Facing the Obstacles
Chapter 3
"Run, Tom, run!" Cameron shouted at me from third base.
I was in between first and second. I was trapped. I ran towards second, but the ball was chucked towards second. I turned around and sprinted back towards first, but again they threw the ball to first. I dove towards second as they threw it back and...
"SAFE!" the boy playing umpire yelled.
Cameron ran over and congratulated me, then ran back to his place on third base. As Zach got ready to pitch we both tensed, ready to run.
Chink! The ball had been hit! I sprinted to third, where Nathan stood ready to catch the ball. I made it safe and thanks to Cameron we had another homerun. As Zach got ready to pitch again, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess.
"We won!" Cameron yelled, high-fiving me. "Yeah Nate, you're jealous."
"You better stop gloating Cam; he looks like he's going to pummel your face!" Zach laughed, staring at Nathan's stony expression.
"Sore loser!" Cam said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Wow Nate, I thought you were above that."
"So did I. Rematch! Tomorrow!" he insisted.
Cam rolled his eyes. "Enjoy that arrogance while you can."
"Why?"
"Because you’re not going to want to show your face to anyone after I beat you."
"Oh, it's on."
"Hey Heidi, how's your leg doing?" I asked, walking into my house after school.
"It's fine," she replied. She was lying on the couch watching television and she seemed more than fine to me.
I sat down beside her, taking my homework out of my bag. I noticed she was watching Disney Channel. Some commercial came up about something called N.B.T. It looked like it had something to do with bands.
"Hey sis, do you know anything about that band show, or whatever it is?" I questioned.
"Disney's Next Big Thing? Yeah, you audition to be in it and if they like you, you get to compete against other bands to see who will be 'the next big thing.' "
I continued with my geometry, glancing up to see a band performing at Disney World who had won the competition recently. Interesting...
"Have you seen Cameron lately?" I asked Nathan and Zach as we headed to lunch one day.
"Actually no," Nathan replied, confused. "I haven't seen him since he walked to his locker."
Rounding a corner, we found a large majority of our grade grouped in a circle. They seemed to be watching something that was obviously in the center. Curious, we got closer. People were laughing and whispering to one another. We got to the front and what I saw made my stomach clench in anger.
The biggest bully in our grade, Brice, was giving some kid a huge wedgie.
"Hey, look! He's starting to cry!" Brice laughed.
The kid was indeed crying and as his face turned toward us... oh my god, it was Cameron.
Anger boiled inside of me. First my sister and now Cam? Cam did not deserve this and he had already gone through this once, which was bad enough!
Before I really registered what I was doing, I walked up to Brice and decked him. I hit him as hard as I could and his nose started bleeding all over the place. I hit him again and I heard a crack from his jaw. The kids watching stopped laughing. They stopped smiling. They were looking at me in fear and one kid even ran away.
Brice lay there bawling in pain. I looked up and saw some teachers staring at me, including the principal. I didn't know what to do... I was petrified. So I ran. I ran past everyone, I ran out of school and I didn't stop. I ran all the way to the park in the middle of town about seven blocks away. I sat down on a bench and put my head between my hands. My eyes burned like crazy.
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder; someone sat down beside me.
"Tom..."
I took a deep breath. "Hey, Zach."
"What happened back there?"
"I don't know, I just... lost control, I guess."
He nodded. "Happens to everyone from time to time. There's only so much a person can take."
We sat there in silence for a while.
"Well, we probably shouldn't be ditching... but I think you need some time to cool off. Nathan's with Cameron, who's fine now... Want to go get some ice cream?"
I smiled and nodded. Standing up, we walked over to the ice cream shop. We both ordered shakes and when questioned, said we were on a field trip. The lady looked at us oddly, but we quickly walked out of the store. With nowhere else to go, we slowly walked back to school. I was afraid of what they would do to me.
I walked in and took a long, deep breath. Closing my eyes I inhaled... exhaled... but when i opened them I still saw the principal standing there, glaring at me. I shifted my baseball cap to cover my eyes.
"Tom, no hats in school."
I sighed, taking my hat off. I moved my bangs to cover my eyes as much as possible. I looked at Zach, pleading for him to help me.
"Tom, could I see you in my office please?"
Oh god.
"Could Zach come in as well?" I questioned, hopefully.
"I would prefer if it was just you."
Crap.
We walked into the principal's office; my third time in the last month. He sat me down and I braced myself for what was to come.
"So why did you punch this kid?"
"He was bullying my friend, sir."
"Was there a reason to punch him though?"
"Well, different people would say different things."
He gave me a long stare.
"Sir, I wish I wouldn't have done it. I didn't really grasp what I was doing at the time. He wasn't going to stop any time soon and my sister just went through something like this."
"I don’t care what the circumstances were; you have detention for a whole week."
"Before school, sir?"
"After school."
Crap. That's going to interfere with our band. The guys are going to be so mad.
"You WHAT?" my mom asked when I got home.
I sighed. I already had three people mad at me, now another one?
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Mom, it's fine. Cam is fine. I was stupid. Now can I please go do my homework, so I can go to Nathan's?"
She reluctantly agreed and I ran up to my room, slamming the door. I heard noises coming from my window and before I could cross my room and open it, Cameron opened it and jumped into the room. This was the first time I'd seen him since it had happened and facing him now was kind of awkward.
"Hey man, how are you?" I asked.
"How are you? I heard what happened, that sucks."
"I'm fine. God, that must have been terrible for you, that was almost our whole grade!"
"Well... what can you do, you know? There was certainly nothing I could do… Anyway; moving on. So, I have forgiven you for getting detention. Anyway, you saved me and I can't be mad at that. So... are you coming over to Nate’s today?"
"Yeah, but I gotta finish my home---," I started.
"Dude, bring that with you. We have some songs to write!" And with that being said, he lifted my bag over his shoulder, handed me my guitar case and shooed me out the window. "She won't care, as long as you get it done. Now come on!"
Once we were on the ground, I laughed.
“Why’d we go out the window? We could’ve just gone down the stairs.”
“Why would we do that? The stairs are for normal people,” Cameron snorted. “We are not normal.”
Word of advice: Never get yourself detention. It's not fun. At all. There's like 50 rules! Don't eat. Don't drink. Don't talk. Don't walk around. Stay seated. Don't hum. Don't whistle. Don't wear hats. Don't listen to your iPod. You can't read. The only thing you can do is homework, and I finished that about an hour ago! I'm tempted to start shooting spitballs at the teacher. He's some old guy that teaches sixth grade. He wheezes when he talks and he needs to use a cane. If you try talking to him, HE WILL NOT HEAR YOU. EVEN IF YOU SHOUT. Teachers that can't even walk around their desks should not be allowed to teach at a school!
I slumped down in my seat. I had about forty-five more minutes. This. Is. Torture. KILL ME NOW!
Bang! The door flew open and my three amazing friends walked in, carrying our band materials. I glance back at the teacher. He didn't notice, of course.
"I was looking at the list of rules for detention and never once does it say 'do not play instruments' or 'no singing allowed.' So... care to practice with us?" Nathan questioned, in a loud voice.
"Shh! He can hear you!" Zach whispered.
"Uh... did you see that guy? He's like 502!"
I cracked up. Nathan never ceased to make me smile.
"So which one did you want to practice first?" I asked.
"Here with You?"
"Here with You it is."
I was in between first and second. I was trapped. I ran towards second, but the ball was chucked towards second. I turned around and sprinted back towards first, but again they threw the ball to first. I dove towards second as they threw it back and...
"SAFE!" the boy playing umpire yelled.
Cameron ran over and congratulated me, then ran back to his place on third base. As Zach got ready to pitch we both tensed, ready to run.
Chink! The ball had been hit! I sprinted to third, where Nathan stood ready to catch the ball. I made it safe and thanks to Cameron we had another homerun. As Zach got ready to pitch again, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess.
"We won!" Cameron yelled, high-fiving me. "Yeah Nate, you're jealous."
"You better stop gloating Cam; he looks like he's going to pummel your face!" Zach laughed, staring at Nathan's stony expression.
"Sore loser!" Cam said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Wow Nate, I thought you were above that."
"So did I. Rematch! Tomorrow!" he insisted.
Cam rolled his eyes. "Enjoy that arrogance while you can."
"Why?"
"Because you’re not going to want to show your face to anyone after I beat you."
"Oh, it's on."
"Hey Heidi, how's your leg doing?" I asked, walking into my house after school.
"It's fine," she replied. She was lying on the couch watching television and she seemed more than fine to me.
I sat down beside her, taking my homework out of my bag. I noticed she was watching Disney Channel. Some commercial came up about something called N.B.T. It looked like it had something to do with bands.
"Hey sis, do you know anything about that band show, or whatever it is?" I questioned.
"Disney's Next Big Thing? Yeah, you audition to be in it and if they like you, you get to compete against other bands to see who will be 'the next big thing.' "
I continued with my geometry, glancing up to see a band performing at Disney World who had won the competition recently. Interesting...
"Have you seen Cameron lately?" I asked Nathan and Zach as we headed to lunch one day.
"Actually no," Nathan replied, confused. "I haven't seen him since he walked to his locker."
Rounding a corner, we found a large majority of our grade grouped in a circle. They seemed to be watching something that was obviously in the center. Curious, we got closer. People were laughing and whispering to one another. We got to the front and what I saw made my stomach clench in anger.
The biggest bully in our grade, Brice, was giving some kid a huge wedgie.
"Hey, look! He's starting to cry!" Brice laughed.
The kid was indeed crying and as his face turned toward us... oh my god, it was Cameron.
Anger boiled inside of me. First my sister and now Cam? Cam did not deserve this and he had already gone through this once, which was bad enough!
Before I really registered what I was doing, I walked up to Brice and decked him. I hit him as hard as I could and his nose started bleeding all over the place. I hit him again and I heard a crack from his jaw. The kids watching stopped laughing. They stopped smiling. They were looking at me in fear and one kid even ran away.
Brice lay there bawling in pain. I looked up and saw some teachers staring at me, including the principal. I didn't know what to do... I was petrified. So I ran. I ran past everyone, I ran out of school and I didn't stop. I ran all the way to the park in the middle of town about seven blocks away. I sat down on a bench and put my head between my hands. My eyes burned like crazy.
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder; someone sat down beside me.
"Tom..."
I took a deep breath. "Hey, Zach."
"What happened back there?"
"I don't know, I just... lost control, I guess."
He nodded. "Happens to everyone from time to time. There's only so much a person can take."
We sat there in silence for a while.
"Well, we probably shouldn't be ditching... but I think you need some time to cool off. Nathan's with Cameron, who's fine now... Want to go get some ice cream?"
I smiled and nodded. Standing up, we walked over to the ice cream shop. We both ordered shakes and when questioned, said we were on a field trip. The lady looked at us oddly, but we quickly walked out of the store. With nowhere else to go, we slowly walked back to school. I was afraid of what they would do to me.
I walked in and took a long, deep breath. Closing my eyes I inhaled... exhaled... but when i opened them I still saw the principal standing there, glaring at me. I shifted my baseball cap to cover my eyes.
"Tom, no hats in school."
I sighed, taking my hat off. I moved my bangs to cover my eyes as much as possible. I looked at Zach, pleading for him to help me.
"Tom, could I see you in my office please?"
Oh god.
"Could Zach come in as well?" I questioned, hopefully.
"I would prefer if it was just you."
Crap.
We walked into the principal's office; my third time in the last month. He sat me down and I braced myself for what was to come.
"So why did you punch this kid?"
"He was bullying my friend, sir."
"Was there a reason to punch him though?"
"Well, different people would say different things."
He gave me a long stare.
"Sir, I wish I wouldn't have done it. I didn't really grasp what I was doing at the time. He wasn't going to stop any time soon and my sister just went through something like this."
"I don’t care what the circumstances were; you have detention for a whole week."
"Before school, sir?"
"After school."
Crap. That's going to interfere with our band. The guys are going to be so mad.
"You WHAT?" my mom asked when I got home.
I sighed. I already had three people mad at me, now another one?
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Mom, it's fine. Cam is fine. I was stupid. Now can I please go do my homework, so I can go to Nathan's?"
She reluctantly agreed and I ran up to my room, slamming the door. I heard noises coming from my window and before I could cross my room and open it, Cameron opened it and jumped into the room. This was the first time I'd seen him since it had happened and facing him now was kind of awkward.
"Hey man, how are you?" I asked.
"How are you? I heard what happened, that sucks."
"I'm fine. God, that must have been terrible for you, that was almost our whole grade!"
"Well... what can you do, you know? There was certainly nothing I could do… Anyway; moving on. So, I have forgiven you for getting detention. Anyway, you saved me and I can't be mad at that. So... are you coming over to Nate’s today?"
"Yeah, but I gotta finish my home---," I started.
"Dude, bring that with you. We have some songs to write!" And with that being said, he lifted my bag over his shoulder, handed me my guitar case and shooed me out the window. "She won't care, as long as you get it done. Now come on!"
Once we were on the ground, I laughed.
“Why’d we go out the window? We could’ve just gone down the stairs.”
“Why would we do that? The stairs are for normal people,” Cameron snorted. “We are not normal.”
Word of advice: Never get yourself detention. It's not fun. At all. There's like 50 rules! Don't eat. Don't drink. Don't talk. Don't walk around. Stay seated. Don't hum. Don't whistle. Don't wear hats. Don't listen to your iPod. You can't read. The only thing you can do is homework, and I finished that about an hour ago! I'm tempted to start shooting spitballs at the teacher. He's some old guy that teaches sixth grade. He wheezes when he talks and he needs to use a cane. If you try talking to him, HE WILL NOT HEAR YOU. EVEN IF YOU SHOUT. Teachers that can't even walk around their desks should not be allowed to teach at a school!
I slumped down in my seat. I had about forty-five more minutes. This. Is. Torture. KILL ME NOW!
Bang! The door flew open and my three amazing friends walked in, carrying our band materials. I glance back at the teacher. He didn't notice, of course.
"I was looking at the list of rules for detention and never once does it say 'do not play instruments' or 'no singing allowed.' So... care to practice with us?" Nathan questioned, in a loud voice.
"Shh! He can hear you!" Zach whispered.
"Uh... did you see that guy? He's like 502!"
I cracked up. Nathan never ceased to make me smile.
"So which one did you want to practice first?" I asked.
"Here with You?"
"Here with You it is."
♠ ♠ ♠
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