Suddenly

Suddenly Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Candy Boys Two Years Earlier

Grade eight started with a nervy gathering of all the new students in the school hall, awaiting our names to be called to be allocated into our new classes. The first few weeks were interesting and exciting. I met new students from the other schools, some good, some bad and some extremely beautiful.

School was on full tilt and I was making friends and getting along with everyone as best as I could. Dad always said that if I do something good enough it will open doors for me, and soon enough we started PE lessons which was short for Physical Education and that meant soccer and soccer was something I could do.

In previous years at my old school I played a more central defensive role as a footballer for my school team. I was taller than most and I had the record for the fastest 100 meter sprint in my state at the time so I had a lethal combination of skills that made me a beast on the field. This role in the team got me a fair share of popularity among the team and it proved to be successful as our team would be found in most final competitions with the least amount of goals conceded.

The Physical Education lesson starts. We grab the best football and run to the soccer field like soldiers of war from a decorated scene from the movie Braveheart. Quickly Miller separated the teams and I got thrown into the game, familiarity began to rise within me, my body felt at home with the football at my feet and I began to dance my dance on the moist grass. I stood out yet I fitted in like a glove, my touches and passes were in sync with the style of play that Miller was accustomed to, we both complimented each other, I score, one, two and the third, it was so easy to me. After the match there were high fives and laughs all around.

Of course this was just a Physical Education lesson and the opponents were pimpled faced boys our age with legs that resembled those of pink flamingos on the plains of the Okavango Delta. Over a few PE lessons Miller, Meehan, Eric, Len and I became this close knit team and close friends who in future would do many dangerously exciting stupid pranks on and off the soccer field. Just like that I began to fit in, I overcame the hurdle of being a vulgarly obscene teen rather all I had to do was score a goal and they welcomed me in as a brother. We were a team!

Miller was the alpha male among us. He was older and taller by stature. A loud crazy laugh and honey brown eyes were his trademarks. He had also been in this school since a five year old boy. I felt better with him on my shoulder, knowing that he's in the game with me gave me a strong sense of confidence.

He wasn't a model student by any stretch, he was the delinquent of the school, the guy that most guys feared and teachers dreaded to have in their class. We shared the same last names but we weren't the same by a mile. You would hear him grunt and laugh when he walked through the corridors even during lessons he seemed to be found outside of the class, I suppose teachers preferred him outside rather than in. He was a force that refused to be controlled and he had a side kick in Meehan.

Meehan wasn't as brut as Miller was but he was also a difficult student who troubled teachers and walked around fearlessly at school. He was darker in complexion with a short ripped muscular physique which made him a lot more intimidating and unapproachable.

Len and I were friends from our previous school and we had history of being in football games together, we were sure of ourselves and the role we had to play in this team. I'd look to pass the ball to him and he'd do the same when he had the opportunity. Len soon became my Siamese twin; we would go on to be inseparable in almost everything we did.

Eric was by far the most talented of us five. He was skillful and unselfish as a footballer. He was quick on his feet and touched the ball more than any of us were able to do, especially in tight knit situations. His football thought process was on a different wavelength than ours which gave us an edge as a team. He was also not from our community. He traveled on a daily basis from his home town to get to school. Eric was very much something we were not, that made him unpredictable.