Focus, you idiot!

Chris lobs a ball at me, but I step out of the way. As I do, another ball whizzes past my ankle from the left. It misses me, but it was a close one. And who’s smiling at me from the direction that ball came from?

I’ll give you one guess.

The ring thief almost got me. I crouch down and grab a ball. Rebecca fires at me but I use the ball in my hands to deflect it. I could go after Raegan now, but I want to build her confidence a little. Let her think she stands a chance. So I launch the ball at Mrs. Stevenson instead. She attempts to catch it but it bounces off her outstretched fingers. She’s out. One down.

Two minutes seem like an eternity. Rebecca manages to knock two of my teammates out of the game right before the round ends. The whistle blows and the crowd cheers while the players jog to their water bottles.

When the second round starts, I stay on Raegan’s side of the court. She’s good at being sneaky, so I need to keep an eye on her at all times. Two of my teammates gang up on Rebecca and try to knock her out of the game. Another takes out Mrs. Gallagher.

Chris and Raegan try double-teaming me again, but that trick will only work once. I dodge Raegan’s and catch the one Chris threw just as the whistle blows. Chris is out of the game, and Raegan looks like someone kicked her puppy.

In the last round, it’s Raegan and Michelle against me and my VP, Mrs. Wilcox.

Perfect. We’ll take out Michelle first.

At least, that’s what I expect to happen when Mrs. Wilcox and I launch our balls at Michelle. Remember when I said the new teacher looks like she belongs in a tech lab? Yeah, well … I misjudged her. She jumps over my ball and catches Mrs. Wilcox’s ball in mid-air.

My VP is out. Now it’s two against one. I’m the lone ranger. A sitting duck. Michelle, Raegan, and I each have a ball. I know that once I throw mine, they will throw theirs. My reflexes are good, but I need to be prepared.

I wouldn’t be so worried if I wasn’t playing against the jewel thief and the Michael Jordan of dodgeball.

Raegan and Michelle raise their balls in the air, winding up for simultaneous throws. When their arms come down, I throw mine at Raegan. Hard. Harder than I should be throwing at an elementary school charity game.

But the girls fake their throws and hold onto their balls. Raegan uses hers to deflect mine, sending my own ball hurtling back at me. It slams into my face and my body jerks backward.

Raegan

I just knocked out my principal.