The Worst Game

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~Note: Make believe Mitch and Ashley went to the same high school.

None of the names or the school is real~

Ashley's POV: 

First day of school, and I already have gym, probably the worst class ever created.

I walk into the sweaty gym locker room and hurriedly drop my books so I can get dressed on time. I keep my eyes down and focus on my task to avoid looking at the bodies around me. On a normal day, I would probably go off to a corner with my friend to change and ignore everyone else, but today wasn't a normal day. I had recently been transferred here because my family moved, and now I had no friends to help me endure the swarm of bodies trying to get changed. I was awful with people as it was, much less when they're half-naked.

When I finally put on my uniform shorts and shirt and push my way out of the locker room, I quickly sit down on the bleachers, away from anyone else. People file out after me, and then the teacher finally comes out after them. 

"Hello. Welcome to your second year of Brian Smith High School. If any of you have forgotten, I am Ms. Elzer, your gym teacher. Now, let's go over the rules again, in case any of you have forgotten that as well." Ms. Elzer says. I half-listen to the rules she explains, knowing it's nothing different than my other school. While I wait for her to finish, I study her. She's middle-aged, with slight wrinkles on her face. Her hair is black and very short, and she is a very short person herself. After she finishes, she goes on to take attendance.

"Ashley S." she calls after a while. My head pops up.

"Here." I say quietly, trying not to attract attention to myself. A few people look my way, realizing I was new, and I avoid eye contact with them. 

"Now class! Today we are going to be playing some dodge ball with the boys to get you all back in the groove of things." she says. Pretty much everyone groans, and I can feel a small complain coming from my lips. Great. The worst game in history to go along with the worst class. And now all the boys would see how much of a fool I was as well as the girls. The year was off to a great start.

"Now pick your teams. Danielle, you're captain." Ms. Elzer barks. A curly brown haired girl, obviously Danielle, jumps up from her seat and goes to the center of the room to start picking teams. Just as she's about to open her mouth, a large, loud crowd of boys come into the gymnasium, silencing her altogether. They whoop and jump and yell as they all get seated on the bleachers. Following them comes a middle-aged man with grayish hair and a goatee. 

"Who's going to be captain, sir?" a voice calls out. It sounds slightly deep and Canadian, so I poke my head out a little to see who it might've come from. The coach looks up and grins a bit as he realizes who it was.

"Why don't you be Mitchell? No boys against girls though, I want to see even teams today!" the coach calls in a husky voice. There's slight movement in the bleachers as a lanky boy with messy brown hair comes out of them. He jogs over to stand next to Danielle, and my heart practically melts at the sight of him. His hair is spiky and pushed back a little from his forehead, his eyes are a milky brown and his facial features seem impossibly perfect. I feel my jaw drop slightly, but I close it quickly and shake my head. I can't already have a crush on somebody. He'll never like me back.

They begin to pick the teams, and to my surprise, I'm not picked last. I'm on the opposite team though, and as I look around, I see I'm mostly surrounded by girls.

"Hey! I thought I said even teams!" the male teacher calls. I shrink back to the edge of the cluster and feel his hand grab my arm.

"Sweetie, would you go on that team for me?" he asks, pointing over to the other side of the gym to where Mitchell and his team are. I nod and hurry over, seeing a few other girls come with me. I don't look at anyone on my way over, but when I'm on the other side, I sneak a peek. To my surprise, Mitchell is looking at me, but not with disappointment. Instead, he has a sort of curiosity in his eyes, as if he was looking at a rare flower in a plain garden. I look away quickly and try not to blush, and stand far away from him as I can. 

Once the teams are all settled, Mitchell calls everyone in for a team huddle.

"Okay, so clearly, we have the better team. Weaker people, you know who you are. Try and stay near the back so you don't get hit. My offense, you're at mid with me. Sweepers in the back, and suicides can go to the front if you really want to. By the way, stay away from Will. We'll take care of him towards the end. He tends to have a temper when he's hit. Good luck, and LEGGO!" he says. When he breaks off, I think he looks at me, but I'm not sure. Probably not. 

The game goes as it usually does. Some people get out and Mitchell and his guys friends seem to be everywhere at once, shouting things, catching things, throwing things. I stay in the back where I usually do, but to my surprise, I'm not out yet.

I dodge a ball that comes my way and pick it up. I had a pretty good arm, so I pick it up, get a clear place to aim, and throw it. It flies across the gym, and makes contact with a jumping boy. He falls over and looks incredulously at me before walking over to the bleachers. I got someone out. The excitement fills in me and I can't help but smile a bit. Just then, Mitchell appears to the side of me and looks at me like he's impressed. 

"Nice arm." he says. I'm lost in his Canadian accent, but I manage to mutter a quiet "thanks". Just then, I see a blur of red fly towards him, and I lunge out to shield it from him. I feel my hands make contact with it, and I'm in complete shock when I look down and see the ball in my hands. He looks shocked as well.

"Thanks. Nice catch by the way." he says, moving to dodge another ball.

"Thanks." I say, a little more confident than last time. Just as I do, I see a ball flying right towards my face, but before it can hit me, I feel a force tugging on my arm, away from the potential blow.

"Thanks again." I say. 

"No problem. What's your name?" he asks, glancing at me but watching the court.

"Ashley." I answer. "And you're Mitchell?" He smiles and nods.

"Yeah, but you can call me Mitch." he says before sprinting away from the area as a rain of balls fall down upon us. I book it in the other direction, nearly tripping over my own feet. I feel a rush of adrenaline, and I can't tell where it's from. Suddenly, I need to win, and I need to win for Mitch. I catch one of the near balls and throw it in the opposite direction, not caring where it's going. 

Soon, I find myself at the front of the court, playing offense with everyone else. I back up a little, and my teammate passes a ball to me. I catch it, and hurl it across the gym. My ball lands right next to a muscular boy's head, almost hitting it. The boy turns around, anger in his eyes, and looks directly at me. I cover my mouth as I realize who must be- the exact boy Mitch warned me to stay away from. I try to move to the back of the gym without turning my back, getting away from the angry look in that boy's eyes. Mitch sees me and gives me a confused look before following my terrified gaze. His eyes open wide as he sees Will's tall figure charging down the line, jukeing any balls that come his way. I see Mitch run towards me, and I try to run to the side, but I feel the heavy blow of the dodge ball hit my leg and knock me down. I plummet toward the ground and land on my back, seeing slight stars as I do. I quickly sit up, seeing people are staring, and Will is being led off the court by the male teacher. 

"You ok?" Mitch asks, leaning down over me. His face is covered in sweat, and is eyes are full of concern. I nod and he offers me his hand, which I take. He pulls me up in a swift motion and I stumble a little, realizing I have a slight throb in the back of my head.

"You sure? I know how those hits feel. Will got me last year." he says, catching me and helping me keep my balance.

"Yeah, it's just...pain." I say, giving a weak smile. He laughs a little.

"You can go to the nurse you know." he offers. I just shake my head.

"Nah, I'll be fine." I say. He loosens his grip, and Ms. Elzer marches over to take me from him.

"Honey, you should go to the nurse. Mitchell, will you take her?" she asks, looking at him.

"Sure." he says, shrugging.

We walk down to the nurse's office, him telling me about his encounter with being hit in the head with Will's angry ball. When we get there, he stops.

"You're pretty tough Ashley, you know that? I hope I'll see you around." he says, walking off.

"Yeah, I'll see you around." I say. I walk into the nurse's office, although I can hardly even feel the pain. Maybe dodge ball wasn't the worst game after all.

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