The Boy in Blue

Chapter 11

"Y'know, it's at times like this that I really wish I listened to what my mother told me once" Eden sighed as she begrudgingly lined up next to Lei and Nikita. Lei was stretching out her hamstrings, Nikita looking stormy at the track ahead of her.

"Your mother did track in sport class on days that are simply sweltering? One would think that the beginning of winter would be cold, yet I'm literally being air-fried right now." Nikita crouched on the ground and pulled her bucket hat down, tugging it down while remaining crouched on the grass.

"Apparently so. Said she enjoyed running in the heat of wild Indian summers while banana leaves swished and roads melted around her." Eden sat on the floor, legs sprawled out in front of her and hands out behind her to steady.

Lei took a sip from her water bottle and glanced up at the sun, covering her face with her hand and squinting. "What did she tell you?"

"I don't know, I didn't listen."

"Alright everybody, I know it's hot but let's get the show on the road!" The overhyped sports teacher bounced around, random aerobics moves thrown in when it seemed right to him.

Nikita and Eden stood up, joining Lei at the line once again.

"How is he so hyped up?" Nikita stared at the P.E teacher with a mixture of confusion, curiosity and disbelief.

The remaining girls lined up, until 15 people were spaced near evenly on the red, grassy line. "Why do we have to do track sports again?" Nikita whined out loud, catching the attention of a few of the people next to her. They all murmured in agreement, complaining about the heat, sport, and the fact they had to run.

Eden looked over to the spectator side of the field, where she caught sight of her friends. Kash stood cooly, one hand in pocket as the other waved over to the girls. Hong was talking to Lucas, teasing him about his now honey coloured locks.

The previous morning, Eden had been scanning for his pitch silky hair, when she realised it was no longer pitch dark and instead, a soft colour of honey and sunshine. Shocked as she may have been, it looked quite pretty. The deputy apparently didn't think so, shooting dirty looks at Lucas whenever she saw him, although Lucas didn't seem to notice.

"Doesn't his hair look pretty?" Eden glanced at Lei, who sized the boy up and down menacingly. She scrunched her nose.

"Looks like Winnie the pooh."

Eden paused and glared at Lei, who simply snickered.

"I said what needed to be said. The yellow-

Lei caught wind of Eden's face.

-HONEY hair reminds me of Winnie."

Hong caught sight of the three girls and waved. Lucas ran a hand down his hair, a little shorter than before but floofy nonetheless. He gave a small smile, before turning away and focussing his attention on something else.

Eden smiled back and looked away, staring gloomily at the track ahead of her.

"Honestly, I would rather play volleyball right now."

Lei whipped around and looked excitedly at Eden. "You would?! Do you maybe wanna play with me at lunch?"

The eagerness radiated from her puppy dog eyes, her face animated with happiness. The joy illuminated herself in that moment so cheerfully and beautifully, that Eden didn't have the heart to say no to her best friend and let her down.

"We shall play at lunch. I'm telling you though, my hand eye coordination-"

The conversation was interrupted by shouts from the group of rowdy boys, who were playing soccer, and gaining speed while doing so. Their frenzied running kicked up grass and dirt into the air, along with shouts and screams that saw them coming from miles away.