Fireflies In Autumn (Frikey)

Chapter 3

The hallway was filled with kids as class had let out, and all the bus riders were exiting first. I was so tempted to get on the bus and say to hell with the punishment. I was more afraid of Frank than I was my mom and my gym teacher. I decided that anything they'd bestow upon me wouldn't be nearly as bad as what Frank would have had in mind. So I decided to skip my punishment and face the consequences tomorrow. Even though I was only kidding myself, knowing full well that Frank was just going to find me tomorrow instead and do then what he planned on doing to me today. I told myself that I might as well get it over with, but I was practically knocking at the knees. I thought maybe this one time, just this one time, I'll have gotten away from it before anything happened and he'll have forgotten all about it.

I started heading towards my bus when someone caught my shoulder. I froze, realizing it was Coach Parker.

"Leaving so soon?" he said. I just smiled feebly and shrugged.

"Come with me," he said, leading me back inside the building and towards the gymnasium. He pointed at all the stuff he wanted me to take care of, saying, "I want you to fold up and put away the volleyball net. Then I want you to push in the bleachers over there, both sets. After that you're to pick up and put away all of the balls in the right places, and lock up the locker rooms. Is that understood?"

I sighed. "Yes, Coach Parker."

"Good. You have an hour, though you shouldn't need even that much. But don't take any longer than that." He left the gym and I looked around. The lights were turned off and I was going to have to work in a semi-dark room. But it wasn't that dark. It wasn't very bright, but I could still see everything I was doing.

I picked up one of the basketballs on the floor, then started to dribble it. I looked at the basket in front of me and shot the ball, watching it bounce off the rim of the net. I chased after the ball, attempting a few more baskets, and failed all but one. I let out a sharp "yes" as the perfect swish was made, then fetched the ball again. After a few more baskets and dribbles, I grew bored and let the ball bounce away when it landed. I mostly sucked at basketball which is probably why I grew bored.

The playing made me think of something that I hated admitting to myself. Frank could play basketball. I'd seen him do it a few times. He'd offer to play around some older boys who would pick on him for being short and young. But then Frank would somehow get the ball one way or another and run down the court dribbling like a pro, leaping into the air and making a flawless basket with nearly every shot. I would watch him, mesmerized by the way he dominated the court. He seemed to have a sort of Napoleon complex because of his height. It made him work hard and do whatever he could to prove himself. Like lifting weights or getting into fights, and playing basketball because it was mostly a sport for tall dudes. He just amazed me with everything he did. He was so incredible.

At one point in the game, he took his shirt off and a heat rushed through my entire body, burning my cheeks as I looked at him. I couldn't stop staring at his arms and shoulders as he ran up and down the court, jumping into the air and making basket after basket. It was the one time he never noticed how much I stared at him. And it must have been obvious how badly I wanted him. No matter what he did, I just couldn't stop wishing constantly for Frank. I worried that I will probably never like another boy so long as he was around, and it was worse because he hated me. Part of me would hope he'd get expelled from this school so he'd be out of my hair, and I'd stop dreaming about him so much, and another part of me felt a sick knot in my stomach at even the thought of such a thing.

Conflicted should be my middle name.

I started to gather the balls up, one by one till there were too many to carry in my arms alone, storing them away where I was instructed, then going back out and gathering up the rest. Little by little I got all of the sports balls put away, where I then set my sights on the volleyball net. This one proved a bit more tricky because I only put a volleyball net up one other time in my life and I had a friend help me with it. After a few curses and some foot stomping, I finally figured out what I needed to do, and proceeded to get that stored away in the corner of the gymnasium. Now all I needed to do was push the bleachers in.