Thieves in the Night

4. Surprise Surprise

I come from behind my protectors and raise my hand. The teacher on the right, who has yet to tell us their name, nods at me. "Okay, two questions. Who are you? And, is there any way to deflect the balls going through the hoop?"

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Mr. Chase. And yes. If there's a ball going towards your hoop, you may throw a ball at it to knock it away, but be cautious of where the ball is. If the balls are close to the hoop, you may risk getting the other class in anyways. Oh, and two more rules. One, you cannot have more than one ball at a time, and two, if I see anything that looks like bullying, I will suspend all parties involved," the new coach says.

Mr. Skyy is as silent as ever.

"Even the victim?" Victor chimes. The teacher nods. I can just imagine the evil grin on his face. If he bullies me, like he does, I'll get in trouble too.

"That's so not fair. How can you suspend someone for getting picked on?" I ask, enraged. Mr. Skyy stares at me with this empty and soulless stare. At first I think to challenge him, and stare back, but as soon as I make eye contact, I feel like he's gonna kill me and back down immediately. "Prick." I look down at the floor and clench my jaw.

"If there are no more questions, shall we begin?" Mr. Chase asks. No one dares say anything or raise a hand. "Alright, those of you in my class, to the left of the gym, and the other class, to the right." We segregate ourselves, and I just happen to be in Skyy's class. Luckily Xavier is with me, but still. If that idiot thinks I'll just follow his instructions, he's got another thing coming.

He was like this since my freshman year. Silent, cold, and just plain creepy. I was always lucky enough not to have him, but this year, I do. Lucky me..

"Have fun kids," Mr. Skyy says to us all. He goes over to the storage closet and gets out the cart of dodgeballs. He throws them about the gym to each side of the class and blows the whistle. Both classes scatter and dive for the balls. Everyone except me that is. I scurry to the back as quickly as possible.

It's not that I don't wanna support my team, I do, but I can support them better if I don't play at all. I'm terrible at sports and I'm sure even my teammates would aim for me with the ball too, since Tommy became a super jerk. A lone ball rolls towards my feet and I pick it up. Mr. Chase did say we could defend ourselves. I smile a little and I'll do just that. "People beware, there's sports equipment in my hands," I mumble.

I see Jack on the other side of the gym. Guess we really did have different teachers this year for gym. Normally he would protect me from the other kids. I guess I've grown used to their protection. My friends are nice for sticking up for me, but I gotta do it myself sometimes too. Jack looks in my direction and I can see him crack a smile and shake his head.

'How dare you laugh at me?!' I scream in my head. I hold the ball as tightly as I can and throw it right at his chest. As the ball hurls across the room, he's caught by surprise, as am I, as the ball actually hits his stomach. Not where I was aiming, but that'll work too. He looks at me, eyes wide. I stick out my tongue and he nods. I'm screwed next round.

Jack walks to the bleachers and sits down, glaring at me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead a million times over.

"Nice throw Woods," Xavier says, appearing next to me. When did he get here?! He smiles at me and I poke his arm. "You've actually got a good arm. You should try again."

"Uh-uh! I am absolutely terrible at sports. Basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, baseball. You name it, I can find a way to hit you on the head." He chuckles and I take that time to make sure no one is aiming at me. Glad I did. Victor stands off to the side, by the gym doors. Right in front of me. He takes a ball and lobs it straight at my face. "EEK!!"