When To Put Trust On The Line

Part 2

As soon as the bell rang and class was dismissed, I quickly got up and started towards Kenny's desk. But he was out of the class in a flash, a bunch of pretty light-skinned girls and everyone else right behind him. I grabbed my books and followed the crowd. It was hard to keep up because the hallways – absent of teachers who were probably in their lounge - were crowded with students since it was our fifteen-minute recess.

As I walked quickly among everyone in the noise, I looked around for Kenny but couldn't see him at all. People were talking excitedly and bumping into me, all seeming to be headed in the same direction - downstairs. "They're headed for Mr. Dobias' gym!" a girl behind me told her friend.

Without thinking, I raced down the stairs, pushing people out of my way. The entrance to the gym was packed and I had to slither my way to the front, for the first time being grateful for my height at 5 '3 and a half. I found two boys blocking the entrance, with lots of noise going on behind them through the open door. One of the boys was Jackson. I tried to go through but the other guy stopped me.

Just then, a Latina walked up and the boys let her in. I was furious. "What? Come on! I'm Kenny's girlfriend!"

"I don't give- " the first guy started.

Jackson stopped him. "She is Kenny's girl."

"So? He told us not to let anyone in."

"I'm not anyone. I'm his girlfriend."

"Kenny didn't say not to let her in," Jackson pointed out.

The guy looked from me to Jackson. Then he said to Jackson, "Alright, but if he wants to come at us later, it's all on you."

"A'ight," Jackson said. I pushed past the both of them into the gym, the noise coming from the locker room. I rushed over and opened the door. People were in a wide, spread out circle all around the room, yelling and cheering at something in the middle. You would've thought it was a dogfight that a bunch of men were betting on. A guy noticed me. "Close the door!" he yelled. No one else noticing, I stepped into the room, the door automatically closing behind me.

I moved around a few tall guys before I was placed in front of the action. In the middle of everyone, Kenny and Bobby were fighting. Benches were pushed back, which also served as a barrier to hold the crowd out of the circle. At the other side of the circle, four light-skinned girls were cheering on Kenny. A few Latinas a couple feet away from them were cheering on Bobby. How could they encourage this?

I couldn't stand any type of violence. Not even in movies. I watched in horror as Bobby threw a kick at Kenny, and Kenny threw him towards a wall of lockers. People moved out of the way and Bobby's body violently slammed into the lockers. Kenny went in for more. I was tempted to step over the benches and intervene. "Kenny?" I shouted. "Kenny!" Kenny stopped and noticed me.

The interruption gave Bobby an opportunity to grab Kenny and pin him against the lockers. The fight got even more violent and the cheers got louder. I couldn't take it. Shouting Kenny's name wouldn't help. I stepped over the bench in front of me without thinking and ran over to where the boys were fighting. The cheers quieted down a little as people wondered what I was doing. Kenny had Bobby in a headlock. I touched his back. "Kenny. Stop it. Please."

"Not now," he growled, not even turning around. I backed up as Bobby got out of the headlock and punched Kenny. I jumped between them. "Stop it!" I yelled at Bobby.

He grabbed me by both shoulders and threw me out of the way. "Back off!" he said to me. I staggered near the benches where the light-skinned girls and Latinas were. They smirked at me.