Chapter 12 - The Torture Called Jogging

Lost smiled and stretched as she stood in the breakfast line-up in the cafeteria the next morning. Today's breakfast special was eggs and toast.

"How was your sleep?" Swirl asked, moving up in the line with Lost.

"It was good, how about you?" Lost asked.

"Good!" Swirl replied before turning to the lunch lady behind the counter. "Two pieces of toast is fine!"

After the girls got their breakfast, Swirl glanced around, as if looking for someone.

"Aha!" Swirl said just as Lost was about to ask who she was looking for. "Come, I have someone I want you to meet."

Lost followed curiously through the cafeteria past a couple of tables. She noticed Aparri, Bepper, Wisteriamoon, and Julian were all sitting at the same table, laughing and joking as if they were the best of friends.

'Course all the 'famous' people are chums.

"Lost, meet Kraft!" Swirl suddenly announced as they reached a table where Kraft sat, eating.

"Oh! I've already met Kraft before," Lost chuckled, sliding into a seat next to Kraft.

"Mhm," Kraft said, her mouth full of eggs.

"Really?" Swirl smiled at Lost. "You are just everywhere, aren't you?"

Lost smirked and took a large bite of toast. "Now you know my secret!"

"These eggs are just the best! They don't taste like those eggs from the stores. Those ones are just plain rubbish," Kraft declared.

"Of course you like these eggs, silly!" Swirl laughed, shoving Kraft playfully.

"Uh, why?" Lost said, feeling out of the loop.

"Kraft absolutely loves chickens," Swirl said.

"I see," Lost said though she still felt a little confused.

After a while, the bell rung loudly, letting everyone know that class was going to start soon. Lost stood up and looked around. Most of the other students were done eating as well. Chairs got shoved and calls were yelled as kids pushed their way to the door.

"Come, Swirl." Lost said, gesturing to the door. "Homeroom will start soon."

"Bye Kraft!" Swirl said, giving Kraft a hug before she stood up. "See you later!"

"Bye guys!" Kraft called as Lost and Swirl went with the flow of students and out into the hallway.

* * *

Lost wandered into her science classroom just after the final bell had rung. Almost all the seats were taken and everyone looked up at her. As Lost blushed, she glanced up at Mr. Cosmo and noticed he was smiling kindly down at her.

"Sorry that I was late," Lost apologized.

"It's ok, Lostfairy," Mr. Cosmo replied and smiled a big, bright smile, his eyes squinting.

Lost blushed even harder, trying not to notice that Mr. Cosmo was actually quite handsome. As she hurried to her desk next to Penguin, Mr. Cosmo began his lecture on a certain type of fungus that is nicknamed "zombie fungus" that infects ants.

"So, this type of fungus, scientifically named Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, actually attaches itself to the carpenter ants and it eventually breaks into the ant's exoskeleton. Then the yeast stage of the fungus spreads over the ant's body and actually manipulates the ant!" Mr. Cosmo exclaimed, gesturing with his hands.

Penguin suddenly raised his hand. 

"Yes, Penguin?" Mr. Cosmo asked.

"What does the fungus make the ant do?" Penguin said, sounding curious.

"Good question!" Mr. Cosmo said. "The fungus makes the ant climb onto a stem of a plant. Then, it makes the ant stick to a leaf vein. After that, the ant can not move from that spot because the fungus destroyed some of the connections in the ant's muscles. This tight grip to the leaf vein is known as the death grip and is very important in the fungus's lifecycle."

"What happens after?" Penguin said.

"Well, things start looking worse for the ant. The fungus kills the ant and then continues to grow in the ant's soft tissues. When the fungus is ready to reproduce, well, things get disturbing. The fungus's fruiting bodies grow from the ant's head and rupture, releasing spores."

This is one interesting science class...

* * *

Lost panted as she ran another lap around the gym. She loved running but now she was getting a bit tired.

"Hey, Lost!" Naffy said cheerfully as she jogged up next to Lost.

"Hi there," Lost said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. How are you enjoying Jamaasian High?" Naffy asked, glancing over at Lost.

"It's a nice school! It's got a great community and I love my dorm room girls," Lost said. "I've met a lot of nice people!"

"That is so good!" Naffy replied.

TWEET!

"Stop with the CHIT-CHAT and start FOCUSING ON RUNNING!" Coach Gilbert yelled from across the gym.

"Ugh, how long is he going to make us run?" Naffy whispered.

"No clue," Lost said, trying to shrug as she ran. "I'm so not used to gym since I didn't have it when I was homeschooled."

"Ah, it must be a tough switch, huh?" Naffy said.

"I sure miss my home and old life but I love making new friends so I'll be fine," Lost smiled.

Lost looked up and saw Swirl with another girl running just up ahead.

"Swirl!" Lost called, hoping her friend would slow down and run with her and Naffy.

Swirl looked behind her and a big grin went across her face. She turned toward the girl with her and said something. They both slowed down so Lost and Naffy could catch up.

"Hey, guys!" Swirl said, panting. "Meet Violet! She's in a couple of my other classes too!"

"Hi there, Violet!" Lost and Naffy said.

"Hello!" Violet replied. "I am so done with running. Is Coach Gilbert trying to torture us?!"

"I hope not!" Lost replied with a laugh.

Just as Lost was about to open her mouth and say something, the loud bell was rung overhead.

"Alright! Gym is now OVER!" Coach Gilbert shouted.

"Well, let's go get changed out of these gross gym clothes," Lost joked as they started walking over to the change rooms.

Chapter 3 - Absolute Torture A.K.A. Gym Class

The bell rang loudly. Kids scrambled to get up, pushing their chairs and grabbing their books.

"Great first class!" Mr. Cosmo shouted above the noise. "You are all so bright and have such creative ideas on science. I can't wait to work with you more. Have a great next class and I'll see you tomorrow!"

Lost stood up and started putting her books into her backpack. She looked up and smiled at Penguin.

"That was a pretty good start, partner." Lost joked. She had had a lot of fun doing science with Penguin. Turns out, he was funny.

"We do make a pretty good team, don't we?" Penguin laughed.

"What's your next class?" Lost asked.

Penguin grabbed his schedule out of his jeans pocket and unfolded it.

"Uh, I have history with some guy named Mr. Greely. Huh, that's a weird name," Penguin said.

"I have P.E. with the coach's name being Gilbert. Like, who names their kid that?" Lost said.

"Have fun with Gilbert," he said as he walked towards the door.

Lost went out into the hall and looked down at her schedule.

Hmm, P.E. is on the bottom floor. I'm so not used to having this schedule and having to go up and down stairs all the time.

Lost walked down the stairs and down the hall to P.E. As she stepped into the gym, she noticed a group of girls clustered around one area across the room.

Curious, Lost wandered closer and found out why the girls were all squealing. Aparri was here.

Great. Just great. Gym with a famous guy who all the girls adore and love. Well, except for Swirlshine.

Lost sat down on the bleachers and looked around, trying to see someone she knew.

There was that new girl from homeroom. What was her name? Oh right, it was Cuddly. She sat with a few girls and she seemed to telling a story, using her hands to make big gestures.

And there was that boy with emo hair from homeroom as well. He was sitting with a group of people who were all in black and red. They glared at anyone who came near.

Maybe I should stay clear of those guys.

Lost spotted Swirlshine, busy chatting with a red haired girl at the top of the bleachers.

I'll let them talk. It'd be kinda rude if I randomly joined into their conversation.

As Lost started wondering when she'd have time to check out her locker, she heard loud squeals. She glanced up and saw the girls leaving Aparri and running toward Wisteriamoon. Aparri smiled and walked over to Wisteria. They grinned and walked toward the bleachers and sat down next to each other. The fans crowded around, asking for autographs.

Seriously. It's SCHOOL. Not Hollywood.

TWEEEET!

Everyone stopped talking. Lost looked at the man who had just come into the gym and blown the whistle. Must be our coach.

He had orange-ish hair with some gray mixed in. His big beard made me look like he should be something other than a coach.

"Alright! Everyone, stop talking. It's P.E. Not chatting class," said the coach. "I am Coach Gilbert. I expect respect from ALL of you. Is that clear?"

He continued without waiting for a response. "In this class, there will be no complaints, no whining, and NO slacking. IS THAT CLEAR?"

He stopped pacing around and looked at the kids expectantly.

"Yes, Coach!" everyone said. Though, Lost could have sworn she heard someone say, "NO!"

Coach Gilbert nodded. "Today, we will be playing a game that is only for the fearless. It is the one of the toughest games any man has ever known. You could get BADLY injured or worse.  If you can't handle this pressure, then leave."

We all looked at each, shocked. What kind of game are we going to play?!

"Good!" he boomed when no one moved. "We are playing DODGE BALL!"

Some kids breathed sighs of relief while others groaned. Lost didn't really know what to think. I haven't played dodge ball very many times.

"Everyone, OFF THE BLEACHERS!" Coach Gilbert yelled. "Line up!"

We scrambled off and stood in rows.

"If I say one when I'm in front of you, you're on team one. If I say two when I'm in front of you, you're on team two. Got it?" the coach said.

He started going through the rows. Lost was on team two. She watched to see who else was on her team. Cuddly was and so was Aparri.

Splendid.

Emo Hair was on team one along with Wisteriamoon. She glanced at Aparri and said, "You're going down. Cause like really, no one beats the team with Wisteriamooooon!"

"We'll see about that," he replied with a laugh.

Coach Gilbert finished setting up the teams and walked into the middle of the gym.

"Alright, when I blow my whistle, it's GAME TIME!" he shouted.

He walked over to the bleachers and sat down.

TWEET!

Everyone started running around and yelling. Lost could barely tell where the ball was.

"Look out!" Cuddly shouted.

Lost looked up, startled. She saw the ball flying towards her. She jumped up and caught the ball. She tossed it and it flew back to the other side of the gym.

Whew! I need to pay more attention.

She started running and keeping an eye on the ball. She leaped in front of a red haired girl and caught it. She then threw it across the gym and it hit a kid on the other team. They sadly walked over to the bleachers and sat down to watch.

"Nice one!" the girl said.

"Thanks," Lost panted. "I'm Lostfairy, by the way. You?"

"I'm Nafaria. My buddies call me Naffy. Or Naffy Taffy," Nafaria said.

Lost grinned and watched the ball. Emo Hair had it and he was smiling weirdly at a kid on team two.
Then he threw it at the kid.

WHAM! The boy fell over onto the floor.

"OWWW!" he cried. He looked like he was going to cry.

"You're out, sucker." Emo Hair sneered.

"Coach, Coach, Coach!" The boy said, hobbling over to the bleachers. "Fman hit me. HARD! I, I fell and see! Look at this red mark! LOOK AT IT!"

So Fman is Emo Hair's name.

"This is dodge ball! Not a wimpy sport, kid. I told you before, if you can't handle it, leave," Coach Gilbert said.

The boy stared at him and then started crying. He ran out of the gym and slammed the door behind him.

"Hey! You going to help or what?"

Lost spun around and saw Cuddly staring at her.

"Yeah, sorry," Lost said.

By now, most of the kids were on the bleachers. There were only Fman and Wisteriamoon on team one and Aparri, Cuddly, and Nafaria were on team two.

"You're going down, team two," Fman said.

"You have less people then we do. So, in my opinion, we will win," Aparri replied.

"Pshh, who cares about your opinion? When does Aparri ever get anything right?" Fman said.

Aparri just stared at him. Then he threw the dodge ball right at Fman.

Fman easily caught it and laughed. "You're just some pretty boy who can't even throw a ball right."

"Stop chitchatting and start THROWING THE BALL!" Coach Gilbert yelled from across the gym.

Fman quickly tossed the ball at Nafaria when she wasn't looking.

"Look out, Nafaria!" Lost called.

Nafaria looked up just as the ball hit her. Rubbing her shoulder, she walked over to the bleachers.

Cuddly picked up the ball and threw it at Wisteria. Then Wisteria threw it at Lost. Then Lost threw it at Fman. The ball kept getting passed back and forth until one of Cuddly's friends called something to her.

Cuddly glanced over at them. "What did you say?" She asked.

Fman took this chance and threw the ball at her. It hit her square on her back. She yelped and turned to glare at Fman before walking over to her group of friends. She immediately started talking with them.

Aparri grabbed the ball and tossed it to the other side. Fman leaped out of the way and the ball hit Wisteriamoon.

"No one ever pushes Wisteriamooooooon!" She huffed and stomped over to the bleachers.

How am I still in the game?!

Fman threw the ball at Aparri who tried to move out of the way but failed. He sighed and looked over
at Lost as he walked over to Wisteria.

Lost gulped and picked up the ball. How could she hit Fman? He was really good at dodge ball.

She put her arm back and stared at Fman. It would take good aim.

She threw the ball as hard as she could.

Fman jumped up and hit it harder. It flew toward Lost's head. Out of instinct, she put her hands over her face.

The ball hit her and Coach Gilbert blew his whistle again.

The game was done. Lost had failed her team.

"The winner is team one!" Coach Gilbert said.

Team two groaned while team one cheered. Fman walked over to his group and smirked at Lost.

How could I fail half my class on the first day?

Nafaria walked over to Lost and patted her on the back.

"You did really good. And who cares that we didn't win? It's just a game," she said.

"Thanks, Naf," Lost replied.

Making my team lose is the perfect way to fit in. Not.