Hell's Angel (EDITING)

9 - Andrew | I thought detention would be more fun

It's the first day of practice and I have a full-blown cold. I sneeze miserably as I walk to the field from the detention hall.

"I'm sorry I got you sick," Finny says sincerely.

There's a lot of things she can be sorry for, but I hardly think I can blame my cold on her. "That's not your fault at all."

"Well, I'm also sorry about the detention!"

"That was your fault," I grin, "but it wasn't that bad."

I only said it make her feel better. Detention was just as awful as I expected it to be. But Finny is beyond shocked—like she were expecting it to be a fun get-together.

"Are you kidding me? It was horrible! We had to do homework. HOMEWORK!!"

"What did you think we'd have to do?!"

"I thought we could eat snacks and chat. And if it had been in the library we could've read fun books."

I can't believe it's her first time in detention. She strikes me as the type of person who gets herself into trouble often. I glance back at Ro and smile at his expression. He catches my eye, his lips twitching into an almost smile.

We get to the field just in time for warmups. Coach shouts over her megaphone for us to start running laps.

"Hey! You're the new kids." A short boy grins widely as he jogs into place beside us. I say short but he's still taller than I am. He has a curly mop of ginger hair and a generous dusting of freckles across his cheeks. "I'm Eli. Welcome to the team! Practice always starts with running—which sucks—but it's alright after that."

Eli already sounds a little out of breath though we just started. He gives a weak thumbs up and I grin at the face he pulls at the unwanted exertion.

"I hate running too," I say.

"This is Andrew!" Finny rushes to my side to throw out her arms in a exaggerated introduction, whacking me hard on the side. I wince but she doesn't notice, being too excited about meeting someone new. "He's the bestest and he's awesome and you should totally be friends with him. Like the absolute bestest of friends." She doesn't pause for breath.

My cheeks heat with embarrassment. What is Finny on about?

"I'm Finny," she smacks a palm to her chest, "and that's just Rosier over there." Finny turns back to glare at him for some unknown reason. He pays her little to no heed.

"Well, it's great to meet you all." Eli smiles. "We haven't had any new members in a long time, so you must be really good."

"I am," Finny looks pleased at the compliment, basking in it for a while before her eyes pop open. "Well, I mean, we are,' she amends. "Andrew's the best."

I feel myself burning up and it's not because of the exercise. She's talking me up way too much and I have no idea why. I sort of want the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

Eli looks alarmed. "That might be so, but don't let those guys hear you say that." He jerks his head towards where a group of hefty looking boys are leading the jogging. "The five of them think they're the gods of football. And they'll beat up anyone who says otherwise."

I glance at them and shudder, hoping that what Finny said about my abilities wouldn't get repeated. I feel lucky in the fact that I cannot possibly show them up while actually playing—since I really do suck at football. The last thing I want in my new school is to become the target of a bunch of bullies.

"Yep, they're the typical high school bullies," Eli deadpans like he's reading my thoughts. "They even have a dumb group leader—that guy jogging up ahead. Derek."

He discreetly nods towards an angry looking boy with a silver lip ring and short, spiked up hair that's shaved at the sides. I stare at his rippling muscles in horror. No, I do not want to get beat up by Derek.

"They like being the football stars, and they get VERY upset if you don't always pass to them to score." Evan glances up the track and then back at us. "Anyway, I'll see you guys around!" he says before picking up his speed to get through the finish line.

I smile back at him but then my eyes wander to where Derek and his gang are. They run in a V-formation with four other guys flanking Derek on either side.

"Oh don't worry about them,' Finny assures. "You're going to be the star of the football team now." Her words hold an ominous edge.

"No way!" I'm horrified. Eli's words were terrifying, but most of all I would hate the attention. It's not that I want to be particularly bad at football—because that's humiliating too—but I'd like to just be average and stay under the radar.

Finny gives me a knowing grin that has me feeling worried. I can almost see the cogs turning in her mind, mischief glinting in her odd-coloured eyes.

Practice starts and I do incredibly well. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Derek sizing me up, glowering with unmasked hatred. I somehow score on every single goal, even after the glares get to me and I stop trying.

Once practice is over we go off to the locker rooms. Derek charges through the door so close that I think he's going to bash right into me. I jump back and stumble into Ro who's standing behind me.

He steadies me and I glance back to see that his eyes are narrowed, glaring furiously at Derek. I take a moment to realize his eyes are pitch black, the lighting in the locker room first having me think they were flashing red. A muscle defines itself in his tightened jaw as he grits his teeth. His grip on my arm unconsciously tightens and I bite back a wince. Ro let's go so suddenly that I almost drop to the ground, still unsteady on my feet. I grab his sleeve to right myself and then immediately blush, letting go.

Dragging my feet to the locker room, I dawdle hoping that Derek would be gone by the time I get there. He's just leaving as I enter, and he leans in close to me, snarling, "You better watch out, new kid."

I feel a chill run down my spine as I raise my eyes to look at him. He towers over me, glowering in a kind of hatred I don't understand.

Finny sees my predicament at the doorway and runs up to intervene, but Derek has already left. She crosses her arms over her chest and stamps, my little toe getting in the way of her tantrum. I've never met a girl who's been as capable at inflicting this much pain upon me during the short time we've known each other.

She lets out a slew of insults directed at Derek and my eyes widen at the imaginative language she uses. She mutters something about pulling his shoelaces and then falls silent in her scheming.

I can understand if Finny is scheming plans for her own glory—she clearly craves attention and that's fine. But I don't know why she's so determined to put ME on the spot.