Miss Matched // Thomas Sangster Fanfiction

Chapter Ten - Boxing

You breathe the early September air into your lungs deeply. As you walk around the school grounds, you keep a slow, meandering pace. The school looks so beautiful, with the hints of fall fluttering through the air. Most people probably don't think their school is beautiful like you do. But, it's undeniable. Gandy is a gorgeous place.

Every inch of Gandy just looks noble. With its pale, stone walls and towering spires. The small details and symbols that were carved into its stones a long time ago. Like a glorious empire that would never fall. How many stories are written into each of the arched windows, the scrapes on the wooden floors, the rusted iron railings?

A gust of wind blows your hair wildly, and chills you. You pick up your pace a bit more, but still take the long way to the gym. If you don't hurry now, you'll probably be late for your first boxing meet of the year. This will be the last year you'll be boxing for Gandy. The thought makes you a little sad.

But, there's no sense in thinking about that now. It's better to live in the moment.

You push through the doors to the gym, immediately heading to the girls locker rooms. You can hear talking coming from the changing rooms as you round the corner. Erica and Ariana are already there. Ariana is nowhere to be seen, but her voice carries over the bathroom stall, rambling about something. Erica is fully dressed in her gym clothes and boxing gear already. Her long, jet black hair is pulled into a ponytail with a white scrunchie. She's posing and looking at herself in the mirror, throwing a seductive look at herself.

"Feeling yourself, Erica?" You ask with a smirk, lingering in the doorway.

Erica jumps a little, turning to look at you. There's absolutely no shame in her expression. She rolls her eyes and smiles slightly, "Seriously, you could be a ninja. Make a little noise before you come into the room please."

"Is that Fleur?" Ariana calls from her stall.

"No, it's her majesty, the queen," Erica says sarcastically. "Obviously it's Fleur."

You chuckle, walking in and tossing your gym bag on one of the cold, metal benches. Glancing back over at her, you ask, "Are you done flirting with yourself, or should I come back in a few minutes?"

Adjusting her ponytail somewhat, she says, "I'm not too humble to admit that I look good."

"I know." You grin, pulling your sports bra and baggy t-shirt from your bag, "I'm gonna get dressed. Should I announce myself before I come out of one of the stalls?"

"You're hilarious, Fleur."

Suddenly, you hear quiet footsteps and sense movement near the door. At first, you think it must be one your male counterparts. It wouldn't be the first time one of the boys from the boxing team tried to sneak into the girls locker rooms, anyway.

But, it isn't one of the boys.

Instead, it's a small girl with wavy, brown hair, wide green eyes and olive skin. She's so small and innocent looking, she has to be either a freshman or a sophomore. She has a gym bag slung over her shoulder, and an expression of complete intimidation.

In a squeaky, nervous voice, she asks, "Is this the boxing meet?"

"Yeah." You and Erica say in unison.

Ariana suddenly busts out of her stall, looking noticeably excited. She questions loudly, "Are you joining the team?"

The girl looks surprised at Ariana's sudden appearance, but says quickly, "Yes, I'm new."

This is sort of a big deal. There haven't been any female boxers to join the team since you were a freshman. And that year, a record number of female boxers joined the team - you, Erica, and Ariana. Not very many girls take much interest in boxing. At least, not very many at your school. There are plenty of girls on the cheer team or the swimming team. In fact, you'd been a little concerned that once you graduated with Erica and Ariana that there might not ever be any more girl boxers at Gandy again.