Mildly things

Charisma:

I bite my lip and tug on my Jacket as I pace the room. I usually do pretty good on tests, but yesterday I was so hungover that I didn’t do very well. I had gone out with my friend Nathan last night and ended up drinking a little too much. I can’t remember much of what happened, but I think I might have even slept with someone - I’m not sure who, and I don’t even remember if we used protection! I feel so embarrassed and ashamed for my actions. I can’t believe I was so reckless and irresponsible. Suddenly a hand covers my eyes and I chuckle. “Nathan!” I giggle and he steps in front of me. “Risma!” He beams, his warm smile radiating off his face. I sigh. “I did horrible on my test thanks to you. What a friend you are!” I speak, playfully punching his chest. He pretends to hunch over in pain, but his eyes are sparkling with amusement. I can’t help but giggle. Nathan has always been fit. He has jet black hair and blue eyes, and his toned muscles are visible even through his dress shirt. I can’t help but feel a little envious of his physical condition. “I’m sure you did great on your test.” He speaks wrapping an arm around my waist as we walk into the coffee shop. “If you guys are best friends make sure to act like it rather than act like a couple.” Ava the owner of the store speaks, her eyes twinkling as she gives us an amused look. “Oh, come on!” Nathan says unhooking his arms from my waist and I let out an embarrassed chuckle. I rub the back of my neck, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. “Sorry,” I say to Ava, giving her a shy smile. She waves me off, not unkindly, before turning her attention to Nathan. “The usual for you both?” Ava asks, a knowing smile on her lips. “Yeah, except add a donut,” Nathan speaks up, looking at me. I nod in agreement, a small smile on my lips. “Two matcha lattes and one donut coming up!” She speaks cheerfully as she heads to the back to make our order. “You need to stop eating so much,” I eye Nathan and he scoffs. “Hey! You eat Junk food every day,” he speaks, a snarky tone in his voice. I roll my eyes exaggeratedly, crossing my arms. “Yeah, but I don’t stuff my face with donuts like you do,” I retort. He sighs and shakes his head. “I play football. That’s exercise!” He speaks and I place my hands on the table as Ava comes back with the Matcha lattes and the donut. “I run track too.” I mumble, looking away for a moment. “Yeah, I play football full time just like you play track young lady!” he smiles. “You’re seventeen too, aren’t you? You’re not much younger than me.” I tilt my head to the side, feeling embarrassed. “Uh yeah, I’m seventeen.” I mumble, feeling a bit flustered. He chuckles and takes a sip of his latte. I shake my head and sigh. “Anyway. About the test! Mr. Frank advises that we pass. I guess I should’ve studied more...but it won’t matter now.” I frown, feeling discouraged. “You passed. No matter if it’s a 75.” Nathan states and I sigh. “That’s not good enough for me. I want to get at least an 85. Anything lower just won’t cut it.” I groan. “Hey! If I got a 75, I’d be twerking on the table!” He jokes, attempting to lighten the mood. I can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Do it!” I joke back, feeling a bit happy. He stands up and looks around for Ava. “She’s not here. Coast is clear!” I shoot him a daring look and he sighs. “Okay, fine. If it makes you happy!” He says with a smile. He stands on the table and begins swaying his hips and moving his back with his butt. I can’t help but laugh. Suddenly, Ava comes out from behind the counter and smacks his bottom. “Not in my shop!” She speaks sternly, causing me to break out into a fit of laughter. He looks embarrassed and jumps off the table. “Sorry Ava,” he apologizes. “Just having a bit of fun.” She just shakes her head and goes back behind the counter. We leave the shop after finishing our lattes, and I make my way towards home. My mind is preoccupied, as I think about the day’s events and the tasks I must get done later in the evening. As I unlock the door and step inside, I’m greeted by my little brother Cater, sprinting out of the living room and clutching onto my leg. I look past him, to see my older sister Candi standing in the hallway, holding a shoe, and looking extremely frustrated. “Don’t smack him! What did he do?” I demand, trying to stay calm. Candi begins to explain what happened, and it turns out that cater had taken her shoe without asking and was running around and accidentally broke a glass vase. “Cater’s four Candi!” I speak rolling my eyes. “Okay but he shouldn’t take my stuff. It’s teaching him to be a thief.” She shakes her head in disgust and cater begins to cry, obviously understanding the situation. “Oh my god Cater!” I say, rolling my eyes and picking him up. I walk upstairs and pass my mom, who glares at me in disapproval. I hand him to her quickly and run into my room, not wanting to get into any more trouble. I can hear Cater’s cries from my room and it fills me with guilt and sadness. I know Candi won’t take back what I she said, and I feel terrible for scaring him like that. Mom knocks on the door, and I sigh. “Open!” I call out. “Why is he crying?” She asks, her expression one of concern. I shake my head and explain, “Candi scolded him for taking her shoe. He’s only four, mom. He cries!” I try to reason but she puts her finger up in a gesture to pause. “I will talk to Candi about it,” she says, her tone stern. She steps out of the room, and I can see my older brother Callan peeking out from behind the door, trying to catch a glimpse of the action. “Get out you are annoying thing!” I yell at him, and he chuckles. “You’d call your own brother that?” he asks wiping fake tears. “Shush!” I tell him as I roll over to my phone. I look at the time and my eyes widen. “I’m so late for track! I had completely forgotten about it,” I groan, quickly picking out some biker shorts and a tank top crop. I quickly change and run to my room, grabbing my spikes and water bottle from my desk. I’m out the door in a flash, sprinting to the track. I hear my brother’s laughter following me down the street. As I enter the field, I see that everyone has already begun to run their laps. My teacher Ms. Ruth stares at me with a stern expression and slowly walks up to me. “Your late young woman,” she tells me, her eyes narrowing in frustration. “I’m sorry Carol!” I say, feeling embarrassed and scared of the potential consequences. She sighs and shakes her head. “Only for you I’ll make an exception,” she speaks in a softer tone and pinches my cheek, “care bear!” I laugh but try to contain my joy so as not to further aggravate her. She turns around and orders me to start running my laps, and I quickly get to work. A few minutes later a guy with a tall, athletic build and a ruggedly handsome face walks in and speaks with Ms. Ruth. I frowned and wondered who he was. I shrugged it off and continued running on the track. I looked up for one second and bumped into someone. I looked forward and saw Joy, a girl in the track team, standing still. “Sorry Joy!” I spoke apologetically. She smiled at me, and then her eyes widened as she looked past me. “He’s hot,” she whispered, and I followed her gaze. Sure enough, the guy I had seen earlier was standing there, looking in our direction. I felt my face flush as I looked away. What was he doing here? I look away and turn my gaze to Joy. “Come on Joy, you can do it! I’m trying to finish the laps and I need you to keep up,” I say, trying to encourage her. Joy snaps out of her daydreaming and begins to run again, her pace more determined. I run behind her, pushing her to keep going and the whole time I can’t help but think about the tall guy playing in my head for the rest of the track session. By the time Ms. Ruth calls it quits I’m dripping with sweat, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I collapse on the grass. Joy sprawls out beside me, both of us exhausted from the strenuous workout. The guy was still there, and he seemed to be looking in our direction. “Girls! My best girls, come up, come up!” She said, motioning for us to approach. We both slowly made our way up to them, using every bit of strength we had. “This is Mr. Toby! He will be the substitute for the track lessons. He doesn’t tolerate tardiness!” Ms. Ruth looked directly at me as she said this, and I couldn’t help but laugh nervously. She then turned to Mr. Toby and said, “I trust you will be able to take care of them, given the circumstances.” Mr. Toby gave a warm smile and nodded in agreement. It was obvious she was trying to teach us a lesson, but I knew it was too late for me. I had already been late for the last two days and I knew she was trying to make an example of me. I turn to Ms. Ruth with a frown. “Why does he have to substitute?” I ask her and she sighs. “Well, I’m pregnant! Found out last week!” She speaks, her voice wavering slightly, and I gasp. Joy, promptly squeals, and envelops her in a hug. I smile awkwardly, trying to find the right words to say. “Congratulations” doesn’t seem like enough, considering the circumstances. Ms. Ruth wipes away her tears, and I can tell that she’s trying to put on a brave face. “I won’t be seeing my two best track runners for nine months!” She says, and I can sense the disappointment in her voice. Mr. Toby just looked at us seemingly uncomfortable. “Congratulations!” I say, even though I know it’s not enough. “Thank you!” She speaks as she leaves the field, her eyes looking tired but with a spark of pride and accomplishment. “Well, I saw you two running and most of the people were on the bleachers, like they had given up or something,” he speaks, and I look at him, understanding what he meant. “And you are a great motivator, you know? You didn’t give up and you kept pushing, even when it seemed like everyone else had.” He gives me a half-smile and I can’t help but smile back, feeling a spark of pride in what we had achieved.

Six weeks later:

After we go to the locker rooms everyone takes a shower. I slip my towel on and walk out only to see Mr. Toby standing there. “Oh sorry! I’m used to having a female teacher.” I speak covering myself although the towel is covering most of me. “Oh.” He speaks emotionless just staring at me, his golden eyes not leaving me for a second. I feel so exposed and embarrassed, the towel doing nothing to cover my shame. It’s like he’s looking right through me, judging me. My discomfort must be obvious, and I try to make a joke to lighten the mood. “I guess I’m not used to having a male teacher.” I say, fumbling over my words. He just stares at me, and I bite my lip as blush begins to creep onto my face. I step back into the girl’s bathroom awkwardly. “Mr. Toby is out there.” I whisper to Joy, and she drops her towel. “I’ll go out there then!” She speaks and winks before she walks out. I can hear her “surprised” gasp and I can only imagine the kind of dirty looks she’s getting from the man outside. I can just imagine him giving her the same ’ole ‘I’m better than you’ look that he gives all his students. It’s like he expects us to bow down to him in reverence and be thankful that he’s gracing us with his presence. I roll my eyes and slowly make my way out of the locker room, carefully changing my clothes to not show too much skin. Grabbing my bag, I stand up and back up into a hard chest. My eyes widen in shock as I turn to see Mr. Toby. He looks down at me with a smirk on his face that angers me. “You tell your friend to not make any more inappropriate gestures towards me or she won’t be running track anymore,” he says in a condescending tone. His words are stern and unwavering, causing a knot to form in my stomach. I can feel the anger boiling within me, but I hold my tongue and simply nod my head in agreement. He walks away and I can smell his manly cologne lingering in front of me. I quickly run away out of the field and sigh once I get on my front porch. I stand there for a moment, feeling my heart racing, and just trying to catch my breath before I walk inside my house. When I open the door, I see Nathan sitting on my couch, Kissing his girlfriend, Mia. I shake my head in disbelief and say, “Get a room!” They both chuckle, and I can’t help but laugh at the sight before me. I take a deep breath and walk upstairs, feeling a mix of emotions of anger and sadness. I sigh and look up at the ceiling. Tomorrow, I have track again and I’m really starting to lose my motivation. Mr. Toby just doesn’t understand how hard I’m trying and it’s starting to get discouraging. I can barely make it around the track one time without feeling like I’m going to collapse. I know I could do so much better if I just had a little more confidence and support. The next day comes, and I sit up and put on some yellow biker shorts and a white crop top before slipping into my white sneakers. I put my orange hair into a bun before heading out the door for track. I try to psych myself up for the day ahead but all I feel is dread. I walk inside the field and his eyes shoot to me. “Early bird.” Mr. Toby mumbles, his tone gruff and authoritative. I swallow thickly, my breath quickening. “I’m just ready to get it over with,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. He shoots me a glare and takes a few steps closer, his presence suddenly overpowering. “Say it louder. Didn’t hear you!” He speaks, his voice booming through the open space. I take a deep breath and look down, my heart pounding in my chest. “I- I said I’m ready to get it done,” I meekly state, my eyes glued to the dirt beneath my feet. He tilts my chin up to meet his eyes and my face reddens, it’s complexion coloring over my freckles. “That’s not what you said.” He spoke, his voice stern and authoritative. I nod quickly, trying to keep my composure. “Yes, it is!” I whisper quickly, not wanting to draw attention to our conversation. “Say. What. You. Said.” He spoke, and I looked down, feeling my face flush with embarrassment. “I said.... I’m ready to get it over with.” I rush out the words, feeling powerless in this situation. He steps away and shakes his head, his eyes cold and unforgiving. “Be straightforward. Not a liar.” He speaks just as Joy steps inside the field and runs up to us, her bright eyes shining with curiosity. “What happened?” she asks as Mr. Toby walks away waiting for others to walk inside the field. “He’s a big jerk that’s what,” I speak and look away, trying to hide the fact that I was blushing. “He tilted your chin up! That’s progress for you!” She bounces her eyebrows and I giggle, feeling embarrassed. “I don’t want to sleep with him like you do,” I say nudging her arm in jest. She laughs and then turns serious, her expression filled with concern. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that” I add, feeling guilty for bringing it up. She shakes her head and smiles. “Shush! It’s the truth!” She speaks. “Okay! Let’s run the laps!” I tell her. I give her a high five and we begin to run. After a few laps ran me and Joy are the only ones running again. I look over and see her starting to tire and her steps beginning to slow. I yell out to her “Come on Joy, you can do it! Just two more laps and we’ll be done!” She takes a deep breath and forces her legs to move faster. We finish the laps and I give her a hug, proud that she pushed through and didn’t give up. “You did it! Good job,” I tell her. She smiles, exhausted but proud of pushing through. Mr. Toby walked up to us and held out a red star in his hand, offering it to me, and a golden star for Joy. I furrowed my brow and looked up at him quizzically. “Why did I get a red star, sir?” I asked him. “Because, although you ran, Joy pushed through when she was going to give up,” he replied, seemingly ignoring my glare. “But I motivated her!” I argued, feeling a bit slighted. “She motivated me!” Joy yelled back at him, in defense of my efforts. “And both of you have been very successful,” Mr. Toby said. “Red is the worst color. I’m not the one on the benches like most of the other girls,” I scoffed as I tried to stomp away but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. “Joy. You can go.” He tells her. She hesitates before leaving to go to the locker rooms. I felt my heart sink, knowing that I was the one in trouble. He looks at me with a stern expression, “You don’t speak to your track teacher like that. You will show me respect.” I was taken aback by his assertiveness, but I knew he was right. I had to be more mindful of how I spoke to my elders. “I’m sorry, sir,” I said sheepishly. “You will show that you are sorry by mowing the field.” He spoke and I rolled my eyes in disbelief. “Like I know how to mow.” I spat and turned away from him. “Punishment. For speaking to your track teacher like that,” he continued with a condescending tone. “You are my track teacher. I don’t like you! I hate you!” I roared and stormed away. “You will do as I say!” His voice echoed behind me, but I refused to listen. How dare he think he can control me like that? I had no intention of mowing any field. He can think again if he believes I’m going to do it.

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My back ached and my arms felt like they were burning, but I kept going, determined to finish the last bit of the field before Mr. Toby noticed. I could feel his gaze on me, making me feel increasingly uncomfortable as I worked. After what felt like hours, I finally dropped the mower and declared, “I’m done.” Mr. Toby snatched the mower from me and gave me a once-over. I could tell he was judging me, and I felt my cheeks reddening in embarrassment. “You look like a bucket of water,” he snorted, making no attempt to hide his disdain. I frowned, my pride hurt, and I felt a little embarrassed that I was sweating so much. was it really that bad that he had to comment on it? I had been working hard, and didn’t think I was sweating that bad... I tried to ignore the fact that I was being judged and followed him, my face burning with embarrassment. “You’re free to go home.” He spoke with a smug tone. “Yeah, on a Sunday,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes, and barely concealing my annoyance. He whipped his head toward me, narrowing his eyes. “You know you could do more laps around here,” he said. “I don’t care how tired you are or how mad you are, you will learn to treat me with respect.” He spoke with a harshness that made my blood boil, but I held my tongue. “Fine, your majesty,” I said, with a heavy dose of sarcasm. I turned and walked out of the room and into the locker room, feeling the anger bubbling up inside of me. I stepped inside the shower and washed off the dirt and grass from mowing the field. Suddenly, I felt something on my waist, and I looked down to see the disgusting, creepy janitor Peter’s hand trying to pull me out. I was so disgusted that I wanted to vomit. “STOP IT!” I yelled, my voice full of rage and terror. There was a loud bang, and I jumped in shock. I looked around and saw Mr. Toby, standing in the doorway with a stern expression on his face. “Get out, Peter,” he spat, his voice full of anger and contempt. Peter scrambled out of the shower, his face red with humiliation. “T- thank you.” I spoke, feeling embarrassed. He didn’t say anything but instead simply nodded and walked out of the locker room. I could feel my face flush with warmth, and my palms were sweaty. The next day I came to school dressed in my most conservative outfit. Long black tights with shorts over them, a long-sleeved white T-shirt, and converse sneakers. I had to make sure the creepy janitor wouldn’t see my skin. Me and Joy ran a few laps around the track, trying to make sure that the janitor wasn’t watching us. We knew he was out there, lurking in the shadows, and it made us both feel uncomfortable. “Hold on!” I call out to Joy as I stop running the laps to get me a water bottle. “He’s fired.” Mr. Toby speaks with a cold, harsh tone while looking at his clipboard. “Who Peter?” I ask, completely taken aback. He sighs and rolls his eyes at me. “Who else Charisma?” He says looking down at me as if I’m an idiot. I gulp, feeling like I’m about to be reprimanded. “I caused someone to be fired?” I say slowly, my eyes widening in fear. “No.” he says curtly, “You didn’t cause him to be fired, Charisma. You pointed out to me that he was not doing his job properly.” He speaks. “No. He tried to grab me while I was in the shower, yeah but I don’t think that should have cost him his job.” I speak, looking down. “Peter is sixty, a creepy old man, crushing on a seventeen-year-old girl. You run the track team, his eyes follow you, you take a sip of water, his eyes follow you. He’s a fucking stalker. He should never have been hired in the first place and you know it. What kind of example does it set for the student athletes when someone like that is allowed to represent the team? How could you even consider keeping him?” Mr. Toby shook his head in disgust. “I wasn’t considering keeping him. I was the cause of him losing his jo- “He clasps his hands together and walks away from me. I’m thinking, ‘Wow, all of this effort and he’s not even going to talk to me?’ He yells, “Let’s run these laps yeah!?” and some girl’s cheer. Like they care. I stand in line next to Joy. “He’s hot today.” She speaks and I scoff. I just roll my eyes. Yeah, he might be hot, but he’s still a jerk. “Maybe tomorrow.” I reply sarcastically. As we run, most of the girls start to tire out and lag. I can see the exhaustion on Kate’s face, but I yell out to her: “Kate! You can do it. Five more laps!” She gives me a determined nod and flashes me a small, tired smile before heading towards the benches. Although I’m tired as well, I push myself to keep going until I reach the last lap. When I’m done, I stumble to a halt, and Mr. Toby gives me a red star with a look of Disdain. I sarcastically thank him, but the effort of the run has taken a toll on me, and all I want to do is collapse on the bench and take a breather. “We have school tomorrow. There won’t be any more summer break.” Joy fake sniffles and I chuckle. “At least we’ll have class together.” I tell her and she nods. We pass Mr. Toby and Joy stops. “Hi Mr. Toby! Thanks for teaching Track today.” She beams at him. “I do every day.” He speaks unfazed by her enthusiasm and continues his way. I roll my eyes. “Ugh, he just had to ruin our last day of summer, didn’t he?” I grumble. Joy shakes her head, “It’s okay. We’ll still have a lot of fun this year!” I sigh. We go our separate ways and I walk up to Nathan’s porch. I take a deep breath before I yell out his name. “NATHAN!” I shout out from the porch, and he comes out with just some shorts on. His hair is damp, suggesting he’s just come from the shower. “What?” He asks tilting his head, looking confused. “Were you... with your girlfriend?” I ask, unsure of where I’m going with the conversation. He shakes his head. “I was in my gym.” He speaks. “Oh. I see,” I reply, feeling a bit relieved. “I’ll come by later, then,” I tell him. “No. You can come inside, I just got out of the shower anyway!” Nathan speaks, and I nod. We walk upstairs and I sit on his bed, but he remains standing. He spins the chair around and sits in it. “Can we switch seats?” I ask him, tilting my head to the side. “Nope.” He speaks, twisting in the chair. I frown at him, turning away. “You’re mean,” I pout, but I can’t deny the twinkle in his eye. Still, I give him a stern look, trying to make my point. He just laughs and shakes his head. “Come on, you know I’m only teasing. Have a seat,” he says. We change seats and I stand up and twirl around in the chair, feeling a little bit giddy. It wobbles a little and Nathan stands up to put on some music, a catchy beat starts playing and soon we are both dancing to the song “B.M. F”. I laugh and spin around, accidentally slipping on the chair and falling into Nathan’s arms just as his mom walks in. We both freeze, eyes wide and hearts pounding. For a few seconds, the only sound is the music playing in the background. Then his mom grins and shakes her head. “Oh, you naughty rabbits!” she says, making us both giggle nervously and I stand up immediately, trying to regain composure. “Mrs. York! It’s not what it looks like,” I say, trying to explain the situation. Mrs. York looks at me, then Nathan, and then back at me. “Okay babe, I can’t wait to have you as my daughter in law!” She speaks and me and Nathan look at each other in confusion. We both start shaking our heads in unison. “No! Nope! Nah! Never!” We both say our backs now pressed against the wall in a bid to stay away from each other. “We are staying best friends’ mom,” Nathan speaks. “She’s beautiful,” he says, gesturing towards me, “but I cannot marry her. We never thought of it that way.” I smile. She groans. “I’ll still look at you like my daughter in law!” she smiled at me, and I beamed. “Thanks Mrs. York!” I tell her and she nods before leaving the room. I turn to him and sigh. “We can never hug again.” I tell him and he nods. “Never.” he speaks. I smile and reply, “Okay! I’m going to go! See you at school tomorrow?” I tell him and he nods. I give him a small wave before heading out the door. The next day is the first day of twelfth grade and I am feeling a tad bit of nerves mixed in with a lot of excitement. I leap out of bed, grabbing my black and yellow crop top with the words ‘Baddest B-’ emblazoned across the front and some black baggy jeans with a few holes in them. I take my black Air Forces and head to the bathroom for a quick shower. After toweling off, I twist my hair up into a bun and apply a bit of mascara and lip gloss to complete my look. I glance at the clock, noticing I’m running a bit late, so I grab my backpack and head out the door. I spot Nathan and Joy waiting outside and they both wave at me. We all walk to school and look at our schedules. All of us have three classes together and I have two other classes with Joy. At the end of the hallway, I see Joy waving goodbye to her friends, and she turns to me, smiling. We wave to each other in acknowledgement, and I say, “Nathan! Joy! Goodbye I’m going to class.” I give her a quick hug and close my locker. Taking a deep breath, I step inside homeroom. My eyes lock on Mr. Toby and I groan. He’s my track teacher and my homeroom teacher this semester. I really don’t like how strict he is and wish I had a different teacher.

The next few weeks went by like a pain in the ass. I had Mr. Toby for math too and it was horrible. It all consisted of Mr. Toby being strict. Everyone having loads of homework that was so hard when you thought about it felt like your mind would explode into tiny little unsettling pieces. Now we were back in school and here I was zoned out again. I didn’t hear anything. At all. Just looking straight ahead as if time had stopped and I was frozen. Within seconds a hand was on my shoulder shaking me awake. “What do you think you are doing?” Mr. Toby asked. I quickly jolted up and tried to think of an excuse. I had no idea what I was supposed to say, so I just apologized and tried to explain that I was lost in thought. Mr. Toby wasn’t convinced, and he asked me to stay after class. I was nervous as I watched the time tick by, and the other students leave the classroom. Finally, the bell rang, and I was alone with Mr. Toby. He sat in his chair and gestured for me to sit in the chair across from him. He looked at me with stern eyes and spoke in a serious tone. “You have been distracted in my classes for some time now, and I want to know why. What is going on that is causing you to be so unfocused?” I felt a lump form in my throat as I looked down. “No, no, there is nothing going on,” I spoke weakly. Mr. Toby rose from his chair and stepped closer to me, his eyes fixed on mine. “Is it that you don’t like this class?” He asked, his voice hardening. “Do you hate me? Do you want to be stupid for the rest of the semester?” His penetrating gaze made my heart race, and I felt a wave of panic wash over me. I knew he was testing me, waiting to see how I would respond. I straightened my posture and met his gaze, determined to face my fears. “No, sir,” I stated firmly. “So, what is it?” He asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at me. “I just hate this class,” I replied, smiling innocently. He clenched his jaw and sighed. “Get used to it because I’m not dropping out mid semester,” He spoke, his voice stern. “I’m not asking you to,” I said, rolling my eyes. His gaze was intense, and his eyes bore into mine causing me to blush a little. “This class is important to me and I’m not going to let anything stand in the way of me getting my degree,” he continued. “I understand that” I replied, “but I still don’t like it.” We sat in silence for a few seconds before he abruptly backed away. I looked up at him before stepping back, a slight tinge of pink on my cheeks. “See you in track.” I whisper before leaving his classroom. At lunch, Joy and Nathan are sitting in the back of the cafeteria, away from the hustle and bustle of the lunchroom. “Hey peeps!” I call out, plopping down next to Nathan. He puts an arm around me, and Joy scrunches her nose in disapproval. “Love birds,” she teases, punching Nathans arm lightly. We both don’t say anything, simply exchanging a disgusted glance before digging into our lunches. Joy stands up onto the table and begins to dance suddenly, her laughter ringing out across the room. I couldn’t help but laugh too, her enthusiasm was infectious. As she started to dance even harder, almost shaking the table, I could see my classmates looking around in shock. Suddenly, a hand pulled her back into her seat. I looked up to see Mr. Toby standing there with a stern look on his face. Nathan, sitting next to me, whispered, “Isn’t that your track coach?” I nodded, my throat suddenly dry. Mr. Toby looked around the room, his gaze like a hawk, before turning to Joy and asking her why she was behaving in such an inappropriate manner. “Sorry sir,” Joy whispered, but when she looked at me, I smiled, causing her to giggle silently. I quickly composed myself and my attention shifted back to Mr. Toby. He had moved on to speak to me. “And you.” He pointed towards me. “Don’t bother coming to the field tomorrow.” His words hit me like a ton of bricks and my eyes widened in shock. Was he really kicking me off the team? I had put in so much hard work and dedication, it had to be a joke. “What? Are you kicking me off the team?” I ask, my voice trembling. “Yes.” he replied coldly, not even looking back at me as he walked away. I felt a sudden chill run through me as I watched his retreating figure. I had worked so hard for this team, and it felt like all my efforts had been for naught. I burst into uncontrollable tears as Nathan hugged me. Joy was rubbing my back as I tried to calm down, but my anger was too much for words. Mr. Toby had just kicked me off the team. The track team that Ms. Ruby owned. She had just gone away for nine months, and in that time, he had just decided that he was the one who got to control who was on and who was off the team. I was the best girl on that team, and he was making such a stupid decision. I was more than mad, I was furious! He had no right to make that decision without consulting with Ms. Ruby first. I was determined to get back on the team, no matter what it took. The next day I wake up at four am, feeling exhausted and wishing I could just stay in bed. But I drag myself out of bed and put my hair into a ponytail before grabbing my water bottle and heading out the door. I make my way to the track team and when I walk inside, I go and start running the laps. I’m determined to make it back on the team no matter what. But then, Mr. Toby arrives, and I can feel my heart sink. “Didn’t I say you were kicked off” he says, a smug smirk on his face. I frown at him and sigh, feeling a wave of anger wash over me. This man has no idea how hard I’ve been working. “Sir, I’ve been working so hard and I’m so frustrated,” I say, my voice rising in desperation and anger. “Why am I being kicked off? Is it because I hate your class in school?” I ask, my voice hitching as tears start to prickle my eyes. He shakes his head and looks down at me, his face resolute. “No. It’s because you refuse to communicate correctly. You’re angrily speaking at me and I’m not having it,” he says firmly, then sits down on a bench and looks away. I stand there for a moment, my fists clenched and tears streaming down my face. He didn’t seem to care about me, because when Joy walked up, he immediately turned towards her. “Your member was just leaving.” He spoke, and Joy frowned. She must have noticed the tension between us, because she stepped closer to me and whispered, “Are you okay?“. I froze, unable to look her in the eye. I could feel my heart racing so fast that it felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. All I could manage was a quiet, strained “Mm.” before I turned away and walked out of the field, desperately trying to keep the tears back. It felt like my heart was burning, and I could hear it pounding in my ears. I had never felt such a deep, intense pain before, and I wished that I could just die.