CHAPTER THREE: Gym Issues
I hate the second period in the morning. You wanna know why I hate second period in the morning? I have damn gym! Thank the lord that Kassie isn't in this class with me to witness my humiliation. I would crawl into a hole and die.
"Today, we are going outside to play ultimate frisbee" Says Mr. Drake. I hear a couple wahoos and high fives behind me.
Playing with a frisbee is not my thing. I mean no sport is my thing, just especially not frisbee. The whole class ends up outside and the weather's sunny, but cool with the wind blowing.
"Dark shirts vs. light shirts." Says Mr. Drake.
"Come on, no shirts vs. skins? I wanted to tan," jokingly says Brandon.
"Of course not," says Ben,"we have to remember a few of us have some kind of alien disease on our body." Clearly an insult thrown Gabe's way.
I walk over to the darks and join them where Gabe is a member of the lights. He gives me a look saying "kill me now".
The game starts off as any game does in our gym class. I try to avoid any contact with the game or people but try to run to make it look like I'm actually doing something.
"Peter Weiner, think fast." But I don't think fast, at least my reflexes do not. My arms try to catch the disk in between them, but instead making me look like I'm doing some weird seal flapping with my arms and the disk slips right through into my face and connecting with my nose.
There are a few "Oooo's" coming from people around me. Some of the students gather around to stare at my humiliation and the blood covering my hands, face and shirt. Oh man, why me?
"Anybody have a tissue on them?" Asks Mr. Drake. A girl from behind pulls one out from her bra then hands it to me.
"Thanks, I guess." Awkwardly taking it and holding it to my nose. Mr. Drake pats me on the back as if showing his pity for me and tells me to head to the nurse.
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I head towards the nurses office with my blood-soaked tissue and am greeted by the smell of toothpaste and rubbing alcohol. I am not particularly fond of the nurse's office but am usually here a lot and know the nurse pretty well.
No one's here though when I walk in. I hear the pat of footsteps in the small medical room over and head that way. The nurse is probably working in there.
"Hi Ms. Grey, could you help me out with this nose bleed-" I stop abruptly not the nurse but someone else is in the medical room. Kassie is standing there searching for something and sees me.
"Oh, hey Peter." she says, "I was in here looking for Ms. Grey but couldn't find her so I went to search for bandages," she holds up her arm with a bad scrape down the side of it.
"Are you okay?" I ask instantly with concern.
"Yeah, but maybe I should be asking you that?" Kassie replies nodding to the bloody tissue being held up to my nose. She then closes the cabinet to open the next one.
"Ahh...I'm fine," I say casually as if I'm not standing here with a bad nose bleed.
"Sure you are." She smiles then takes out something from the cabinet, "Sit down over there." she points to a cushioned chair. I do what she said and Kassie comes over here with a towel then hands it to me and I put it under my nose.
"Lean forward with your head down for a couple of minutes and it should stop unless you broke it."
"Nah it's not broken." I then lean forward and ask, "How do you know what to do?"
"My little brother gets nose bleeds quite often." She goes back over to look for a bandage. Is she now going to think of me as her little brother? God I hope not. Then I would have no chance with Kassie. Not that I have one now.
I can't help but stare at her body from the back. Every move she makes is so graceful. Peter, don't be a perv.
After a couple of minutes, it finally stops and I can sit upright again. Kassie found the bandages a few minutes ago and is now trying to put it on herself.
"Do you want me to help you with that?" I ask unsure. She looks up and I can't tell what she's thinking. Of course, she probably does not want you to help. She doesn't want to catch the nerd virus.
"Would you please? I can't seem to wrap it by myself." She comes over and sits down beside me. I feel delight boil up inside of me from just a small thing. Her blonde hair swing towards my arm and rubs against it. I try to ignore the sensation it leaves behind. I take her tanned arm in both my hands and start to wrap the bandage around it. The scrap is pretty bad, but not bad enough for stitches.
"So...what happened?" I ask Kassie while finishing up.
"Some freshman clipped me in the hallway with their binder on accident. The binding on the side had a sharp edge and I connected with it. Pretty sure it was a ninth-grader." Kassie acts like it's no big deal.
"Freshman," I say shaking my head.
"I know, right?" she gives a small laugh and the sound fills the room. I just realized I got her to laugh. It rings out like golden bells and I can't help but smile like a baboon. She stares down at the bandage for a moment then says, "What about you?"
Oh boy.
Should I lie and make up some more manly story about lifting weights?
Oh yeah, like she can totally see me in the weight room with all the other buff dudes. I'd be standing there with my noodle arms trying to push up some twenty pounds.
"Hockey," I say without thinking.
"Hockey?" She replies unsure.
"Uhh. yeah."
"Are you sure? I could have sworn Mr. Drake said we weren't doing hockey til spring."
"Early start I guess. I was just really into the game and I was about to score the first goal when someone elbowed me in the face," I use my hands to explain the scenario dramatically.
She laughs, "Of course you were." I smile back because she knows that I'm totally bull shitting, but she's not mad and finds it humorous. "You could tell me Peter. I promise not to laugh."
"You really want to know?"
"Yeah, I do."
"It's embarrassing."
"I don't care."
"The dangerously evil game of ultimate frisbee."
Her pearly whites appear behind her full lips and she smiles wholeheartedly. "I see what you mean," she says, "that game can get quite out of hand sometimes."
I don't want this to stop. I've never had a conversation with Kassie that's just been me and her. It's nice and easier because I don't have to wonder what anybody else would think. I just wish I could be like this around others as well and not that awkward person no one talks to.
Kassie pushes her hair behind her ears and tells me that I've done a great job with the bandage.
"It was nothing. You scratched my back and I scratched yours."
"Maybe you should become a doctor instead."
"I actually have no idea what I want to become when it comes down to it," I say honestly. "I know I said maybe for forensics, but it's a bit fuzzy yet."
"I know what you mean," She agrees, "I know I want to go to Princeton but I'm not sure what for. I feel like there's a million possibilities out there, but none screaming my name." She plays with her fingers. I have never seen Kassie vulnerable before. It's a different side that makes me realize she's just as human as I am.
Everyone has their own hurdles in life, it's just what they are and how you handle them that sets them apart.
"Well, I have to go back to class now. Will you be okay?" she asks me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I should probably head back to the gym too. They're probably missing their star player anyway," I joke.
"I bet they are. I really enjoyed talking to you. We should do this more often. Bye Peter." Kassie smiles then heads out of the room.
"Bye Kassie," I said back. I sit here for a few minutes taking in the conversation. The nurse comes back in not long after apologizing for being absent and explaining that she was busy with the main office.
I think I have finally gotten onto Kassie Grand's radar.