Exclaimer: Alas, I do not own Degrassi.
…yet. *devilish laughter and schemey hands*
A/N: Another day, another dollar, another chapter… anyways, thanks to Random Storygirl for your awesome reviews, they make me smile. =D And in response to two of them, I indeed think Imogen is a tad creepy, but she's unique and makes me laugh. Also, I haven't seen The Grapist, but I've heard of it. =p
Timeline: Later that lunch.
Notes flew out of the music room into the all but empty hall outside of it, the stream of music echoing off the metal lockers and linoleum floors. Occasionally a few lunchtime passersby peeked into the room, smiles on their face as they watched the pianist at work, her fingers dancing across the off white keys, only to halt suddenly to jot down a couple of notes with a nearby pen. It was going slower than Kallie would have liked, but she had already made quite a dent in the music that would be played during the intermission of the production.
She paused in her work briefly as she heard voices filtering through the intercom, a smile gracing her face as she recognized Adam's voice. She chuckled as Adam 'boomed' his co-host, though she did roll her eyes also. It was dorky, but dorkiness was part of Adam's package, and he wore it well. As they signed off after a few minutes, Kallie's fingers continued in their work almost without her noticing.
Lost in thought, she wondered at Fiona and her whereabouts. Holly J had called her, to no answer, before trying to contact her mother. Though she hadn't answered either, Holly J left a message that was just subtle enough that she hinted at Fiona perhaps being at the condo without saying, 'Your daughter is missing from school and I think she might be skipping.' Despite Kallie's half-hearted reminders to her Fiona might have a good reason for leaving, Holly J had shared that earlier in the day while she was getting her grad robes fitted, Fiona had showed up when she was supposed to be in drama. After they had talked, the vice-president assumed Fiona had headed back to her class, but obviously that had not been the case. After a bit of thought, Holly J had come to the conclusion Fiona must have left to hang out with Charlie; a… 'friend', she had explained in an oddly hesitant tone. From the sound of it, that must have been the case indeed, but Kallie couldn't help but worry and wonder nonetheless.
After a few more minutes of composing, she quickly gathered her things. It was probably best to set out a little early and beat the post-lunch rush to their lockers; the junior had Gym, Media Immersion, and English after the break was over. As she proceeded to her locker, she couldn't help but muse over the school's artistic nature. From things like Drama courses and after school art classes, to band, advanced English courses, and M.I., the school seemed to subtly lean towards the unconventional, away from the usual Math, History, Science, Science, Math, Science, English routine of most high schools.
Soon enough, Kallie found herself before the gymnasium, with lunch over and hoards of students rushing into the change rooms. She winced, and was surprised at a familiar hand snaking it's way around her shoulders.
"Don't worry, grasshopper number two, just make sure to keep your eyes down around Bianca. The last thing we need is another 'the entire LGBT community is after me!' meltdown. I swear, one more of those and this cane," Eli lifted his skull-adorned walking stick off the ground a few inches, "Will be shoved into a very unpleasant place of hers."
"You're in this gym class? Last I checked you were kinda…"
"Swaggering, it's not a limp, it's a swagger. And it doesn't prevent me from chucking red rubber balls at peoples' heads. Now hurry up, you girls take forever to change." he said, 'swaggering' off to his change room.
"That is a sexist and completely untrue statement, Goldsworthy!"
A few minutes and no incidents later, Kallie emerged from the change room, triumphantly noting she was out before many of the guys in the class. But surprisingly, not Eli, who gave her a triumphant grin. She met him with her 'I'll get you next time, and your little dog too' stare, which albeit, looked a little more like the sun was in her eyes than anything. Soon enough, the rest of the class was in the gym, and they begun picking teams. Owen (she had a face for the name now, at least) was one team captain, while a redheaded guy named Joey was the other captain.
Almost immediately, Owen picked Bianca and a couple of jocks whom she was sure had less brain mass than a caterpillar did. Joey however, seemed to make more logical decisions, opting for brains and agility instead of brawn, which showed in his picks of a few soccer players and Katie from her math class, plus surprisingly, herself. At last, there was Eli and a boy with thick-rimmed glasses left. Owen pointed at the nerd, jerking his thumb over his shoulder as Eli smirked, seemingly content with being on the other team.
As the game begun, it became evident if it wasn't already that the two teams and their respective captains had completely different play styles. Owen and his lot were quite offensive, throwing the balls hard almost as soon as they got them, while the other team dodged and hung onto the dodgeballs for as long as possible before throwing them when they saw opportunity. In terms of how many people were gotten out, however, the teams were pretty evenly matched, and there were only three players remaining on each side before long.
Kallie stood close to the back, Katie was a few steps in front of her and to her left, with Eli near the far right of the room. Across from them, Owen and a thick-necked guy named Rick stood, armed. A few paces behind them, Bianca stood, seemingly disinterested in the game. She exchanged a glance with Katie, and the other girl nodded, suddenly dashing forewords as if to grab a ball near the line to throw. Owen and Rick immediately fired, Katie dodging around both throws and ceasing a ball triumphantly, with Kallie and Eli trotting up to her to scoop up the other two balls that were still in play.
"You guys really aren't much for strategy, are you?" Katie's eyes gleamed, with her leaning forewords slightly so her face was right in front of Owen's.
"You see… that's where you're wrong." Owen stepped to the side, letting Bianca, who revealed that she held a ball, fire straight at Katie, getting her out. A stunned look crossed her features before she shrugged a bit, walking over to the bench. Now it was two against three, with two balls in possession of Kallie and Eli, and two in the possession of the other team. A throwing war broke out abruptly, Eli managed to get out Rick and Bianca before getting hit himself. All four of the balls laid on the opposite side of the line from Kallie, two in which were in the hands of Owen. Kallie kept her eyes locked on him, smiling slightly as she spoke. "So… you plan on paying Fiona for the new mattress she had to get?"
His face reddened as Eli nearly fell off the bench with laughter at the side of the room, causing a chain reaction that had their entire team laughing, and even most of the other team, including Owen's brawny jock friends. He fired.
Kallie barely had time to realize this before it had left his right hand, the red ball bounced off of her head, causing her to stagger back as the second ball went flying, also hitting her in the head and knocking her onto her rear with a grunt. It hadn't hurt very much, but the shock and anger behind it had left a few tears welling up in her eyes that she blinked back just in time to catch the second ball that had hit her. It had flown directly up after hitting her forehead, flying back down in a straight line right into Kallie's hands as she lay on the floor of the gym, as if it had been begging to be caught.
Eli and Katie were the first ones up off of the bench, she could see in her peripheral vision, many of the other players getting up after she had caught the ball, or shortly beforehand.
"Dude, that was like in a movie or something. I swear, you hovered for a second before falling down! And then with the catch, that was insane!" Kallie took Katie's offered hand as Eli enthused about their win, causing the two girls to roll their eyes simultaneously.
"Yes Eli, I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"Sorry. I need to get my priorities in order don't I?"
"Just a little bit…" Katie reached out, carefully grazing the spot where the first ball had hit Kallie, causing her to wince slightly.
"Jeez, that's gonna leave a bruise. Wait here, I'll get ice." Before Kallie could try and object, the other brunette had raced off. Once that girl had set her mind on something, there really was no stopping her. A surprised noise came from her side, causing her to turn to Eli with a question written on her face.
"You thawed the ice queen. At least partially, that is. How'd you do that?"
"Huh?"
"Katie. She's infamous for her 'intensity'," he made air quotes, "That's really the nice way of putting it. She makes Antarctica look like a tropical paradise, thus making her nearly impossible to befriend. I swear, Marisol is the only one who's made any headway whatsoever, and that's mainly because she can't take a hint. Or a straight-out request to leave you alone. So, spill. How'd you do it?"
"I don't know. I nearly fell asleep in Math and she woke me up, then gave me one of those energy-things and then it was now and that's all."
"That's… all. I swear, Kal, you must have some magical mojo that makes people like you."
"Doubtful, besides, Owen seemed to not be that fond of me. Or need I remind you?" she motioned to the twin bumps on her forehead which at this point had nearly grown into the size of golf balls.
"You look like you're growing horns, it's kinda cool."
"You'd think a cat eating it's own tail would be cool, Goldsworthy." Katie returned, handing the injured girl an ice pack.
"I would not! …okay, I would, but only because that would be awesome in a morbid way."
"Different strokes for different folks. Thanks, Katie." The soccer player mumbled a short 'whatever' before walking off, Kallie following her with her eyes. Eli snickered. "What now?"
"Someone has a crush." A blush shot up onto her cheeks, her answer coming out in a stutter.
"I… I do n-not!" The goth snaked his arm around her shoulder, ending the period much like it had started. "Oh, grasshopper number two. It's okay, you can admit it. And I don't blame you, honestly. She's cute." He patted her once on the shoulder, leaving her there with a reddened face, and an ice pack pressed to her head.
