A Perfect Rose pt. V

It was another normal day at EastSide High. It was getting close to the end of his freshman year and Cam couldn't wait for summer to start. Cam was excited to hang out with his friends on the basketball court after school. The sun shone brightly in the sky, making it the perfect day to shoot hoops with the boys. He was a very competitive person and always would play to win. There was no let's play a quick game for fun with Cam. He was not very good at losing and would break ankles to be sure he would come out on top. He had a solid group of friends who would play a few basketball games on the courts every day after school and everyone who played had the same competitive mentality as Cam.

Today was like any other day where Cam impatiently sat through each of his classes staring at the clock hoping to see it move faster. The longer he stared the slower the stupid hands seemed to go around the circumference of the clock. “Time must be playing tricks on me, there’s no way it’s still only fourth period”, thought Cam as he tapped his pen against the table. He heard someone across the room say, “Shhh”. He quickly looked up making eye contact with his teacher. “Stop making noise or I will send you to the principal’s office”, she threatened. Cam was not usually one to follow the rules but grudgingly he obliged the teacher’s request today because he did not want to miss his basketball game today and detentions were held right after the final bell rang, which released them from this prison. This was one of the only things Cam and Ellie could agree on. They both absolutely hated school, especially having to be there every day. This made them dread each day they had to wake up to go to school.

Cam and Ellie didn't ever get along or agree about anything except when it came to complaining about school then they could talk for hours. Cam would rant about the classes he had to take and Ellie would share her complaints about them when she had taken them a few years back.

Biology class seemed to be dragging on forever today, more than usual. The teacher was rambling on about some project he had no interest in participating in. He knew he should be paying attention so he would know what he needed to do to pass this class but his mind was wandering elsewhere. He didn’t care anymore if he passed this class the year was almost over already and he was ready for summer to be here. It couldn’t come quick enough for him. He was too busy daydreaming about going to the beach and all the hot girls he may see to hear that his teacher was asking him a question.

“What?” he said jumping back to reality as his friend elbowed in his side. The teacher repeated herself after his attention was finally on her, “What is the first rule when dissecting a frog Cam?” Cam who had not heard any of the rules said, “Don’t eat them”, causing his friends to laugh but getting a stern glare from his teacher who was not impressed. “No Cam.” said his teacher. “The first rule of dissecting a frog is to pay attention and follow the directions closely, which you are already slacking at.” Cam didn’t care to respond to his teacher’s witty comment and just hoped the bell would ring soon. Ring, ring, ring, He was saved by the bell. Everyone was jumping out of their seats and rushing to the door as the bell to end the class rang loudly through the room.

The second half of the day went by just as slowly and was just as boring as the first half but it was finally over. Everyone was rushing out the doors of the school to their after-school activities. Everyone was off to their sports practices, music lessons, marching band, football, or hanging with friends. Everyone was scattering in different directions to go about their after-school lives. Cam ran down the hill outside of the school to where the recreational basketball courts lay. He wanted to make sure their group would be the first ones there so they would have a claim on the court. Everyone knew it was a first come first use court. He was the first one to the courts as usual. As he waited for his other friends to arrive he sat down on his basketball in the direction they would all come running from. They began to slowly file onto the court laughing at different jokes made by each other. Today’s energy was going to be fun thought Cam as everyone came running over laughing.

Once everyone was finally there the game was off. It was a small three-on-three match where first to 21 wins. They would change up the games where sometimes they would play a match and other times they would play things like Around the World and Pig. Today was game day and they were playing tournament style to see whose team would come out on top. It was a hot afternoon and before long everyone was dripping in sweat and sticking to the person they were supposed to be guarding. It was what Cam would describe as a perfect afternoon.

His team was down a few points and things were beginning to get heated. He couldn't lose. His mindset was not going to allow him to lose. He would not let his teammates drag him down. He was going to pull through and lead them to their victory. As he was passed the ball he pulled back to shoot the winning three-pointer and watched as the ball hit the rim and fell into one of the other team player's hands. They had lost. There was no coming back for Cam this time and he was devastated. The rage boiled up inside him as he yelled at his teammates for allowing them to lose this match.

He took the long way home sulking about his loss the entire time. He didn't want to be home where he knew all he could do was think about his loss and be by himself. When he was round the final turn before his house he noticed something wasn't right. Why were there flashing lights in front of his home? An ambulance sat there staring at his home. What was going on? He took off running to see what had happened. His mind was in a panic. When he arrived home he was greeted by a stranger who wouldn't let him in the house and nobody was telling him what was going on. He just sat there waiting for someone to come out and tell him the bad news of what had happened. The waiting tore him apart.