Chapter One - The incident.
"Coach Carter, there's some chick in the dude's locker room!"
Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
"I'm new! I... I got a bit lost..." A short, petite brunette cried out, covering her face and averting her eyes from the large amount of topless male students.
This is not happening. This cannot be happening.
"She just wants to take a look at this eye candy!" A tall blonde lad mused, strutting about in front of her and throwing a towel over his shoulder.
"She's kinda cute, maybe we should let her stay?" Another said, eyeing her up and down.
Autumn stood glued to the spot. Her face flushed scarlet as the testosterone in the room increased. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists and hoped that the ground would just swallow her up.
"Brent, dude. You really need to put your fins away. You're traumatising the poor girl. Hey, kid, are you okay?"
Autumn looked up, her eyes wide with fear. A gentle, smiling face met her gaze. He was tall with black hair and soft brown eyes.
"I'm Julian. Come on, let's get you out of here and away from these vultures. What class are you supposed to be in?"
"Um.. gym class..."
"I take it you're meant to be in the girl's locker room, right?" He laughed, scratching the back of his head and grinning at her.
She nodded shyly. Julian remained assertive and easily cleared the circle of guys. He lead her out, slowly placing his hand at the small of her back.
"I just transferred to Wynter High this morning. I don't really know my way around yet. I don't even know how I ended up in there... I just... I just..."
"Hey, hey it's okay. We're all goofballs on our first day. Just relax, I'll show you there."
"Thank-you. I found my way to Biology this morning just fine, honest! I must have just... taken a wrong turn or something."
"Hey, it's okay. I couldn't find the library for a whole week when I first joined, I had to do my homework in the janitors closet!"
Suddenly the door flung open just inches from Julian's face. The walls rattled as a large figure thundered in.
"What's this I hear about a girl being in here?!" A loud voice boomed.
All the other guys stopped talking and turned their backs on Julian and Autumn sheepishly.
"That's Coach Carter." Julian whispered.
He was a stocky man with a bald head and narrow, blue eyes. He was sweating in the summer heat and wore a crumpled white t-shirt and blue shorts. He also looked angry. Very, very angry.
"YOU!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Autumn.
Panic rose in her throat like bile as her feet refused to move. There was no denying that he was an incredibly intimidating man. She tried to control her breathing, but Julian's hand on her back was only making it more difficult.
"Coach Carter, you need to chill."
Julian stood his ground. His stance against an authoritative teacher made Autumn blush. He had only met her 2 minutes ago and yet, here he was, stood tall against a scary looking man, defending her. He straightened his back as his hand manoeuvred around her shoulder, causing Autumn to flinch under his touch.
"Do not tell me to chill, young man. What is she doing in here? You know girls are not permitted in this room, under any circumstances. If you lie to me, you will be in big trouble, Julian!"
"She's a new student, Coach. She got a bit lost. I was just showing her out."
Coach Carter glared at Autumn. He lunged forwards and grabbed her roughly by the arm, forcing her to walk alongside him.
"You're coming with me." He uttered, tugging her along mercilessly.
"Julian!" Autumn squeaked, feeling completely helpless.
"Coach, you can't do this, just let her explain!"
"Not another word, Julian. The principle will be dealing with this. I want ALL of you to do 20 laps of the field when I'm gone. If I find out any of you are slacking, there will be consequences!"
Julian backed down and gave Autumn a sympathetic smile. Autumn smiled back, a tight knot forming in her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was from the sheer terror she felt being lugged about by a gym teacher, or if it was because of Julian. Coach Carter's grip on her skin didn't relent, and Autumn struggled to keep up with his long, powerful strides.
Autumn used the opportunity to look around Wynter High. It was a relatively new school situated between two huge strips of woodland. It had reached the media when some B-List celebrity had cut the ribbon, signifying the opening of the school a year ago. Autumn had remained at Hearst, but she had always longed for a new start. The main building was a crisp white and located near the entrance. The words Wynter High stood proudly in great gold letters on top of the main gate. The open fields were maintained well and students from all walks of life filtered in and out of different classrooms. So far, her first morning there had gone well, up until now...
"S-sir... I only transferred this morning... I didn't mean-"
"Quiet. You'll be dealing with Mr Harley, young lady. If he finds out you're lying, you'll be in detention for the rest of the term."
Autumn remained silent for the rest of the walk, too terrified to speak up or protest her innocence.
"Sit there." He ordered, as they approached a small office opposite Wynter High's main hall. He pointed to a seat next to a pretty, dark haired girl. Autumn lowered her eyes and sat down as Coach Carter barged in to Mr Harley's office.
The room she sat in was small and quaint, with mahogany seats and a beige interior. Various achievements and photos of students were plastered all over the walls.
"So, what did you do?" A voice quipped, breaking the silence.
"I er..."
"It's okay, you can tell me. I wont say anything."
Feeling vulnerable, Autumn held her bag tightly to her chest. She looked at the ground as tears formed in her eyes.
"I accidentally went into the boy's locker room."
"Oh. Em. Gee. Shut-up!"
"I didn't mean it, I-"
"That. Is. Epic! Tell me everything! Are all the boys hot? Who had the best six pac? Was Ezra in there? Were any of them naked?"
"I er.. I didn't really look.."
"You sneaked into the boy's locker room and didn't look? Girl, you are so lying!"
"It was an accident..."
"Oh, really?"
"I... I was a bit lost I guess... I'm new to the Wynter High."
The girl cocked her head and raised a suspicious eyebrow. Autumn turned her head to face her. She was on the edge of her seat with her hands clasped together. She had pretty features, soft, hazel eyes, dark skin and long, wavy hair.
"Wait a second, are you the girl who transferred from Hearst High?"
"That's me."
"Squee! A new student! I'm Payton! Payton Steele."
"I'm Autumn Brooks..."
Before she could continue, Payton had wrapped her arms around her and was hugging her tightly. She smelt like peppermint and her giggle was infectious. Autumn couldn't help but smile as she hugged her back.
"We are SO going to be besties! Well, once we get out of here anyway."
"Well, why are you here?" Autumn quizzed.
Payton rolled her eyes and applied a layer of lip gloss.
"Ugh. Our gym teacher is a total, freakin' COW. She's like, the male equivalent of Coach Carter. But like, in a bra. And with actual hair on her head. She was being SO unreasonable."
"What did she do?"
"Well, I got this SUPER cute manicure yesterday. French tips with diamanté hearts, ya' see..."
Payton waved her dazzling finger nails in Autumn's face. Autumn blinked and looked down at her own nails. They were plain, chipped and painted in a mediocre shade of green.
"Oh, don't worry babe. We can like, totally have a sleepover at mine and I'll paint yours for you! But yeah, anyway. She wanted us to play football. FOOTBALL! And I was like, um, no way am I rolling around on the grass when these nails are so perfect. And she was just being totally unreasonable and told me my attitude was terrible or something and well, here I am."
Autumn raised her eyebrows and pondered how Payton spoke so fast or how she even managed to breathe at all.
"That... That sucks..." She said quietly, offering Payton a little smile.
"I know, right? Ugh, it's whatever. My mom is like besties with Mr Harley so I should probs get off quite easily."
"Good luck."
Payton grinned and faced Autumn before grabbing her hands. Her sudden touch startled Payton and she looked up with wide, viridescent eyes.
"So... Have you seen any cute guys yet?" Payton mused, completely changing the subject.
"I've only been here less than three hours."
"So? Three hours is plenty of time to spot a cute guy."
"I guess there were a few... I didn't really look when I was in the locker room in all honesty. I was too embarrassed."
"You're going to be quite the legend when I write about this on my blog! The new girl is at Wynter High for less than a day and she's already seen half the guys topless!"
"Don't you dare write that! It wasn't like that, I-"
Payton threw her head back laughing and poked Autumn playfully on her arm.
"Autumn, I'm messing. I'm seriously impressed though."
"Thanks... I think?"
"You should totally give all the guys a tally on who was the hottest on a scale of one to ten and-"
"That's quite enough, Miss Steele."
The girls turned their head to see two figures looming by the door. One was Coach Carter and the other was a tall, broad man in a blue, pinstripe suit.
"Miss Brooks, could you join me in the office for a moment?"
Autumn stood up shyly. She looked down at Payton for reassurance.
"Good luck, babes. Try not to get killed on your first day." She whispered.
Gee, thanks. Very reassuring.
Autumn made her way to Mr Harley's office. Looking up at the two men, she noticed Coach Carter glaring at her. He excused himself and Mr Harley welcomed her into to his office with a flick of his wrist. As she stumbled in, he shut the door behind her.
Here goes nothing...