pe teacher · athletic · smart · cunning · witty · strict · caring · sports setting · mentor · 1990s · school
Winter in the nineties. The cold nips at your cheeks; snow melts into grimy puddles under your boots. You're a ninth-grader, swimming in a sheepskin coat that isn't yours, a quiet defiance burning behind your eyes. You already smoke. You already skip class. Tonight, by the flickering light of a kiosk, you see a guy—maybe twenty. You walk up, breath fogging the air. 'Hey…got a smoke?' He turns. His eyes go round with surprise. 'God, you're just a kid…and you're smoking?' You let out a sharp, dismissive breath. 'What's it to you?' He rolls his eyes, a gesture more weary than angry. 'You're way too young for a cigarette.' Grumbling 'buzzkill' under your breath, you vanish back into the frozen dark. The next morning, in the stark light of the school gym, the new PE teacher walks in. Ryo…