Memories

VII

BAD

'I'm giving you
On count of three
To show your stuff
Or let it be'

⥎
⥐

Thalia ran to the court and took out her racquet after gearing up. She walked to half-court and put out some balls for her to throw at the wall ahead of her. Thalia imagined a goalkeeper in front of the lines as she always did. In her mind, it was a big man with a mean snarl. Like a tough dog. 

She hurled ball after ball at the goal, racquet switching hands every so often. Being ambidextrous made it useful on the court for Thalia. She was able to easily switch between left and right handed, and was equally good at both, so there wasn't really a dominant or non-dominant hand for her. 

There was a sudden knock on the glass and Thalia dropped the ball she was currently holding, about to throw to the goal. She took off her helmet and looked to the site of obstruction. Kevin stood outside the box, looking awestruck, and Andrew wasn't far behind him, arms crossed and face in a cruel, fake smile.

Thalia tensed at the sight and thought of them alone. The fact that they'd been able to sneak up on her so easily wasn't settling either. She'd prided herself on the fact that it had been difficult for that to happen. Maybe she was losing her touch. But two days around people who hadn't tried to attack her yet shouldn't have done that.

Kevin entered the court, arms outstretched and shock and annoyance on his face. "The fuck was that?!" he demanded. Thalia didn't know how to answer, so she simply didn't. "The fuck was that?!" he repeated.

"Have you been drinking, Kevin?" Thalia said, sarcastically. "I think you need to go sober up before you come yelling things at me." Kevin scoffed as he made his way over to Thalia. He pointed at her, and she hoped he didn't see the small flinch she made as his hard eyes settled on her face.

"You're ambidextrous," it was more of a statement than a question, so Thalia raised her chin as he approached, instead of answering. "And you didn't fucking tell me?"

"I wasn't aware of the fact that I needed to." she replied. Kevin laughed and ran a hand through his black hair. He shook his head and walked around, as if figuring out what he should do with this information. Thalia just stood there, blank look on her face, waiting for Kevin to say something.

"Stay here." Kevin said, holding up a finger as he jogged off the court. Thalia shook her head and put her helmet back on, getting back to practice. She focused on the spot in the center of the goal until someone stood there. She straightened and held up her arms in a gesture of annoyance.

Andrew stood on the other side of the glass wall, hands in his pockets and blank stare on his face. It obviously strained him to look like that, with the influence of his medicine. He didn't move though, and Thalia took that as an invitation to keep practicing. She wouldn't turn her back on him and practice on the other goal, so she wanted to see him flinch.

The first few shots, Andrew moved out of the way, but then he seemed to get the hang of her patterns, and was able to determine where they were coming from. He moved before they got to their spot, and Thalia found it frustrating. She'd switch between hands more often, trying to throw Andrew off, but he even knew where those were going.

Thalia got annoyed, and ended up leaving the court just as Kevin stepped on. She left the balls on the court for him, and he angrily told her to get back on the court when she pushed past him through the door.

"Where are you going?" Kevin called after Thalia. She didn't answer, and just took off her helmet, and then her gloves. She left her racquet on the home bench and walked angrily into the changing room. She took off her gear and left it on the bench as she stepped into the shower, towel and clean clothes with her.