SMARTS

Chapter Eighteen

As we enter the gym, I notice some of Jacob’s friends laughing. My eyebrows furrow in confusion before I hear one of them say Jacob’s name. A sudden thought hits me. Jacob must be associated with us ‘nerds’ by how much he’s been around us. I turn to see him awkwardly staring on the ground. I would think that watching my old bully get bullied himself would’ve made me feel happy, but all I feel is sadness. It’s so strange to watch certain people get bullied, those people you never thought would. He always exhibited confidence, so much so that he was almost feared. Yet now, being around us must have made him the laughing stock of the school. I motion for Logan and Joseph to pass us, and stop to talk to Jacob.

“Hey Jacob, don’t worry about it. Just ignore it” I tell him.

 “I don’t know if I can” he replies. “It's just so weird, you know; when you see your old friends making fun of you."

 I nod. I’ve never really had friends, therefore never felt betrayed by any. I’m glad I don’t know what he’s going through, but I still don’t think avoiding it all these years was worth being alone.

 “Don’t worry, I’m sure dodge ball will take your mind off it” I say. We both walk towards Logan and Joseph to crowd around the coach.

 “Okay guys, instead of dodge ball today, we’re going to be practicing our running.” Everyone groans in response. “Grab a running partner and go outside. I want three laps around the field.”

I look at Jacob to check if he’s okay with being my partner. He nods and we head outside. Normally Jacob would be a terrible gym partner for me – just since he’s much better at sports – but running is actually one of my strengths. We start out fast then pace ourselves. I decide not to start a conversation just since Jacob seems to be breathing very hard. I assume that running is not his strongest spot. Once we finish, we go grab our water bottles then head back to the gym. The coach lets us leave a few minutes early since we finished so quickly so we head to science. We head over to our desks and wait for the others. Once everyone arrives, we start on the chapter reading to prepare for our test on Monday.

Once science finishes, we all meet at Jamie’s locker to head out for recess, including Jacob. I guess he doesn’t want to hang out with his ‘friends’ at recess. We exit, and go towards the tree we always sit underneath. We all begin talking except Jacob, who seems very distant at first. Once we get to the subject of Halloween, we decide that Logan and Joseph are coming along as well, and I decide to invite Jacob.

 “Do you want to come trick-or-treating with us Jacob?” I ask. “We’re going to dress as pirates, and you can come over tonight so we can help you make a costume.”

 “Yeah, sure. That’s be awesome. I’d almost forgotten Halloween this year” he says.

 I give Jacob, Logan, and Joseph my address and we plan to meet up after school. I realize that five people coming over is a bit much, I hope my mom is okay with it. Once we hear the bell, we get up and walk back inside the building. It’ll be cool to see everyone outside of school, I think.