Long-Distance Calls

21

Amber was sitting all the way to the left, in the middle row. Hidden behind nameless big dudes.

There was a free seat next to her, but after what happened the day before, I thought best not to sit near her.

I walked all the way to the back. Next to Erasmus.

I whispered a "hey" as I sat down. At first, he seemed to be startled by it, but then he did the same.

Ever since the beginning of my feud with Andrew and Josh, I hadn't spoken one word to him. I somehow felt betrayed by the fact that he just stood there as they were beating me up, that he didn't do a thing to help.

And maybe I was right to feel that way but, thinking about it, what would I have done if I were in his shoes? If I were to be the one to see him get attacked by bullies? Would I have stopped them? Would I have gotten involved? It's easy to say a big and loud "yes" now, but when it is happening before your very eyes things change.

We're all heroes when there's no one to save.

And, maybe, he is a hero in his mind. He's constantly drawing those dragons. Maybe he dreams to ride them. But then, when it comes to actually acting, he just can't.

The bell rang before I even knew it. I immediately got up and stormed to the hallway.

"Yo, Peter," I heard Erasmus' voice call me from behind.

"Yeah," I mumbled. He hadn't talked to me throughout the whole class, and now he ran to catch me in the hallways?

He cleared his throat. "Do you have History now?"

"Nope," I said, unwillingly clicking my tongue, "Gym."

I hoped I could have history, but indeed it was gym time.

In the past few weeks I had managed to escape it by faking sickness and other stuff, but this time there was no way out.

"Okay, everybody on the field now!" The Coach shouted as he blew his whistle.

I started running around along with everybody else, already breathless after two runs. The gym sucked. There were graffitis on the walls. There was barely any space outside the field, and the field itself was a wreck, almost entirely broken and dirty. It looked nothing like a school's gym. More like an abandoned warehouse.

After the usual stretching session, which was my favorite part of gym class, the Coach had the audacity to say something I thought they only said in movies.

"I need two teams. We'll play a little dodgeball now!"

"For real?" I almost shouted, "God, how cliché of a dumbass can he be."

And so, after the usual ritual of team picking, where I got picked last, I ran to the back, behind all the testosterone.

It didn't take long for almost my entire team to be eliminated.

"Hey, Charming, I see you!" Someone from the other team shouted.

I leaned behind a big dude to see who that was. And without much of a surprise, it was Matt Hogan, one of Josh's friends, next to Killian Maddox.