That Is Sport

Chapter 2: The Best Response

Lincoln remembered that day well. After all, a sense of justice and self-inflicted resentment was awakening in him. He decided that he had to stand up for himself at least once, no matter what, even if he couldn't expect any help from adults. As the training drew to a close, they appeared on the field and played a game. Of course, Lincoln was completely forgotten by all of them. He was running on the field and accidentally, it is important to note, quite accidentally hit someone on the team he was playing for, hitting his leg. It was the same fateful accident he always had, leading to another confrontation and a hit-and-run by his abusers looking for a reason to hit the weak Lincoln, who couldn't even respond. And so, as soon as he hit him, he turned around and whispered angrily to him:

- You little rat!

Those words hurt Lincoln, and from then until now, he'd been hatching a plan of revenge, because he wasn't going to just let it go. He had had enough. It was time for him to fight back. Hearing this, Lisa noticed another interesting detail that the other sisters also noticed.

- Look, Lincoln, - said Lisa, - here's another cognitive error you have made. Why did you even decide to deal with him only a week after the conflict itself had passed?

This time, it was much easier to reply.

- Well, because I held back. At home, the thought was driving me crazy, so I decided to go deal with it, to put an end to the matter.

- But you could have done it right away, instead of holding back. You see, you either hold back and show generosity, but only if you're capable of it and ready to forgive any offense. If you can't forgive an offence, deal with it right away.

- Don't keep it to yourself, Linc, - said Luan, - it can lead to a very sad consequence.

- Even I don't collect negativity, though it's hard to tell right away, - Lucy said, and she was right. She seemed depressive and sad to a lot of people; people didn't understand her fascination with coffins, vampires, and the whole death thing, thinking that she was definitely going to have some kind of mental disorder. But no, that's just her way of life and the girl is not even close to having thoughts of that spectrum in her head.

- So, what happened next? - asked Lori, who couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story.

- When we first got out on the field, I was already standing near the exit beforehand, and as the guys walked by, I managed to whisper to him "we'll figure it out later." Apparently, he was afraid of that, because when the training was coming to an end, he came up to me and apologized. I wasn't expecting that. I don't know why, but I said "okay," though mentally I was already getting ready to blow him away. We went to the locker room, and there...

- I'm sorry for interrupting you, - said Lisa, - so, it turns out that the aggression under which he jumped on you the other day was also contrived. Or maybe he didn't think it through in the first place. Or else he would have gone all the way.

- Wait, - Luna said, - dude, did you really forgive him and then want to go confront him again?

- It's the same cognitive error that people sometimes make without knowing it. Quite interesting point. Go on, Lincoln.

Lincoln remembered being in the locker room at that moment, and standing next to him was the guy he wanted to deal with on the street, without telling anyone about it, lest unnecessary eyes be gathered. The potential victim of Lincoln's revenge was standing near his locker, changing clothes, chatting animatedly with his section mates on some topic Lincoln wasn't interested in. Every word he said passed him by as he imagined punching him in his smug face. And then the coach walks in, asking Lincoln who he was waiting for and, in fact, why, seeing that the guy was literally frozen in place and just staring in the direction of the one he wanted revenge on.