The next two periods flew by. Art was spectacular. I don't think i have ever said that about anything school related. The art teacher - Mrs Wayland - was kind and considerate. I told her about my past grade in art ( all A's i might add ) and she smiled and told me'
"Your natural talent will flourish in St Xavier's Miss Fray."
The assignment she had given us was simple enough. We had to create an image we associated with our childhood. Ignoring the horrid abuse filled years i had had with Luke and Valentine, my mind rested on a memory of my mother, me and Jonathan in central park. We bought hot chocolates and had fun all day long. Snow fell gently that day and everything was calm.
keeping the image in my minds eye, i painted the view from behind us. From that position all you could see was a women, with flowing red hair, cuddling two small bundles of cloth and human. The lake ahead was frozen and a few people were milling about. The snow fell in clumps, and lazily hung on branches and hair. The hot chocolates were only partially visable, the steam collecting in a cloud above the drinks.
I quickly finished my painting and hurried out of the classroom towards the gym. I could feel the delicate sting of fresh tears in the back of my eyes, so i ran straight into the toilet.
After a few moments composing myself, i left the toilets and went into the locker rooms to get changed. As i walked through the door someone barged into my right shoulder.
"Watch where your going FREAK!" A blond haired bitch shouted at me. She went to walk of but not before i could grab her forearm.
"What did you say?" I said in the most menacing tone i could manage. I pulled it off. She visibly palled. I could see she was going to retort when Izzy decide to step in.
"Hey, Kailie scram. We don't need skanks like you ruining our day." Her look of fear turned into one of anger. The girl -Kailie- wrenched her arm from my grip, and stormed away.
"Already making friends i see." I snorted at Izzy's comment before going to get changed.
After we all changed, the girls and me headed outside onto the field, where we were greeted by non-other than the boys sports class. Straight away arguments started.
"Hey, what going on? Why are the GIRLS out here?" One, jock looking, boy asked.
"Because, Mr Hall, we are going to have ourselves a little game." The deep voiced answer came from behind me. Turning around, my eyes landed on a man, with short brown hair, deep blue eyes and a gorgeous smile.
"Me and Mrs Greymark have a bet going. She says that the girls can beat the boys in dodge ball. So, being as competitive as ever, i made her bet on it. So here we are. I do hope, boys, that we can prove Mrs Greymark wrong. Can we do that?" He stared incredulously at the boys. In one monotone chorus they answered.
"Yes Mr Lightwood." So this was Izzy, Alec and Jace's dad. The boys all huddled together and began discussing tactics, as did the girls. It was clear there were very few athletic people in this group, and when no one spoke up i decided to step in.
"Hey girls, my name is Clary, if you didn't know. Now, i may be knew here, but from one glance at those boys i can tell that most of them are arrogant, and overly confident." This got me a few assuring nods.
"They are going to be way too focused on showing off, to notice us when we are winning. Who has a good catch- okay we will position you 5 in a middle band. What about throwing?- so you 7 go as a front band. The 8 of you are going to hold back as a lower band, your job is to catch stray balls, and stay in. The 4 of us will be runners, constantly changing between bands and moving other players in and out of them. Sound like a plan?" i got a roar of approval.
"Alright then, lets go kick some arrogant, shit-faced ass." All the girls laughed as we broke and set ourselves up in my bands formation. Me, Izzy, Mia and another girl name Helen, were the runners. I placed the girl named Kailie in the lower band. I kinda got the feeling she wasn't sporty. The other player that caught my eye was a girl named Tessa. She was upfront and game faced.
Mr Lightwood placed 8 rubber balls in the centre of the field. Running along an invisible line. I nodded to the throwers, who understood my signal. I glanced at boys across the field. They were all bunched up in the middle. I could see Jace trying to create some order and failing dramatically. Eventually he gave up, and the boys positioned themselves into a pitiful formation.
The whistle was blown, and the game began. At first the girls were overpowering the boys, our formation was paying off. Until Tessa and Mia were caught out. Our team began to dwindle. Eventually it was just me and Izzy. There were still 7 boys left. Jace, Jordan, Alec, Raphael, Sebastian, the 'Mr Hall' guy, and one of Sebastian's groupies.
"Come on Fray. Surrender now and avoid utter annihilation." Jace chided me from across the field.
"You seem to forget, Mr Lightwood, that i could kick YOUR ass all through till next week." all the players on and off the field began to laugh. As the boys were momentarily distracted, i took this moment to hurl a ball straight towards Sebastian's lackey. It hit him square in the chest and he was out. The laughing quickly turned into cheers as our dodgeball war continued. After many pains taking minutes i realised that it was just her against Jace, Alec and Jordan.
"Clary!Clary!Clary!" The girls on the bench called. feeling a new boost of energy, i sent the two balls in hands flying in quick succession. I caught Alec of guard and landed him on the bench. Jace whispered something to Jordan, and before i knew it there were 4 balls coming straight at me. I reacted with my assassins mind. I dodged a ball, lunging to get out way of the second. I had to lean back to avoid doing so. Doing this , however left me in the path of ball 4. I backflipped gracefully, catching the ball in midair and landing like a cat.
Gasps erupted all around, as Jordan walked over to the bench. One on one, i liked it. I turned the red ball over in my hands and launched it at Jace. He didn't have a chance to see it coming before it hit him. A roar of happiness made it's way through the girls team as they made their way towards me. I was engulfed in a massive group hug.
I turned around and saw Jace give me a big smile, and a thumbs up. I smiled back.
"Well done Clary! Finally we beat them." Izzy said as she dragged me back into the changing rooms.
"Oh yeah and Clary?" Izzy asked me. I turned to face her and raised my eyebrows?
"I saw how Jace looked at you, and trust me it wasn't how a friend should." She winked and strolled away to get changed. Leaving me there, gob smacked.