Chapter Eighteen B – A Shaky Hand
Jenny.
“I feel like sport is a waste of a subject,” Jenny complained, dragging the poles out from the shed.
“Who doesn’t?” Cathy agreed. “You and Hunter are hauling the equipment down right? I’ll just get ahead before you know, Lawiener decides to make me help,” she grinned. Cathy caught up to the others, her ponytail sashaying as she jogged.
“You wanna take the front, or should I?” Hunter asked, holding up the end of the poles.
“I don’t mind,” Jenny replied.
“Alright, I’ll take the back,” he decided. They held the poles horizontally, Jenny at the front and Hunter at the back, walking slowly to make sure they didn’t accidentally stab anyone. “Maybe we should run and hit Cathy with the poles,” Hunter suggested goofily. Jenny feigned a laugh without giving any further input.
Cathy obviously heard Hunter’s laugh and turned around, screwing up her face; Hunter continued laughing. It irked Jenny whenever Cathy did that – she’d look at Hunter like a pest and shut him down every time he said something.
“You guys seem pretty close. Have you been friends for a long time, or?” Jenny began.
“Oh nah. It started in chemistry earlier this year, a little before you came,” he recalled. “You know, you’d think Cathy was a huge nerd who buried her head in books, the pushover type? She’s not. She’s actually mean when she gets used to you,” he laughed. “I like to think of it as a sign of friendship.”
The walk to the oval seemed longer than usual, probably from the sheer weight of the equipment. Now that Jenny thought about it, Cathy didn’t really have that many friends. In the sport class, she was pretty much alone. She hadn’t said a word to anyone since leaving them with the equipment. Out of class, there was Ella, and that was it.
“Ooh, she’s looking again,” Hunter grinned. He took one hand off the poles and waved enthusiastically. Jenny felt the extra weight and resisted the urge to groan as she reluctantly also waved. As usual, Cathy didn’t wave back and just continued moving with the rest of the class.
Jenny recalled the one time she’d gotten a call from Hunter after giving him her number. Even then, it was only because Cathy had hung up on him so he’d called Jenny to get her to ask. It was always Cathy this and Cathy that.
Without realising it, she’d been ignoring Hunter the entire time while he continued talking. She quickly regained focus and laughed at the appropriate parts. She watched the way his emerald green eyes twinkled in the sunlight and the sincere way he would laugh when he spoke about something.
They made it down to the oval. “Okay Hunter, you can stop volunteering and get back to your class,” Mr Lespinner said. Hunter grinned and dropped the poles on the ground. Jenny let her end go as well.
Jenny watched as Hunter trudged down to the boys’ class before paying attention to what Lespinner had to say. “We have split you into teams already and the boys’ class will be joining us after the warm up,” he said.
He made them run two laps around the oval. Cathy stayed with the middle of the class while Jenny fell behind. Jenny watched as Cathy’s feet pounded rhythmically against the grass, and even by the end, she didn’t seem to be tired at all. It looked like she was fit for cross country after all.
The boys made their way up to the hill while their teacher, Mr Talon, handed the bags of sashes to the captains. Mr Lespinner read out the names. Jenny sat quietly beside Cathy as they waited for their names to be called out. “Alright on Hunter’s team,” Mr Lespinner began. She found herself hoping that her name would be called. And it was. “Jenny.” She looked up and went up to Hunter to get her sash.
He gave her a lopsided grin and the sash. Cathy was on the opposing team. Things weren’t looking good for the team when Hunter lost the toss up. Ryan charged through the field, preparing to kick a goal when Hunter flew past, knocking him to the ground. The ball rolled towards Jenny. She glanced up and saw Cathy running for it and began charging after it as well. Cathy made it there just before and handballed it off.
The whistle blew seconds later and Hunter took the free throw. Cathy jogged over to Jenny. Hunter glanced over at them and he threw the ball. Cathy jumped, and Jenny jumped, but the ball landed in Jenny’s arms. She sprinted down the field with Cathy hot on her heels.
She handballed it clumsily and Cathy got it, before kicking it down the field. Jenny mentally cursed herself, regretting the move.
“Nice pass nerd-bird!” Hunter yelled as he caught the ball.
“Jenny!” Mr Lespinner called. “I forgot to send the attendance list down earlier. You can take this down to reception and get changed early!”
She hurried over and took the list before heading back up to the school. She picked up her sports bag on the way. After dropping the list off, she went to get changed. The school was completely empty, not a soul in sight. The changerooms were silent and every time something in her bag shuffled, it echoed.
The classes had finally come up and she walked back round to check if Hunter had come back up yet. Everyone was long gone. She looked past the shed when something caught her eye. Cathy stood outside, going through the remainder of the equipment, silently recording it onto the clipboard. There wasn’t a person in sight.
Without thinking, she found herself advancing. Cathy stepped in and Jenny pushed the door shut. She felt a slight resistance but the lock had clicked. Cathy had been locked in there once with Hunter; this time, she could stay there by herself. “Hey!” Cathy yelled, banging against the metal door.
Jenny backed away slowly, her hands shaking. She tucked them into her blazer pockets, her heart racing. She constantly looked back to make sure no one had followed her before making her way to the gate. The guys and Ella were there as usual.
“Where’s Hunter…” she asked. “And Cathy,” she quickly added.
“They got caught goofing around and had to take the equipment back,” Dean laughed.
Jenny’s lower lip began quivering but she bit down and laughed along with them. Hunter was also in the shed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That night she lay in bed, the thunder clapping and lightning flashing outside her window. She felt the heat escaping from underneath the blanket and wondered how cold it was outside. Several times she thought about getting up and walking back to the school, or calling someone for help, but eventually, she fell asleep. A restless sleep.
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This was a super rough copy that will undergo MAJOR editing once I'm done ;D