3 03: The Day I Had Gym

JADE

She made a beeline for her locker, finding Briar Hiegel with her curly warm blonde hair held behind her head with a few condor clips. When Briar spotted her she beckoned the other girl with a hand, expression turning anxious than what Jade was used to.

Briar held her arm when Jade reached her.

"Did you find your guitar?"

Jade shook her head sadly. "It's not in the classroom."

Briar pursed her lips. "Did you tell your family?"

Again, she shook her head. "I told you, if we're out of options and we checked everything, that's when I'll tell them."

Briar nodded slowly, understanding and concern still in her eyes. She paused.

Running footsteps made them both turn toward the sound, finding their other best friend Maxine Barlowe. She crashed into Jade, both girls giggling and righting themselves as they hurried with the crowd for class.

"Ow," whined Jade as she rubbed her arm.

Maxine stuck out her tongue playfully. "Sorry 'bout that, Jae. But I just escaped from the clutches of Miss Bitch after she caught me drawing a smiley face on the wall."

Briar rolled her eyes as the trio headed for the girls' changing room for gym.

"It's called vandalism. Of course Miss Bitch will be on the lookout." She shook her head. "Honestly, do you plan to give the woman a heart attack or something?"

"No, of course not." Both Jade and Briar were shocked at her next words. "Only memorable times."

They reached the changing room and greeted their fellow girl classmates.

"Max, have you heard? Jade here lost her guitar," Briar said as she took off her shirt.

Maxine paused and stared wide-eyed at Jade, who smiled guiltily.

"No," she whispered. "The guitar we used to always jam to?"

Jade released a breath and nodded.

"Yeah, that guitar."

"Aww no way. How'd you lose that priceless thing, Jae?"

"Yeah I know." Jade took out her gym clothes from the locker assigned to her. "I'm trying to look for it while simultaneously making sure my family doesn't find out."

Maxine snorted. "Ha good luck with the last part. We all know how your little sister's a little menace when it comes to information."

Briar laughed and said, "That's what I was thinking, too. You know I'm a tattletale, and that's saying something as I'm the youngest sibling."

"Yeah."

"Everyone, it's almost time!" announced a voice and all the girls in the changing room hurried before gathering with the boys in the middle of the gym.

"Have you heard?" one of their classmates said as they all made their way to the gym. "Today, we're paired up with another class and I heard it's the one with Jett Levisay!"

Jade's eyebrows widened. "That Jett?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he's the only Jett here on campus." She giggled and then ran off to be with her friends.

Maxine hummed.

"I like that guy. He's one of the popular dudes who isn't someone you constantly wanna punch. If his class is coming, then I guess it's fine."

"Ohh so that's why it seemed like there was twice the number of girls in the changing room. I thought I was seeing double or something."

Briar nodded in full agreement and before long, the members from the other class was coming and saying hi to each other. Miss Bitch (the teacher everyone disliked for her callousness and overall nasty attitude) blew her whistle and stood on a stool, barking at them all to divide into their respective classes and line up.

Everyone did so and waited for her instructions. Miss Bitch gave them all a disdainful look (as if she wasn't happy to see them) and began to call in attendance.

"Jett Levisay."

Silence.

"I said Jett Levisay." After a beat she shrugged and flipped out a card. "Well then, I guess he's absent. Now, Jackson Arden." She looked around and sighed heavily. "Then I guess he isn't here either."

Jade shared a look with Briar and Maxine.

Was she serious? Did she have a personal feud with those two?

"So for today, we're going to be doing dodgeball."

There was a collective groan from everyone and even Jade slapped her forehead.

Were they really doing this again? At first it was fun but after the many accidents which sent students to the clinic more times they could count, some of the clinic personnel expressed their concerns on the sport and how it was hurting students. Jade herself had gotten a broken nose before.

A few minutes later she spotted something (or someone) and smirked briefly.

"Oh so I see Misters Arden and Levisay are actually here."

Everyone turned toward the direction she was looking at and sure enough, there was Jett Levisay and the other boy Jade forgot the name of.

Miss Bitch continued to talk.

"Well I'll turn a blind eye on this one but I'll mark you both tardy instead of absent. Now both classes divide yourselves into teams and the rest, sit down on the benches and wait your turn!" Then she blew the whistle again, everyone scattering and chatting.

In their class, the president Joyce Sanders was asking everyone who wanted to play and who wanted to sit the first round out.

Jade volunteered to be part of the team, her classmates welcoming her warmly and all of them discussing a few strategies while the other half of the class waited it out.

She shouldn't have underestimated Jett. He was prancing around the gym and he had this smug smirk she and her class wanted to wipe off.

"Seriously, for all of his attractiveness, I just want him out," she heard one of her male classmates say.

"Someone hit him. I'm gonna be out at this rate!" He was promptly hit by one of the dodgeballs from the other team and the whistle blew. Their classmate muttered a cuss word before dejectedly heading toward the benches to watch with the rest of the class.

Jade hadn't noticed their number lessening and soon she found herself face-to-face with Jett himself, who was the only one from his side.

"Rip him apart!" yelled Briar.

"No mercy!" their other classmates called out, raising their fists.

Jett's class was booing at them and the girls were appalled, gasping sharply and throwing them dirty glances.

Jade winked at her class, determined to win this.

Miss Bitch blew the whistle long and hard and Jade went to action, jumping upwards and flinging the only ball she held with much force and strength, narrowly missing the one Jett threw her way and ducking to avoid being hit.

She grinned triumphantly when she heard the resounding smack her dodgeball made when it came in contact with Jett's cheek, her whole class standing on their feet and cheering and howling loudly.

Jett's class booed and the girls hurriedly went toward Jett to check. Jade couldn't help but chuckle; the man was obviously gonna be fine. Why were the girls acting like he was gonna die?

"YEAH that's our girl!"

Jade's head whipped toward the call and she raised both arms high, Maxine clapping hard and then whistling with two fingers in her mouth. Briar gave her two thumbs up and her classmates were cheering her on.

Class resumed and soon it was time for the second class. Jade went over to the other two and the three of them made their way out of the gym, laughing and re-enacting today's gym class with such energy.