Tweetie

28

Yet Fox didn't care as he shrugged and watched Oscar move into the middle of the room before sprawling like a star on the ground. Fox was about to speak up, turning to Hazel with parted lips, but, he didn't quite manage to as a door at the side of the room opened and one of the younger teachers in the school walked into the hall, outfitted in a gym kit with an added whistle.

"Oh, Fox," the man, presumably the gym teacher stopped, "perfect. I needed to talk to you."

Fox turned, giving the man his attention.

"The baseball team have been doing great, so good job with that. But, I need you to tell the boys that practice times have been updated for the upcoming game. Could you do that for me before Friday?"

"Yeah, sure," Fox agreed as the man glanced past him and tilted his head to Oscar on the ground. Yet, he didn't mention anything and instead, looked towards Hazel who also earned a tilted head. But, he seemed to part his lips in sudden realisation.

"Are you Robin Hemms?"

"Uh... yeah."

"Oh great," he smiled, happy with how convenient his day had become as she approached and stood beside Fox. "I was hoping to catch you before the lesson started. I just wanted to let you know that for you, gym is optional."

Both Oscar and Fox turned to her, struck by the surprise of hearing that somebody actually got to take gym as an optional lesson. It was unheard of.

"It is?" Hazel tilted her head.

"Yeah," he nodded, "We should have told you at the start of the week. But, we can't really expect you to do it with your medical history. Still, if you think you can, you should."

She nodded, her day made far better now she knew this.

With that out of the way, time passed and it didn't take long for gym to begin.

Hazel sat on the ground, her eyes moved back and forth, watching as various balls flew across the room and she realised just how scared she was of this game.

Dodge ball; a game created to build fear in the hearts and minds of young people. Really, how could anybody blame video games for making kids violent when school was forcing students to play this horror movie of a game?

Her eyes followed Oscar and Fox, both on the same team as they avoided every ball thrown at them. People squealed, shrieked and giggled to their friends, hiding behind one another while others stood in front, their eyes set entirely on winning. Hazel watched the stronger girls in admiration, wondering just how long it took to build up the confidence they had. Obviously, having confidence in the sport didn't matter much to Hazel who made the choice to sit out. She didn't hate herself enough to make herself play dodge ball.

"Hi, Tweetie!" Oscar yelled out for the third time in a single match as he passed her, running to grab a ball from the side. She smiled, happy to see him as energetic as ever and watched as he swiftly turned and threw the ball towards Fox, letting him take the shot at one of the members of the opposing team.

She lost herself for a brief moment, zoning out as she followed the game along, wondering just what the purpose of it was. Was it to teach kids to be swift? To teach them how to aim? To teach them to fear balls? Why create an aggressive game for that when there are other sports that do just the same?

"Ryan, want to explain why you're late?"

"Because I don't want to be here."

"...Well-"