ALL I NEEDED WAS A HAIR TIE

19 FEBRUARY, FRIDAY, GYM

To help us deal with the exam stress, Coach Williams decided to teach us a bit of air boxing.

The teacher's of Winderhill seemed particularly concerned about our mental well-being these days. This teacher personally felt that punching out into the air could help a lot with releasing frustration. So after making us stand "two arms length apart" and warning us repeatedly that he did not want to catch any of us using these moves on each other, he proceeded to teach us how to punch and kick the air.

It turned out that air boxing was just repeated movements in sets of eight, imitating warrior drill movements. Like jab eight times with your right arm, then jab eight times with your left arm. Repeat. All to the beat of Coach William's favorite song at full blast, The Final Countdown.

So okay, it was like warm ups with drill movements and a retro beat. It wasn't all bad. I had to bite my lips from laughing aloud though, because I was standing behind most of the girls, and they threw punches like... I'm not sure how to describe it, but "punch" would be a gross exaggeration.

Of all the girls in my class, I was probably the only one who was actually damaging the air.

Jasmine was alright too, I guess. Watching her felt like I was watching Mum at aerobics class. (Don't ask, it was a sudden and very short phase Mum went through a few years after giving birth to Savy.)

Abigail managed to make the entire session look like a cheer-leading routine. If you just let her hold pompoms, it would be exactly right.

Zara kept kicking or punching with the wrong leg or arm.

Krystal looked like she was doing light stretches except that she absolutely refused fully extend her arms at any moment, so she looked crippled. Or maybe like one of the actors in the Cat's Musical.

I've never seen it, but they had some ads on the big screens around Gate City, and based on that one minute clip, I assume it would look like Krystal right now. All she needed was the facepaint and fur.

Leia was just bouncing up and down slightly so her feet never had to leave the ground completely. She would only lift an arm or foot if Coach turned her way and feign a movement. It was like playing What Time Is It Mr Wolf, but instead of freezing whenever the wolf turned around, you started moving instead.

Okay, I knew the cool girls were just keeping their cool, so to speak (they didn't like sweating). They weren't the only ones. Even Janice seemed to prefer to punch with as little force as possible. But I don't think they realized how seriously ridiculous they looked.

I mean, try to picture it - there in front was Coach Williams calling out the count to The Final Countdown playing at full blast. He was really into it too, head bobbing and shouting things like, "Come on, feel the burn!" And "Last rep! Pay attention to your core."

The guys were all bouncing up and down, following along in varying speeds, but at least they were trying.

Terrence was going all out grunting loudly, his face as red as a tomato, and his eyes crossed. But he was trying hard so it wasn't nice to laugh.

Troy was jabbing in all directions, his face frowning with intense concentration as he executed all the moves like a crazed monkey.

Okay, so the guy's side was pretty funny too.

At the end of the entire exercise, the guys were mostly heaving and sweaty. The hall really stank... I'm not sure what was different about human sweat, but some of the boys in my class really had strongly distinct odors.

The girls though, hardly had a hair out of place. Well, except for me... I was sweaty and hot. Now all their efforts to go through the exercise without actually exercising made sense.

I probably needed a shower and from the looks of the other girls, I might be the only one.

"Oh, I need a shower now!" Jasmine fanned her flushed cheeks with her hands.

"I hate showering in school." Krystal complained.

"Why do you need to shower?" I asked, she had hardly broke a sweat.

"I feel like a mess..." Krystal announced, "Oh, I must look like one too."

We all hurried to the washroom, but I didn't have to worry about getting a shower stall, the girls all beelined to the washbasins and mirrors first.

I was the first in the shower. I had a lot of hair so I probably needed the head start anyway. (Pun intended. Hahaha)

A few minutes later, the other showers started.

When I got out, Abigail was waiting just outside my door, "Oh! It's you, Sam. Can you help me out? I forgot to bring my shampoo."

She was lying. But I wasn't in the mood to argue over a bottle of shampoo.

"Urm, yeah. Sure." I rummaged around my armful of damp clothing and towel to pull out a small bottle, "It's a three in one. You can use it as a shower gel too."

"Oh, great!" Abigail rewarded me with a wide smile, "You're a lifesaver, Sam!"

She took the bottle and slammed the shower door behind her. I went over to the wooden benches on the drier side of the gym showers to put my stuff into my waterproof gym bag.

Before Ki, I'd just put my wet stuff in a plastic bag. But Ki liked to use fancy reusable things like rectangular zippered waterproof bags with artistic patterns. Mine would always be blue, but today, it had a graphic print of the ocean waves in turquoise and navy blues and gold outline.

My "shampoo" was also in a dark blue reusable silicon tube. It was shaped like a fish. Cute. But inside, it was still my "shampoo of choice". Good ol' Orange Smoothie Active Kids 3 in 1 Body Wash.

I'll never grow out of it because there would never be an age where I would shampoo, condition, and soap in three steps when I could do it in one. Well, except in the comfort of my own home. I didn't like showering in school either, so the quicker I could get it done, the better.)

I had shaken my hair dry in the shower, it wasn't easy to do in such a small stall. I had to be careful not to let my hair touch the walls (because they were gross). I also had to be careful not to let my hair pop up above the top of the stall either because I was well aware of the girls waiting their turns outside. I didn't want to attract any extra attention from whatever they were gossiping about.

So my hair was a little on the wet side, and my towel... Let's just say I had more hair than towel.

But overall, it was okay. I finished stuffing all my things into the waterproof bag and left the girls washroom because it was starting to get crowded. A senior class had been dismissed after ours, and they wanted to shower too.

They had come in giggling and passed me at the door. I had stopped to check in my bag for a hair tie. I couldn't remember where I had left mine, so here's hoping Ki had packed an extra somewhere.

"Ooohhh, our First Years this year are even better looking that last year's." One of the seniors was saying.

"Yeah, so many cute guys this year. I'm so jelly." Her friend said, "Why wasn't I born two years later?"

"I don't care. I'll totally date a junior if he looked like one of those outside."

"Our year had the worst luck with guys!"

They quietened when they realized the girls queuing for their turn to shower were probably in the same class as cute guys they were discussing. At least I assumed they did, I had stepped out and found Fluffy and EJ leaning along the wall a few paces away. They were both back in their regular uniform and somewhat damp. Fluffy had the big black duffel bag I recognized at once as the one Ki had packed what he believed his alpha might need when in school.

"Hoi, hoi, Alpha!" EJ waved and bounced over, "That was fast!"

"You guys were faster." I said.

"Yeah, but you're a girl!" EJ informed me in mid bounce, "Girls are suppose to take a loooong time in the shower."

EJ sniffed around me, "Did you even shampoo?"

I pushed him out of my personal space, "Mind your own business."

But I only dared to say that because I was confident that the Orange Smoothie scent was an obvious proof of my current state of cleanliness.

Anyway, there was something I needed, "Fluffy, is there a hair tie in that bag?"

Fluffy smiled, "Let's see."

The both of them ducked their heads to check the contents of the bag. I waited somewhat impatiently. Luckily, Henry, Marcus, and Liam had come out.

"What happened?" Henry wanted to know.

"Nothing!" I said quickly, "Why do you have to assume something happened?"

Henry smirked, "Past track record. No need to get so defensive. I was just wondering what you were up to."

EJ popped his head between us, "Smile for the camera!"

What camera? Oh right... student paparazzi on a mission.

"Right... I forgot. Just stay where you are EJ." Henry muttered.

I suppose with EJ bouncing between us, it was pretty impossible to get a good shot of Henry and I looking remotely in an affair, unless EJ's movement blur was producing a romantic sort of atmospheric effect on camera.

Luckily, Marcus had decided to lend his body as well. Now Henry and I were a respectable two bodies apart, even though one of the bodies was still bouncing around. This was ridiculous really. I can't believe a stupid rumor was now arranging even the standing positions of my friends in a casual conversation along the school hallway.

Fluffy produced a towel from the duffel bag. This one was in a large zip lock bag, not a fancy reusable waterproof bag like mine, but because it was such a large bag, it could hold a full size towel.

I shook my head, "No, thanks, Fluffy. I just need a hair tie."

Fluffly wordlessly put the towel back in the bag and produced a small transparent pouch of hair ties and clips.

"Hoi!" EJ plucked it out from his hand, "Which one do you want, Alpha?"

"Sam, your hair... It really is kinda wet." Marcus said, "I'm no expert but isn't it supposed to be bad to tie your hair when it's wet?"

"No." Henry said, "It's bad to leave your hair wet. Full stop. Sam, you're dripping wet. Even your uniform is getting soaked!"

Well, yeah. Actually, my uniform was plastered wet against my back, "I don't need you to be my mum, Henry."

"I'm not being your mum, Sam." Henry growled, "What the hell, Sam!"

I didn't see why my wet hair should be anyone's business, but fine! I let my hair rise a little, and then let it rip - as in I let my hair do its thing and shake it all out.

For some reason, that just upset Henry more, "SAM! WHAT THE HELL!"

"Sam!" Marcus yelled, "No..."

"What the hell, Sam!" Henry scolded, "What kind of girl dries her hair like a wet dog?"

"What kind of guy can't take a little wet?" I retorted.

I realized belatedly though that it was more than a little wet. My action had sprayed water on everyone in a 8 foot radius from me, including the wall we were standing by. The concrete floor looked like someone misted it with a giant spray bottle.

Fluffy took out the towel. This time, he pulled it out from the ziplock bag too. He wiped his face and passed it around to share, because guys did that kind of thing.

Then he dug around some more and retrieved a heavy navy blue knitted cardigan.

I shrugged off my wet jacket to change out.

"Hoi, alpha." EJ observed from behind me, "Your shirt is drenched. I can see your bra line."

Fluffy simply wrapped the the blue cardigan around my shoulder and hit his friend with the back of his hand. His smile didn't flicker, "I'll help Alpha with her hair. See if you can find a spare uniform in the bag, EJ."

All I needed was a hair tie!