Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other

(5) Message received loud and clear.

Andy felt something different in the air that morning as if the impending rainfall was bringing with it relief from the tenseness around the school. He had parked his car in the usual spot, far away from the school. He liked to be detached from that world of stares and falseness. But he had the eerie feeling like someone was watching him. after he locked up his car he felt very on edge, shrugging the feeling off him, he glanced over his shoulder. Nothing and nobody stared back, Andy reprimanded himself mentally for being so unbelievably ridiculous. If someone was watching him, it would just be someone who was impatient for the entertainment that prank week brought. He understood why people would enjoy prank week, he just desperately wished he did not have to be a part of it. That stupid chain trich by the other team had meant that his whole team had to pay for a new fence, and paint all the gates, fences in the school. That had been awful, some boys had almost lost their scholarship match opportunities.

But, he was aware that someone was going to approach his to say "We need to meet". Every year it was the same four words. Four words that began the so-called 'fun'. stupid traditions. He still had the fear of the meeting buzzing around his head, why did Beaumont have to be the one to meet, if he had just sent Ben, then Andy would not have to meet any of them at all. It was a royal and unwanted pain in the ass. First period was not entirely uneventful, he had had some members of his team come up to him to ask why he did not show for their meeting yesterday. Of course, Andy lied through his teeth, and of course they believed him. Imagine if his team was to find out that he, their captain was feeling anxious and a little afraid of the meeting. Andy was not a hugely social person and did not really like having to talk with new people. This was no different.

Being captain was something Andy felt like he deserved, he was a pretty good one if he did say so himself. He did not like having to discuss things with other captains, but then, he sometimes did not like having to discuss thing with his own team too. He could hold his confidence and pride in conversations with other hockey captains. But he was very worried he would stutter or let his confident facade drop when he was talking to Rye Beaumont. How humiliating that would be.

After sitting through a very uneventful and droll first period, maths. Need to say anything else? Andy walked towards his second period, other than hockey, chemistry was his favorite thing. He had been looking forward to this lesson since he completed his write-up on how the ides of atomic form had changed over time. If people decided to ruin this lesson for him, he would not be happy. As he walked to the science block he was met by many smug, cheeky or observatory faces. They made him feel very uncomfortable, the stares did not stop as he continued to walk into science. It was safe to say that Andy was unnerved. What if his lies had caught up to him, people knew about his previous foster parents. Hundreds of possibilities rushed through his head, none of which had a very good-looking outcome.

Andy made it to his chemistry class feeling like he had just survived a trauma, as not long after the stares, people had begun to whisper. It was all getting to him, it was stressing him out so much. Andy felt his chest clench, the fear was driving him insane, the not knowing. He began to struggle to breathe, a non-existent hand closing slowly around his airway, constricting his breath. To put it simply, he was having an asthma attack. Jack, who was aware of Andy's asthma grabbed his inhaler out of the front pocket of his backpack and gave it to him. While very aware that he was struggling to breathe, Andy was grateful that nobody else was there to see him. He had had asthma for as long as he could remember, but he was only diagnosed and given an inhaler when he moved in with Mike and Sue. These attacks used to be more frequent, especially in the first year after... them.

"Andy, you want to go home dude, that was one of the worst you have had in a while, you okay?" Jack muttered, concerned. Just as Andy had only told Sam about him being in foster care, he had only told Jack about his attacks caused by fear. He really made sure nobody knew the whole picture.

"Yeah, I think I need to. I have no idea what is up with me today." Andy mumbled, honestly. He helped him get steady on his feet and found the teacher to sign a clearance form. Andy just stood, leaning against the desk. He had to get a grip of himself. Maybe going home would give him time to think. Jack walked up in front of him and stood next to him for support if he needed it. Jack understood that Andy would not accept help, but he would offer it and be there in case he fell.

"I'll drive you back to yours" Jack suggested, the boys on the team knew he did not live in the rich area of town, that, he did not care about. A few of the boys lived near to Andy, Jack being one of them. That was a key difference between the two teams, money and background was not a problem on the hockey team. They were a jumble of people who were friends purely for the love of the game. It was why he did not mind getting a life home, hell, he was way too shaky to be behind a wheel.

Andy managed to support himself on the railings as they walked through the school, but as soon as they had left the gates he leaned onto Jack for support. His pride and image did not matter outside of the gates. As they slowly made their way over to Isaac's car, Isaac noticed a small, white envelope under the wiper.

It read the four words he had dreaded, "We need to meet".

clumsily and shakily he opened the envelope and read the message aloud to Jack.

"Meet in between the hockey and the football pitch at 5pm today" Andy read as they sank into the seats of his ford.

"Mate, you do not have to go. You're not looking all that well, and you know it ususally takes a day for that after-attack pallor to go" Jack started.

"NO, no I have to meet him. Just, I need to go home and lie down for a bit first"

Andy knew that if he did not go, he would look cowardly. It would also reflect very poorly on his team. He would just have to hope some colour returned to his skin by 5pm. Damn that Rye.

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Ahhh here we go