Gym class.

The bane of every awkward high schooler's existence.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Tawny had to face it alone without her backup -- Maddie opted for Geography this semester -- every Ivoree Gates student was required to wear a gym uniform.

If Tawny had issues with the shortness of the skirt of her school uniform, she practically had a conniption fit when she had to wear the mandatory shorts.

She changed in the washroom stalls of the girls' locker room, unwilling to be seen by the prying eyes of her peers.

She tried to tug her white gym shorts over her revealing navy blue bottoms, to no avail. It felt like she was being led to slaughter in a swimsuit.

"Please let this class be over quickly," Tawny prayed.

She finally mustered up the courage to exit the locker room and join the rest of the class in the gymnasium.

Ivoree Gates boasted a world-class athletic facility, and was often the training spot of choice for elite Olympic athletes and players from the NBA, NFL, and MLB.

As she marveled at the sheer scope of the space that would put the Los Angeles Lakers' Crypto.com Arena to shame, she jumped at the sound of a loud, shrill whistle.

"Matthews!" barked the P.E. instructor. "Get over here, we don't got all day."

"S-sorry," she muttered; red-faced, Tawny jogged over to where the class was already stretching. As she approached, she realized her biggest fears had come true: Elaine, Samantha, AND Violet were in the same class.

All 3 girls. The Unholy Trifecta.

"Oh CRAP," Tawny screamed in her head.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Elaine looked Tawny up and down and smiled smugly. "Nice look, Tawdry," she quipped. "I'm surprised your thighs didn't start a small fire on your way over here."

Some of the other girls chuckled, which only made Tawny turn a deeper shade of red.

"All right, that's enough of that," said the P.E. instructor. "Tawny, you're new here, so I'll explain how this goes down. We start the class off with a bit of light stretching, then we vote on a warm-up exercise, and then we move on to the pre-assigned activity of the day."

"Ms. Roberts," said Violet, raising her hand. "I elect that we start off with a 3K lap around the gym."

"Excellent suggestion, Miss St. Regis-Wright," said the P.E. instructor. "Okay, class - let's get running!"

Almost immediately, the rest of the girls broke out into a swift run around the perimeter of the gym.

Tawny was not the most fit individual. She wasn't overweight, but skinny fat was an apt way to describe it; her and exercise simply did not jive.

She tried desperately to keep up, but the girls seem to glide past her like graceful gazelles. Meanwhile she was already breaking a sweat and panted like a belaboured wildebeest.

"Let's go!" barked P.E. instructor Roberts. "Come on, Matthews, pick up the pace! You're about to be double-lapped!"

"Yeah, Tawdry!" chided Elaine. "Move those thunder thighs!" She slapped Tawny on the back of the leg for good measure.

"Ow!" exclaimed Tawny. "Hey, that's not--!"

Tawny was cut off when Elizabeth ran by and whipped her hair right into her mouth.

After an agonizing 20 minutes, the 3K was done. Tawny collapsed in a heap on the ground. All she wanted to do was lie down and call it a day, but she had only completed the first half of gym class.

"Great hustle out there girls," said Roberts. Her hands were behind her back as she spoke. "Now that you're all loose and limber, I think we're ready to start today's pre-assigned activity...."

She revealed what was behind her back: a large red, rubber ball. "DODGEBALL!"

"Dodgeball?!" said Elaine, Samantha and Violet, excitedly. They turned to look at Tawny and grinned evilly.

"Dodgeball....?" Tawny gasped. This can't be happening to me right now...

"Milford! Beauregarde!" barked Roberts. "You're our two captains! Start picking your team!"

Predictably, Elaine picked all of her friends to join her on her side of the gym. Out-of-shape Tawny was picked dead last. As she trudged to her position on the opposite side of the gym, she already knew she would be a target.

"Ok...on my whistle...." said Roberts. The whistle screeched and play commenced.

What Tawny HADN'T anticipated, however, was that as soon as the game started, all the girls, both on the opposing team and her own, turned to face Tawny.

Somehow they all had gotten a ball except her. And when the whistle blared, every ball went straight for her body, and she was pummelled to the ground.