mocha #19 + malt : "ode to high-school gym"
Hi! Sorry I haven't been around much lately :) Here's one I just banged out. Unedited.
Author: hi_falootin
Prompt: mocha 19. you'll have to do better than that
Extra: MALT (telephone prompt, see end notes)
Word Count: 782
Rating: PG
While everyone else is doing cartwheels, Dee finds a spot on the sparse, dying grass and sits down.
The problem with a small school is the problem with small classes is the problem with gym teachers who are always too interested in you personally to give you a moment of peace.
"Are we not participating now?" asks Mr. Stacco (who everyone just called by his first name, "Jay" because he was like what, twenty?), hovering over Dee in his too-short gym shorts, Jesus, why would anyone wear those?.
"I guess," says Dee. Don't look up, don't look up. "I'm kind of anti-cartwheel."
"Well everyone else is participating--" Jay points to Carmen Gray who, it seems, has grown bored with cartwheels and moved on to round-offs. "It's not really fair if I let you sit out. So come on, let's see your cartwheel."
He extends his hand for Dee, but she gets up without taking it.
"What is gymnastics anyway?" she grouses, brushing off her knees, "It's not a real sport! This is stupid!"
Jay looks amused. "Could it be? Have I finally found the chink in your armor? Ms. Athletic is afraid of a little cartwheel?"
Dee screws up her face at him. He acts all superior, but he looks so young, so...dork with his freckles and big ears...like she can take that seriously.
"How about, I just don't want to?"
Jay regards her silently. Then he grabs and blows his whistle, calls over his shoulder, "Okay, that's enough everyone, come back over here."
The whole sweaty gym class stops the gymnastics and wanders back over to where their teacher and Dee are standing.
Dee wonders if she's won.
No way.
"All right," says Jay, "Here's the thing. I'm going to let all of you out 10 minutes early." There's a brief silence, followed by some "reallys?" and other murmurs of the confusion/suspicion that's only really found in high school students.
"Why?" Malila finally pipes up.
"Deirdre's going to do a cartwheel for us. Then you'll all be free to go."
"What?!" Dee demands. "That's not fair!"
"Of course if she doesn't, that's okay. We can spend the rest of class jogging around the track." Jay smiles.
"Come on, cartwheel, Dee!" Leo calls out.
"Yeah, cartwheel! Don't you want to go early?"
"Dee," Malila says, very seriously, "You should just do it. It's really not that hard."
"When am I ever going to need to do a cartwheel in real life?" Dee turns to Jay looking desperate. "Come on! This is ridiculous!"
When Jay pretends not to hear her, she throws up her hands. "Fine! You win!" She bunches up her oversized t-shirt in her hand and tucks it sloppily into her shorts. "If you want a skin show, you're out of luck though, okay?"
Jay doesn't take the bait. So she takes a deep breath, lifts her hands over her head and with one swift motion...
and does something that looks more like falling than cartwheeling. The ground slams hard against her backside and her elbow makes a weird popping noise.
The next thing she hears is laughing. A lot of laughing.
"Is that good enough?" she demands, glaring daggers at Jay.
Jay, who looks like he wants to be laughing himself, shakes his head. "That's hardly a cartwheel. You'll have to do better than that."
"Hey," Malila cuts in, before things can get ugly, "All you've got to do is get your legs up, Dee. Pretend like you're doing a handstand!"
Dee thinks she might just die, right there. "Who says I can do a handstand?"
"I can do a handstand!" Derek proclaims, tapping Malila on the shoulder and then doing just that. He's flirting, inverted or not. Malila laughs because she thinks he's cute. It's really not very funny or interesting. Really.
Boys are stupid. Girls are stupid. Dee shakes her head.
"Let's try again," says Jay, "Remember, kick your legs straight up in the air."
Can I kick you instead? Dee wants to ask, but it sounds too bratty, too cliché. "Okay, one more time. I seriously hate you, you know."
Raising her arms above her head again, Dee takes a running start and slams her palms into the ground with all she's got. It's sloppy, it's ugly, but she lands on her feet, so it will do. No one laughs.
"Yay, Dee!" Malila cheers, "That was awesome!"
"Good enough?" Dee asks, realizing to her chagrin, she's slightly winded.
"I suppose it will do," says Jay, good job sounding like an asshole there. He strokes his chin. "I suppose...I will let you all go now."
Dee's off and running before he can finish that sentence.
End notes:
I was a little liberal with the malt prompt I got, but here's what it was:
Your MC is making a complete fool out of him/herself while learning a new skill from someone they hate who happens to have a crush on your MC, while the MC's crush watches. While your MC's crush and a person who your MC's crush likes does the same skill your MC is trying to learn.
I wasn't shooting all that high with this piece, I just wanted to write something :D This was fun because everyone was acting way immature lol.
Author: hi_falootin
Prompt: mocha 19. you'll have to do better than that
Extra: MALT (telephone prompt, see end notes)
Word Count: 782
Rating: PG
While everyone else is doing cartwheels, Dee finds a spot on the sparse, dying grass and sits down.
The problem with a small school is the problem with small classes is the problem with gym teachers who are always too interested in you personally to give you a moment of peace.
"Are we not participating now?" asks Mr. Stacco (who everyone just called by his first name, "Jay" because he was like what, twenty?), hovering over Dee in his too-short gym shorts, Jesus, why would anyone wear those?.
"I guess," says Dee. Don't look up, don't look up. "I'm kind of anti-cartwheel."
"Well everyone else is participating--" Jay points to Carmen Gray who, it seems, has grown bored with cartwheels and moved on to round-offs. "It's not really fair if I let you sit out. So come on, let's see your cartwheel."
He extends his hand for Dee, but she gets up without taking it.
"What is gymnastics anyway?" she grouses, brushing off her knees, "It's not a real sport! This is stupid!"
Jay looks amused. "Could it be? Have I finally found the chink in your armor? Ms. Athletic is afraid of a little cartwheel?"
Dee screws up her face at him. He acts all superior, but he looks so young, so...dork with his freckles and big ears...like she can take that seriously.
"How about, I just don't want to?"
Jay regards her silently. Then he grabs and blows his whistle, calls over his shoulder, "Okay, that's enough everyone, come back over here."
The whole sweaty gym class stops the gymnastics and wanders back over to where their teacher and Dee are standing.
Dee wonders if she's won.
No way.
"All right," says Jay, "Here's the thing. I'm going to let all of you out 10 minutes early." There's a brief silence, followed by some "reallys?" and other murmurs of the confusion/suspicion that's only really found in high school students.
"Why?" Malila finally pipes up.
"Deirdre's going to do a cartwheel for us. Then you'll all be free to go."
"What?!" Dee demands. "That's not fair!"
"Of course if she doesn't, that's okay. We can spend the rest of class jogging around the track." Jay smiles.
"Come on, cartwheel, Dee!" Leo calls out.
"Yeah, cartwheel! Don't you want to go early?"
"Dee," Malila says, very seriously, "You should just do it. It's really not that hard."
"When am I ever going to need to do a cartwheel in real life?" Dee turns to Jay looking desperate. "Come on! This is ridiculous!"
When Jay pretends not to hear her, she throws up her hands. "Fine! You win!" She bunches up her oversized t-shirt in her hand and tucks it sloppily into her shorts. "If you want a skin show, you're out of luck though, okay?"
Jay doesn't take the bait. So she takes a deep breath, lifts her hands over her head and with one swift motion...
and does something that looks more like falling than cartwheeling. The ground slams hard against her backside and her elbow makes a weird popping noise.
The next thing she hears is laughing. A lot of laughing.
"Is that good enough?" she demands, glaring daggers at Jay.
Jay, who looks like he wants to be laughing himself, shakes his head. "That's hardly a cartwheel. You'll have to do better than that."
"Hey," Malila cuts in, before things can get ugly, "All you've got to do is get your legs up, Dee. Pretend like you're doing a handstand!"
Dee thinks she might just die, right there. "Who says I can do a handstand?"
"I can do a handstand!" Derek proclaims, tapping Malila on the shoulder and then doing just that. He's flirting, inverted or not. Malila laughs because she thinks he's cute. It's really not very funny or interesting. Really.
Boys are stupid. Girls are stupid. Dee shakes her head.
"Let's try again," says Jay, "Remember, kick your legs straight up in the air."
Can I kick you instead? Dee wants to ask, but it sounds too bratty, too cliché. "Okay, one more time. I seriously hate you, you know."
Raising her arms above her head again, Dee takes a running start and slams her palms into the ground with all she's got. It's sloppy, it's ugly, but she lands on her feet, so it will do. No one laughs.
"Yay, Dee!" Malila cheers, "That was awesome!"
"Good enough?" Dee asks, realizing to her chagrin, she's slightly winded.
"I suppose it will do," says Jay, good job sounding like an asshole there. He strokes his chin. "I suppose...I will let you all go now."
Dee's off and running before he can finish that sentence.
End notes:
I was a little liberal with the malt prompt I got, but here's what it was:
Your MC is making a complete fool out of him/herself while learning a new skill from someone they hate who happens to have a crush on your MC, while the MC's crush watches. While your MC's crush and a person who your MC's crush likes does the same skill your MC is trying to learn.
I wasn't shooting all that high with this piece, I just wanted to write something :D This was fun because everyone was acting way immature lol.