The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25 dot com
Prompt: Complications
Main Character: Bella
Rating: T
Word Count: 474
"Look up, Bella. Keep checking where the other players are."
I obey, glancing at where Lauren is waiting by the orange witches hat. I dribble the ball back across the field, keeping my stick in contact with the ball. I lift my head every few paces, keeping her in my sights. When I reach the yellow marker, I pass the ball across the grass. Lauren traps it easily and takes off in the direction I just came.
"Better." Ms. Banner claps my shoulder. "Faster, Lauren."
Vic tosses me my water bottle and I pant out my thanks. I swallow a mouthful before I hurry back into line. Banner doesn't seem to care that it's thirty-five freaking degrees Celsius; she's had us running dribbling and passing drills for almost an hour.
Sweat is dripping from my forehead and rolling down my spine and when Banner finally blows her whistle.
"Good job, ladies." She has to yell over the groans of relief. "Pack it up. I'll see you Thursday."
"Vic, do you have any B.O. basher? I stink."
I smell exactly like I've been running around in the sun with a hockey stick for an hour—and I've forgotten to pack my deodorant.
"Yeah, but it's roll on."
I wrinkle my nose. I smell pretty ripe, but I'm not desperate enough to rub Victoria's underarm germs all over myself. Sharing spray deodorant is one thing, but roll on? Hell no.
I pull my dress over my head and turn around so Victoria can zip me up. We're not allowed to go home in our P.E. uniforms; we have to change back into our dress uniform to leave the school grounds.
"Catch, Swan."
A can of Rexona lands in my hands and Lauren is my favourite person on the face of the earth. I tell her so and she rolls her eyes. Of course, with my zip done up now, I have to lift my dress up so high I flash everyone my undies in order to get the can positioned right. Still, I sigh with relief when I feel the icy sting of antiperspirant in my armpit.
"Oh, look." Vic smirks as she nudges my shoulder. "Aladdin."
"Aladdin?"
She points across the street, where Edward is leaning against the traffic lights, a skateboard under his arm. He's talking with two other guys who wear the same school uniform in the same way: shirt untucked, caps on backwards, scuffed-up skate shoes.
"Aladdin. It fits, right? If you're Jasmine and he likes you. And, you know, he's a bit of a street rat."
I frown, even as my tummy flip-flops. Street rat? Seems kind of harsh.
"He doesn't like me," I say. "At least he doesn't like like me."
She shrugs, standing up as our bus pulls into the stop. "Whatever you reckon… Princess Jasmine."
Thanks for reading, lovelies. Shell x
