It was challenging. Griffin found it difficult to comprehend what Juju and Destiny had conveyed to him. What could they have been implying? It was almost the end of the fifth period of the day. Griffin and Harper were in a team-building class, whereas Juju was partaking in a band class on the other side of the school (thankfully). In team building, everyone was scattered throughout the room. The group had been separated into multiple sections which were providing information with regards to an assignment they worked on together. Griffin, Harper, and some other acquaintances were situated in a circle closer to the back of the room with their laptops close by.
"Ok, Who wants to go first," A classmate named Isriel asked
"Um... I nominate Harper" Griffin said, holding his laptop close to his chest
"Yeah, go, Harps," Avalynn said, gesturing to Harper
"Um...ok?" Harper said, opening up her laptop, knowing she didn't write anything
"..."
Just then the bell rang. 5th period was over
"Oh, Thank god," Harper said, relieved, as she and her group stood up
They all chuckled
Griffin and Harper, along with the rest of the class, collected their belongings and departed. 6th period was on their agenda. The duo walked down the hall hand in hand, eliciting waves and smiles from the other students. Unfortunately, not all felt joy in the 6th period for some had to take Athletics; a less desirable activity that requires physical exertion. Juliette Caspian's presence made matters worse for Griffin and Harper wishing they could drop out of the class. Eventually, they arrived at the gymnasium in preparation for 6th period.
"Milady," Griffin said, letting go of Harper's hand, and opening the gym door, only for his girlfriend to walk through
Harper smiled and was about to walk through the door when Juju pushed her out of the way
"Aww, thanks Griffey," said Juju, ambling through.
Griffin repulsed at the nickname
Before walking through the door, Harper rolled her eyes. Griffin followed.
----------------------------------------------------
The boys and the girls were now separated. They changed into the (ugly) athletics uniforms in their respective locker rooms, with loud noises emanating from each one. The boy's locker room had a distinct smell of sweat and cologne, while the girl's locker room smelt of deodorant and perfume. After changing, they all left the locker rooms and returned to the gym where they took their assigned seats. Griffin noticed Harper hadn't come out yet; he was seated very close to her due to their last names being near each other on the roll call list—which also meant he was next to Juju. Ugh.
"Hey, um who sits here?" Coach Waylon asked as he saw an empty spot, somewhat in the middle of the room
"That's Harper," Cole said simply
"She hasn't come back yet?" Coach Waylon wondered
"I guess not"
"Um...ok"
Coach Waylon's eyes marveled around the gym full of kids, he stopped on a familiar someone
"Juju!" Coach said
"Can you go see what's taking Harper so long?"
Juju normally would have said no, but she thought it was the perfect opportunity to set Harper straight. She stood up and walked out of the room, much to Griffin's displeasure; he didn't trust Juju around his girlfriend. When Juju entered the girl's locker room, she saw Harper taking her time brushing her hair -- a task she loathed due to Athletics. She stayed in plain sight as Harper reverted to her athletics locker, putting away the brush and making adjustments in its tiny mirror. Harper stepped back with surprise when she noticed Juju standing there.
"Juju!" Harper said, awkwardly
"What are you doing here," Harper said, raising an eyebrow
"Harper, I demand my boyfriend back," Juju said, in a serious tone
Harper had a confused look on her face
"I have a proclamation" Juju started
"A proclama-"
"I'll stop terrorizing Griffin. Only if you do me one favor"
Harper made a confused face
"Leave, and never come back," Juju said sternly
"Why?" Harper asked, kinda freaked out
"Because he was mine, before you" Juju spoke, getting closer to Harper
"Griffin never even liked you" Harper stated
Juju became agitated and took hold of Harper's wrist, applying pressure that resulted in a bruise.
JUJU, STOP,!" Harper said, trying to release her hand from JuJu's grip
"You know you have a lot of nerve to say that," Juju said, squeezing tighter
Harper winced
Juju firmly stated, "He's mine, Harper," before releasing her wrist. The impact caused Harper to collide with the lockers.
"You have a week" Juju declared as Harper held her wrist, biting her lip, trying not to cry
"And if you're still with him-," Juju remarked, placing her hand on the door of Harper's locker
Juju declared sternly, "It will be the last thing you ever do," as she shut the locker door, striking Harper in the face, partially at her nose.
Harper screamed as the door collided with her, causing her hand to fly up to her nose. She withdrew it, though, only to find it covered in blood. Juju snickered before leaving Harper in the locker room, alone with a bloody scene. When Juju returned to the gymnasium, it was evident that she had been away for an extended period of time. Everyone had shifted their activities and were now doing exercises around the area. She went over to Coach Waylon and reported her "activities."
"She's coming. She just was going to the bathroom" Juju said, trying to sound as honest as possible
"Oh, ok?" Coach Waylon said, a little suspiciously over Juju
"Wait... What's on your shirt" Coach Waylon said, pointing to the unfamiliar liquid on it
Juju looked down at her shirt, only to see spots of redness on it. She knew exactly where they were from.
"Um... I had a slushie?" Juju said, trying to cover up for her actions
"Mhm," Coach Waylon said, nodding slowly
Juju chuckled before walking over to an exercise station. She obviously found and went to the one Griffin was at, along with her friend Destiny.
"Hey," Juju said, to both Destiny and Griffin
"Where's Harper?" Griffin asked in a panic
"Relax, she is just going to the bathroom"
"For like 25 minutes?" Griffin questioned
"Yeah?" Juju said, unwisely
"There's no way," Griffin said, as he walked away from the station. Without even bothering to tell anyone, he walked out the gym doors, heading to the locker rooms
"Did you do something to Harper?" Destiny asked her friend, knowing how she thinks
"Let's just say I set her straight," Juju said, with a smug smile
Destiny rolled her eyes
---------------------------------------------
Griffin speed-walked to the girl's locker room. He hesitated for a moment, before opening the door.
"Harper?" Griffin said as he walked in
Griffin promptly witnessed Harper clasping her nostrils, as she wept tears of sorrow. Harper's hands were stained with blood and her shirt was drenched.
"Babe!" Griffin said, wasting no time in coming over to her
"What happened?" Griffin asked, deciding where to place his hands to help his girlfriend.
"My nose" Harper mumbled out through sobs
Griffin swiftly substituted his hands for Harper's, firmly compressing the top of her nose in an attempt to halt the bleeding. Upon freeing her hands, Harper promptly clutched her wrist and
Griffin took note.
"Griffin asked concernedly, 'What's wrong with your wrist?' Harper merely shook her head as tears streamed down her face.
He tenderly placed his hand over hers and asked, 'Can you please move your hand?' She shook her head rapidly in response and Griffin begged, "Please, Baby?"
Her sobs only grew louder. He said reassuringly, "I'm only gonna take a peek at it, Lovey."
Weakly, Harper replied, "No". Despite this opposition, Griffin moved her hand away to reveal a large bruise on her wrist.
"Oh my god," Griffin said, as he gently held her wrist
"It... h..hurts...so...bad" Harper whispered
"Griffin stated, "We need to take you to the nurse," as he adjusted their position. His left hand still gripping Harper's nose, the two of them walked out of the locker room and into the gym. The moment they stepped into the gymnasium, all eyes were on them with people inquiring
about what had happened?
"Can I take her to the nurse?" Griffin asked in a hurry, ignoring all the comments from the other kids
"Yes, Yes go!" Coach Waylon said rapidly as she saw all the blood, and wounds.
Griffin and Harper walked out of the gym, to the nurse
"It's gonna be ok, My queen," Griffin said as they walked. Harper still sobbing a little
-----------------------
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE BACK TO YOUR SEATS" Coach Waylon yelled, before blowing his whistle
The whole Athletics class was trying to process what they just saw. It was traumatizing
"Now I know you didn't do that," Destiny said to Juju, as everyone went to their role call spots
Juju just chuckled, before walking over to her role-call spot.
Destiny sighed
It was a short while of everyone sitting at their role call spots, just waiting and watching. Many replay the moment in their brains.
Just then one of the office aids walked in
"Hi?" The office aid said, walking over to Coach Waylon
"Hey," Coach Waylon said
"Was Harper Dunn here?"
"Yeah" Coach Waylon answered
"Ok, can we get her stuff?" The office aid asked
"Yeah," Coach Waylon said, guiding the office aid, toward her backpack
"Is she ok?" Coach Waylon asked as the office aid grabbed Harper's backpack and water bottle
"I mean... no"
"Her wrist is really bruised, and her nose is gushing bleeding. Like it won't stop," The office aid said
Juju smirked