Yellowjackets: The Broken Victors

Chapter 17: Wilderness' Trade

The girl didn't reply and just gave her a quick nod. Despite her slacking off during their practice and being late for their real match, their team won't win without Rico. Even Rhett knows that. They were both trying to be as understanding of the teen's personal situation as they could, since they both know what it feels like to be in that position.

Although sometimes it can't escape the eyes of the rest of the team as they claim that the coaches were playing favorites with Rico and were too lenient to punish her. Natalie ignored their complaints and simply told them to focus on something bigger.

They would never understand how it is to be like that and how hard it would be if not a single adult person showed their kindness whenever they were at their breaking point. But Natalie also knows how great it is to feel if someone tries to understand someone's situation without asking too many questions, just like her high school coach did to her. Just like how Ben treated her before.

Just after the girls had finished warming up and their drills, Rhett arrived in the field wearing the same uniform as her. But what confused her was the expression on his face, which looked like he was both scared and apologetic as he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, Nat. I have no idea they would do this," said Everett.

Puzzled by what he meant by his statement, Natalie asked him, "What?" only for a loud announcement from the speakers to interrupt them, saying the game was finally starting.

Obviously, she can't push the topic anymore, but Natalie had noted she would ask him about it again once the game is over, and Rhett still owed her an explanation about whatever he was trying to tell her last night. It kept her up all night after he woke her from a nice sleep.

The game was going so well that every time they scored a goal, the opponent would score as well and immediately catch up. Natalie watched some recorded games of their opponent and tried to find their members' weak spots. Although she had found some and discussed it with the girls on how they could possibly counter everything, the opponent was tough.

It was the second half of the game, and she was discussing some things with the girls during break when her eyes caught two familiar faces from the bleachers who were watching her intently, one of them giving her a quick nod as their eyes met. Natalie returned the gesture kindly, but she knew she wouldn't be able to focus on the game anymore knowing that they were watching her.

Rhett immediately avoided Natalie's gaze when he noticed that she had finally known about their presence. Natalie shut her eyes firmly. Of course, it was related to them.

As the game came to the last ten seconds with the opponent playing with the ball and not their team, she could only watch as the striker scored their last goal and led them to victory. Her eyes immediately searched for Rico, who was sitting on the grass field and looking disappointed in their play while the other team cheered for their win.

When the young woman saw her, all she could give Natalie was an apologetic look. But like how she always was to her, Natalie only gave her a proud smile before slowly leaving the field.

***

[1996]

Something was definitely up-that was what Agami had on her mind the moment she woke up. She knows because none of the remaining girls with her in the cabin, and even the three guys, were nowhere to be found. Her unintentional late-night talks with Jackie and what she wants to call hallucinations kept her awake until dawn, which caused her to wake up a little later than usual.

And since she had nothing better to do, Agami decided to pack some of her things. She would go south. She hasn't decided yet how far she would go, but something's telling her that she must go south, and she has learned that ignoring what her instincts have been telling her in the past few weeks is not the best thing to do.