• Fern
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      9 months ago

      The high-pitched sound of the rubbery air filled ball’s sudden contact reverberates off the gym’s echoey walls, followed quickly by the “Ohhhh!” Of your colleagues. The trauma of this is not something you can process in this moment, and it will continue to be that way. But you’ll have plenty of time to do so as it’s being carved into your memory by the sudden twinge of seething pain on your nose and forehead, which is somehow intensified by the extreme embarrassment. The stunned look on your face can only last a moment before you hear your gym teacher shout, “You’re out! To the side!”