Thursday, October 1 --> Friday, October 2
After I left Paul’s house, I was stuck to do my homework alone. Some stuff wasn’t too hard, and I saved the rest of Calc for last. I had a light dinner with Skyler and then helped her do the dishes before going back up to my room to tackle more homework.
After finishing the problems Paul gave me earlier, I tried some more textbook problems. They were basically the same, but there were a few I couldn’t understand. I didn’t want to bother Paul since he seemed so worried about something. I picked up my phone and texted Jack.
Me: Can u help me w/ some math?
It was only like 9, so I didn’t think Jack would be asleep. As I put my phone down t wait for a response, Skyler burst into my room.
“Callum Bell is on the soccer team, right?” she asked.
“He’s the only freshmen on the team,” I replied, looking at her. “Why do you want to know?”
“If he’s on the team, you must have his phone number, right?”
“Yeah, but why do you want his phone number?”
“He’s in my English group project, but hasn’t submitted his work yet. It’s our first class tomorrow, so I’m getting really pissed.”
I picked up my phone and clicked on contacts, handing it over to Skyler. “Just don’t kill him. He’s still a bench member.”
“I’ll try not to,” she growled in response, handing my phone back. She left my room, and I chuckled. Callum was one of the more outgoing players who could change the mood of the entire team by saying a few words. He had the technique, power, and speed for soccer and seemed to enjoy playing. Some people say you can tell if someone is good at soccer just by the way they act with the ball. For Callum, he always looks so happy with a ball at his feet. I could tell from the first moment I saw that at tryouts, he was going to be irreplaceable.
I heard some shouting from Skyler’s room, and decided to check on her just this once. Peeking into her bedroom, I saw her on FaceTime with Callum. His sandy colored hair was kind of wet, and he wore a slightly over sized tan sweater. He wore a pair of glasses, the lenses reflecting his computer screen. Skyler was glaring angrily at him, and I sighed. Guess I wouldn’t be able to tease her about anything after all.
My phone was vibrating on my desk when I walked back into my room. Jack was trying to FaceTime me.
“Hey,” he said when I answered. “You said you needed help with some homework?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, flipping the camera around so Jack could see the problems.
“I see,” Jack said thoughtfully. “Ok. I’ll walk you through these problems quickly. Grab a pencil and let’s get started.”
Jack walked me through the problems, but wasn’t really good explaining at the little details. Even so, I finished the extra practice, finally understanding how everything worked.
“Did Paul text you yet?” he asked when I was closing my textbook.
“Contact me?” I repeated. “What for?”
“Oh. It seems like a personal thing, so I’ll just let him handle it. Alright I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up before I could say anything. I sighed, but then shifted my papers and books around until I found a double-sided whiteboard. One side had the outline of half a soccer field. The other side had an entire field. I used the half field side most of the time, creating new plays that would bring the most out of our team. I didn’t have to do it, but It was something I did to kill time. Sometimes the plays were really good, but most of the time they were just something I wanted to try in practice. As I grabbed a whiteboard marker, I started drawing out a new play that I came up with.
“WAAAHHH!!!”
I jumped out of bed and looked at my phone. It was 7:15 and I hadn’t even gotten up yet. As I jumped up to change into a T-shirt and shorts, Skyler popped her head in my room.
“You are going to make us late if you don’t hurry up and get ready,” she said. I glared at her, and she quickly withdrew her head, scurrying down the hall. As I shoved everything into my backpack, I hurried out of my room and stumbled down the stairs.
“It’s unlike you to be late,” Mom said, pouring herself a cup of tea. She was still in her hospital scrubs, and smelled like the hospital.
“How was work?” I asked while grabbing my water bottle from the fridge.
“Nothing major happened,” she responded. “You have a game tonight, right?”
I nodded. “It’s an away one, so you don’t have to come if you have work. You came to yesterday’s game even though it was your day off.”
“I always go to your games if I have the time,” Mom smiled.
“Don’t push yourself too hard,” I said, kissing her forehead. Skyler came downstairs, and the two of us hurried out into the car.
I drove just under the speed limit, arriving at school just as everyone else was. I always tried to avoid the morning rush. All the student drivers and the parents who were trying to get to the car pickup line. And then the buses. They were so big and sometimes thought they had the right of way. It was quite scary how the buses moved right in front of other cars.
As I pulled into my parking spot, Skyler jumped out and made a beeline for the door. I grabbed my soccer bag before quickly following her.
I ran all the way to my English class, dodging others who were also running to class. As I sat down at my desk, the bell rang.
“Safe!” I exclaimed, looking over at Declan who was trying to hold in his laughter. The Pledge of Allegiance started, and I let out a sigh, getting ready for the day.
As the day went on, I started feeling a little queasy. I didn’t really have an appetite, and Paul suggested I go to the nurse. I just waved him away, trying to eat something. Halfway through Chem, I couldn’t stop feeling dizzy. Mr. Creeves was going on and on about some molecular function, and I couldn’t keep up. Maybe Paul was right about how I was feeling sick.
“Mr. Creeves,” Paul’s voice cut off his sentence as he stood abruptly. I looked towards him, but my vision blurred a little.
“What’s wrong, Paul?” he asked, turning away from the white board.
“It seems like Alex isn’t doing so hot over there.” Paul directed everyone’s attention towards me, and I could feel their stares.
“Would you like to go to the nurses office?” Mr. Creeves asked me. My mouth was already dry, so I just nodded my head. “Paul, take your things and make sure he doesn’t collapse in the hallway.” I heard some shuffling noises and someone tapping on my arm. I got up and walked out of the classroom. As soon as we walked down a hallway, I collapsed onto Paul. He was a little surprised, but quickly reacted to all of my weight.
“Hey are you gonna be alright?” he asked.
“Sure,” I muttered. I didn’t see it, but I knew he rolled his eyes at me.
“Come on. Can you walk a little bit? The nurses office is on the other side of the school and I can’t carry you.” I put my arm over Paul’s shoulders and we started walking down the hall.
So everyone knows that one section of school where all the delinquents and stoner kids who skip class go. Well, their little hangout was under the staircase at the corner of two Science hallways. The students were extremely sly, having excuses that teachers would believe. They never got in trouble at school, so technically the teachers and principal could only give them detentions at most.
I didn’t know why Paul decided to walk by that staircase. It was probably the fastest way to the nurses office, but I couldn’t remember.
I heard voices, but was too occupied with keeping myself upright. The voices got louder, and I felt Paul get pulled away from me. I just stumbled backwards, hitting the wall and crumpling to the ground. Lifting my head, I saw Paul get punched by another student. I put my arm up, but had no strength to actually move. Paul was on the ground now, getting kicked by the other students.
“Sto...p,” I whispered in a hoarse voice. There were more voices, and a new ringing in my ears. Everything seemed to be moving slower, but I saw Ethan running over to push the other kids away from Paul. I felt people on either side of me and saw teachers helping me up.
I was having trouble staying conscious, so I looked at Paul one more time. His lip was cut, and his nose was bleeding, but he was holding his left wrist in pain. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. The next thing I knew, everything went black.
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