Dragging: a form of torture whereby the victim is chained at the ankles to the back of a car, after which the car drives off, dragging the victim behind it. Depending on the surface, this can lead to severe bleeding, bone fractures, and death by shock. Historically used against African-Americans during segregation who were suspected of crimes.
Antoine felt a shiver run up his spine as he read the article. He was sitting on his bed, his worn out laptop resting on his legs. The threat Suzy had made last Saturday still lingered in the back of Antoine's mind. That girl was a legit psycho. Whenever he thought of her, his immediate reaction was anger. But right after he'd start thinking about other things he'd rather not admit: her legs, her tits, the feel of her succulent lips on his cock...
Goddammit, it happened again.
Antoine sighed. That bitch probably intended for this to happen; she wanted him to be tormented by the memory of her incredible blowjob, even though she'd called him every slur in the book. And Antoine wasn't quite ready to answer which emotion was the stronger.
He closed his laptop and got up to his feet. He hurriedly grabbed the nearest set of clothes, a red hoodie and a pair of jeans, and got dressed. His first class today was Phys ED. His first PE class at his new school. He didn't know what he was supposed to wear, so he packed a simple white shirt and grey sweatpants and threw them in a duffel bag. Antoine had a small mirror hanging from a rusty nail on the wall, and he stopped in front of it. Barely 5.8, short curly hair, dark eyes, a nose that wasn't too big or too small...and of course, chocolate-brown skin. If it weren't for his skin color, he would have been a dime in a dozen. Well, that was only half of it: if it weren't for his skin color and living in this backwards town, he'd be a dime in a dozen.
It's not fair. Why did dad have to go and die like that?
"Ant?" His mom's voice rang up from downstairs. "Honey, you'll be late for school."
His mom's voice pulled him from his daydreaming.
"I'm on my way mom," Antoine replied.
After double-checking everything, he made his way down.
His mom had prepared breakfast as usual, and Antoine quickly wolfed the meal down. A horn bellowed from outside. The school bus.
Antoine's mom sighed.
"I swear, one of these days that bus is gonna take off without you."
Antoine grabbed his back and gave his mom a peck on the cheek.
"Cya mom."
"Have fun, you hear?" she waved.
The bus ride wasn't much to speak of, other than the fact that Antoine sat alone as usual. He'd gotten used to it at this point, so it didn't bother him much. Once he was at school, Antoine opened his locker and stashed away his backpack. When he closed the locker door, he found Katie staring at him.
"Heeey Ant!" she said with her customary enthusiasm.
"Hey Katie," Antoine responded demurely. Katie had her hair up in her usual ponytail, with a few stray strands falling down her forehead. He felt oddly ashamed looking at her. Every time he looked at her, he saw Suzy bobbing her head on his dick.
"Ant, I want you to meet my friend. This is Brennan."
Antoine hadn't noticed her companion. He stepped out from behind her and extended his hand.
"Heya, you can call me Bren. Everyone does that."
"Do they now?" Antoine raised an eyebrow at Katie, who was positively beaming with delight.
Brennan (Antoine refused to call him Bren) stood slightly taller than him, with a wild patch of unkempt black hair that suggested that he hadn't yet discovered the purpose of a comb and styling gel. His face was dotted with acne and recently healed scars, but he smiled at Antoine with the same honest friendliness that Katie had, and which was so lacking in this town. He was also rather buff, Antoine noticed. His biceps were clearly visible underneath his sweater, and when Antoine grabbed his hand his grip was firm.
"Antoine."
"Ant," Katie butted in.
"No, Anto-"
"Great to meet you, Ant!" Brennan cheered. When he let his hand go, Antoine flexed his fingers to check if they were still working.
"Where you off to?" Katie asked.
"PE," Antoine said, nudging his head at his duffel bag. "Gotta run, don't wanna be late."
Katie nodded. "Right. See you at lunch."
"See ya, Ant" Brennan said.
Despite his best efforts, running into Katie and her friend caused Antoine to be late. When he entered the locker room, it was already filled with boys in the process of changing. He was greeted by a dozen stares, half of them smirks, the other half grimaces. Antoine found a small spot in the corner and started getting undressed, trying his best to ignore his surroundings. He heard a few muffled laughs as he stripped from his shirt. Before taking off his pants, Antoine instinctively turned towards the wall. Wasting as little time as possible, he hurriedly dropped his pants, stepped out of them, and jumped right into his sweats like a trained gymnast. His underwear-covered lower body had only been visible for a flash, and it didn't seem like any of the other guys had had enough time to comment on his little 'problem'.
Not so little, apparently, a mischievous voice in his head said.
Antoine waited for the rest of the group to exit the room before following behind them. When they entered the gymnasium, Antoine felt his pulse quicken. PE at his old school had been segregated. Apparently it had been mixed before, but certain 'incidents' involving boys and girls sneaking off together had put a stop to that. John Addams High didn't seem to have that problem. The girls were already waiting inside, and Antoine had to stop his jaw from dropping looking at them.
In Antoine's experience, gym clothes at school tended to be oversized, plainly colored, and turned students into shapeless blobs. He guessed that this was to keep the students' sexual urges in check. John Adams High seemed to have a similar approach; PE uniforms consisted of plain white shirts and black shorts. This kind of approach tended to work on you average underdeveloped high school girl. Some of the girls here, however, pushed their clothes to their absolute limits. The shirts hugged their curves, and their knee-high shorts left plenty of their long legs to ogle at. He recognized a few of them, friends of Mandy who sat with her during lunch. Thankfully, Mandy herself wasn't there; Antoine wasn't sure he would be able to handle seeing her in similar clothing.
The other boys didn't seem to think anything special of it, as they casually spread out while talking to each other. Antoine, however, couldn't help but gawk at them. He was a 17-year old bomb of hormones; what else did they expect him to do? Unbeknownst to him, the girls had started taking notice of his staring. A few nudged each other, nodding in his direction. Others giggled behind their hands. When Antoine finally noticed, he felt his face go beet red, and he quickly tried to go up in the crowd of students.
Thankfully, the gym teacher arrived shortly after. He was a heavyset man, but not fat; more in the way that you could tell he used to lift weights. He was balding, though he tried to cover it up with a poorly executed comb-over. His eyes were small, with thick eyebrows like caterpillars. He held a basketball in his hands. Mr.Harrison, Antoine remembered from his schedule. Harold Harrison.
As he walked to the center of the gym, his gaze briefly lingered on Antoine as he walked passed him. He ushered the group towards him. The hall slowly quieted down.
"Form up," he said, his voice deep and course. "Even groups, and mix it up a bit. Greg, Alison, your picks."
Two figures dislodged themselves from the group, a boy and a girl. Antoine checked Alison out as she moved towards the coach. She was a redhead, with pale skin and cute freckles that dotted her nose. While she wasn't as 'gifted' in her chest area as some of the other girls, her ass was beautifully toned, and the fabric of her shorts clung to her asscheeks, their contours very visible with every step she took.
As Antoine had expected, he was the last to get picked, and he ended up on Greg's team. In Antoine's experience, basketball in high school was basically a show off contest for the boys. Team play barely existed as each of them would try to hit a 3-pointer whenever they got within five feet of the basket. Most of them failed miserably, though occasionally one ball would inevitably luck its way through the hoop.
Antoine, however, was finally in his element. While he wasn’t the tallest kid on the block, basketball had always been his favorite pastime back home. There had been a small court near his house, and every day after school he'd spend hours shooting hoops with the other kids in the neighborhood. After another failed attempt by one of the boys, the ball came to a halt at Antoine’s feet. He felt its weight and bounced it up and down a few times. Then he started to dribble. The opposing team tried their best to block him, but it was clear they didn’t really know much about basketball, as he easily passed them. Instead of going for a 3-pointer, he smoothly rounded the final defender and tipped the ball through the hoop.
The rush of excitement had made him forget his surroundings. When Antoine looked around, he saw that the rest of the group was staring at him. Trying his best to avoid the myriad of eyes, he kept his head down as he quickly paced his way back to his side of the court. He caught a glimpse of coach Harrison, who looked at him with an intrigued look on his face.
Stop pulling so much attention to yourself idiot!
Antoine decided to lay low for the rest of the match. But it seemed the decision was pulled from his hands. His team had apparently figured out that giving Antoine the ball would be the best course of action. As soon as they'd recovered the ball after a successful block, Antoine found it shoved into his hands.
Goddammit, he thought.
The rest of the match followed the same pattern: whenever his team got the ball, Antoine’s teammates would instantly pass it to him, and he’d do his thing. Although nobody was really keeping score, it was obvious that Antoine’s team was crushing their opponents. While the girls didn’t seem to care all too much, he could see the frustration begin to grow in the faces of the boys. He was, for all intents and purposes, humiliating them. It felt good. It was high time the people in this town realized they weren’t all that hot.
Even if it was just a basketball match during PE.
The opposing team finally decided to change their tactics. Where before they had been spreading around, trying to cover all the enemy players, now they started zeroing in on Antoine, crowding him with bodies to limit his movements. Since he wasn’t the strongest kid around, the tactic worked surprisingly well. Soon, the match was starting to get more even. The enemy team seemed to have hit a second wind now that they had figured out how to deal with Antoine.
The next time Antoine got the ball, he was instantly surrounded by four players of the opposing team. He tried to whirl around to see if any of his teammates were open. When he raised his elbow, it collided with something soft. When he looked behind him, he saw that his elbow was pressing into the boobs of a dark-haired girl with glasses.
“Oh my,” she said.
Antoine fumbled the ball, and before he knew it someone had snatched it away and the game had moved to the other side of the court. Antoine shook his head and ran after them, but it was too late: he watched as the ball tumbled through the hoop. As the opposing players ran past him, the girl whose boobs he’d elbowed gave him a quick wink. Antoine saw her whisper something to some of the other girls, and they glanced at Antoine before nodding.
Antoine was off his game. He couldn’t keep hold of the ball long enough before being piled on by half the opposing team, and he was forced to play more defense than offense. As the enemy team rushed towards their half of the court, Antoine saw that Alison was free and shouting for the ball. He moved to block her when she received the ball. Alison turned her back towards him, trying to find a way around him. As they struggled, Antoine was suddenly painfully aware of her ass pressing into his crotch. Though outwardly she seemed to be looking for someone to pass the ball to, Antoine could feel her grinding her toned ass into him with increasing vigor. She turned her head towards him and smiled naughtily.
She’s doing this on purpose.
Antoine was losing his concentration at the sensation of Alison’s perfect ass rubbing into his dick. She kept her brown eyes on him as she moved her ass around, pushing and grinding into him. He felt his dick begin to harden. Antoine instinctively backed off a few inches. Instantly, Alison whirled around him towards the basket and pushed the ball in with her fingertips. Antoine tried to ignore the accusatory looks his teammates shot him as the opposing team cheered. When Alison ran past him, she placed her hand in front of her mouth in an ‘oops’ gesture. Antoine felt his face burn up.
Focus, he told himself, trying to clear his head. You got this.
Same as before, when the game started again, Antoine was immediately handed the ball. This time he anticipated the enemy’s tactics and rushed past them before they had time to surround him. He heard a few of the boys curse as he whirled by them. Just as he was about to leap for an easy 3-pointer, something collided into him from behind. He tumbled to the floor, the ball rolling away before his eyes. Something heavy was pressing into his back. Two somethings, in fact.
“Oops” a naughty voice said next to his ear. It was a girl’s voice. Antoine painfully turned his head. Lauren was lying on top of him, a heavy-chested brunette Antoine had seen sitting at Mandy’s table during lunch.
Antoine tried to move, but he was locked underneath her. Any movements on his part caused their bodies to rub into each other, and Antoine could feel her twin mountains inadvertently massage his back. And if he wasn’t imagining things, Lauren was moving along with him.
“You like that, baby?” she whispered as she rubbed her body against his.
Antoine’s heart was threatening to jump out of his chest, but before he could answer, the coach’s voice cut through the air.
“PERSONAL FOUL!”
Lauren giggled as she got off of Antoine. Antoine didn’t move. He was still savoring the memory of Lauren’s body grinding into his.
“You okay there, boy?” he heard Mr. Harrison ask.
The question pulled Antoine from his dreaming, and he got up unsteadily. Mr. Harrison tossed the ball his way, and Antoine caught it.
“Three shots. Make 'em count.”
Antoine moved towards the edge of the 3-point line. He saw Lauren looking at him, and she blew him a mocking kiss, causing some of the other girls to giggle. Trying his best to ignore them, Antoine threw his first shot. It bounced off of the edge of the hoop. Some of the boys on the opposing team let out a mocking cheer. Antoine ignored them and bounced the ball on the ground a few times before throwing again. This time he scored, and a handful of the players in his team hooted at their opponent. The last shot similarly went in, and Antoine heard genuine cheers coming from his team.
Mr. Harrison grabbed the ball.
“Two out of three. Not bad. Alright, class is over, hit the showers.”
While most of his classmates ignored him as they passed him, he also felt a few pats on his back.
“Nice job man.”
“That was all you.”
“Killer moves back there.”
Antoine ran his hand through his hair, suddenly embarrassed.
“N-nah, it was alright.”
When he made to follow the rest of the class, the coach grabbed his arm.
“Hold back for a second.”
After the other students had left, the only people left were Antoine and Mr. Harrison.
“Where’d you learn to play like that?” he asked Antoine. “You used to play on your school’s team back home?”
“N-no. Uh, we had this little court down by the park, and me and the other kids would shoot hoops after school.”
“On the streets, huh?” Harrison nodded, as if he liked Antoine’s answer. “How about you come to practice this Thursday. We could use a fellow like you on the team.”
“I, uh…” Antoine was completely caught off-guard. “Uh…I guess I’ll check it out.”
Harrison clapped his hands. “Great. Alright, I kept you here long enough, don’t want you getting late for class. Off you go.”
He walked away towards the materials closet, leaving Antoine behind. As Antoine moved towards the exit, he considered the coach’s words. The school team…it could help him get along more with the other students.
Like they’ll ever accept you, a cruel voice in his head said.
When he opened the door to the lockers, he saw that he was alone. The other guys had already left, leaving him to undress in peace. There would be no need to face the wall or anything. Just as he stepped out of his sweatpants, the door to the locker room opened and someone stepped in. As the figure turned to close the door behind her, Antoine saw that it was Lauren.
“Wh-what the fuck!" he shouted.
Antoine scrambled to cover his lower body with his pants. Lauren placed a finger in front of her mouth.
“Shhh” she hushed as she walked towards him.
“Wh-why are you in here?!” Antoine stammered.
“To see you,” Lauren said, a mischievous look on her face. Antoine had seen that look before; on Suzy, right before she wrapped her lips around his dick.
This close up, Antoine saw how attractive Lauren really was. She had shoulder-length brown hair that framed a pretty face with a button nose and long eyelashes, and her lips had a smooth pink gloss to them. She hadn't changed out of her gym clothes; Antoine could clearly see the swell of her chest underneath the fabric of her shirt. Lauren noticed him staring.
“You like them?” she asked, pushing her chest forward. “I bet you remember how good they felt when I was lying on top of you.”
Antoine swallowed. He felt his dick begin to harden. As if hearing his thoughts, Lauren grabbed his hands and gently pushed them to the side. Antoine resisted, but it was only a token resistance. With his hands no longer blocking the view, Lauren had a full view of Antoine in just his underwear.
“Oh. My. God.”
Antoine’s dick peeked out a full three inches from the top of his boxers, and as Lauren watched, it continued to grow until it stood at full mast.
Lauren got down on her knees. Antoine's eyes flashed towards the locker room entrance.
"We really shouldn't be doing this," Antoine said nervously. "What if- aah!"
Antoine's protests ended in a moan as Lauren kissed the head of his dick.
"I figured that would shut you op," Lauren said. She yanked down his boxers, fully exposing his rock-hard cock.
"Oh, fuck yes," Lauren breathed. She closed her eyes and pressed her face against Antoine's dick, rubbing it against her skin. Antoine could feel her hot breath against his member, and it sent tingles through his lower body. The head of his dick was already glistening with precum, and wherever it touched Lauren's face it would come away in sticky, wet strands.
"That size..." Lauren moaned softly as she continued to massage her face with his dick. "That feeling....that smell..."
Finally, she pulled her head back. Lauren kept her eyes on him as she licked her hand, coating every inch of it in her spit. Satisfied, she grabbed Antoine's dick and started spreading her saliva along its shaft, making it slick and wet. Antoine couldn't stop a moan from escaping his mouth.
"You like that?" Lauren asked, pumping his dick with her hand.
Antoine nodded awkwardly. He suddenly felt hot.
Lauren smiled, a predator grinning at its prey.
"Well, you ain't seen nothing yet boy."
Before Antoine could respond, her mouth engulfed his dick. Antoine cried out in sheer pleasure. Lauren didn't stop: whereas Suzy had only been able to get half of his dick down her throat, Lauren was already three-quarters in. Antoine could hear her gag. Strands of saliva dripped from the sides of her mouth. By the time she came out, his dick was covered in her spit. She was breathing heavily, and a deep blush was visible on her cheeks.
"Fuck...fuck me, this dick is amazing," she panted.
She was right back at it, wrapping her lips around his cock. She sucked his dick with deep strokes at a time, slobbering at it like it was the only source of water in the desert. One hand was firmly clenched around his shaft, traveling up and down alongside her mouth, while the other toyed with his balls.
"F-fuck," Antoine gasped. Being inside her mouth felt like being caressed by thousands of tiny hands, wet and warm and silky soft. Her tongue was like a snake, wrapping itself around his dick.
Every so often, Lauren would look up at him, her brown eyes holding his own locked in place as she drooled all over his dick. She would shift up her tactics as she went on: sucking on his dick like a vacuum cleaner, licking the tip, gobbling his balls. Antoine was quickly reaching his limit.
"I-I'm gonna cum," he said.
Lauren pulled her head back. A long strand of spit followed her out.
"Not yet, honey."
She got up to her feet and stepped back. Antoine felt an immense sense of disappointment, until he saw Lauren grip the sides of her shirt. In one move, she pulled it over her head, exposing her tits and leaving her naked from the waist up. Antoine's mouth opened and closed like a fish on dry land.
Lauren smiled cheekily. "You were staring at them so much, I thought you'd like to see them."
"I..I, uh..."
Antoine didn't know what to say. Her breasts were amazing, delivering on all the promises her curves implied underneath her clothes. They were large and heavy, easily D-cups, and her areolas were dark, her nipples standing proudly at attention. As Antoine stared, Lauren took off her shorts, revealing black lace panties. She moved closer towards Antoine until she was standing right in front of him.
Lauren looked him in the eyes as she gently grabbed his right hand and placed it on her left breast, right on top of her nipple. She took his other hand and moved it downwards, towards her panties. By now, Antoine's heart was beating with the force of a thousand drums. She used her fingers to move back the waist band of her panties until Antoine felt the warm folds of her pussy. She was already wet.
"Mmm," Lauren breathed.
Antoine instinctively extended his index finger, pushing it inside of her wet hole. Antoine wasn't exactly a pro, but he'd learned a thing or two back in his day. He curved his finger slightly and slowly began to move in and out of her. His other hand was playing with her breast, squeezing and massaging it. After the initial shock, Antoine was slowly finding his rhythm.
"Yes, like that," Lauren whispered.
Their faces were inches apart. Lauren placed her arm around his head. Slowly, she pushed her lips against his and kissed him. Her lips were silky soft, and this close up Antoine could smell the faint traces of her perfume mixed with the scent of sweat. It set his body on fire. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth, wrestling with his own. Simultaneously, she grabbed his cock with her hand and started stroking it.
Antoine continued to finger her and massage her tits as they kissed. The longer he went on, the wetter she became, and the easier his finger moved around inside of her slit. His thumb found a tiny nub on her pussy, and he flicked it a few times. Lauren moaned inside his mouth in surprise and pulled her head back.
"Fuck, keep doing that!" she cried out.
Antoine increased his speed, rubbing her clit in quick circles as he fingered her. Lauren started moving her hips against his hand as her breathing grew heavier. At the same time, she stroked his swollen cock faster.
"Yes, yes, yes," Lauren moaned as Antoine fingered her faster and faster.
Her pussy was soaking wet, and Antoine's finger went in and out with no effort. Lauren was arching her hips towards him, pushing her pussy into his hand. Suddenly, her entire body became rigid and she clenched her teeth together. Her body trembled as the shockwaves of her orgasm moved through her.
"F-fuuck!"
Her fingers buried themselves into Antoine's flesh as her body tensed up. She lowered her head towards his shoulder, breathing heavily.
"Holy shit," she gasped. "I haven't come this hard in ages."
Antoine pulled his hand out of her panties; a large, wet spot had appeared on them. Lauren pulled her head back and grabbed his hand. She put his sticky fingers in her mouth and sucked on them like a lollipop, staring right into Antoine's eyes as she licked his fingers clean.
"Mmm," she moaned.
Satisfied, she dropped his hand and got down on her knees. She grabbed Antoine's cock and looked up at him with a smile.
"Don't worry hun, I haven't forgotten about you."
She started pumping him with both hands, faster and faster. Lauren kept her eyes on him, and for a while the only noise in the room was the wet sound of her jerking his spit-covered cock.
"I want it" she whispered seductively. "I want that thick, black cum all over me."
Antoine was already close to his breaking point. He started involuntarily bucking his hips. Lauren had her mouth open and her tongue out.
"Give it to me. I want to taste that juicy black pudding, baby."
Antoine couldn't hold back anymore.
"Fuuck" he moaned as he exploded all over her face.
"Aaaah" Lauren moaned in unison.
Antoine's cum dripped from her face down onto her breasts, pooling in between them. She rubbed it all over her body with her hands, a relished look on her face. Antoine fell back against one of the lockers with a clang. His body was slick with sweat and his shirt clung to his skin. Lauren got up to her feet and grabbed her clothes off the ground. She suddenly seemed in a rush.
"I'm gonna go hit the showers. See you later."
"W-wait!" Antoine said exasperated. But Lauren had already closed the door behind her.
Antoine stumbled down on a nearby bench and sat down. He tried to process what had just happened. His head was still pounding from the ordeal. Again a girl had gone through the effort of making him cum, and again she'd treated him with indifference right after.
At least she didn't threaten to kill you like Suzy. That's progress.
What was with these girls? They seemed to be magnetically attracted to his dick. Was that really all they cared about? Did they even care about him as a person? As a human being? He thought of Mandy, and the exchange she'd had with her friend in class.
"They're hung like horses".
An animal. He was like an animal to them. The thought made him feel oddly hollow.
Suddenly, Antoine jerked his head up. Class!
He looked up at the clock. Class had started half an hour ago.
Fuck! Antoine thought.
There was no use trying to make it. He still needed to shower to get the stink of sweat and cum off him.
Second week, and you're already skipping classes.
Antoine felt a pang of shame. If his mom found out, she'd kill him. Or worse, she would be disappointed. Antoine could handle the shouting, but it was when she didn't shout at him that he really felt bad. But there was nothing he could do about it.
By the time Antoine had cleaned himself up and switched his duffel sack for his regular backpack, it was close to lunch time. When he entered the lunch hall, it was already filled with students. Thankfully, they were mostly occupied with their friends and meals so Antoine was spared their customary stares and hushed whispers. He searched for Katie, and quickly located her at the same spot they always sat. Brennan was sitting next to her.
As Antoine made his way towards them, he was forced to pass by the cheerleader table. Mandy looked as stunning as ever, wearing a green crop top that left her belly bare. As usual, all the emphasis was on her amazing tits. For once though, Mandy wasn't the one doing the talking. She was leaning forward on the table like the rest of the group, and they were all listening closely to one of the other girls. When Antoine got closer, he felt his pulse quicken when he saw that it was Lauren. She was speaking in a hushed tone, and occasionally one of the girls would giggle at her words.
When Antoine walked by, they all raised their head and looked at him. A burst of giggles erupted from the group as he passed them. His eyes caught Lauren's, and she shot a quick wink his way. Mandy was staring at him with a mixture of distaste and a look Antoine had never seen before: curiosity. Antoine wasn't sure what to think of all this. He kept his eyes on the ground as he walked until he reached Katie's table.
"Heyoo!" she said cheerfully.
"Hey there, Ant!" Brennan said.
"Hey guys," Antoine replied modestly.
As he sat down and unpacked his lunch, Katie was already babbling as usual.
"Bren was just saying how he beat level 16 without a single save. I called him a liar, but he insists!"
Brennan shrugged as he took a bite from his sandwich. "It's not my fault I'm better at Archmage than you."
"There's no way you did that. I need at least half a dozen saves on that level. Ant, what do you think?"
Antoine shrugged. "Uh, guess he's just really good?"
"See, Ant understands how the cookie crumbles," Brennan smiled.
Katie pouted. "Yeah, well I'm coming over after school, I want some proof!"
"It's your time to waste Kates."
Antoine raised an eyebrow.
"Kates?"
Brennan looked at him.
"Huh? Yeah, that's what I call her. Something wrong with it?"
"Uh..." Antoine thought about it for a second, but then decided to drop it. "No, not really."
"Cool. Anyway, Ant, I wanted to ask you something: you wanna go to the gym with me someday?"
"The gym?" Antoine asked, confused.
"Yeah, you know; lift weights, run the treadmill, grow some muscle," Brennan said excitedly.
Antoine hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Come on," Brennan said, shaking his shoulder. "You'll get to mingle with the townsfolk some more. And you know the girls love themselves some muscle."
As if to emphasize this, he flexed his biceps. Beside him, Katie made a puking sound.
Antoine looked at his own arms. He could almost wrap his finger and thumb around them.
"OK, I guess," he finally said.
"Awesome!" Brennan said with a broad smile. "Guess you had PE today, so you're probably a bit tired. What about tomorrow after school?"
"Sure."
The rest of lunch was spent further arguing the validity of Brennan's earlier claims. Katie and Brennan did most of the talking, as Antoine was still trying to process what had happened earlier in the gym locker room. Still lost in thought, he didn't notice a slice of pizza flying his way. It landed right in the middle of his hair.
"Hey, what the hell?" Brennan shouted, jumping up from his seat.
Katie instantly moved towards Antoine.
"Oh my god, Ant are you okay?"
The pizza slice was slowly dripping down the side of his face. Antoine tentatively grabbed it and threw it on the floor. He felt his hair with his hand; it came away wet and red.
"Halt!" a stern voice called out.
Antoine looked up. A morbidly obese woman was wobbling her way towards him. Her feet were cramped into a pair of black heels that seemed on the verge of breaking underneath her weight. Her face was red, with a pig nose and jowls that quivered with every step. When she reached their table, she stared Antoine down with two small beady eyes.
"Out here we don't throw our food on the floor like monkeys, boy."
An explosion of laughter erupted from a table in the distance. Antoine looked at them. It was a group of preppy looking boys, each of them wearing a different shade of polo shirt with the collar up. One of them blew a kiss at Antoine.
"But Ms. Newsham, it's not his fa-" Brennan began, but she dismissed him with a hand wave.
"I didn't ask you for your opinion, mister Miller. If it weren't for those nice boys alerting me to this disgusting behavior, I wouldn't have caught on to it. Ant...oine, was it? You will stay after lunch to help the kitchen staff clean up. I hope this will teach you some manners."
With that, she huffed her way back again. Katie shrieked in frustration.
"God, I hate that bitch, she's the absolute worst!"
Brennan looked down at Antoine and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"You OK there, Ant?"
Antoine wiped the sticky strands off his face with his clean hand. His eyes were stinging, but he didn't want them to notice.
"Yeah."
"Don't worry, we'll help you out," Katie assured him.
"No!" Antoine said, louder than he intended. The pair looked at him.
"I mean, it's better if I just do this on my own. At least I'll have an excuse for being late in class."
"You sure?" Brennan asked.
"Yes, absolutely." Antoine managed a weak smile.
Katie sat back down, clearly unhappy, but thankfully she didn't argue. Lunch ended shortly after, and it didn't take long for the hall to empty. Antoine resigned himself to his fate and walked towards the kitchen.
By the time he was finished, he was already fifteen minutes late for class. He sure as hell couldn't afford to miss two classes, especially not on the same day. Antoine hurried himself to his locker to grab his books. He was alone in the hallway, and every step of his shoes on the floor echoed from the walls. When he reached his locker, he felt his stomach drop. Someone had written something on it with magic marker. In big, red letters it said
The South will rise again
