The Last Day of School

This is a continuation of Phys. Ed. ...

Keith sat with his feet in the chair facing the desk behind him. It was the last day of school and Ms. DeYoung said that they were going to watch a movie and then go out and have the rest of the day be a play day. The movie was on safety during the summer. It instructed you on what you should do if you are confronted by a stranger, "Stranger Danger." It defined how serious an injury had to be before you could call 911. This was the standard video that was replayed at the end of every school year.

Keith turned around as Ms. DeYoung asked JT to close the blinds. The room turned from bright yellow to a dull, dusty grey that was sliced with crisp lines of sunshine. Everyone took their seats and focused on the projector screen at the front of the room. You could hear the tick tick of the shutter as the film gathered on the rear reel of the projector. A series of loud pops and white frames gave way to a black screen with white block letters reading "Dangers Lurking Just Around the Corner!"

Andre, who now sat in front of Keith, kept turning around and laughing. They had become friends on the first day of school after a kickball game where they were the last two to be picked, but they were the only ones to score any points during the game. From that point on they both were picked first and although rarely on each others team it was a friendly competition that carried into the classroom.

Theresa sat behind Keith and the three of them were inseparable. They ate lunch together, and they realized that they all lived in the same neighborhood so they walked home together as well. There was a weird shift in the class that year, maybe it was the awkwardness of the beginnings of puberty, but the kids who were once popular started to fade into the background, making way for another group. Theresa wasn't the shy one anymore, was it the contacts, or did she gain confidence from something less significant?

Throughout the year Andre and Keith talk about that first day playing kickball. Neither remembers who won anymore, that fact changes depending on who tells the story. And neither remembers who was picked last, that doesn't matter now, because now they were both picked first. Everyone knew their capabilities; everyone wanted them on their team. They had proven themselves. They both think about how bad they wanted to be picked that first day, thinking how who picked them would possibly make them liked more by the class, and if they both hadn't both done so well it probably would have. But in the end it was their abilities that spoke to everyone.

The projector gave off more loud pops and then turned white again, but this time with black scars carving into the screen. It stopped by itself when the film ran out and Ms. DeYoung asked JT to open the blinds again. Eyes were adjusting and heads were rising from desks as the light filled the room again. "Alright class, does anyone have any questions about what you just saw," Ms. DeYoung asked?

"Okay then, lets go outside, your choice today, basketball or kickball."

The class erupted with "KICKBALL!"

"Fine, Jack and Theresa are the captains so when we get out there line up boys and girls and they will start to pick teams."