November 4th, 2019

Practice had been canceled again. Just great. To make matters worse, there was a required assembly today. Did they give us any warning? No, of course not. It was going to be during free time, so I wouldn't have a lot of time to study. I had a big chemistry test in three days, so I was more than just a little annoyed.

I could hear people behind me, but I wasn't paying attention. At least, I want until one of them ran up and tapped my arm a few times. Did they have no concept of personal space?

"Ugh, is that really the only way to get someone's attention?" I quipped, scowling down at whoever was hanging off my arm. I wasn't usually snappy, but I was tired and in a bad mood, it just slipped out.

Looking down, I saw that it was Florrie, and a guy was right behind her. She looked upset and was holding her hand a little ways away from her chest. She must be awfully sensitive because she looked incredibly hurt at my remark.

For some reason I didn't want her to be upset. She probably had just wanted to talk to me. I let my face soften before talking again.

"Oh, Florrie, hi. I'm pretty tired today, I didn't mean to snap at you like that," I explained, and as I did her face lit up, and she smiled at me. Florrie seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve.

"Your hair looks nice today," she said before dashing away. The guy behind her sighed, clearly unsure if he should follow. Florrie had slipped into the assembly room and was out of sight.

"She's weird," I said.

"No, she's not," the guy said defensively.

"It was a joke." I rolled my eyes and went into the assembly room. He was probably just another slacker. In the assembly room, I looked for my teammates. Enrico was the first I spotted. Of course, he was already making a fool of himself.

When the assembly finally started, the principal had to cough into the microphone eleven times before finally yelling at the student body to quiet themselves. I let out a snort.

"Now," he said, "you must all be wondering what brings you here on this fine Monday morning. It's not good news, I'll tell you that."

Bored already, I started looking for a certain blonde in the crowd of students.

"You see, there is a cold going around and it is a very strong one. No reason to worry, we'll be fine with the necessary safety precautions I'll lay out now."

Spotted her. She was sitting and chatting with another girl.

"If you do not have a signed principal pass, you can not leave the school grounds. If you feel sick at all, please come to stay in the nurse's office. If your case is not too bad, you can still go back to sleep in your dorm."

Angry chatter rose from the crowd and my eyes moved away from Florrie. Why should we be imprisoned just because of a cold? I went to look it up on my phone, but no media sites had said anything about a rogue cold. It must only affect Foxcroft so far.

I was already bored of being here, and the assembly wasn't even close to over. At least they didn't cancel all sports, hockey would start back up in a week. Plus, a certain blonde might be a source of entertainment in the meantime.

Why did I keep thinking about her? She was just some dumb girl who kept annoying me. But, she was interesting. Even I could admit it. I didn't understand why she was so insistent on us hanging out, but if she was going to insist, who was I to say no?

Finally, the assembly ended. It was so boring that I would have rather done drills. I knew that Florrie was closer to the front, so she would take more time to exit. I found myself waiting at the big double doors that lead to the auditorium. I told myself I owed her.

After a few minutes she walked out, right past me, with the annoying boy from early.

"Wow, okay. I see how it is." I joked, getting their attention.

"Oh, Harvey! I didn't see you there," Florrie said, walking back towards me. The boy followed her, standing to her left.

"Since you're here, do you have hockey practice today? If not, wanna hang out?" she said, smiling up at me. It was a bright, genuine smile, like I had already said yes and it had made her day.

Maybe she wasn't like what I assumed her to be. I thought she was just a stuck-up kid, popular and bratty, but she seemed rather sweet. This might be fun.

"No, practice got canceled. What would you want to do? No studying, I can already tell you're not very good at it," I joked.

She looked happy, smiling wider. Her friend was not. He looked mad, maybe because I insinuated that she was dumb? I was just telling the truth.

"I was hoping we could go get something to eat maybe?"

"Did you forget? The principal just told us we were quarantined."

"Whoops. Well, why don't you just come by my dorm? Here, let me give you my number," she said, pulling her phone out of her uniform jacket.

"I already have it from when you texted me."

"Oh, yeah!" she said, straightening out her jacket. Her posture kept cool and collected but her eyes screamed embarrassed. Redness danced around her soft cheeks.

"Come on Flor, we're going to be late to class, second block is on the other side of the school," the boy next to her said. I had forgotten he was there.

"Oh darn, you're right, Tomlin. Bye Harvey, see you later!" she said, waving as she followed the boy, who had already begun walking. So her friend's name was Tomlin? That's a stupid name.

I doubted I would remember it. I couldn't wait to see Florrie again.