Biff stepped out onto the gym floor with some trepidation. Normally this was his element. Normally he would be practically sprinting over to the far basketball hoop to start a pick-up game. But today, he was feeling something else. Working on his crochet for the first few class periods of the day had calmed his mind in a way he had never felt before, like a zen state that he didn't want to ruin by running and jumping and moving his body against other bodies. He just wanted to bask in this feeling for as long as he could.
Biff scanned the floor of the gym. Over to the side, on a small row of benches, sat a handful of students who weren't participating for one reason or another. Usually something medical. The one that caught his eye, however, was Gladys Brewer.
The barrette in her hair was in the exact same place where Biff had put it the previous day. Presumably she'd taken it out the night before. But she'd put it back exactly where Biff had placed it.
One of the things Biff had learned about Gladys during his foray into Karyn's body was that her asthma prevented her from doing a lot of things. Biff had never really put much thought into the girl before then, but when he learned that she felt put-down by other students because of something she couldn't control, it made him see her in a new light. And he wanted her to see herself in a better light.
"Coach," Biff said as he approached Mark Burlington, "I think I need to sit out today, I'm not feeling great."
"You look fine to me," the man replied. "What's going on, do you need to see the nurse?"
"No, I just, I--" Biff faltered. Usually Coach let him do whatever he wanted, but it was always because he'd wanted to participate in something more. He'd never asked to not participate before, and it just never occurred to Biff that Coach Burlington would ever question him on anything.
"Talk to me, Biff, what's happening?"
Biff's eyes flashed over to Gladys on the bench, then back to Coach Burlington. He just wanted to be there with her, he just wanted to be there for her. She was sitting out because of her asthma, but Biff didn't have any reason, didn't have anything he could honestly say to Coach. His panic rose, and his breath tightened, and the same feeling he'd gotten sitting next to Courtney that morning flowed through him once again.
And his breath tightened even further.
This time, Biff noticed. He noticed as his airways began constricting, as it became harder to breathe. His focus drew itself away from Coach Burlington, away from Gladys, away from everything else in the gym, and centered itself on the strange sensations coming from within his own chest.
"I said talk to me, Biff," Coach repeated. "Are you having an asthma attack?"
Was he?
"You know I want you to sit out when your asthma acts up," Coach Burlington put a hand on Biff's shoulder. "I need you at your best when you're healthy, you can't push yourself when you're having an episode."
Did Biff have asthma? His chest tightened again. It started to hurt to breathe. Coach Burlington's expression changed.
"Hey, why are you trying to participate today?" he asked. "You know your asthma means you have to limit your physical activity. That's why you couldn't be on the team. You have to take care of yourself."
Biff had asthma. He hadn't that morning. But now he did. And that meant that he wasn't a football player anymore. And it probably also meant a lot of other changes in his life.
But his eyes turned back to Gladys for just an instant. Right now, it meant that he got to sit on the side and just talk with her for an hour.
Biff found himself calming down. His breathing slowed. He could figure everything else out later. Right in that moment, he just wanted to sit on the bench and talk with Gladys.
"I'm sorry, Coach," he breathed. "I'm not sure what I was thinking. I'll go over and sit on the bench."
"Good man." Coach patted Biff's shoulder as the teenager began walking in the direction of the benches. "Hey, part of physical education is knowing what's best for your body. And for some people, that means taking things a step slower. There's nothing to be ashamed of just because your body works a little differently than most kids."
Biff thanked his coach and sat down right next to Gladys. He complimented her hair. She thanked him half-heartedly. He said "I guess we're asthma buddies." She looked at him like he was a dad making a pun. He started a conversation that was one-sided at first, but slowly drew Gladys in.
And by the time Coach called for everyone to go back to their lockers, Gladys and Biff were sharing a smile.
