Chapter 310 Watching Others Play
I mostly watched others play-
***
An unquantifiable amount of time earlier,
"Alright. Looks like everyone is here." An adult whispered as he stared at the notepad in his hands.
The man was plainly dressed. Sneakers, a baggy sweatshirt, and greenish sweatpants.
He was rather old, so it was strange for him to be a PE teacher.
At least, that's what the twenty-four children seated on the ground in front of him thought.
Think we'll be able to-
You know I'm the fastest in the school right-
I really don't feel like-
"Quiet, kids." The teacher clapped his hands together, bringing back the students' attention to himself. "We only have about an hour today so... We'll play matches right away."
YESSS-
PERFECT, WE'LL DEFINITELY WIN THIS TIME-
Ughh-
"Umm..." Feeling a tinge of awkwardness, the teacher stared at the piece of paper he had pulled out as he talked. "Mark?"
Immediately, all eyes turned towards that particular student.
Mark.
He was taller than his classmates, but particularly scrawny. Pale too.
Very pale.
"Yes... Sir?"
Not again-
No way-
I really wanted to play with him-
The whispers made it rather obvious. He was well-liked by those around him.
The teachers liked him too. He didn't cause trouble, and was usually quiet when he was supposed to be.
"I umm... I have a note from your doctor, so-"
"Again?"
"Yes..." The teacher scratched his head. "I'm sure you'll be able to play next time though."
Mark pressed his lips together.
He couldn't really go against his teacher, could he?
Next time then-
Make sure you watch me, I'm going to be amazing today-
They tried cheering him up, which was nice and actually worked.
Mark walked away from the center of the gymnasium.
It was a huge gymnasium.
This was the children's first year in elementary school. Their first year in a school with a gymnasium, so that might have had something to do with their disproportionate sense of size.
Fourth week of class.
Fourth PE class.
Fourth time Mark had to walk away from his classmates and sit on the benches.
They waved at him as he walked, and he waved back.
"Now... Football is the game for this trimester. Since there are 23 of you, we'll be doing two teams of..."
"Um. Teacher?"
"Mm?" The teacher directed his gaze towards the student.
Ley was her name.
She timidly scratched her cheek.
"What is it, Ley?"
"Um... Can I... I'll... Football is played in teams of 11, right? So..."
"You don't want to play?"
"I... Um... Maybe..." She fidgeted around, not sure what to answer.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Ley answered so fast that it surprised her teacher.
"Okay then. Teams of 11. You can sub someone out whenever you want, okay Ley? Or I'll put a timer for someone to step out every ten minutes-"
"I'LL... I'd rather... I'm feeling a bit tired."
"I see. That's fine."
Ley walked away from the classmates surrounding her.
She didn't turn around. And they didn't wave at her.
"Okay. I'll leave you to make the teams. Then we'll..."
The classmates started warming up shortly after.
They were very excited, as all children are when it comes to playing games and competing.
Competing.
Most of them were about six years old.
Yet, they all wanted to win.
And why wouldn't they?
Winning the game at the weekly PE class was a great achievement.
Something they would brag and boast about for the whoole following week.
The class took place on Mondays too, so the whole week remained for their bragging.
"We're not losing this time." Team A's rowdy leader exclaimed as he made his left shoulder rotate.
"We're playing football..." Team B's leader took off his glasses. "Why are you warming up your shoulders."
"Geh! Because uhh... Yes! Because you use your arms when running too! Aha!"
Team B's leader took his time cleaning his glasses with his shirt. It didn't seem like it, but he was buying time to find a good retort.
Dozens of steps away, both Mark and Ley were seated on the same bench.
She didn't sit on a different one, since that would have been rude.
Still, she sat on the other side of the bench.
'Mmm... She doesn't like playing with the others. Only when it comes to sports though. The rest of the time, I don't think she has a problem with them...' The teacher thought to himself. 'Wonder if I should... No. I'll let her be. Forcing her to play isn't good.' His gaze moved to the other kid, Mark. 'I really want to let him play... But if something happens, it'll be my fault. Can't do that. Can't do that. Gotta keep my job. Doctor's orders reign supreme.'
Seconds later, the whistle blew and the match began.
"So your team starts with the ball, huh? As expected, teacher's pet!'
"Growl, growl. You're just like a dog!"
With a bored expression on her face, Ley watched the match from afar. n).o/-v((e/-l/)B(/1.)n
The dreadful PE class.
Sigh-
She had managed to escape this time too. But the anxiety couldn't be held back. What about the next PE class?
Her gaze moved to her right and, as always,
Shine-
'What... Again...?' Ley was truly stupefied.
His eyes shone so brightly she could almost see sparks flying.
Stareee-
His eyelids opened so widely Ley thought it was unnatural.
"PIEERE! TO YOUR RIGHT!" Mark shouted suddenly, startling Ley. "AGHH!! RIN, YOU SUCK! YOU COULD HAVE TOTALLY TAKEN IT THERE!! MIA, GO TO..."
Ley's gaze moved back to the ball which was quickly moving around, up and down the field.
"WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON??" Both teams' leaders yelled at once.
"BFAHAHAHA! THAT WAS PERFECT SHIN! DON'T LET HIM TAKE IT BACK!!" Mark shouted as he laughed out loud hysterically.
...
Ten minutes had passed.
A short break for the players was due. The match was an intense one.
Only once the break started, did Mark let his back fall on the bench's backrest.
"Wa... I'm exhausted." He whispered, still chuckling.
'BUT YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING??' Ley shouted internally.
She noticed the teacher peeking at her.
Ley looked away.
'She really doesn't want to, huh?' The teacher thought to himself.
Whistle-
The match continued.
This time, three goals were scored. One of them was an own goal.
An incident that wouldn't be forgotten for the whole year, and would be brought up many, many times.
No matter how many times the teams talked about it, they could never agree on whether it was an -own goal- or not.
The person to bring up the -own goal issue- the most that year was Mark.
