Life is Liz (LiL, #1)

Chapter 18: Speeches

"Maybe? It's most probably expulsion. You know the coach and his theory of unsportsmanlike behavior," Jeremy reminded him. 

I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. "What theory?"

"Hm.. how do I explain this?" He wondered aloud. "It's like if you can't behave in school you can't behave on the field." 

"And why's Ryan alone in there?" 

"Well, he's team captain and he has behaved unsportsmanlike a couple of times before." I bit my lip.

 Shit! 

Guilt crawled up my spine and wrapped around my throat, making it hard to breathe. The door opened and I looked up, expecting Ryan to come strolling out, but instead I was greeted with the sight of Heather, the principles secretary. My shoulders fell in disappointment before tensing with guilt. This was all my fault. Why couldn't I've just asked one of my friends to come pick me up this morning?! 

I was able to catch a glimpse of Ryan, sitting in a chair in front of the principles desk. Coach Edwards, standing near the principle, shot him a frustrated look. 

I have no idea why or how I managed to do what I did next, but my movements were driven by guilt. I slipped into his office, the secretary shouting a "Hey, you can't go in there!" after me. 

Puzzled by the commotion, all three males stared at me. 

"Liz?" Ryan jumped to his feet. "What are you doing here?" 

"Yeah, that's a question we'd all like to know," principle Davis said. 

I took a deep breath before answering, my heart thumping, thumping, thumping in my chest. "It's my fault that they are all here," I admitted, my voice unsteady. 

The coach let out a laugh. "Oh, so you beat them all up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly. 

Instead of answering I asked him, a hint of hope lacing my voice, "You wouldn't believe me if I said yes, would you?"

The coach looked amused. 

"No," Davis said firmly. Well it was worth a try. 

"Liz, why are you here? Everyone knows who started the fight," Ryan told me. 

I ran a hand through my hair. Well, I should have thought this through first. I was annoyed with myself. "What do you think? It's my fault that all of you are in trouble."

"What's your full name, Miss," Davis trailed off. 

"Graham, sir. Elizabeth Graham." The fear was growing in my stomach as the principle marched to a drawer in the far corner of the room. After rummaging around for a moment he comes back with a file. 

My file!

I gulped. 

"Miss Graham," he trailed off, looking inside with a frown. Silence engulfed us. I fidgeted. I got more nervous though when he did look up. "You, practically, have a blank file. No detention or other significant behavior. You haven't been late once and you have pretty decent marks."

"If you are such a good student then could you explain to us what is going on?" Coach Edwards demanded. 

I looked at Ryan, stunned. "You didn't tell them?" His eyes pierced through mine as he shook his head, no. And a fuzzy, warm feeling overtook the guilt that had crept inside when I had seen his split lip and bruised jaw, settled into my chest and exploded in my heart. A soft smile attacked my lips. 

And in that moment I realized that Ryan truly knew me. Unbelievable. It only took him four days that we've spent together to figure me out. And that both delighted me and terrified me at the same time.