(The Present...)
"Mr. Miller, word is there was quite an incident on the football field yesterday," Mrs. Garcia opened the conversation.
Glancing around the room, I noticed Coach McMahon seated to my right, with George and Alexis behind him on the couch. George had his face buried in his hands, while Alexis was giving me a curious look.
I responded with a smile, "It seems that way, ma'am."
"Could you share what happened exactly, as far as you can recall?" she inquired.
"He was fooling around with the blocking bags, Mrs. Garcia. Let's just say he played with fire and got burned," Alexis interjected, accompanied by a chuckle.
"Thank you for your... insight, Alexis," Mrs. Garcia acknowledged before turning her attention back to me. "Edward?"
"I don't remember much, ma'am," I replied, maintaining my smile. "We'll have to rely on what these gentlemen have reported."
"That sounds reasonable," Mrs. Garcia said, nodding. "Tell me more about what you can remember."
"Well," I began, "I was practicing some drills with the blocking bags to refine my technique. Things got a bit competitive, and before I knew it, I may have pushed a bit too hard. The next thing I knew, I collided forcefully with one of the bags."
Mrs. Garcia raised an eyebrow, removed her glasses, and wiped them clean while maintaining a wry smile.
"Edward isn't on the football team, is he, Peter?" she asked Coach McMahon.
Coach McMahon closed his eyes and shook his head, signaling no. He seemed visibly bothered.
"Interesting. If he's not on the team, why would he be practicing football drills? It's a bit peculiar, don't you think?" Mrs. Garcia pondered, chuckling several times. "Alexis, you've been quite vocal. Do you know how many CCTV cameras are on the field?"
"...What?" Alexis responded.
"CCTV cameras, on the football field."
"Oh, um, no, ma'am," he admitted.
"We have a few, about six or so, isn't that right, Peter?" Mrs. Garcia interrupted Coach McMahon's response. "Yeah, we've got a few, not as many as in the gym, though." Her eyes widened. "...much more in the gym. We owe that to the student body president; she argued that the gym was more of a 'female space.' It made sense, a clever suggestion."
She paused for several seconds, adjusting her glasses. "Quite assertive, isn't she, Ms. Eugene?" she continued. "Well, anyway. That's neither here nor there,"
"Mr. Henderson, it's good of you to join us," she declared as he closed the door behind him.
Her attention shifted to George, who had just raised his head to see the newcomer. "George! How was your day yesterday? Anything noteworthy?"
He lowered his head, remaining silent.
"I'll take that as a no," Mrs. Garcia remarked.
Mr. Henderson moved towards me. He seemed concerned. "Oh my goodness, Miller? Are you ok?"
"Yes, sir. I'm alright," I replied.
He smiled faintly.
"Alright, well, we're going to wrap this up," Mrs. Garcia proclaimed, looking at her watch.
She stood up, followed by Coach McMahon.
"Tim why don't you escort Edward back to class. I need a word with Mr. McMahon and his... players here."
"Yes, ma'am," Mr. Henderson affirmed.
I walked past George, who didn't even look up at me. He kept his head buried in his hands. Alexis gave me a menacing glare, and Coach McMahon's facial expression remained unchanged.
"Are you ok?" Mr. Henderson repeated as we made our way out of the room.
"Yeah, I'm alright. A few bumps and bruises, but otherwise, I'm fine," I replied.
"Do you want to tell me what really happened?"
"It was a planned assault. Alexis and his friends wanted to teach me a lesson."
"My goodness."
"What are they gonna do, sir?"
"Well, that's a very good question. Mrs. Garcia, she's tough. She's not going to let something like this slide, no way. But I can't say for sure what will happen, especially with the upcoming game."
We completed the rest of the journey in silence, parting ways near the boy's locker room as the school day neared its end.
"Eddie!" Kelly's voice echoed from a distance. She was seated nearby. "I heard. Oh my gosh, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just a few scratches and bruises," I replied, trying to reassure her.
"This is unbelievable," she stated, shaking her head. "This is just...unbelievable."
"Kelly, calm down," I urged. "I'm ok, really. Just a few scrapes and bruises, no big deal."
She sighed, clearly frustrated.
She sighed, clearly frustrated. "It's just...I can't believe they'd do something like this."
"Well, it's over. Everything is fine," I reassured her.
She leaned in and hugged me.
"Ouch!" I exclaimed, wincing in pain.
She released me from her grasp. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're ok,"
"Yeah, I'll be alright," I replied, maintaining an expressionless face as I observed James approaching.
"Oh, my goodness. Eddie? Who's done this to you?" Brooke exclaimed, slamming her fists into her hand as she approached.
"It's all good, Champ. We're all good," I said, attempting to reassure the group.
Mikaela stood by James, her face displaying a look of indifference, almost as if downplaying the severity of it all. She flashed the briefest smile and then hooked her arm around Brooke's, beginning to walk away.
"Get some rest, champ! I promise I'll get 'em for you." Brooke declared as she followed Mikaela's lead.
James approached Kelly. "Bro are you..."
"Don't even start with that man! Keep an eye out for your guys bro 'cause I promise someone's getting hurt."
"No, Eddie..." Kelly interjected.
"Alrighty guys. I'll just step in and take this one away." Andrea declared, taking my hand and leading me away as swiftly as she had arrived.
"This ain't over man and that's a promise!" I continued.
"Shhh, it's okay," Andrea whispered, gently pulling on my hand.
We had been walking for several minutes, and my attempts to capture her attention had been unsuccessful. "Andrea! Please, listen to me."
She stopped. "Fine, what's up?"
"Thank you,"
"For what?"
"For everything. Thank you, I appreciate you."
She chuckled, "Yeah, no worries. It's fine, I mean, what else was I supposed to do just leave you there?"
"Uhm, no. I guess not." I replied nervously rubbing my neck.
She nudged me playfully, "You gave me quite the scare there you know."
"Ah, sorry, didn't mean to."
"It's ok, you're forgiven."
"Well, I guess I'll see you..."
"Do you want to grab something to eat?" she interrupted. "Oh, sorry. Uh, yeah, tomorrow, I guess."
I linked my arm around hers. "I'm starving, actually. Mrs. Garcia's speeches just zap your energy, you know."
Her face was now beginning to redden. "Are you alright?" I asked as I unlinked our arms.
She nodded. "...Papa's has the best milkshake," she announced as she let her hair loose.
I nodded, unsure of how to respond.
"I've been going there since forever, it's got the best atmosphere." she continued.
"Uh-huh, ok," I replied.
"They've also got the best burger. But you can't go wrong with the fries either. Or the waffle fries. You can't go wrong with those. They've got an awesome range of drinks. But I mean, we already know that."
"Yeah,"
"What?"
"I mean yeah, you can't go wrong with Papa's."
She chuckled.
"Yeah, I've never been," I added.
"Wait, What?!"
"What?"
"You've never been?"
"Uhm no. No, I've never been."
"What?"
"Are you serious? I thought everyone had been."
"I'm pretty sure only like half the school has been."
"Half? Really? That can't be."
"Yes, Andrea, it can."
"Well, that's about to change because we are going right now. Get in the car."
I chuckled as I opened the door and slid in.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing,"
"Ok,"
"Well, you're cute when you're excited."
"What?"
"What? Nothing. Sorry."
"Yeah, no problem. You're crazy. Let's go."
She punched me in the arm. "Shut up."
We were seated in the grass just outside Papa's. The restaurant had closed, and the sun was setting.
"Oh my goodness! What is it about these milkshakes? Andrea?" she was closely examining the scars on my hand.
"...Comes with the territory, you know," I said, looking away and taking another slurp from the milkshake.
"Huh?... Oh. I was staring, wasn't I?"
"Just a teeny bit," I gestured with my fingers. "It's getting late; you should go."
"This was nice," she said as she got up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Eddie."
I lingered for several more minutes before making the decision to leave. The evening was setting in, but from my vantage point, I could see Alexis's car. He was still at school, and this provided the perfect viewpoint.
"Well, what do we have here?" I whispered.
I could see him clearly from where I was. He was standing outside his car, his arms waving erratically.
I shaded my eyes with my hands as I took a closer look, and to my surprise, it was Mikaela. They seemed to be having an argument, or perhaps they were making up. It was impossible to tell from my distance.
She left, and he watched her as she disappeared around the corner. He then sat back down in his car.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk" I remarked. "Wrong place to be alone right now my boy."
As the last of the rays of sunshine faded, a smile spread across my face.