Just head into the gym

Deciding it's best not to trouble yourself with the whole thing, you just walk into the gym. The other students all get changed and slowly emerge, including James. He nods at you and approaches.

The teacher comes out of his office a few moments later and his eyes settle on you quickly .He frowns, then calls you open.

"Hey there, Alex," he says. "I know this is, uh, an odd situation. But you can't participate in gym dressed like that."

"Can I sit out then?"

"If you do, I'll have to grade you accordingly. You'll end up failing."

Failing? You might not have cared much about school, but you'd never failed. You weren't sure how to process that.

"Listen, I figured this might be a bit of an issue. I have a uniform you can wear in my office, and you can change in there." You glanced over and looked at the office. It had no windows, just a door and an enclosed room. It wasn't the worst choice...

"Otherwise, you'll fail. Maybe not this semester, but swimming in the next?" You wanted to hurl at the thought of that. Maybe failing wasn't so bad?