"I'm not flexible though," Charlotte said as she attempted to stretch and failed.
"C'mon, you have to be able to stretch farther then that," Tracy said.
"Nope."
"Shouldn't you be stretching?" Tracy asked Gerard and Ray.
"Probably."
"Doesn't mean we're going to."
"Doesn't seem to make a difference."
The class lined up around the track and Ms. Janarie started the clock when Coach Travis blew his whistle.
After about a lap, Gerard and Ray stopped to walk.
"We aren't going to make it in under ten minutes," Gerard said.
"Nope."
"We should help them out," Charlotte said.
"Okay," Tracy agreed. They ran up and hit them on their backs.
"YOU'RE IT!" They yelled as they kept running.
They grinned and ran after them.
After another lap they checked the clock as they started walking. "Three minutes. We can make another lap in that long right?" Tracy said.
"If we keep running,"Charlotte said.
"I'm gonna cry," Tracy gasped.
"Me too," Ray said.
"Cry later, I'm not running this again," Charlotte said, starting to run again.
"Me neither," Gerard said, starting to run too. Tracy and Ray sighed and fallowed.
"Fifteen seconds to spare," Charlotte said.
Tracy sat down on the grass and so did the other three. After a few seconds of heavy breathing they were on their backs.
"You know, I've never appreciated how blue the sky was until now," Charlotte said.
"Yeah."
"So Gerard, why do you have to do a report on swimming?" Charlotte asked.
"I'm failing P.E."
"How are you failing P.E.?"
"We're passing P.E.," Tracy said pointing to herself and Charlotte.
"If we can pass, anyone can."
"I have an excuse, I can't swim."
"... you can't swim?"
"You just think it's weird because you lived in California where everyone goes to the beach and knows how to swim."
"I only lived there until I was two."
Once the last few people finished the lap, Ms. Janarie and Coach Travis told them to hit the showers and they pulled themselves to their feet and walked back towards the locker rooms.
The bell rang and they left to get the rest of their things from their lockers before heading home.
"You sure you don't need a ride to work or something?" Gerard asked.
"Nah, my shift doesn't start for another half-hour today. But thanks," Charlotte said.
"Okay."
"Gerard, do you think your dad could fix my tires? My dad doesn't have a clue how."
"Yeah. I'll ask him when he gets home. If he and my mom aren't arguing again."
"I herd that they argued a lot," Charlotte said as she opened her locker.
"Who told you that?"
"The old lady that lives down the street from you said that they kept her up one night."
"I think they're gonna get a divorce," Gerard said, leaning against some lockers,"They've brought it up a few times."
"I'm sorry," Charlotte said.
"Me too," said Tracy. Ray nodded.
"Thanks."
"What did I do?" he thought, and walked downstairs.
"Yeah?"
"We got a call from Mr. Marcus today," Donna said.
"Apparently you're failing his class," Donald said.
Gerard said nothing.
"Gerard, what don't you understand? Do you need a tutor?" Donna asked.
"I'll handle it," He said,"I still have until the end of the semester to bring up my grade."
"You'd better get on with it," Donald said,"You will graduate."
"I will," Gerard said, not looking Donald in the eye.
After no one said anything for a while, Gerard turned and walked back upstairs. He opened his Chemistry book and tried to understand. Ever sentence, every paragraph seemed to spin around in his brain and not sink it at all. He couldn't understand at all. He closed the book and hit himself in the head with it repeatedly.
"How am I going to do this?" He said to his ceiling.
"Trust Me"