Jamdown

Chapter 26

Nodelyn Johnson

I was not sure if this was a good idea. It was better than anything that came to mind. If I was going to recruit someone for a sports team, it might as well be someone who was already a part of one or played sports regularly.

I went to Hallendare primary school's sports field. It was a big multi-complex style field. They had many adult teams and teenagers practicing there, so it was not only children.

Sweat came down my face and my clothes stuck to me as if seeking to escape an all-seeing enemy.

My goal was to get at least one new member. That was easier said than done.

When I texted Donavan about the idea, he said that would never work. No one would have joined another sport and left their old passion behind.

Well, I had a bet that I would have pulled it off. If he had not tried it, then I would. I walked on the bushy sidewalk leading up. The school was further down from where I was at. The field was unfenced and the grass rather sporadic and layered with yellow dry patches.

I looked over the landscape. From what I saw, some adult men were running around on the field and preteen male cricketers stood on the other side. The girls were on the basketball court.

Hold up, I groaned in dismay. Was that Kimani? Oh, damn it, his team must be practicing today. This was going to be awkward. Should I avoid him? I was sure I could interest some of his other team members.

They were my only options anyway. Other than a few other adults here and there, they were the only ones I could have recruited. From what I read in the handbook, the youngest recruit on any team must be sixteen.

I breathed in and steeled myself. Cutting across the grass, I walked over. I stood at a distance as it looked like they were doing drills. I saw him, he saw me. The other boys started talking amongst themselves. Then the coach noticed me. He frowned and shouted, "Five more reps since you find something amusing."

Every one of them became silent, like lambs. The coach turned and came over to me in his ugly-looking tracksuit. I smelt the dusty old sweat of his body. "Can you come back in an hour? He is busy training right now."

I replied, "Not him I came to see."

"Oh-Why are you here?"

"I was looking to theft one or two of your players for the Berry Hill Football team."

He looked at me crazy. "This is the football team."

"Oh, sorry, the American Football team."

He groaned loudly. "That boring sport? The Hills still not giving up huh?"

I averted my eyes. "Listen, I just want to talk to your players and you know ask if they would be interested."

He furrowed his eyebrows at me with a snide twist of his lips. "You expect me to allow that?"

I shifted, but stood strong and straight. Thanks to Kimani, I knew a fair amount about soccer. "You have around...what thirty, forty men here? Come on, you do not use all of them. You only need twenty or so. Let me talk to the reserves at least. Me and you can share them, hmm?"

The coach smirked and licked his lips. "I rather have them ready for anything."

My eyes surveyed the men training hard, some training and sweating harder than others. God, that reminds me. This sun was merciless and my skin tensed to the rippling stream of sweat. I fluttered my eyes to throw off the glare that speared through the gloss of what laid before me, an idea.