Locking In With My Life System

Chapter 28: PE

Aiden sat up properly, his surprise knowing no bounds as he opened the pdf, just for good measure.

Reading the first few Chapters, one he remembered quite well as he’d read the very same thing a couple months back...

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Aiden: You can’t be serious...

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For a moment, no response came.

Then a message popped in a couple seconds after.

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Casper: What? Why?

Aiden: Well... [The Last Radian Knight.jpg]

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Yet again, no response came from Casper for a brief while... only for Aiden’s phone to buzz a couple minutes later.

Picking it up almost immediately;

"Holy shit! It’s you! You’re AidenDraws--" Casper’s stunned voice came from the other end of the line, only for him to abruptly cut himself off, the realization settling as he remarked in amusement a second after;

"That’s a very on the nose name, man!"

To that, Aiden chuckled over the phone and then said;

"I know, right? Still can’t believe you’re Blue Dot, though! What a small world we live in?!"

"Right!" Casper exclaimed much the same as both individuals continued their conversation for the next couple minutes.

Then, seemingly realizing that he had to sleep early, not just to complete the quest, but because his life was literally now operating around a strict schedule, Aiden opted to round up their convo;

"You know what, we’ll discuss it in detail tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure. Can’t wait to tell the guys!" Casper excitedly replied and then chipped in;

"Oh, and make sure to bring your A-game tomorrow! Those twerps are going down this time!"

For a moment, Aiden seemed unsure of what Casper meant, only for it click immediately after.

"Ah. That." he slowly let out a resigned sigh.

"Yep!" Casper on the other hand exclaimed with exuberant anticipation!

*

Wednesdays.

That was the day Silverlake High had dedicated to PE.

For a lot of the freshers who had the least idea how their new high school operated during their PE sessions, they often looked forward to the experience.

Afterall, most of them were fresh off of their middle-school PE antics and often carried that energy into their very first PE in high school.

In all fairness though, it was the right mindset to have... especially since Silverlake High went pretty hard with their PE sessions in comparison to many other schools.

Asides from the variation of stuff to do alone, one they often did a good job of rotating different sports every week to keep things fresh.

They also HAD credits attached to the entire thing... one that required their students to participate from time to time if they wanted to earn the required credit to graduate.

But even they, probably wouldn’t have realized how rigorous the session could be.

It was also why, they were currently being warmed up as they jogged down the tracks with their PE instructor, Mr. Sanders, who continuously barked at them like they were in the military;

"Double up! Double up! Double up!"

"If you’re still capable of having a conversation while you’re jogging, then you’re not jogging properly! Move! Move! Move!"

A collective chorus of groans came in response to his jabs, not that the burly PE instructor cared in the slightest as he shamelessly grinned;

"Save the whining for your diaries! Ten more minutes!"

As the freshmen huffed and puffed around the track, the older students whom had equally assembled by their respective year groups across the sprawling field couldn’t help but watch with varying degrees of amusement.

"I remember being that optimistic..." Aiden remarked, a gaze of pity painting his features as he stared at several of the freshers who looked like they’d been backstabbed.

"Don’t we all?" Clyde, Larry and Benjamin simultaneously replied to which an excited Casper whom had slung an arm over Aiden and Clyde’s neck just had to say;

"Good times, amirite?!"

Slowly, the quartet turned to face him, each levelling him a dubious squint.

Then, just as they were contemplating whether to smack the shit out of him...

"Alright, eyes up here! That’s enough spectating!" one of the sophomore teachers clapped his hands.

Almost simultaneously, whistles rang out across the field, each instructor calling out to the respective grades they were tasked with handling;

"Second years, over here!"

"Juniors! Form five lines!"

"Seniors! On me!"

That very last command came from Coach Ramirez, a broad-shouldered man with what was arguably a permanently tanned skin, his ever-present whistle hanging around his neck.

Upon hearing it, Aiden and the rest of the senior class reluctantly stopped their conversations and shuffled towards the far end of the field where the man stood in wait.

Waiting until every senior had gathered, the males segregating into one line and the females into another, the man then folded his muscular arms across his chest as he began;

"Alright, spring chickens! You know the drill! Warm-ups first, then we move to the main course!"

Without being told, the seniors filed into separate lines and broke into a jog, Coach Ramirez leading their five laps around the field as he barked at them much the same as Mr. Sanders previously had.

He on the other hand, seemed to be a bit more creative with his jabs;

"Ladies! You want equality, right?! Well, this exercise is rated E for everyone!"

"Allen! You call that jogging? I’ve seen grandmas move with more urgency!"

"Beaumont! Wonderful posture! Shame you’re moving at the speed of continental drift!"

At that particular comment, Aiden and the rest of his buddies covered their mouths, doing their darndest not to burst into laughter as their chubby friend glared at them from the side.

Not that most of the class wasn’t on the verge of bursting into laughter either. That was just the kind of man Coach Ramirez was.

One moment, he was having his students questioning their life choices. The next, he was making them struggle to keep their laughter suppressed.

Not that it was all sunshine and rainbows...

"Brooks!! Is that walking, I see?! I catch you in that pace again, you’re giving me ten burpees!" the coach barked.

Looking over his shoulders, Aiden couldn’t help but feel bad for Theo. The poor kid looked like he was being puppeteered on strings as he struggled to keep up.

Yet their coach only seemed to be getting more and more into his dictatorship;

"Pick those knees up, chickens! This isn’t a retirement home!"

"Wait a minute! Do chickens actually have knees?!" Casper on the other hand couldn’t help but ask in curiosity, his mouth moving faster than his mind as he kept the pace alongside his buddies.

Unfortunately for him, the bulky coach had heard his question.

Which was why...

"You seem rather energetic this morning, Callaghan! Why not lead the warm-up?!" the man gestured to him to take charge.

Yet, instead of feeling like he was being treated unfairly, Casper’s grin actually widened as he sped up and called out;

"Double up, maggots!"

Almost immediately, his friends, alongside more than half of his peers lashed back at him;

"Fuck you, Casper!"

In sync, Coach Ramirez punished the entire grade;

"Foul language! One extra lap!"

"Oh, come on!" the entire grade audibly groaned!

"Do you guys want another?!" the man demanded to which they all promptly kept quiet, gritted their teeth and continued the session while glaring daggers at Casper’s amused side frame.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, they were done.

Yet, as most of the seniors lay sprawled on the ground... Coach Ramirez only managed to give them a five-minute break before he blew his whistle again.

"Now, drop it like it’s hot! And by that, I mean ten push-ups!"

Reluctantly, the students let out annoyed groans as they slowly began the next set of exercises.

Soon enough, they switched to squats, then pull-ups, then a bunch of other calisthenics.

That said, given Aiden’s track record in PE, it honestly didn’t take long before his buddies alongside several other of his peers began noticing the ease at which he was performing the exercises, their expressions clearly surprised.

As for Aiden, he himself was just as surprised... albeit for a completely different reason.

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[Stats updated!]

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In any case, it didn’t take long before they rounded up the exercises, everyone heaving tiredly.

By now, Coach Ramirez was already checking his watch, seemingly timing the resting period his students had before he tossed them into the last session of the day.

Then after about ten minutes, he gestured to a couple students to bring out the cart and the sticky flagging tapes.

Soon enough, the large wheeled cart was pushed onto the field, several brightly-colored foam Gator balls already stacked inside.

Picking the flagging tape, the man then moved over to a portion of the field and lined all the necessary demarcations.

Having done that, he then blew his whistle, everyone trudging over.

Then, after ensuring they had all gathered, he then spoke;

"As usual, we start with Group A vs Group B."

Quickly, the members of said group moved into position.

Aiden was part of group B, as was Casper and Theo, alongside other classmates of theirs to make up a total of ten members.

And on group A was Kevin, alongside several other students.

All in all, the pairing was rather balanced.

Yet, despite this, their previous win to loss ratio was 10:0, with Aiden’s group being the losing team.

Afterall, asides from Casper, in their team, no one had been able to stand up to their school’s star quarterback in dodgeball thus far.

Nonetheless,

"You know the rules. Shoulders down, viable. The head, is not. Three hits and you’re out! Purposeful aggressiveness, and I boot you off! Last members of each group standing, wins."

"Is that clear?" Coach Ramirez asked of them to which they all nodded promptly.

And so, as the man moved over to the side to begin the countdown to the start of the game while also spectating much like everyone else, Aiden on the other found his eyes twitching again.

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[Ding!]

[Exclusive Quests Updated!]

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