Jack spent the rest of his weekend trying to restore his shattered soul back to its stained perfection. Even Niaf had said he took a beating from Anathane's last assault when he had gotten home Saturday. He didn't even want to think about sex anymore.
Unfortunately, instead of being the usual calming class, World History III was turning out to be more of a headache instead of interesting. It was the day they reviewed the entire chapter for the test, and Jack had gotten all of his questions right, as he usually did. He and Nick loved history like it was a religion.
Rob was sitting next to him, busy with his quote. The entire class was in the middle of writing quotes and then having to defend them from Mr. Johnson found their flaws and logical fallacies. Most the time, a student's quote would immediately be shot down and they'd lose the chance for extra credit. Jack had a good one today.
He waited boredly for Mr. Johnson to run down his row and get this over with. Meanwhile, Rob was busy trying to spark a conversation with him about his weekend. Jack had no interest in telling his best friend he'd been raped again.
"C'mon, I'm sitting right next to you. Tell me, please!" Rob begged, his whispering getting more annoying by the second.
"No. I've already told you. I slept the entire weekend and everything was boring, okay? Leave me alone." Rob didn't buy it.
"I know that's a lie."
"Fine, really want to know? Elassa's friend tied me down and held me there for two days straight."
"And she screwed you too, right?" said Rob cheekily. Jack balled his fists, and then realized that Mr. Johnson was standing right behind him. He turned around to see his teacher's eerie smile facing his direction.
"Jack, let's talk about your quote, shall we?" Was he deliberately giving Jack a freebee for not paying attention? Count your blessings, Jack thought.
"Um, the hand of aggression is stayed by force alone."
"And care to tell me why you think I could validate this?"
"Well," Jack started. "Egypt was pushed back with an army from Mesopotamia, and China by a typhoon, same as the Mongols. Who else? The Spartans were repelled by a force from Athens and Thebes, and Italy from Africa by the British armed forces. Oh, and Hitler was repulsed by the Russians too."
"Is that all?" asked Mr. Johnson, smirking.
"Alright, find me a time when it hasn't been as I've told," Jack said, confidently.
"How about when Attila the Hun was brought to a halt by Pope Leo the First?" At that, Jack almost swore. Well, in any case, at least he could make his teacher laugh if this lame excuse didn't work. Jack stood up and pointed his finger at his teacher.
"Sir, that man was a force of nature," he declared. The entire classroom erupted into laughter and Mr. Johnson rolled his eyes.
"That one just barely makes it. Eight points," he declared with a grin, continuing down the row. Jack sat back down and chuckled to himself about it. He really did love history because of this guy. Mr. Johnson was one of the coolest teachers he had ever been taught by.
And when the bell rang and the review was over, he and Rob traded unpleasant pleasantries and then parted ways. Jack was headed to Gym, and he quickly got there and dressed out. In the gymnasium, Tom was waiting for him with a wide grin on his face.
Coach Kell ordered everyone outside before the two had time to talk. After everyone had been assembled outside, and it was freezing cold. The sun was blotted out by thick, grey clouds, and it was already a cold November. Jack didn't feel that cold though, even though he knew it was. Everyone else looked like they were dying though.
And because it was so cold, every girl had to try to cover up their chests. Jack had only seen a woman's 'candy kisses' stick out so much one time before. And with all the self-control he could muster, Jack pushed the thought out of his mind for a later time.
"Alright guys, I know it's cold, but I told you all two weeks ago you had to run two miles today, and nothing has changed. So go, eight laps around the track. Go!" And, as usual, Coach Kell went over to the bleachers and pulled out his phone.
But to everyone's surprise, he checked one message and then turned the thing off. He clapped his hands twice. The class began running. Jack did his usual thing to start off the eight laps. He usually ran the first lap for as long as possible, jogged two more, then ran the next, and cycled between speeds until he was through.
Tom was with him, and the star track runner, Alina Borsa, who was probably Bosnian. (nobody really knew or cared because she was hot) Alina was always nice to everyone, and the fact that she was the best runner in the district was something she didn't really let people know when they met her. Jack liked her for that. So, the three started their first run around the track, and were soon joined by Cyrindil, who wore a conceited smile on her face.
Jack snarled a warning, and Tom gave him a confused glance. The teen ignored the young vampire for the moment as the group of four rounded the first half of the track. Alina looked quite surprised that everyone was still with her.
"You have been training hard?" she asked Jack, who still had his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, you could say I was training, all days and night sometimes," Jack replied. Cyrindil growled at him like she had some sort of ownership over his words. Jack didn't say anything to her as they rounded the first lap and Tom slowed down, giving Jack a thumbs up as he dropped out of the run.
Jack prepared to slow down too, until he realized that he wasn't tired. He looked over at Alina, and she smiled at him.
"You really are a good runner. I never expected this from someone so lazy as you," she kidded. Jack shrugged the comment off and they continued to run. And Cyrindil had stopped off once Jack had started ignoring her completely. He and Alina lapped most of the others, including Josh and Brandon, who glared daggers into Jack's back as he passed by.
On the third lap, Alina began losing a bit of steam, slowing down just a little. Jack, surprisingly, felt very little in the way of wear and tear. He felt like he could sprint. Maybe Elassa was doing something to him, or the twins? Or maybe even Anathane? Who knew now? He was so fucked up any way you looked at it.
