Bitter Heart √

Eleven

Skylar's POV

Homecoming.

That's all there was to be heard at school today. Girls were highly pumped up, whispering and giggling about the dresses they were going to fill up their closets with. While the boys were shamelessly eyeing the girls, deciding who to ask out for the dance. Every single hallway of Crestmont High was drowning with all the hype.

It was sickeningly sweet.

People like me could almost throw up rainbows and confetti just by looking at those excited teenage faces. It wasn't that I was against this all, it was just my lack of interest in such events which made me way less excited than anyone else.

"Who're you going with, Hanna?" I initiated a casual conversation, leaning against my palms which were splayed out on either side of me. Angling up my chin a little, I almost winced at the harsh sunlight. Gym classes were always so torturous.

"No one?" She replied, sounding a bit confused.

"Well," I started, squinting my eyes before looking back at her. We both were sitting side by side on one of the benches surrounding the basketball court. "I wasn't planning on going either."

"You're not going? Not even with Alex?" She asked.

I snorted out loud. "Alex? Why would I go with him? I'm pretty sure he's already asked out a girl for the dance anyway."

It would be too disgusting to be your best friend's date, especially at homecoming. That only happened in stories where the best friend was hot. I could never think about Alex in that way.

Hanna hummed softly in response just when Coach blew loudly on his whistle. He made us play basketball today, which wouldn't have been bad if only my skin hadn't been burning like a vampire under the sun.

I didn't understand how it got so cold at night and so freakishly hot in the mornings, especially during PE classes. So much so that I got all sweaty without even having to do anything.

I broke out from my thoughts when I saw the basketball up in the air, soaring right towards me. One more second and it would've hit me right in the face, but I caught it right on time and swung it in the basket.

The only problem was that it didn't exactly go inside the basket.

Coach blew on the whistle, announcing an end to the game. I pressed my lips in a thin line and tried avoiding any accusing glares from the other players which were directed towards me. So what if I made them lose? Who asked that random dude to throw the ball towards me anyway?

Just as I was about to head to the locker room like everybody else, I was stopped.

"Skylar, you stay here." I heard Coach's voice.

I was officially done.

Wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my gym shorts, I waited for everyone to get inside before making my way towards Coach.

"Yes, Coach?" I asked breathlessly.

If he was going to give me a lecture on the basics of basketball, I was going to die for real this time. Coach was an old guy whose ultimate goal of life was to build up immense enthusiasm for sports inside us, even in people like me. It was unnecessary, but it's not like I could ever say that to Coach.