1 Turning Heads

AJ Krinkleton and Lane Adams wandered the halls of their high school. It was their senior year, and they were excited. Soon, they would be free to do whatever they wanted to do!

"I'm thinking about becoming a forensic scientist. What about you?" Lane spoke as he turned his head to look at AJ.

"I'm thinking of becoming a cop, just like my dad!" AJ responded, making eye contact with Lane. They both seemed to have a skip in their step, excited for the future. Suddenly, they were stopped in their tracks by the sound of the morning news playing on one of the TVs in the cafeteria. The caption of the segment was: "BREAKING NEWS: MOST WANTED CRIMINALS CORNERED IN ALLEYWAY". Lane and AJ looked at each other quickly.

"Holy crap! They finally did it!" Lane exclaimed in a higher pitch than usual.

"Looks like they finally are gonna get what they deserve." AJ replied, keeping his eyes glued to the television. The video was live footage of the standoff between two most wanted partners in crime, Al Krangton and Memphis Adkins, and the swat team. "I guess they aren't going down without a fight by the looks of it though." AJ then turned to Lane. "We should get to gym. We're gonna be late." he said. So, they strutted along to their first class, which was gym. They walked in and sat on the blue and green bleachers that had several rusted areas and strange stains that they decided not to question the origin of. After a few minutes of waiting, their new gym teacher walked into the room.

The man's name was Mr. Elson, an older man who looked like he had fought in both world wars. The small patch of hair he had left on his head was white in color, reflecting the rays of light coming from the ceiling lights. He glared at all the new students, already heavily judging them. He especially judged Lane.

Lane was a scrawny kid who never really liked sports other than tennis and badminton, which is why he relied on AJ to do all things that required strength. AJ was a more built person than Lane was, and to add on to his intimidating look, he had a very short temper.

"So, this is what I have to work with this year?" Mr. Elson asked himself, then followed the question with a loud sigh. "I guess it'll have to do." He grunted. "Alright. First game of the year: DODGEBALL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

A student at the top of the bleachers raised her hand. "Uhh, excuse me sir, I don't know if you know this, but dodgeball is illegal in the state of West Virginia." she said quietly.

"Oh, is it? Well, I couldn't care less. Now let's play!" Elson responded in a condescending tone. The students were all separated into two teams, Lane and AJ being on the same one. The coach blew the whistle, and everyone went to grab a red ball. Except for Lane who decided his game plan was going to be dodging and hoping for the best. As red, rubber balls were flung through the air, Lane dodged and caught them then gave them to AJ, who then pelted people with them. This sudden and unintentional plan was actually working very well, getting almost the entire enemy team out. Coach Elson, who was getting bored of watching a landslide victory, decided to join the enemy team. Lane and AJ stood in the front of their team. They chucked the dodgeballs at Mr. Elson, who quickly avoided all of them.

The coach then picked up two of the red, rubber balls. "I'll get these two suckers out for you, then finish the others off instead of acting like a pack of lazy mules!" he shouted as he pulled his hands back. Like some sort of a human catapult, he launched the two dodgeballs at Lane and AJ. He may have thrown them too hard, actually. AJ was struck in the left cheek. He was hit so hard that his eyes popped out of socket, and he fell to the ground. Blood poured from his face. Lane was hit so hard that his neck twisted and snapped in half, causing his head to turn almost completely around. He also fell to the ground. Needless to say, class was dismissed early that day.