Closed Gym

by Mitch

Lita and Ann are trapped in the school gym.

Closed Gym
by Mitch
wells17@gte.net

It had been a long day. I had two tough tests and barly passed
another. That's why I was so anxious for gym class. I wanted to vent
some frustration into vollyball practice. I felt better after that.
I wasn't really mad, just annoyed. Well, at least people aren't as
scared of me as they used to be. When I first transferred to
Crossroads, I was avoided. I guess I only had myself to blame, with
the violent rep that got me kicked out of my old school. At least
when I started hanging with Serena and her friends, people generally
accepted me. I admit I loosened up considerably and that's helped.
I'm Lita Kino. I'm also Sailor Jupiter.

Right now, I'm changing out of my gym outfit and back into my
school uniform. I'm the last one here, due to my musing. I
shrug. I've been a loner for a while, but after learning I was a
Sailor Scout, I've learned to become lonely. Well, I've been lonely
before, but I guess there's a different lonliness that comes -after-
one has friends. Anyway, I have a surprisingly light homework night.
I guess I can just relax for a change when I get home. Maybe I'll
call Ken, we haven't had a real talk in a while.

"Back in your mismatched uniform, huh?"

I turn around and see Ann Granger. She's a transfer student
from France (even though I've never heard her speak French). She's
been on my case ever since I had lunch with her brother.

"Look," I explain, "they didn't have any uniforms my size.
Besides, I like the color scheme."

"Yeah," she says, "nice and bland. It suits you."

I scowl, but I don't want to argue with her.

"Why are you here?" I ask. "You're in Serena's class and your
gym period is much earlier than mine."

"I was looking for my brother, Alan," she explains, "He has a
gym class around the same time as yours. School's out right now, so
I came to check on him. I missed him, but I'm sure he's heading home
right now."

"What if he's looking for you?"

"Believe me," says Ann, "I know where he is."

Strange, I think, but I never had a brother, so how would
I know how strange they were? Then again, Ken's always been like a
brother to me. However, it still isn't like we always know where we
are. Just then, the ground bgain to shake.

"What's going on?!" shouts Ann.

"It's an earthquake!" I explain. "You get used to them after
fifteen years!"

The earthquake is a bad one. It causes the supports in front of
the locker room door to collapse and block the exit. Some of the
celling comes down also.

"Oh man! We're trapped!"

"WHAT?"

"We're stuck!" I exclaim. "There's no one to call for help
even if we could."

"We're trapped? We can't be trapped! I have things to do
tonight...!"

"Ann! Calm down! Look, we can still get out of this. I don't
like it either, but we've got to stay calm!"

"'Stay calm'? How can we?!"

"Just work on it," I say. Admittitly, I'm not the calmest
person on Earth, but my own confidence has helped keep my head cool
sometimes. Ann, on the other hand, makes even Raye look calm. It's
going to be tougher for her.

"Whatever you do," I whisper, "don't talk unless you have to.
We need to conserve air."

I head toward the rubble and begin clearing it. I motion to Ann
for her to help me. She mumbles but proceeds to help. Ann never seems
to help others unless there's something in it for her. Well, I'd say
her life would be something of worth to her! As I see her help me
clear the rubble, I notice a bit of saddness around her. I always saw
Ann as a bitter person, but I've also thought of her as a victim of
something, as if she had left her entire world behind her when she
left France, which, come to think of it, is understandable. I felt
I was leaving something behind when I moved to the 10th section,
myself, but that's not the same as leaving an entire country! Still,
I think it's more than even that. She only seems to have her brother
for company. I know the feeling. I only had Ken before learning that
I was a Sailor Scout. I guess I was rather nasty back then, but I
always thought I had a reason to be tough. Still, I'm glad I found a
good outlet for my anger. I really owe my friends for giving me a
chance to do something positive with my pent-up energy. Ann, on the
other hand, gets mad for almost no reason at all. Sometimes, I look
at her and see a twisted reflection of me, what I would have become if
things were different. If I had not met Serena, would I have let my
lonliness and anger make me into a bitter person. I hope not. Still,
the thought tempers my own anger toward Ann and almost lets me pity
her.

The rubble is cleared, but the beams are still blocking the
entrence. On closer inspection, the doors, although still unable
to be opened, are cracked open just a little.

"Well," I say, "I guess we do have some air."

"Good," said Ann, "Now I can say how lousy you are with
deduction."

This put-down reminds me of my earlier thought of how it doesn't
take much for Ann to be critical about. Raye's more critical than me,
but Ann seems to find fault in the whole human race.

"Look," I say, "either help me move these beams or complain."

"Hmmm. I think I'll take 'b'."

I sigh and begin to move the beams. I suppose I shouldn't blame
her for not helping since she's not as athletic as I am. Still, she
could do something! People always say how strong I am, but these beams
are seriously heavy. If I was alone, I could just transform into
Sailor Jupiter and destroy them with a Jupiter Thunder Crash...but
then Ann would see me. Do I really want to do that? Neither of us
want to be trapped in here, but I don't want to give away my secret.
Also, I wouldn't be giving just myself away, but also my friends.
Maybe i can do this and convence her that the other girls aren't the
other Scouts. I could tell her that it would be too obvious if the
other girls I was with were the other Scouts. On the other hand,
giving away just myself may ruin my chance of being Sailor Jupiter
ever again. I don't know how the others would take it, but I would
turn in my Scout pen for my sctions. I'd hate giving in more than
anything, but I would to protect the others. At least it would have
been a great ride. Still, I don't want this situation to come to that.

In the corner of my eye, I notice Ann looking troubled. It's
almost as if she's planning something similiar. She grins a little.
Same said grin looks rather nasty. If I didn't know better, I'd say
she was thinking doing something unpleasent to me. I guess if our
positions were reversed and she was the one with a powerful secret
identity, she'd kill me to keep me from talking. I shake my head.
That thought was just paranoia. Besides, is Ann really that nasty?
I look at Ann again. This time she notices me and turns her head, as
if she's nervious.

I find some leverage and move most of the beams. Now, I need some
help getting the door open.

"Hey, Ann!" I call, "I need your help."

"Like that's an understatement," she grumbles. "Okay, what is
it?"

"I need you to help push this door open. I can do what I can but
I'll need some extra muscle."

"Gee, why can't you do it yourself?"

"Because I'm not that strong. Look, just put the attitude away
for one minute and help push."

Ann sighs, shrugs her shoulders, and proceeds to push with me.

"Y'know, Kino," she grunts, "you're not that easy going yourself."

"Maybe," I reply, "but at least I try to channel my anger into
things that matter, like this, rather than look for everyone's faults."

"'Things that matter'?"

"Neither of us want to stay trapped here. Getting out of here is
more important than anything we dislike in each other."

"Lita," she asks, "about earlier, when you thought we had little
air, why did warn me about it?"

What sort of question is that? "Because I didn't want you to
suffocate, that's why." I answer.

"But...don't we hate each other?"

"I don't -hate- you, Ann. I just think you should work on your
negative attitude. I admit, I've had some bad dealings happen to me,
but I did find friends. Life can be tough, believe me, but there
are ways to deal with it. Sometimes, it's best just to let it go."

"Your friends," asks Ann, "why do you hang with Serena and those
chumps?"

"First, I'll forget you called them that. Second, they accept me
for what I am and I love them for that. Look, Serena is just...Serena.
She has faults, but so do I and everyone else. People can only help
themeselves with their life choices, but everyone's really okay being
themselves."

Ann looks at me, as if she's heard something enlightening.

"Um," I point out, "the door..."

Ann turns her attention to the door again and we finally make it
through. We're both panting and dirty. Fortunatly, it's nothing we
can't wash off of our uniforms.

I turn to Ann and smile. "Thanks."

Ann looks surprised. "Your...welcome. Uh, thanks to you too."

The aftermath of our little adventure involved the gym being
closed for repairs for awhile, Ann and I seen as heroes in the
gossop mill for less than a week, Alan spending more time with Ann for
a while, and my friends questioning me about that night.

"Trapped with Ann? Ouch! Glad it wasn't me."

"It wasn't that bad, Serena," I explain, "Just a little scary.
Ann -wasn't- the worst part. In fact, we needed each other in the
end."

"I'm just glad you two got out," says Amy, "it would be awful
if something happened to either of you."

"I bet she wasn't so thankful afterwards," states Raye, "Ann
doesn't strike me as being gracious."

"Yeah," said Mina, "she's not into humility."

"Actually," I correct, "she -did- thanks me."

Everyone is in silence.

"Uh, what?" asks Serena.

"She thanked me. She's bitter, but she's not without feelings."

Just then, Ann arrives. "Hey, Kino, telling your friends about
our little escapade last week?"

"You could say that. Why?"

"Look," she whispers, "I appriciate you helping me and everything,
but don't spread what happened around. I've got a rep for not being
thankful."

I'm slightly surprised, but I guess I shouldn't be. "Okay."

She leaves with a triumpfant look on her face. I look at my
friends and see that they're a little surprised.

"Gee, sorry Lita."

"Ah, that's okay. At least -I- know she thanked me. That's
enough. I didn't want to embarass her anyway." I think for a second.
"Say Serena," I ask, "how -is- Ann in gym class?"

Serena snickers. "She's not bad, but, well, she always seems new
to our games. I have a few stories..."

END