23. Gymnasium Nazi
Daniel strolled into the gym not exactly looking forward to playing basketball again like he did just about every day in Physical Education. It used to be that only one semester of Physical Ed. was required per school year, now it was mandatory that each student have it for the entire school year. At first most kids thought it was just North Dakota schools that were expected to have all students, unless physically disabled involved in some sort of physically demanding class. That wasn't the case. School districts in every state were by law ordered to have every student to either become involved in school sports or be enrolled in a Physical Education course.
Watching the news Daniel learned that the President wanted to do something about childhood obesity. It was a highly controversial law. Citizens sometimes protested against the law. The people often said that he had simply gone too far. Petitions were formed and signed by countless thousands threatening to impeach the president if he didn't declare the law unconstitutional. So far they have been unsuccessful in changing were the president stands.
Daniel considered the law to be too good to be true. For too long America had been called the fattest country in the world. With kids now being forced against their will to become physically active the world could finally see that something was being done about their overweight population. Population! That was the key word in all this. With people losing weight they would require less food each, in addition that would leave more food on the market.
On paper it sounded like quite the perfect plan. Ironically though, it seemed that food had been getting even scarcer lately. Daniel's school for example hadn't served much meat as it used to during his freshman and sophomore years of school. Fruits and vegetables in contrast had begun to be served in even larger amounts than ever before. And weren't they supposed to be the hardest to come by with all the droughts? Things quit making sense a long time ago.
Snack and soda machines had been removed from campus altogether. Mr. Moose’s' lectures were more than just proposed ideas they were being put into effect almost instantaneously. He could literally taste the change in the air. What made the change in school nutrition eerie was that the people weren't told about it before hand. It should have been like a slap to the face when all traces that the school had ever had junk food and soda readily available to students’ disappeared. Yet, it was like everyone just ignored it and carried on as if the newly vacant walls never had large rumbling soda machines.
"Think fast!" someone shouted suddenly. Daniel reacted instantly thrusting an open palm out. An orange ball bounced off and hit the perpetrator in the face.
"Wow! You're fast Daniel," William said, rubbing his nose.
Daniel rubbed the pinky finger on his right hand. The pinky had taken the immediate pressure of bouncing the ball back and stung a little. "William, you really shouldn't surprise me like that. Man, you were this close to taking a palm punch to the face," Daniel said demonstrating with his fingers how close he meant.
"Sorry, I was just testing how fast your reflexes are. Guess I found out the hard way," he said spinning a basketball over his index finger.
"How about a game of one on one?"
"No thanks, I was planning to get a head start on my Algebra homework." It was half true, he really did find working on Algebra a lot more fun than a game of basketball right now.
William glared at him like he had just insulted his mother. While he stared at him he apparently forgot that he was spinning the basketball and it slipped off his finger and hit the gymnasium floor and started bouncing away. "Whatever Dan, you don't even like math. Guess I'll play against my shadow while I wait for the current game to be over before I can join," William said chasing after the retreating basketball.
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Andrew was stretching out his muscles at far side of the gym. A girl he had only rarely seen before during this period was reading a book on the opposite end. But he did see her almost every morning on his way to school. She was the girl that Carl shouted to in the morning today. She was a skipper. Andrew hated skippers. He put his right arm behind his head stretching out his tricep.
Daniel walk toward the corner where the girl sat. Neither Daniel nor the girl seemed to notice that he was watching them. It was perfect Andrew would have some fun today, not involving another game of basketball, volleyball, or whatever. Every day was the same.
He walked straight through the group of kids engrossed in a game of basketball. Andrew felt his head heat up. A new brand of adrenaline surged through his bloodstream. He was going to bully a girl for the first time in his life. The thought almost made him stop and turn around. Andrew felt like he was holding a knife against his throat. Am I rocking my own boat?
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Daniel was looking for a place to sit down in a corner of the gym where the coaches wouldn't notice that he was just sitting around. They were real strict about kids not participating in class. He found one at the very far end of the wall. The corner wouldn't be completely to himself, a girl was sitting against the wall reading a book which she was holding very close to her face.
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Stacey was having trouble becoming immersed in the sanctuary of imagination with all the whooping, running footsteps, and bouncing of balls on the gym floor. She considered going outside to read. If it was still raining she would just find a place with an overhanging roof. But if Stacey did that she faced being caught by any adult who may be wandering campus hunting for skippers. Stacey heard a sound very different from all the other noises in the gymnasium.
The rhythmic soft thuds of booted footsteps neared her location. She looked up to a handsome smiling face. His smile was close mouthed and hinted that he was nervous. Stacey could feel goosebumps spring on her arms. The only boy who she had ever felt any feelings of attraction to was no more than five feet from her.
He was average in height. His jet black hair flickered brown under the harsh scoop lights on the gym ceiling. He had lightly tanned skin, nearly fair. Above his warm smile was a faint black mustache. There was a hint of a beard on his chin. The facial hair suited him. It didn't make him look intimidating like on other boys.
His commanding yet shy brown eyes seemed to emit an allure of kindness. He didn't do any of the tough guy movements that so many other guys who wanted to be noticed by her did. He didn't need to, although he was rather small, his shoulders broad and it was clear that he was a strong young man. Stacey had thought he was handsome from a distance, but being this close to him not only let her appreciate him more. But she also saw deeper into him, even though he hadn’t said a word.
She was seeing beauty not lust, which was the way many kids looked at each other. This was a boy who she could easily get to know and be sure that he was being himself and not putting on an act. She couldn't help but smile back.
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She looked up shyly when he approached Daniel smiled down at her. She returned the smile and than resumed her reading. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, it was enough to cure a man’s blindness. She had short chocolate brown hair that brushed against her cheeks down to chin level and had intelligent brown eyes. Her skin was a lovely olive color. She wore a plain dark gray sweatshirt, and light blue jeans.
He noticed several faint scars along her right cheek, but even so, she was beautiful. Daniel wondered why he had never noticed her before. He also wondered where the scars had come from. For a moment he thought they looked like burns, or even cuts inflected from an assailant. Clearing his throat, Daniel set his backpack against the wall about four feet away from where the girl sat down and leaned back against the wall. He had so many questions to ask the girl, but couldn't find the courage to open his mouth.
Daniel had just barley unzipped his backpack when he saw a towering figure coming his way. He looked up and realized with a shock that it was Andrew. He was walking in an oddly march like manner, like a soldier. Was he about to experience what it felt like to be bullied by Andrew? To Daniels surprise he didn't even glance at him instead he marched up to the girl sitting across from him.
Forgetting about his Algebra homework Daniel prepared for what could be the most horrendous act of bullying he will ever see. Andrew was standing imposingly in front of the girl looking down at her with a scowl. "Ma’am, I'm afraid reading is absolutely forbidden by the Führer. Hand over the book and your life will be spared," Andrew said in a strange accent. He extended his hand outward toward the girl.
The girl only looked at him confused. "How dare you disobey a Nazi officer? This book shall be burned immediately and you will be sent off to the death camps!" he bellowed, snatching the book out of the girl’s hands. He snapped it shut over the bookmark.
Getting up on her feet the girl and in the sweetest voice Daniel had ever heard said, "Can I have that book back please?" She extended a hand out in front of her. Andrew held it beyond her reach over her head.
"Do you not understand? Are you a Jew? I am a Nazi officer It is my duty that the Führer orders are carried out," Andrew said with what Daniel realized was supposed to be a German accent. With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and imposing stature Andrew certainly looked the part of being a Nazi.
Andrew laughed at the girls’ futile efforts at getting her book back. He slapped the girl across the face with the hardcover book. Daniel couldn't believe that everyone in the gym could continue doing their thing as Andrew publicly mocked an innocent girl. He wasn't going to allow this to go on. If no one else was going to do anything about it, than so help him he wasn't going to wait another second.
Daniel got up and walked right up to Andrew and snatched the book right out of his outstretched hand. The instant he grabbed the book out of his hands Andrew burrowed his rage filled blue eyes at him. "You. You must be either the bravest guy I've ever met or maybe you're just suicidal," he said, no longer using a fake German accent.
"Calm down Andrew, I'm not looking for any trouble I just can't let you go on with this any further," Daniel said handing the girl her book as he stared Andrew straight in the eye.
The girl took it and said, "Thank you."
The bouncing of basketballs and running footsteps faded as everyone stopped what they were doing. They must be expecting a fight, Daniel thought.
"Now look what you did. You made a scene," Andrew said scowling. His eyes were shifting around nervously.
Daniel could tell that Andrew was uncomfortable with the situation. He was the kind of person that liked to be in control. If things weren’t completely in his favor he panicked. Daniel quickly thought of a way to use that to his advantage. Walking away would have been the easiest thing to do. But what would that mean for the girl? For that matter why was she just standing there? Here he was buying her some time to get away and she just stood there like a deer caught in a car’s headlights.
The perfect solution popped into his head. "I'm about tired of all your' nonsense Andrew! Just what is your' problem? Do you just mess with other people because you hate yourself?" Daniel shouted. If his plan didn't work he was about to get the beating of a life time.
Give her a hand. 
