Blaaahhhhh sorry for the late update guys. Hope you like it.
~Ever
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By the end of the day, news of my student/teacher showdown had evidently spread and a few of the dirty looks were transformed into appreciative smirks. Sure, most of the students, and, yes, staff glared at me profusely, but I was through with letting that bother me. Lunch and all the rest of my periods were spent in silence. I sat in the back of every classroom and in the cafeteria. I tried my hardest to stay inconspicuous, but that's difficult thing to do whenever classroom you walk into goes silent and twenty-odd pairs of eyes follow you to your seat, followed by whispers that you shouldn't hear but do.
I managed to get out of detention, thank goodness. I blamed my tardiness on my being new and promised it wouldn't happen again. Getting off with a warning I had sat in class thanking God that I wouldn't have to spend my afternoon with that jerk from the hallway. Sebastian. Even the thought of his name made my lip curl in distaste but it sent that voice in my head into a frenzy.
I had sweet freedom from the confinement of the classroom when my last period came along. Gym. I followed the map Kade had dropped off for me to the large gym behind the school. Let me tell you something, this gym was spectacular. It was probably bigger than the actual school. A full basketball court on one side and a full volleyball court on the other. There were windows in the wall that showed other rooms, a tennis court and a dance room that probably equaled the size of one of the main courts. Outside the other windows I saw a football stadium and next to that was a soccor field. I walked over and realized that there was still more!!! A small baseball field was situated right on the end of the large property.
I stood with my mouth hanging open while I circled around, taking in my surroundings with awe. How was this even possible?
"Quite simple, really." I jumped as I heard a voice over my shoulder and turned to find it. Standing before me was a tall, broad figure with wide shoulders and piercing green eyes, shaded my a mop of messy ginger coloured hair. He wore blue basketball shorts and a tight grey gym shirt that had "Niles High Athletics" written on the front in blue. If you only focused on the muscles that were clearly seen against his shirt, you'd have said this man was in his early twenties. However, take a look further up, you'd see a handsome man of about 41. Freckles spotted his cheeks and the bridge of his nose as he stared me down.
I cleared my throat, embarrassed that I had said that out loud. "It, uh, it seems like there's a little something here for everyone," I said as my eyes flicked unconsciously over to the window that showed the dance room on the other side. He grunted and nodded.
"The property that the school sits on is immense, allowing for the high school building, the gym, and all three fields. And the courtyard as well, of course." He gestured for me to follow him and I did. "I'm Coach Jefferson. I oversee all the sports, but of course, there are other coaches who specialize in each." I nodded as he led me to a door that had a sign on it that read "Coach Kennedy Jefferson." He opened the door for me and I walked in, looking around the room.
I immediately noticed huge amount of trophies and pictures and awards that adorned the walls. It seemed to me that athletics really did rule this school. I stood awkwardly by the door, shifting from foot to foot as he reached into a closet. "What size are you?" He stopped and looked at me. I scrunched up my nose, thinking.
"Um, I'm guessing a medium." I shrugged. It didn't really matter to me. I could handle baggy clothes if they were too big. He nodded and through me a pair of navy blue soffe shorts and a grey tank top. I caught them with ease. "Thanks." I looked them over and held them up against my body. "Yeah, these'll fit."
"Good, now, you see the locker rooms?" He pointed out the window to the other side of the gym where the locker rooms were.
"Yes, sir." I hiked my bag further up my shoulder, looking at them.
"Go get changed and be in the center of the gym in five minutes. That's when class begins." I smiled and waved.
"Thank you, Coach Jefferson," I said as I left, jogging around the volleyball court and rushing into the ladies locker room. Girls were in the changing in front of each other without a care in the world. Their flawless bodies complimenting each other's while making me nervous. I didn't have an ugly body or anything. I just wasn't too fond of the idea of strutting around and flaunting it in front of others.
The girls glared at me while I made my way to one of the bathroom stalls in the back. I quickly changed and exited the locker room. By the time I got out, everyone was already in the middle of the court. I blushed and looked down as I made my way to them, joining the end of the line.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Coach Jefferson began, "Today, we're going to be working on endurance." A collection of whoops and hollers were sounded throughout the room.
That's not something you see everyday. The voice in my head just chuckled at me.
Pay attention, she pushed. I pulled a face at her bossing me around.
Coach Jefferson silence the excitement with just one look before saying, "Twenty laps around the volleyball court, go." I stood for a moment, wondering if he was joking but quickly got to work when the other students started without a second thought. I shook my head as I jogged around the room, careful to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. I was passed up a few times by those who had run first, but soon I only had 4 more laps to go.
My legs were burning but it was tolerable. I noticed some students had turned read in the face and were huffing their breaths, while others had stopped and were panting while leaning against the walls. I bit my lip as I decided to just get the last few laps over with. I turn my light jog into a faster one, first. Then slowly turned it into a run before transitioning into a full on sprint.
My laps were done in no time and I went against the wall to wait for those were weren't done to finish. I paced back and forth leisurely, my arms up above my head, one hand clenched around my other wrist. I sighed as the coach blew his whistled. We all lined up again as he looked at us with disappointment.
"Come on guys!! You can do so much better than that!" A few of the other students looked down and shuffled nervously on their feet. My brows furrowed together. They had done much better than most students at my school, but then I remembered all the trophies in the coach's office. He must've really believed they could do better. "Jumping jacks, wall sits, crunches, then push ups. Thirty seconds each. On my whistle, change." I bit my lip as he laid out his punishment. "Up against the walls guys."
Everyone ran to find a place against the walls and stared with their jumping jacks when his whistle sounded. He stared at his watch and blew on his whistle whenever 30 seconds rolled around. Every time that whistle blew, we switched to the next exercise on the list. 30 minutes later, I was close to dying. When the final bell rung and released us from school I was in the middle of a push up. I let my body fall to the floor and regained my breathing. When my lungs no longer felt like I was drowning in my own sweat, I stood up and began walking to the locker rooms.
As I turned the corner I saw something I hadn't noticed before. I flyer was taped to the wall. "Dancers Needed! Report to the dance hall at 4:15 on Tuesday the 7th for tryouts! Good Luck Ladies and Gentlemen!" I ran to my purse and checked the date on my iPod. The 7th. The time? 4:14. I smiled as I dropped my bag back where I'd left it and jogged over to the dance hall.
I opened the door only to find that almost every girl who'd been in my gym class was here plus about 20 more girls and boys. Some were sitting on the fold up chairs against the far wall while others stood against the walls, nervously looking around and taping their feet to the beat of the Chris Brown song playing through the speakers. In the middle of the room stood about 30 girls and 6 boys who were all dressed in proper dancing workout clothes. They made a show of stretching, the girls showing how flexible they were while looking seductively at the boys in the room while the boys practice their break dancing skills while winking at the girls who waited to tryout.
"Alright, everyone," a voice rang in my ear. I sighed, recognizing it immediately. "All those who are trying out, line up against this wall." I turned away from Stephanie and followed the others. "We're gonna perform a new routine for you guys. We're only gonna do it once, so pay attention because afterwards, you're gonna do it." She smiled wickedly. I had a sneaking suspicion she didn't really want anyone knew, that's why she was being so tough on us. I shook my head at her cruel attitude and waited while her and the rest of the Pussycats found their positions.
She gestured to someone who stood in the corner with the sound system and they nodded, pressing a bottom. "Put Your Graffiti On Me" by Kat Graham come on and they started their dance. The dance lived up to the promiscuity of the dance team's name. There was a whole lot of booty shaking and chest thrusting. I rolled my eyes as I easily memorized the steps. The only one that should mildly stump the people trying out was when you had to get down and up from push up position in about a second. Maybe two. (A/N The video on the side is the dance!!)
The dance only lasted about 50 seconds and i crossed my arms as the girls and guys smirked at us, trying to intimidate us. Surprisingly, it worked on a few. More than a few actually. About half the girls and all of the guys scuttled out of the room looking like they were going to hurl. Did they really think the routine was that good? It looked like something a bunch of preteens would make up to try to look sexy and grown up. I smiled as I shook my head, remembering how some of my old dance partners had gone through that phase.
Sure the routine was good, but I didn't understand why so many people freaked out. I stiffened as I felt someone watching me and looked up, locking eyes with Stephanie. "Oh, Katalyna. What a... pleasant surprise." She laughed giddily and covered her mouth while looking over at her dance partners who laughed with her.
Damn they creep me out, Katalyna. I laughed at the voice's thoughts which mimicked my own.
"Yes, I suppose it is." I nodded as I stood up straight. She stared at me for a while before turning to the rest of the dancers.
"Are you all ready?" A few mumbles were given as people walked out to the middle of the floor and found spaces. I sighed as I waited for the signal to play. "Okay guys, we're gonna play this through and through. As soon as someone sees you make one mistake... get out of my dance room. We want only the best and only the best will make it all the way through flawlessly." I rolled my eyes.
"Excuse me, Stephanie, but exactly how long did it take your team to all have it down 'flawlessly?'" I said sarcastically. She shrugged.
"A few weeks, give or take." She smiled sweetly as she turned to the DJ. "Remember, we'll play it over and over if we have to." She leaned against the wall with the rest of the Pussycats and stared at me stone faced. "Hit it." The music came on and we danced our hearts out. Stephanie and a few other girls walked onto the floor and pushed people whenever they made the tiniest of mistakes. A few of the girls walked out crying, which made me see red. I didn't even want the position anymore. But I was determined to stick this out for those who were so ruthlessly being shamed.
Cycle after cycle that the DJ played the song, I did it right. No slip ups, no mistakes. They dancers were thinning out, all buckling under the pressure and falling there or misstepping here. After the DJ had played the song about 50 times, I was the only one left. There was still about twenty seconds left in the dance and Stephanie stood right in front of me while the other dancers formed a circle around me.
They watched, silent. Stephanie glared at me with fire in her eyes as I finished the cycle. "Three more times," she said icily. The DJ gave me a sorrowful look, seeing how tired I was getting. I took a deep breath and did it again.
And again.
And again.
Never once did I take my eyes off of hers; I challenged her with all I had. With the last flip of my hair I glared at her. "Is that good enough for you, Miss. Priss?" I asked bitterly. She smirked.
"I don't appreciate your attitude. Get out of my dance room." I scoffed and pushed my way through the crowd of dancers and made my way out of the room. When I entered the gym I froze. Every one of the other dancers who had left or gotten kicked out was standing there, all trying to peek through the window, I suppose. They stared at me for what seemed like an eternity. A clapping sound sliced through the silence, followed by another, then another until the whole lot of them had erupted into applause and cheers.
I blushed and smiled as I walked through them, getting pats on the backs and high fives throughout my victory walk. I tried to contain my smile as I made my way to the locker room and slipped my tank top off. I turned on one of the showers and stuck my head under the flow of water. I could take a real shower at home when I had my shea butter and oatmeal soap and my vanilla shampoo. I smiled at the thought.
I grabbed one of the towels from the closet labeled "Clean Towels" and dried my hair before slipped my cropped top back on. After tossing the towel in the hamper I grabbed my belongings and made my way outside.
"You were amazing in there." I shrieked and jumped around. The voice belonged to Sebastian, though I should've known that from the shouts of lust and excitement from the voice in my head.
"Um, thank you." I nodded and turned around spotting Kade's car. He had told me earlier that he and Bennie had after school tutoring sessions with the freshman and would be at the school until five. I grinned as I made my over to it.
A strong hand grabbed my arm and sparks danced across my skin as I gasped and jerked my arm away. "Yes?" I said, flustered. I pulled my arm to my side and rubbed it, trying to scrape away the feel he left when he touched me. His brows furrowed as he stared at my arm, a small frown on his face. His eyes registered my bare stomach and I gulped from the looked that crossed his features. I quickly corrected myself, that couldn't have been a looked of desire. You're letting your imagination get the best of you, Katalyna, I scolded myself.
I cleared my throat and waved my fingers upwards in his line of vision, making his attention focus on my face again. He widened his eyes and what looked like a small blush crossed his cheek bones but was gone before I could make sure. "Do you need a lift?" He bit his lip. I shook my head.
"No, thank you. My friend Kade is going to give me a ride to the house." Something flashed in his eyes and he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Kade's voice.
"Katalyna!" I turned and smiled at the boy running up to me. He took a hold of my elbow and smiled at me then at Sebastian, who just rudely glared at him in return. I rolled my eyes at Sebastian and turned to Kade.
"Where's Bennie?" I tilted my head to the side looking around for her. My brows furrowed and my nose scrunched up a bit, my normal thinking face.
He chuckled and flicked my nose. Then he laughed as I playfully glared at him. "Her mom picked her up a little before 5." I nodded and turned to Sebastian.
"See you later." He didn't respond as I made my way with Kade to his car, his arm and moved from my elbow to the small of my back as he led me. That little annoying voice in my head whined and cursed at me for not accepting Sebastian's ride offer and cursed at Kade for being alive. I ignored her and made it a point to enjoy my ride home with Kade. Beside's Mrs. Leman's class today, I had a feeling this was the only thing I would enjoy.
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AHHHH!!!! I actually liked this chapter! What about you? Did you like the video? Eh? If you didn't see the Author's Note, it's on the side:)