Wednesday, 1:15 P.M., Period 6, Gym
Today, P. E went a little different. Normally there's a barrier in the middle of tbe gym to separate the boys and girls. The reason being it was a Catholic school, and the administration wanted to "promote holiness and abstinence", like that was gonna keep them from being, well, "unholy." However, the barrier needed a little maintenance so, the separation wasn't taking place today. The classes were still different, they weren't integrated, but they could see what each other were doing. The girls were playing tennis and the boys were playing basketball. Of course, now that the girls could see them, the guys did their best to show off and look cool in front of them. Everyone was following that same formula, except for 3 boys. The trio comprised of Shane, Dean, and Xavier Woods. Shane and Dean were busy playing each other in their own one on one game, and Xavier, well he tried to avoid as much physical activity as possible. He wasn't really a sports kind of guy. He was more of a video games, comic books, and anime kind of guy. Dean and Shane tried to coax the shy boy into joining them, but he was extremely reluctant.
"Come on, Xavier. It's fun." Dean said.
"Sorry, Dean. I find nothing enjoyable about putting a ball inside of a hoop. I'll sit out this one."
Shane thought for a moment, and then got an idea.
"Hey, I know! You can be the ref."
"But I don't know the rules of the game. How am I supposed to enforce what I don't know?"
"Simple, all you gotta do is keep track of the score. We're playing with no out of bounds calls, and no free throws. The game is to 21. Whoever gets 21 points first wins. You're a smart kid, you can do it."
Xavier's face lit up.
"I am good with numbers. You know what, I'll do it!"
The 3 of them began their game, and were completely focused on their own personal tasks. Shane and Dean were trying to prove who was a better player, and Xavier concentrated really hard on making sure he didn't lose track. As the game went on, more of the girls turned their attention to them, until they had a whole audience. Even some of the other dudes stopped what they were doing and watched. Everyone was enjoying the action and watching intently, waiting in suspense to see who would win. This angered someone. You know who it is. Who else would it be at this point? Alexa wasn't really doing anything during gym class on account of her being a cheerleader and not wanting to risk injury. Plus, the teacher, just like everyone else in the administration, didn't dare make her do anything she didn't want to do. She was free to do basically whatever the hell she wanted to. Her, Sasha, and Emma were all sitting together on a bench and just talking, not really paying attention to what anyone was doing, when they noticed a crowd around something. They curiously walked over to see what was going on. Once they saw what had gained everyone's interest, they smiled. Well, Sasha and Emma did. Little Miss Bliss groaned annoyed.
"Oh, come on. Really? This is what everyone's so intrigued by? Two idiots and a nerd playing basketball? How pathetic. Come on girls, this isn't worth our time."
"20-19, Dean's up by one!" Xavier called out to the crowd.
"Well, what are you two waiting for? Let's go!" Alexa said again.
However, Sasha and Emma didn't budge.
"No, Alexa. I wanna see how this ends. If you want to go sit down by yourself, then knock yourself out, but I'm not leaving." Sasha said defiantly.
"I second that." Emma said in agreement.
The petite princess was shocked. Her friends never went against what she said. In response, she folded her arms and pouted, like she was still in kindergarten.
"Fine, whatever. This is dumb."
Meanwhile, Dean and Shane were both sweating profusely. They were extremely determined to prove which one was better. Shane currently had possession of the ball.
"You know you're not gonna win this, right?" He said while dribbling the ball.
Dean chuckled and smirked.
"That's what you think, dude."
At that moment, Dean stole the ball from him, stepped back, shot the ball and the game was over.
"21- 19! Ambrose wins! Ambrose wins!" Xavier yelled.
The crowd of students cheered and Xavier raised Dean's hand. In the crowd, Alexa was smirking devilishly.
"Good. Now they see how much of a loser Price is. I knew that football shit was just a fluke." Alexa thought spitefully.
Shane and Dean hugged each other.
"Man, you're a beast. Maybe I should just stick to football." Shane said humbly.
"Nah, bro. You're great too. Not greater than me, but great nonetheless."
Shane playfully hit Dean in the shoulder in response. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xavier walking off and got an idea.
"Yo, Xavier! Come back! You gotta shoot at least once."
Xavier was cautious at first.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Oh come on. It'll be fine. Do it. Come on! Woods! Woods! Woods!" Dean said as he got a chant going.
This convinced Xavier to go through with it, and he shyly walked up to Shane and took the ball he handed out to him.
"Alright, here goes nothing." He said, and he shot the ball.
Everyone cheered as the ball went in the basket. Shane and Dean lifted the scrawny boy up onto their shoulders in celebration. Xavier was truly, extremely happy. He saw this moment as the first time he'd ever been accepted by his peers. He'd always been somewhat of an outcast. He didn't have many friends outside of Kofi and Big E. Now, he was being cheered on by a bunch of students, some of them being popular kids. He was on the verge of tears. Alexa, on the other hand, was furious.
"No, no, no! Why the fuck are they cheering?! It's three losers together. What's so great about that?! I hate Price!" She thought angrily.
In the midst of all this, Shane spotted Alexa in the crowd and did what he always did. He flashed her a big, bright smile.
Alexa glared back at him like always, and stormed out of the gym.
"Hey, you can't lsave yet. Class isn't over." The gym teacher called out.
"Shut up, Jeff!" She growled and continued on her way.
Shane stared at her as she left.
"That girl is something else, man.'
