"It's dodgeball time!"
"Woohoo!!" "Uurgh.." a variety of responses echoed through the gym. It was finally P.E. again. The last few times the teacher, Mr. Wei, was absent so they had to spend each time doing laps in the school gym. This time however, he was back and with him were a few rounds of rough sports.
"We're going to have two rounds. For round one, left side will be team blue, the right side is team red. Then we'll rotate positions in round two. The teams shall be however I want them to. Now the teams are.. you, you, you," he pointed to half of the students including Yingfei and Xiaolang, "and you two are in team blue. The rest are in team red! Now get into positions! I'll give you a few minutes to strategize!"
The gym teacher quite liked these sorts of team building games, especially the athletic kind. He was fair in judgment and well-liked by the students as well. He was also one to not take any bs.
Everyone headed to their designated areas and huddled up. The teams were considerably well balanced as expected of Mr. Wei. Aiyan had ended up in team red with the classmate she disliked the most, Shen.
As each team was huddled up, a leader naturally emerged for each of them, Aiyan being the leader of team red, and a sporty looking boy named Theon the leader for team blue. Aiyan was really pretty, smart, and liked by many so it wasn't a surprise why people listened to her. Theon, on the other hand, was captain of the school's basketball team thus he was characteristically a good leader while also being extremely fit. Surprisingly, his height was average, and no one would think he played basketball. That was a clear indication that he had something special about him.
"For us to not get eliminated, we should hurry and knock them all out first as fast as we can," Theon said in a low voice.
The rest of the team made sounds of agreement.
"Here's what I suggest," he continued. "Both teams obviously have both weak and strong members. I think the weaker members on our team should only focus on dodging while also passing the balls they get their hands on to the more athletic members. This way, the weaker ones won't waste time throwing the balls that only end up being caught by the opposite team. It'll also help them have a clearer sense of their surroundings instead of accidentally getting hit while trying to throw the ball."
"That's not a bad idea." "Seems good."
"How do we determine who's weaker and who's stronger?" a girl named Beifong asked. She was from the school's women's soccer team and very athletic herself. She obviously didn't like being dubbed as weak.
"I think that should depend on yourselves," the leader calmly answered her question. "I'm sure most of the guys can handle throwing the ball hard enough without it getting caught. No question about the girls either. But if you feel like you're not up to it, best not to force yourselves. It's just a game. But it's also a ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ game. Weak and strong both contribute to winning or losing. So you don't have to feel bad about yourselves if we do end up losing. Anyway, let's call the positions as attackers and dodgers instead then. Sounds more appropriate."
Many nodded at his suggestion.
"Good speech, but we're definitely winning," Beifong grinned and cracked her knuckles confidently. "Alright, I'm obviously gonna be a part of the attackers. So they'd better watch out.."
"Alright, alright. Let's settle attackers and dodgers now so we don't get confused later. Who wants to attack?" Theon asked. "If you're not sure now, it's fine. Go with one now and if you feel like you can't handle it, you can choose to change it later when we change sides for round two."
Everyone nodded and decided on their positions.
"Should have known you were going for dodger, Yingfei," Theon suddenly came up to the girl after everyone dispersed.
Xiaolang, who was standing next to her, was surprised by the sudden question. Usually, nobody in their class ever spoke to them.
"Oh... well I don't like to be in the spotlight too much," Yingfei answered curtly. "Besides, I'm very clumsy..."
"Oh come on. You're not that clumsy," Theon disproved. "In fact, you're very lucky. Even if you trip, it's to dodge the ball coming at you."
"Now you're just flattering me..."
"Not at all! I've seen you every time we do P.E.!" the leader claimed enthusiastically. "You always make the right moves at the right times, even if you end up making a clumsy mistake! Also, you-"
"Cough, cough," Xiaolang, seeing Yingfei shift uncomfortably, finally couldn't bear it any longer and interrupted. He didn't try hiding his annoyance at all. When Theon looked at him, he motioned his head in complete displeasure towards the other team which had already gotten into place and were waiting on them.
"Ah... let's start the game then. If you change your mind, you should definitely try attacker next round!" Theon jogged off after nodding to the two of them.
Yingfei shook her head in distress as the leader left. "Alright let's get ready."
Xiaolang put his hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look at him, in which he answered with a raised eyebrow look on his face. It was a look she understood so well by now. He did the look very often when he didn't understand or wanted to know more about something. Most people couldn't catch the meaning because it differed according to the emotions he felt.
This time his face was laced with annoyance, but she still got it. She didn't know the details why he was annoyed but it definitely had something to do with Theon.
"Theon... he's average at best in class and doesn't put much effort but is extremely enthusiastic when it comes to sports. He plans on being a scout or something which is why he always watches everyone really closely during P.E. He says I have ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต potential... The only problem is that I just don't want to... But he thinks it's because I'm shy... Which I am, but even if I'm not, I wouldn't want to. He's great when it comes to leadership and always means well... but he always thinks people want glory when they ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ต. I don't think he gets that some people just like being in the shadows. I'm fine the way I am."
She smiled at him then walked to her position a few steps away.
"Oh, by the way," she looked back at him and giggled. "You don't have to be a dodger just because I'm a dodger. You should try and be an attacker for the second round. I know you want to. Don't worry, I'll support you!"
Xiaolang stood there stunned for a second when he realized he had been found out.
But before he could think of a reply, the coach suddenly blew the whistle.
"Start!"
As if in slow motion, Xiaolang could see Yingfei's face slowly contort from a grin to full of anxiety.
"XIAOLANG LOOK OUT!"
Broken out from his stupor, he turned to the opposite team to see a ball going straight towards his face. Regret.
BANG!
โฆ..