Loving Lisbeth Salander (XIV Series #1)

The Scarred Girl II

Physical Education class wasn’t the best part of school. For some students, student athletes especially, it could be a piece of cake they deal with once every week, but for someone like Harvey and myself, who only preferred to be inside their rooms talking about the most random things, it’s a pretty tough class to get through to. We’re not the weakest students but it’s safe to say we were just as near their level. We slack off during weekends, if you call reading and studying slacking off that is, so it would be shocking if we’re actually good in tracks and fields, running and jumping around with a hundred times more than what we normally do.

“I swear,” Harvey said in between his breaths. I was getting worn out myself, so I don’t really blame him. “If Pepsi makes us run for another lap, I’m gonna faint in the middle of the field and pretend I’m about to die so I don’t have to deal with this stupid class anymore.” Harvey frowned, shaking his head. We never enjoyed one bit of this class except the parts where we had to stay in the room for lectures. It was always relieving when we didn’t have to do the actual activities and the sport itself.

I let out a tired laugh feeling the sudden tightness all over my muscles down to my hamstrings. I try to catch my breath and say, “I can’t say I don’t agree.” My whole body was aching from all the running, jumping, and the other things our professor made us do.

“Okay! That’s a wrap for today!”

Thank God. That was a nightmare.

But if Forest told me to run around the field for hundreds and hundreds of times, I would do it. There was just no motivation involved within me when I’m doing this class. Maybe next time, I can pretend Forest is challenging me to do that in return of being her friend.

“Finally…” Harvey muttered in a low tone.

The two of us crouched down panting real hard. My chest felt so heavy after the three laps we got for being two minutes late for his class. I feel like I might collapse from dizziness all of a sudden. Add the headache I was already feeling before even attending this class. I stepped back touching my head hoping it’d calm it down, and there was a brief moment where my vision started blurring, and blacking out. I shook my head to wake my brain up, and ease it up a little. I felt needles pinning against my head – it stung, a lot.

“You okay?” I heard Harvey ask which I immediately responded to with a nod to not cause him to worry about me too much.

“Yeah. I’m just a little dizzy, that’s all.” I heaved a sigh and tried slapping my face numerous times. That always helped whenever I was feeling like I would pass out. I grabbed my bag, trying to find my water bottle but to my dismay, I failed to get one today. It must have slipped my mind. I’ve always brought water with me during this day for this specific class but I couldn’t get one because I woke up late from the party.

I sighed, grunting a little.

“Here,”

My eyes darted to the bottle of water that had just appeared in front of me.

“You can have it.”

Water…

I finally looked up and saw Connie in her blue and white cheerleader outfit. I didn’t even know she was a cheerleader? Or was I hallucinating? Is the fatigue I was feeling affecting my brain? I looked at the bottle again unsure if I should be greedy and just take it for my benefit or if I should just go buy myself one and let her have it for the rest of the day. She seemed to notice my uncertainty because she grabbed my hand, forcing me to take the bottle she was handing me.

“Take it.”

I looked at her still catching my breath. I really wanted it. I felt like I was going to collapse down if I don’t get any water down my system right now.

“I have a spare in my bag.”

Oh… “T-Thank you.” I surrendered. I needed water as much as I hate to admit it and this is the closest I get to survival. I opened the lid, and started drinking from it. I wasn’t going to take it. I wasn’t planning to empty it but I think I might just end up finishing the entire thing from this dehydration.

“I saw you guys from the bleachers and figured I should come by and say hi.” Connie said in the softest possible voice I ever heard of her.

“With a bottle of water.” Harvey teasingly looked at the two of us. “How convenient.” He added, but I wasn’t even feeling too well to bite into his playful remarks. “Cheer practice?” He quickly diverted the topic before everything becomes awkward and uncomfortable for the three of us. He knew I was uncomfortable with her enough to not push it. I wasn’t going to entertain it anyway, so he would just be wasting his time. “I mean, you’re in your uniform so I shouldn’t even be asking, right?” At that, he let out an awkward, most fakest laugh I’ve ever heard of him. He was nervous. I always knew he had a thing for Connie but he knew as well that Connie had a thing for me. I guess teasing me with her was some sort of a coping mechanism for his feelings.

I almost choked after gulping an awful amount of water for Connie’s water bottle. The moment I brought the bottle down, I turned to Harvey with a questioning yet teasing look. Just the way he always did with me with her. He should have just stayed quiet and let her walk away after handing me this but he kept talking which makes things more uncomfortable than it was a while ago. And it was more uncomfortable now that he was stammering stalling because he liked her. I returned the cap back to the bottle as I watched Harvey and his sour expression upon realizing how awkward that just got.

“We’re preparing for a number for the next soccer tournament.” Connie explained either way, and smiled heartily. She really was sweet. Even the way she talked was sweet. I could see why everyone would fall for her with just a look. She just seemed too normal and plain in my eyes, though. “I’ll go ahead. I’ll see you guys around.” She raised her hand up, taking a step back. It was almost as if she was expecting one of us to stop her from going.

“I’ll just buy you a bottle of water next time.” I awkwardly said, flashing the empty bottle at her. “Thank you for this.” I said which made her stop running away from us.

“No need.” She shook her hand in the air, chuckling. “See you.” Then she walked away.

When Connie was finally out of our sight, Harvey spoke again after heaving a sigh. “I can assure you,” He pointed a finger at me. “That no girl brings a spare water bottle in their bags unless they were told so.” Then he leaned his back further back, crossing his arms.

“And I can assure you,” I paused raising my brows at him. “That we’re failing this class this semester.” We weren’t going to fail. We might fail all the practical exams but the written exams, I was sure we would nail and that’s just as much percentage we need to pass the unit.

“No, really!” Harvey exclaimed. He often defended his stands recently. Maybe it’s what he gets from joining the debate club. His face was getting red though. I was sure it wasn’t because he was trying to prove his point this time but something else. He was just trying to divert how obviously he liked her just now. He was trying to shove it off like I wasn’t going to tease him about his stalling just now. “Girls don’t like having heavy things in their bags.” He added and I looked at him nodding as if it mattered to me what he was trying to say. “Connie, for one, isn’t exactly the type who would carry a bag or loads in her bag, as big as yours.”

I laughed, nodding my head. “I suppose I owe her a thank you then for carrying such heavy rock under her bag.”

“You sure do.”

“You’re sweating, Harv.”

He looked at me frantically. “O-Of course, I’m sweating! We just got off this stupid class!” He exclaimed, fanning himself with his hand.

I arched a brow at him. “Ahuh? And turning red?”

He looked away, laughing nervously, and frowning at what I just said. “What are you trying to imply here? What?”

I raised my hands up in surrender, shrugging at his question. “I don’t know, Harv. You tell me.” I teasingly glared at him which he responded to with a snort. “Is there anything you wanna tell me?” I asked, leaning closer to him to observe his gestures.

He suddenly pushed my face away from him, shaking his head with a grunt. “Stop making this about me when it’s you who went to a party and started a fuel with potentially the most dangerous student of Condrey State University.”

I laughed when he suddenly brought Hunter and Forest back in the conversation again. “No, I don’t think you’ve been very honest with me either, Harv.”

He turned to me, squinting his eyes. “You’re so stupid. Stop making inexistent issues.”

I gave him a look before blurting out, “You like her.”

“I don’t!” He immediately replied. “Sure, Connie’s smart and beautiful and adored by everyone, but I wouldn’t like her. Jesus, Mark. Get it over yourself. You just can’t accept that she likes you and you don’t like her—”

“I didn’t say you like Connie. I just said you like her.”

He froze when he realized.

“What made you think her was Connie?”

He gulped. “I,”

I scoffed out loud.

“She was the one who was here earlier! Who else would you be referring to?!”

I nodded, patting his shoulder as I stood from where we were seater. “Alright, Harv. Let’s go. We’re late for next class.” I teasingly said, laughing as I pulled him out of the seat.

He likes her.

He can deny it but his actions can’t.