Students began to congregate around bleachers in the JV gym and carry on conversation from the hallway after the two minute warning bell already rang. Sophomore Hannah Middleton walked around and talked with several students in the gym.
“Did you get your hair cut Jacob?” Middleton asked with a smile and big sappy eyes.
“Yes I did,” answered senior Jacob Peterson timidly looking at the ground.
“Cool, I like it shorter like you have it now. Have a good time today, okay Jacob,” Middleton said.
“Okay bye Hannah,” replied Peterson as he turned and walked away to talk to other students.
Middleton smiled back as a goodbye gesture and made her way over to senior Justin Graff resting in the bleachers waiting for further instructions.
“I saw you yesterday Justin,” Middleton said . “I’m buying a house in that neighborhood, and I saw you outside playing basketball.”
Justin Graff’s contagious smile spread across his face softened for just a moment out of confusion, but then shifted back to his usual lighthearted state and laughed a little.
The sound of the tardy bell ringing filled the high gym walls just as Coach Lacy Beckler entered the space.
“Guys get in your spots. Come on, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” Coach Beckler said.
The partners moved to their designated spots and waited for Coach Beckler to lead everyone in group stretching to warm up for the remainder of class.
Coach Beckler walked to the center of the gym in front of the students and stood tall with her feet together and her arms held straight out to her side.
“Alright guys arm circles, come on. Go forwards, now backwards. Ok now go really really fast,” she instructed.
“Come on Jacob let’s go, butterfly come on you got it.” Coach Beckler encouraged individuals to participate in the stretches. The students’ voices reverberated throughout the gym as they recited every other second aloud to count the elapsed time for each exercise.
The students groaned in disapprovement when Coach Beckler announced the next exercise, but maneuver anyway into what they view as the proper push-up position.
“If you’re not doing it right, your partner isn’t either,” Beckler said to the students.
She then demonstrated the correct push-up position for the class to model by keeping her back at a completely straight angle.
“If you’re on your knees and your butt is up in the air, you’re doing it wrong. You have to get it down flat,” she explained as she continued to raise and lower her body to complete each push-up. “Alright we’re done now,” as she finished her last push-up.
To finish the daily warm-up session, students walked two laps around the athletic wing of the school. They carried on random conversations to pass the time and soon re-entered the gym ready to play the game of the day.
“Alright guys pick sides and split up in two teams to play dodgeball,” Coach Beckler announced to the class.
“Yes we’re playing dodgeball,” a few students exclaimed.
“Jordan, get up,” Coach Beckler commanded as she gave senior Jordan Straley a stern look.
“I’m waiting to see which side I’m going to have to go on,” Straley answered.
Every student slowly became victims of the rainbow-colored dodgeballs flying across the gym except for the last man standing, Peterson.
“Alright everyone get back up. It’s time to play Medicine Man,” Coach Beckler announced.
Graff became very excited and jumped up off the bleachers before anyone else could.
“Justin are you our medicine man?” called Middleton over to Graff standing on the opposite wall of the gym.
“Yup,” Graff replied with a thumbs up and his signature goofy smile. Peterson was chosen as the medicine man on the opposing team giving both Graff and Peterson the power to tap their teammates who are eliminated from the round of dodgeball allowing them to return to the game. Graff stayed behind the out of bounds line in efforts to not get smacked with a dodgeball.
Players slowly got knocked out of the game and were forced to sit down, but their medicine man was there to “heal” them by sending them back into the line of fire. Sophomore Madison Ohler locked in on Graff and hurls a bright yellow ball in his direction. The ball strikes Graff in the lower leg and sits down on the shiny gym floor signaling the end of the game for him. Peterson’s team erupted in triumph because they knew nobody on the other team could reenter the game.
Peterson’s team was victorious at the end of the round despite his crucial elimination. Everyone protested the entire time they gathered up the dodgeballs littered across the gym floor because they wanted to play more rounds of the game, but time was short.
