F***in' Arizona

Straight from the Horse's Mouth (Chapter 2)

*Author's Note: Any time you see a title that looks like this one ^^, it indicates that it's from Ari's P.O.V.
As an extra way to tell, if it has a coffee mug and a cellphone, it's Ari.
Sometimes there may be some repeated material from a previous chapter but not all the time.
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Ari's P.O.V
The Day of the Game

I can't believe what's happening right now. Those fucking douche bags really tackled me. Me! I was so close! There is no way on God's green earth that those two are regular human beings.

Shit, my leg, ankle, and back hurt like hell. Can I just lie here on the ground to bask in the earthy smell of grass and my failure?

"Son, are you alright? You went down pretty hard. Do I need to get the stretcher?" One of the refs asks when he runs up to me on the field.

"Nah, I'm ok," I say getting up with the help of a couple of my teammates.

Except standing up and seeing those two dbags sniggling makes my blood boil.

I ignore the pain shooting from my ankle to my leg and and into my lower back, and get up to make my way over to the two freaks.

"Man, what the hell was that?!" I yell at them both after shoving one.

I'm ready to fight! Who cares about the fact that I just got hurt and about scouts watching, I'm about to hurt them and my team will back me up.

However, I don't get my fist reared back very far before getting stopped by the ref and my coach telling me I'm benched for the rest of the game.

This is fuckin' ridiculous. There are scouts here tonight watching me play! I can't be benched for the rest of the game! How does Coach expect them to see my potential if I'm not even playing?!

Man, fuck that. I'm going to the locker room.

After making my way to the locker room and punching a few lockers like they were the ones who upset me, I sit down to stew in my pain and frustration.

A few minutes later I feel the presence of someone and feel a hand on my shoulder along with hearing a familiar comforting voice.

"You ok dude?"

Charlie, my best friend. My "A1 since day 1". Charlie really has been my shoulder to lean on whenever I needed one. I've known him since elementary school and we've always been good friends but we became even closer last year.
He's a good person. He's understanding and doesn't tell me I'm being ridiculous when I get mad about stuff like this.

"Man, we all know those two have got to be pumped up on some kind of steroids but because their parents are rich, they pay the coach to stay quiet about it. You're lucky you got away with just a limp," Charlie says to me after I mention those freaks of nature.

He's right. I can be hotheaded, stubborn, and act without thinking. I shouldn't have tried to fight them. I probably embarrassed myself in front of those scouts and made my team look even worse. They aren't going to want someone who fights on the field when he gets knocked down.

Charlie takes a seat next to me on the bench and pats my leg knowingly, a gesture of understanding the way I'm currently feeling.

"How's it feeling? You want me to get you an icy-hot pack for the pain?" He asks me.

I nod my head and wait as my friend finds and brings the medicated pack for me.

"Charlie, you just don't understand how disappointed I am. There are scouts here today! This game was supposed to be my ticket to a full ride scholarship to UCLA! I mean, it's not like my parents couldn't pay for my college, but I didn't want to have to burden them with my student loans. Plus, they always taught my siblings and me to do things for ourselves and not expect a handout from everyone," I say starting to panic, sweat forming on my brow, my hands becoming hot, and my heart beginning to race wildly.