The school bell rang at three o'clock on Monday, rapidly filling the halls of the high school with students. As everyone scrambled to get out of class, Sarah Carter stayed at her easel, continuing to work on her drawing until only the teacher remained.
"The bell's rung Miss Carter, time to go." The teacher informed, shooing Sarah away as she slowly began putting her pencils away. Sarah studied her work, pursing her lips as she noted all the things she wanted to clean up on the drawing. Her art teacher recognized that look and added, "I can't leave until you do."
Sarah snorted and zipped up her pencil case, "Right. Sorry." She rolled up the paper and put a rubber band around it to keep it secured before grabbing her shoulder bag from the ground near her station. "Have a good night!"
"See you tomorrow, Sarah." The art teacher answered without looking up, tapping away on her tablet as she created the school year's syllabus for the Junior art students.
Sarah kept her head down as she moved down the hallway to her locker, pushing her thin blonde hair behind her ear. She stopped in front of a plain grey locker and began turning the lock, ignoring the chattering behind her. While her classmates covered their space in posters and notes to each other, Sarah kept her personal things inside and out of view. She quickly deposited her drawing and pencil case into her locker, then grabbed onto the schoolbooks she needed to take home with her.
Sarah leaned away and grabbed the locker door, but it slammed shut before she had a chance to close it, causing her to jump back in surprise. She looked up at the taller girl with hair so black it almost glimmered blue in the school's fluorescent lights. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but it was so thick and long it still reached to her mid-back. She popped her gum loudly as she looked down at Sarah with steely green eyes under thick lashes, "Sup, Carter?"
Sarah narrowed her gaze up at the girl, almost six feet tall with an hourglass figure that rivaled her mom's. "What do you want Miranda?"
"It's Homecoming week! Do you have a date yet?" Miranda asked casually, turning her hand around to study her black manicure. When Sarah didn't answer, she finally looked past her nails to the tiny blonde, no taller than five four. "I'll take that as a no. I can set you up with someone if you'd like."
"I don't need a date. I'm not going to the dance. Probably won't even go to the game." Sarah replied coolly, hoisting her bag farther onto her shoulder before attempting to leave the conversation. She struggled to balance with her heavy books and bag, but forced a step around the senior anyway.
Miranda sidestepped, easily blocking Sarah from her escape route, "Come on, where's your school spirit? You're going to miss your brother's last Homecoming game? That's not like you, Carter."
"He has plenty of cheerleaders, doesn't the? He won't even notice I'm not there." Sarah mumbled, keeping her head lowered as two more girls walked up to Miranda, giggling at the unfolding scene. Sarah twisted her lips as the girls surrounded her, keeping her trapped in her spot, "What do you want Miranda?"
"I was going to set you up with a date- that's all. Trying to do something nice." Miranda grabbed onto the end of her ponytail and flipped her thick hair back, "I was wondering if James had a date for Friday? Maybe we could double date? I know lots of nice guys who are looking for a date..."
"Ohhh, see, that makes much more sense." Sarah sneered, grinning as she finally looked up at the girl with a shrug. "I don't know. Probably. You run in the same circles as him, not me. Just because we live under the same roof doesn't mean he has to tell me things."
Miranda crossed her arms and tapped her boot against the floor impatiently, "Well maybe you can put in a good word for me. Let him know that I don't have a date yet... I've turned down lots of guys for a reason." Sarah grabbed onto the strap of her bag, using it to ground herself as she stayed silent and firm. Miranda hummed to herself, seeing she wasn't getting anywhere with the girl, "We'll try this again tomorrow. Hopefully with better results."
"Look forward to it." Sarah snarled, holding her ground against the bullies. After staring her down for a few seconds, they turned and waltzed down the hallway as the other students darted out of their way.
Sarah's shoulders deflated as they left, not actually looking forward to the ridicule she'd face on Tuesday.
"Carter, go long!"
James ran down the field, easily catching the football that was hurtled toward him before rolling from a somersault onto his feet. He raised the ball triumphantly as one of his friends called after him, "Show off!"
"Alright, huddle up!" The coach called from the sidelines as practice came to an end. The boys came running forward, grabbing water bottles to guzzle the beverage as they listened to their coach. He looked around at the boys with a proud grin on his face, "Big game's this Friday. It's the last one for a lot of you. Let's make it one to remember." He gave a pointed smile to James, who nodded as he drained his bottle easily.
The coach left and the boys began yelling happily over each other as they stormed the locker room, ready to shower and head home for the evening. They passed by the cheerleaders taking to the field to practice. James winked at them as they ran past them, and Miranda turned around and smiled cheekily, blowing a kiss in his direction before following the others.
Inside the locker room, James pulled off his pads and discarded them before yanking off his sweaty undershirt. Two of his friends, Brent and Hunter, sidled up next to him as they began pulling off their cleats. "So how was Jessica last Friday?" Brent teased as he kicked off his left shoe.
Hunter squished his face in disgust, "Dude, don't bring it up, I had to wash my sheets twice. When my parents got back from their trip I had to tell them my dog shit the bed."
James snorted and Brent laughed loudly, "Next time we'll party at Jimmy's place."
"Good luck with that- my parents never travel for work anymore." James chuckled as he knelt down to take off his own cleats, "Towel?"
"Why? You don't even break a sweat." Brent replied as he tossed a towel at James, who caught it easily with one hand while crouched down. Hunter smacked Brent on the chest, causing him to yelp and continue, "So, you got a date for Friday yet?"
"Nope." James answered easily as he stood back to his feet, draping the towel around his shoulders as he prepared to go shower. "Not really worried about it."
"Excuse me?" Hunter gasped, grabbing James's shoulder tightly, "Since when? It's like... your duty to choose a date. You'll be Homecoming King, you need to choose a Queen."
"Like I said, I'm really not that worried about it." James repeated as he started walking away, "I have my eyes on someone... beyond high school."
"That girl's finally back?" Brent called as James pulled aside a curtain to a shower. Before he closed it, James smirked coyly and his friends gasped, "She's back!"
"Shut up. Her mom died this weekend. I'm gonna take things slow." James answered as he yanked the curtain closed and turned on the water, but his friends stood outside the alcove anyway, waiting to harass him some more.
"You gonna go to the funeral?" Brent called loudly and Hunter smiled and greeted a boy passing by giving them weird looks.
"It's Thursday during class." James called back and the two friends shared a knowing look.
Hunter sighed, taking the lead as Brent gestured toward the shower, "So, you aren't going right? Because if you skip school you can't play on Friday..."
"I mean, as long as I'm back for practice, they'll never really know, right?" James replied just before the water shut off. Brent crossed his arms and stared at Hunter, and the other boy stammered, trying to come up with some way to convince their impulsive friend not to screw this up.
"I mean, theoretically, yeah. But is it worth risking it? It's Homecoming. Senior Year Homecoming, there will be scouts here, and- are you really willing to risk it for a girl? There's lots of girls. They'd all love to have you-" Hunter tried and Brent made a cut off motion near his neck, trying to get Hunter to stop talking.
"Have me?" James asked as he pulled the curtain aside, dressed in dark jeans and a blue t-shirt that fit a little too tight. When James crossed his arms, the shirt pulled against his muscles, showing off the reason his fellow classmates rumored he was on steroids. But they knew it wasn't true, they'd seen his parents. It was just good genes and a lot of lifting.
Sarah wasn't so easily explained.
"I mean, be with you. Be your date. To Homecoming. Everyone is waiting to see who you'll ask, just play the game James. One last time." Brent explained, carefully pushing Hunter away before he could say anything else insulting. "Come on man, we've got dates. It'll be a great night. My brother offered up his studio over the garage for a little after party if you know what I mean..."
James rolled his eyes and pushed past his friends, his mind almost made up. He chewed the side of his cheek though, showing he wasn't completely set on forgoing the Homecoming dance.
"Miranda Rodriguez was putting out feelers with your sister earlier. Ya know, to see if she could use your sister to get into your bed." A voice called from the other side of the lockers. James clenched his teeth and tossed the towel to the side, causing his friends to panic and try to cut him off. He easily shoved past them to face his tormentor on the other side.
The bulky boy on the other side chuckled, seeing he'd hit a nerve with the star player, "Oh, I'm sorry? Did you not know? At least your sister is good for something, since she's not good for too much else. Although she is a pretty little thing, maybe I'll ask her to the dance."
Hunter grimaced nervously and Brent smacked his face in frustration as James took a step closer to his teammate, "You wanna try that again, Chad?" He clenched his fist so tight his knuckles paled. The other players nearby started to scramble, seeing the linebacker was about to be pummeled by the team's quarterback.
Chad just smiled, shifting his feet into a fighting stance. "Oh, I'm sorry? Did you not hear me the first time? Your sister is pathetic." James ground his teeth at his teammate's taunting, grounding himself as he sized up his opponent. Chad was big, tall as James and even beefier. The blonde boy lowered his fists and took a long stride toward the door, pushing back the urge to pummel the linebacker.
Chad grunted, seeing James chicken out, "Smart move, Carter!" he called out loudly, causing James to freeze in place, so he added, "It's a shame though, I was really looking forward to getting my hands on Sarah. It's been a while since I fucked a virgin- She's too shy to say no, so I think she'd be the perfect date to our last homecoming... Since you're too much of a pussy to do anything about it."
James felt his back stiffen and he ran his tongue along his teeth as he steadied his breath. Brent and Hunter started to move toward him to usher him out, but James just turned around, holding his ground as he stared at his tormentor. His angry glare melted into a sneer and he cracked his knuckles as he chuckled to Chad, "We'll see."
Before Chad could get a good strike in, James pushed him up against the lockers, holding him with his forearm as he wound up with his right hand. Chad cringed as he prepared for the hit, and James didn't disappoint. He socked Chad square in the jaw, causing the boy's head to bash into the lockers, effectively ending the fight before it really started. As Chad fell to the ground, he looked up stunned and bleeding from his skull, unable to form words. James stumbled backward, realizing what he'd done just as the coach turned the corner of the locker room to see the scene. "What the- James!"
James winced, ducking his head and shrinking into himself, knowing whatever punishment his school would give him was nothing compared to what his father would do.