© 2011 by LouisTomlinsonsgal All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of me.
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What's something that can lighten the soul, but can also darken it? Laughter.
She laughed at a clutched my nose and cried in pain. The pain felt like a thousand knives dung into the wound on my nose. I stood there as no one dared to help me. I felt alone in the one second. Alone in the world with no one by my side. I felt as if it was a one man army and I was that one man...
Why I ever bothered to show up at volleyball practice that night I will never know. But I know now that, that one event caused a chain reaction from which can't be undone. I walked into the gym and changed my shoes and put on my knee pads. I picked up a volleyball and threw it at the wall and bumped it back.
My mom's words rang in my head as I had left the car, "Now don't let Lucy, go and hit you!". She laughed but all I could do was smile.
"Grace!" I spun around to see Cindy jog over to me with a huge grin covering her face. Her eyes were lit with a rare light that never shown. "Guess who aced their science test?!"
"Umm, Carol?" I said mockingly. Cindy glared at me because she studied all week for this one test which I found crazy, but that was Cindy.
"It's my doofus!!! Geez!" Cindy grabbed the ball in midair and threw it high in the air which I set it back to her. We went on like this for a good 10 minutes when our coach finally decided to show up. Mr. Jones (our coach) was 20 minutes late as usual with his two-face daughter, Carol. She wasn't the prettiest or the skinniest person on the team but she had an attitude.
Carol believed she was better then everyone in the grade and was best friends with Lucy. (Go figure) My phone went off on the bleachers, so I sprinted over there to see a text from Samantha reading:
Hey Grace, cant make it to vball practice tonite! :( please let mr. j know! thanks girly!
I placed my phone down on the bleachers, kind of upset I was going to have to lone it without Sam. Sure there was Cindy, and Karen was on the A team and was only across the gym but I really needed Samantha to crack jokes with. This is going to be a boring practice.
"Ok everyone, circle up!" Called Mr. Jones as I popped a Halls in my mouth. "What are you eating, Grace?!"
"A Halls" I replied back.
"Are we getting sick now?"
"Um, yea kinda." I said back not really caring what he thought. Okay, I might seem a little rude to him, but there is no pleasing my coach. I always try to be respectful to adults, then there is Mr. Jones. He is always nagging me for nothing and it gets rather annoying.
Practice went on, without Samantha by my side. I still stayed away from Lucy, until we had to partner up to hit back and forth. And guess who Lucy picked to hit back and forth. Me. I was a little, no very reluctant to hit with her, but I didn't want to be rude.
"Okay, so this is going to be a competition! You get three tries and whoever volleys it the most gets to take a break!" Now, everyone on the team wanted this, so we all took on the challenge.
Lucy and I messed up twice, so on the final try, there was a lot of pressure. The ball came swiftly at me, and my arms hit the ball on a odd angle and the ball went shooting in the wrong direction. Now if this had been Samantha, we would have laughed and laughed. But this was Lucy.
She sprinted off and sped back with the ball in hand. Lucy held the ball firmly in her hand and in an instant was smashed against my face. Those few seconds in between were the last of a calm world. A world I only knew, until I vanished from that world and entered a new one I was only told never to enter.
Do I miss my old self? Yes, I miss my inocent self. I person, that I wished I could forever be. But, my plans changed and now... well I am a different person.
I was in shock for a good few seconds as the pain ringed on my nose and ears. Everyone stood motionless all having seen what happened. I was in a different place at that moment, I felt frozen in time because that moment seemed to last forever. Within that time, I snapped back and tears cruised down my cheeks.
I turned back to Mr. Jones who acted as if he hadn't seen anything. I looked at him, with teary eyes and he just glared at me and said roughly, "What's wrong with you?"
""Mr. Jones, can I go to the bathroom?"
"Why do you need to go to the bathroom." Was the response I received back from him.
"Bbb-because I got hittt" I stuttered back. I was gulping for air from all the tears I was producing but it was no use. My whole body was in shock and I could barely move. That blow would be harmless if I hadn't had my moles removed, but now it ached with an undying pain.
I ran out of the gym without an answer, and before the door closed I coul hear Carol saying, "It didn't even hit her nose!" I didn't care to fight back because I didn't have the strength. I pushed open the swinging door to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. No blood was oozing out, Thank God! But, it still was tender.
Tears continued out of my eyes and my face was a burning red. I was in the bathroom, for a good ten minutes trying to calm myself down, but I just cried more. The door swung open and Cindy appeared. The light from her eyes was gone, and darkness had taken over.
"Mr. Jones wants you to come back to practice." She said ashamed of her news.
I looked up at her with disgust and had no words. Why would he think I would return to practice!? I never planned on this.
"No! I'm going home!" I said, rubbing my eyes with a wet paper towel.
"Well, if you feel you need to..."
"I do!"
I left Cindy in the bathroom and stormed through the gym.
"Mr. Jones, I'm going home." I said running over to my phone.
"Bye Grace!" A chorus of voices said in reply including Lucy and Carol. I shook my head of them, but the thoughts clung on. At that moment, Lucy's mom, Mrs. James came in. I don't know why, but she did. She saw me and flew to my aid, or so I thought.
"Grace, honey. What happened?" She asked in a cooing voice.
"I, I got hit with the ball." I said back, not wanting to talk to the mom of Lucy.
"O sweetie, your nose is turning purple." I stopped packing my things and looked back at her.
"What?!" I held my hand to my hand to my nose.
"O baby you don't look to good." Mrs. James said as she reached for my phone.
"I have to go." I said back grabbing my phone.
"No let me take you home."
"No! I want my mom to pick me up." I said back, furious of the 'truth'.
"No, let me..."
I didn't let her finish, "NO, my mom is gonna..I'm gonna call my mom to pick me up!"
I ran out of the gym, hand still on my nose and dialed my mom's number.
"Mom?"
"Grace?"
"I got hit with a ball in the nose, can you please pick me up?" I asked between sobs.
"I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" The phone went dead and I was left alone outsider the gym. People were coming for their own practice so I hid behind cars ashamed of being an 8th grader and crying.
....
A car came screeching up the parking lot and my mom jumped out.
"Please mom, No!" I said helplessly running to her but she just flung me away.
"I am F***ing sick of this girl! All she ever does i make you life a living hell! I'm done!"
Mom had a few words with Lucy's mom and we left.
"Is my nose purple?" I said with my head down.
"No, why would you think that?" My mom said back.
"Because Mrs. James said it was."
"Well, don't you EVER listen to that B****again! You hear me!?"
"Yes mom..." I said back, mad at myself for causing all this trouble.
A few moments passes and my mom's scream was changed to a more soothing tone.
"Grace, you know I never talk of adults that way. But that woman, still acts like we are in high school or something. She should act more like an adult and not belive everything her daughter tells her."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because she thinks you are bullying Lucy. Because Mrs. James said Lucy is always bullied by YOU."
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I would put up the conversation, but there is kids on this website... I wish it never turned out this way...