Everyone on the field fell into a dead silence at my outburst. Swearing was certainly not unheard of by any of us, but I had always been a quiet and subdued person. Hearing such language coming out of my mouth and seeing that ball slam into the grass took us all by surprise!

My gym teacher scowled at me and scolded my poor sportsmanship. She then pointed to the track and sentenced me to run four laps (a mile). I did as I was told, letting the run blow off a lot of pent up steam. After completing that part of my punishment, I was sent to shower early.

By the time I got out of the shower, I truly felt ashamed of the way I behaved. I sat on the bench in front of my locker in my panties and T-shirt, thinking about the events of the morning. I had just made up my mind to apologise to my teacher when I saw her crook her finger at me through the huge window of her office. I made my way around my classmates who were showering and laughing about the game we had just played. I knocked on her door and entered when called. I approached her desk filled with shame and embarrassment – not from standing there in my underwear, but because of my earlier behaviour.