My Life as a Teenage Rebel

Chapter 32: The Trouble with Boys Is...

While writing this chapter I kept putting “Couch” instead of “Coach” =_= It’s things like this that make me wonder whether I need an editor or not.

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Ky Madison

CHAPTER 32 The Trouble with Boys Is...

I walk the hallways with my thumbs hooked into my pockets. “We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz…” I mumble with a faint grin, skipping lightly as I make my way to the gym.

“Ky!” I hear a Southern twang ring out right after I skip past the girls’ locker room. I pause and look back to see Sally Rae smile brightly at me, her hair in ponytails, “Hi!” she waves.

Returning the smile, I turn towards her completely. “Hey Sally,” I momentarily bring up a hand to give a short wave.

“Where ya off to?” she asks, her curls bouncing cheerily as she seems to skip toward me.

“The gym,” I tell her, hooking my thumb into my pocket again now that we’re done exchanging waves. “I haven’t seen the basketball team play yet since the try-outs, and since the first came of the season is coming right around the corner I figure now’s a better time than never, right?”

“Hmm, yeah, I’ve watched them play a couple times before…” Sally muses; almost starting to trail off. “Although, Ky, I’ve got to say that I’ve noticed they-”

Something she sees ever my shoulder makes her stop. I look back to see a couple of awkward-struck cheerleaders flanking Mandy O’Conner.

Hm. Makes me feel kinda bad for them, caught in the crossfire while being neutral and all.

Oh, right; don’t know if I’ve explained that concept to you yet. Well, throughout the school, you either side with Mandy, with me, or you’re neutral. The basketball team (at least the one from last year) sides with me. The volleyball team sides with Mandy. And the football team is neutral (except for Griffin; he sides with me since he was on last year’s basketball team). Get the idea now? It’s fairly easy to understand.

Last year the cheerleaders sided with Mandy, but now they’re neutral (mostly because of the time we spent as a team when we played paintball, I think).

Believe it or not, Mandy and I understand their neutrality; we wouldn’t make them pick sides and we wouldn’t want to make things awkward for them…like how it’s awkward for them now. I turn back to Sally, “I guess I’ll see what you mean when I get there.” I tell her.

“Y- Yeah…” Sally says, and I smile at her and start to turn again. But Sally is typically a very helpful person, so she calls out: “And if yeh feel like ya need any help with it later, just call!”

I have to admire her confidence; usually people wouldn’t say something like that in front of Mandy (not that Mandy really cares; it’s just that people haven’t come to realize that yet), I crack Sally an extra smile.

“Hi girls,” I say to the cheerleaders as I begin to pass them. Every one of them smiles at me.

I stick out my tongue at Mandy as I pass her; her expression of indifference turns into an acknowledging scowl.

 The gym already smells faintly of sweat when I enter it. Good; that means they’re working their butts off. A slight grin curves my mouth as I walk up to Coach Murray. He doesn’t see me at first, but then he notices my brother look over his shoulder and smile at me, and Coach laughs and booms, “Ky!”

I smile endearingly as a couple of the boys’ heads turn momentarily. “’Sup Coach?” I reply coolly as Coach Murray takes me (unintentionally) rough by the shoulder in greeting.