that was a win.

I also had a few classes with that Ethan kid. I had trouble pointing him out at first. He always stayed in the back. Hidden from the world.