“You almost done in there?” his father’s voice called through the door.
“Yeah, one minute,” he called back.
Crap, how long have I been standing here?
Quickly finishing up, Aiden dried off and dressed in jogging pants and an old t-shirt. He’d pack nicer clothes for after practice. When he opened the door, his dad was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed. Aiden could help but smile. “Are you sleeping standing up?”
His father grunted in response, slowly moving past him into the washroom. “I hate Monday mornings,” he muttered, closing the door.
“Ai’en,” Eddie’s voice called out. Aiden walked to her room, finding her sitting patiently in the middle of her crib.
“Morning monkey,” he said, lifting her easily into his arms. He could hear his mother getting up in their room next door.
“Aiden, when do you need to leave?” she called, as he heard her opening and shutting drawers. He looked at the small clock in Eddie’s room
. Double crap, it’s already six thirty-five.
“Fifteen minutes, tops,” he replied. He changed his sister, listening to her chatter in whatever language she was speaking, responding with “really?”, “uh huh”, and simply the nodding of his head. This seemed to placate her, so he continued it as he carried her down to the kitchen. His mom was heating up a bottle.
“This sucks,” she mumbled, taking Eddie from him.
“You’re the one who always said I should be more involved in school activities,” he pointed out.
“I know, and I still think that, but did it have to be the one that starts at the crack of dawn? Who in their right mind would encourage that?” she said, buckling Eddie into her chair. “Or at least wait until you can drive yourself.”
“I can,” he pointed out again. “You just won’t let me.” He got his licence over the summer, but his mother still wouldn’t let him drive to school. He could drive on weekends, but she insisted that if she let him take the car to school he would end up skipping. It had been a huge fight one night, which resulted in the two of them not speaking for two days. He’d finally got over it, deciding that it wasn’t worth holding a grudge. After his close call in Eden, he realized how much his family meant to him. He would never forget thinking that he might never see them again, and the pain that thought brought. He didn’t want to fight over something so trivial. Plus, Ethan had a car this year, which he wisely didn’t mention.
“Hurry up and eat something and we’ll go,” she said, ignoring his comment. “First day of practice, you don’t want to be late!”
* * * * *
His legs felt like jelly as he ran, but fear coursed through his veins, pushing him further. Others ran on either side, but Aiden could feel the focus on him. Sweat poured down the sides of his face and down his back. The field was open in front of him, safety just beyond his reach. It felt like no matter how fast he ran, the hands of death were behind him, drawing closer and closer. Aiden briefly squeezed his eyes shut, opening them again to the harsh reality before him. He pushed harder, ignoring the constant pain in his chest. His lungs burned, but he wouldn’t slow down. The second he did it would be the end. He was sure of it. Alone, against an enemy he couldn’t begin to understand, Aiden prayed for some sort of aide.
“Two more laps!” Coach Morris bellowed. “Move it Aiden – don’t think I can’t see you! Next time you’ll think twice about being late for practice!”
The voice effectively ended the terrifying fog in his brain. Cursing under his breath, Aiden sped up, trying to stay in line with the teammates in front of him. It wasn’t enough that these dreams haunted him every time he closed his eyes, but now they were working their way into his mind when he was awake too.
Would it ever end?
“We’re not going to win any games like this, you pathetic bunch of pansies!”
Coach Morris was notorious for his verbal abuse. As much as the whole football team resented their fearless leader, no one would dare say a word against him. They were terrified. Each breath Aiden took burned the inside walls of his chest and throat. The coach had already made them run twenty laps, and then tagged on two more right near the end. The air was dry and the sun was already searing, even though it was early morning. Sweat soaked through their shirts as if they had all just showered while fully clothed. Aiden couldn’t wait for this torture to be over. To think, he had actually thought this was going to be easy compared to his training with the King’s army. As every muscle in his legs screamed, he began to rethink that.
“Alright, bring it in!” Coach called out from the benches.
Everyone circled around him, the air filled with the sound of hard breathing. It felt like Aiden’s lungs would burst. Bending over, he tried to breathe in through his nose, and out through his mouth, hoping this would slow down his heart rate. He listened intently as the coach began to speak.
“The Summer is done,” he announced. “This means playtime is over, boys.”
Way to state the obvious
, Aiden thought tiresomely. “What this means for
you
lot is that not only is our season beginning, but you are
expected
…” he stressed the last word, and then stopped to correct himself, “no,
required
to do well in all your classes if you want to be on this team. I’m talking at least B’s! Do not make me have to cut any of you because you don’t know how to do your work. I’m going to have every teacher behind these walls working you has hard as I do out here on the field. Do not disappoint me! Do you understand?”
“Yes sir!” they replied loudly in unison. Aiden wondered if he had mistakenly signed up for the army instead of high school football.
“Now go shower. You all look like hell.”
With a sigh of relief, Aiden headed toward the locker rooms alongside the rest of the team. The orange bricks of the school ominously towered over them. Dread seemed to fill them all as the reality of another school year hit. As they filed, one after another, into the dark change rooms, Aiden turned around and took one fleeting look back at the clear sky. The blue was undisturbed, not a single cloud floated in it. The sun shone down mockingly as the institutional walls closed around them, locking the students inside while fall approached. As if to support his thoughts, the doors suddenly slammed shut, erasing the rays of light from his face.
* * * * *
The halls were overflowing with students. Voices filled the corridors with greetings as people reunited after the long summer. Aiden walked briskly towards the cafeteria. Ethan would be waiting for him at their usual table, so he hurried along, avoiding the stares from some of the younger girls. It was strange, the new attention he received from the opposite sex. The change in his appearance was still new to him, making him embarrassed when he realized others noticed it too.
Shaking it off, he walked through the double doors into the densely packed cafeteria. Georgetown High School wasn’t quite as big as his previous school in Toronto, but was still big enough to make him uncomfortable as he tried to manoeuvre his way to the lower level. Ethan sat with a dazed look on his face. No one else sat at the table, making him look alone and lost. Aiden couldn’t help but smile as he approached his friend.
“Good morning,” he greeted, swinging his backpack off his back and onto the table. Ethan jumped at the sound, completely unaware of his approach.
“Hey,” he smiled as Aiden sat down across from him. “How was football practice?” he asked, screwing up his face at the mention of it.
“Good,” Aiden shrugged indifferently. The team had been a sore subject between the two of them ever since Aiden first declared his intention to join. Ethan mocked the jocks in the school just as much as Aiden had, and he couldn’t comprehend why Aiden wanted to integrate himself into that group. Eventually his resentment subsided, making room for mild disgust whenever it was mentioned. “Did you get your schedule?” Ethan held up the piece of paper unhappily. “What do you have first period?”
“Gym,” he sighed, “with Morris.” Aiden understood the reason for the scowl that occupied Ethan’s face.
“Tough luck,” Aiden said. “I have history with Mr. Basios if it makes you feel any better.” Everyone knew how hard it was to pass Mr. Basios’ history class. If he was expected to maintain a high mark for the team, he’d have to work extra hard in this class. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to it. Gym with Morris was almost better in comparison. The first bell rang out, drilling in the reality of new classes with each chime. Both boys sighed, picked up their bags, and followed the rest of the crowd out into the main forum.
“What lunch do you have?” Ethan asked as they walked.
“Third period,” Aiden replied, glancing down at his schedule just to be sure.
“Good, same here. I’ll see you then?” Aiden nodded as Ethan walked off in the opposite direction. Climbing the stairs, Aiden focused on breathing normally and trying his best to avoid the jitters of the first day of school.
The classroom was already quite full when he entered. A few heads turned in his direction but Aiden kept his focus on the back of the room. There was one seat left in the back row that had his name on it. A girl greeted him as he passed. She was one of the girls who would never have given him a second thought last year. Smiling at her, just to be polite, he kept walking towards the empty desk at the back of the room. It was a well-known fact that Mr. Basios was extremely nearsighted, making the back row ideal for those who didn’t want to be called on.
Mr. Basios called the class to attention. “This here is grade eleven history, university level. I want everyone’s undivided attention while I am speaking, and clear and concise thoughts when called upon. No half-assed work here. Does everyone understand?” Most of the class nodded their heads, while the rest kept rigidly still in their seats. Two students were sent around to pass out the textbooks while the teacher wrote the assigned page numbers on the board
. What teacher assigned work on the first day of class?
Aiden wondered miserably. The first day was supposed to be easy – a day when everyone just got settled and found their classrooms. No one actually assigned work. If this was any indication of what the rest of the semester was going to be like, Aiden could already tell it would be even harder than he imagined.
Aiden’s second period class, geography, went by as expected. The teacher came in, introduced herself, and then let the rest of the class chat idly while she talked with some students. She even let them out ten minutes early. This is how all his classes should go, he thought wearily, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. It was now heavy with the thick textbook Mr. Basios assigned. They were expected to read chapter one overnight and complete the follow-up exercise at the end for submission tomorrow. Aiden hurried along to the cafeteria, thankful that he could relax for the period.
As he entered, a few guys from the football team called out to him. This was something new and unexpected. It would take some getting used to. He waved back while he headed to his usual table where Ethan was already sitting.
“How did it go?” he asked, as Aiden sat down.
Aiden rolled his eyes dramatically. “As good as it gets for the first day,” he replied.
“That bad, huh?” Aiden nodded, taking a big bite of an apple. “Melissa is in a couple of my classes,” he continued. Aiden chewed slowly, watching his friend closely. A faint blush formed on his cheeks. Aiden raised his eyebrows in interest.
What is this?
He thought.
“Oh yeah?” he said, keeping his tone casual.
Ethan nodded, his eyes landing anywhere and everywhere but on Aiden. “She asked about you,” he added, quickly glancing back at him, and then away again.
What’s wrong with him?
Aiden wondered.
He had a thought, and quickly tested it. “How’d she look?” The blush on his friend’s cheek deepened. Aiden was stunned. Did Ethan
like
Melissa? He was always making fun of Aiden for his crush last year. Ethan shrugged, trying, and failing, to look casual.
“She looks the same,” he responded. “Anyway, I’m going to head to the library. I want to grab some of the reading material for English before all the good copies are taken.”
“Okay,” Aiden replied, confused, watching him gather his things.
“See you later!”
“Yeah…see ya.” He watched Ethan leave, his movements tense and jerky. This was weird. He had never seen Ethan act like this before. He’d look into it more later, he decided, and quickly finished his lunch just as the bell rang.
The rest of the day went by uneventfully. The last bell rang, sending Aiden off towards the locker rooms. After a long day of boredom, he wasn’t looking forward to running drills again. His body ached for sleep, having had only a few hours the night before. Sadly he was getting used to the feeling, and prayed that maybe that night would be the first he’d actually get a solid night’s worth, before he collapsed from exhaustion.
* * * * *
Sleep evaded him once again. Anxiety about school and football filled his head with worry. Tossing and turning, he tried his best to clear his mind long enough to fall into a mindless state of slumber. Eventually it arrived, but with it came a distressing dream.
They were laughing, walking along the river on the trails at Forks of the Credit. Her hand fit neatly in his, slender and warm, just like he imagined. The sun shone off her hair, creating natural auburn highlights. Part of his mind knew it wasn’t real, which was odd for a dream. As he turned to smile at her, she began to shift, and suddenly it was no longer Melissa who walked with him, but Elisa. Her golden hair formed a halo around her face in the sunshine. Her perfect lips were drawn back in a smile, revealing the straight white lines of her teeth. She wore the same riding pants and shirt she always did, but her bow was nowhere to be seen. The happiness he felt increased as he looked down at her. Suddenly she pointed ahead of them, waving her free hand at someone down the path. Squinting against the brightness of the afternoon, Aiden looked to see who she was greeting, and there in their path stood Felix, only he wasn’t dead. He was his former self, the familiar carefree smile on his face, and the friendly look in his eyes. Aiden’s heart swelled with warmth as he looked at his old friend.