Change For Me

10. hot

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"Oh—um..." I tuck my hair behind my ear and look in between Conrad and Jae. They stare at me with blank faces which doesn't help with my sudden panic. "I have gym," I point at the change rooms, again, and I internally curse myself for it. I'm making it unnecessarily awkward.

"Really?" Conrad asks and I nod my head, not trusting my mouth in the moment.

"What other class would I be in if I were to be at this side of the building?" I raise a brow. The gym is located on the other end of the school, where the majority of offices and storage rooms are.

"True," Conrad shrugs, heading towards the change room. I release a breath and close my eyes shut. Once I calmed myself, I look up and notice Jae still in front of me. I shift on my spot, feeling intimidated by his presence. Why's he only staring and not saying anything else?

"I'll see you inside," he finally says before walking towards the change rooms. I let out another breath relief and I quickly get myself in the change rooms as well. I place my things next to Claire and Lisa, who are already in their gym clothes. I get ready with a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt as gym uniform.

Claire and Lisa patiently wait for me until we're completely set. We enter the main gym and everyone is waiting for the teacher in small groups around the room. When the second bell rings, the last few students file out of the change rooms. And as we wait for class to begin me, Claire, and Lisa stand in the corner, away from the rest.

I scan the gym, trying to remember the faces of some people. The ones who catches my attention first are Eva, Roman, Conrad, and Jae. They huddle together at the other end of the gym—far from where I am—talking to each other. I immediately divert my gaze once Jae glances at me for a second.

"Okay class!" The whistle blares around the gym. "I'm Mr.Mac your gym teacher for this year. I want to start off the first day with something fun." Mr.Mac claps his hands together and looks around at us with a devilish smirk. No one appears too excited for what's to come—Mr. Mac has his questionable ideas of "fun".

"Everyone, grab a ball." he points to the equipment room. "We're playing dodgeball."

~

"I give up," Lisa takes her time walking towards me and Claire. She places her hands on her hips and faces the chaos of our gym class.

"You didn't even do anything," Claire teases before she picks up a ball. I watch as she reaches for one that slowly rolls to her and, at the exact time, she gets hit by one on the opposite side of the gym. I turn my head to the suspect and I see Eva frantically mouthing "sorry" to her—great aim though.

I stand at the back, observing the people on my team. They do all the work by throwing and catching dodgeballs back to back. There are only a few of us left on each side, to a point, where I have to participate. I pick up a ball and "try" to throw it as hard as I can—the opposing team must catch it in order for me to get out —"unfortunately" they did.

"Oh no," I frown to put on an act. In reality, I'm glad to receive semi-participation marks and sit for the rest of the game. As I walk to the sidelines—looking forward to sit down—I unexpectedly get hit with a very, very powerful throw to my rib. I'm grateful it's not the face because it would've been more painful and humiliating.

The impact is so harsh, my body jerks to the side from the force. I look for the perpetrator, who decides to throw a dodgeball unnecessarily hard. My classmates' jaws are on the floor, eyes widen in surprise—I'm in shock too—and others are hinting to the small group.

Jae laughs with a few other boys—very immature. I scoff, walking to the benches. I take a seat in between Claire and Lisa. They worriedly look at me, asking if "I'm okay?" Or "do you need ice?". I only tell them "I'm fine" because it's a stupid excuse to get ice for a dodgeball hit.