Nothing Less Than Everything

by Maggie C. Gates

Ay!” Theo bellowed the second I walked into the locker room. “Look who it is—Mr. Can’t Pick on Someone His Own Size.” The rest of the boys chimed in with jeers of their own. Gideon chucked a sweat towel at my chest as I weaved through the melee to my locker. “How’s it feel to know that the only person you’ve tackled this season was a damn cheerleader?” “Anyone made fun of him for the shirt he wore on Good Morning USA on Monday?” Coach Tyson asked with a smirk as he cut through the locker room. “Dude, that dress shirt was so tight I was afraid the buttons were gonna start popping off like BBs,” one of the linebackers cackled. “That shirt gave you bigger tits than the chick! You gonna start wearing a little training bra, Bryant?” Seth howled. Before I knew it, I was swinging around and shoving him down onto the bench in front of his locker. “You better think twice about running your mouth like that, Goldielocks. Or me and my tits will teach you a lesson.” The locker room went eerily silent, followed by a deep chorus of, “Ooooh!” Seth glared at me, rage boiling just below the surface.