Dark is the Night

Practice

What the girls didn't know was that Jackson Manning, heart throb, had been sitting around the corner, on the floor, behind a shelf. He wouldn't normally be found in the library because, you know, it would ruin his image. Football takes precedence over everything, but if he didn't pass this stupid history test, he wouldn't be able to play. He had tried to study other places, but there were always girls and his friends fighting for his attention. Actual studying didn't really fit in with his image. so, he had taken to hiding at the back of the library, in the stacks. He had heard everything. Everything.

He waited until the girls left for the front of the library before coming out of his hiding place. He ran his hand through his soft, dark hair. He had to keep it short for football, but it had a little length on top. He watched the girls shambles out of the library, holding their plates, and Trina still holding Cassie's arm.

"Track girls," he thought. "She's lucky she does track, or she probably wouldn't be here." The thing is, he believed her too. The raw emotion in her words, her reaction, this so-called picture of ripped jeans. Trina had obviously seen it, and there were legit claw marks. He believed her. He didn't know the girls very well. He had seen them at practices after school, but he also hadn't ever heard any gossip about them. Cassie didn't strike him as the lying to get attention type. Plus, she was cute. He would watch her. She actually didn't live too far away from him, and to admit that he has heard some questionable noises in the Iowa "jungle," corn fields would be true. For now, he would have to go to algebra. Fun.

Trina and Cassandra dumped their trays and high'tailed it to their locker room where they put on their track clothes. Black shorts, ponytails, and yellow track shirts. Sexy, I know. Coach was waiting outside for everyone when the girls emerged.

He was pretty laid ack. They were a dedicated team, and each person held the other member responsible. He didn't really have to worry about making them do anything. It was truly the opposite. He had to make them call it quits.

They all lined up for sprints, and Cassandra was on the end, closest to the tree line. The woods beckoned her attention. She missed the kick-off because she was staring at the tree line.

"Come on, girl," yelled Trina as she pulled away from her friend. Cassandra snapped back to reality. It was daylight. She would be ok, right? I mean, werewolves only. ome out at night in the movies. Cassie was distracted, and Trina was trying to keep her in the game.

She figured there were so many other people around, and the coach was there. She dug into practice and kept her head in the game.

Practice after school usually consisted of long-distance running. It went from 3:30 to 6 pm, and you just ran as many miles as you could. You did some sprints and some stretches. Basically, the goal was to build up as much stamina as possible.

Cassandra ran beside Trina, and around and around the track, they went. Ogling the boys, why not? They could see Jackson, football quarterback, leading a play on the field. Cassie was definitely trying to avoid looking at the woods, which were too. lose for comfort. Watching Jackson was a welcome distraction.

The problem was that the distracted tion worked too well. His muscles were clearly defined on his arm and evident beneath his shirt. A girl would have to be blind not to notice.

the best thing about Jackson was that, even though he was a total star, and in the "in" crowd, he was kind. He glanced in her direction, smiled at her, and she immediately torn her face in a different direction. Her cheeks were burning, and Trina had to grab her arm because she almost face planted.

"Girl," Trina said. Jackson's attention was deadly. In a way that could cause a girl to fall flat on her face. She dared to glance back at him, and he was still watching her. He had a smirk on his face, he had seen her stumble. Ugh!

"Sorry," she told Trina and tried to focus on running.

"You ok," Trina asked.

"Yesh, Jackson was looking at me. I got a little distracted." She answered.

" Oh, no need to say anymore, girl. Understandable! By the way, he is still looking at you, " She told her. The sun was going down further as practice went on. As practice wrapped up the girls noticed Jackson hanging back from his friends.

"Hey Cassie, I'll wait for you," he said out of the blue when they walked by.

"uh, ok," she said, and Trina rushed her into the locker room. The school was quiet. zno one in the halls, only a few kids from sports quickly grabbing their stuff and their team mates.

"What are we going to do? Is it going to get dark?" Cassie shout whispered at Trina.

" It will be ok. The football people will be here, and the coaches. It will be ok." Trina assured her. Everyone headed to the showers, and so did the girls. Trina and Cass tried to hurry, but they ended up the last ones in the locker room somehow. As soon as everyone left, the feel of the room turned eerie. Noises out in the hallway made the girls jump.

When the girls exited the locker room, believe it or not, Jackson stood there waiting.

"Hey, I thought you might want someone to walk you to your car. You looked a little spooked at practice." Jackson said this in explanation of this weird, sudden interaction between them.

"Oh, that's really nice of you Jackson, ,thank you," Cassie told him. She lifted her eyebrows at Trina, and then jumped suddenly at the sound of a falling trashcan.

"Eek," she squeaked quietly.

"Yep, that's what I mean. You ok?" He asked her.

"Um...I , um," she couldn't figure out what to say.

"Yeah, she just got spooked this morning. She's a little jumpy," Trina stepped in to help explain. Trina took her hand and started to lead her out, Jackson fell in behind them. As they walked it seemedxlike they actually went slower and slower.

The feeling of doom was thick in the air. Jackson heard something. Something that sounded like nails clicking on the tile floor. He put his hand up in front of the girls to stop them, and put his hand to his mouth in a shushing motion. Startled, the girls missed their step a little, but recovered quickly .

"Wh..." Trina started to say, but then she heard it too and shushed immediately. They looked at each other silently.

"Let's get out of here," Trina said. She was also clearly spooked, which made Cassie feel good in a way because it meant she believed her.