[ Wow it has been quite the last month and I am super sorry for not having updated at all, but hopefully things will start slowing down a tad before my final exams. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! ]
brontide (n.) - the low rumble of distant thunder
After a few days of regrouping and getting ready for their next game, Monday came and they were back on their home field. They were facing off against the conference second place finisher Lexington. Their only losses they had were to the Pirates of Harbor Beach, so it was going to be an interesting, physical game. Samantha and Dana had been slowly clearing out her old house of anything else she needed, her brother coming home and helping out on the weekends when he could. He took over the real estate part of the house, working with the city on getting it sold or in custody of the bank. Things were still settling down, but it was still a new normal for all of them.
"Alright guys, we've got Lexington today. We know how they play, but we also know how to beat them. Their power is in their midfield, so they're gonna push us back as much as possible. Keep a high line and don't get caught on the wrong side of the play. Let's do it." Samantha told them all in their pregame huddle. There was some hooting and hollering as they put their hands in the middle and counted off before they took the field. She and Nash did their handshake and went to their positions on the field. She was glad to have her best friend back, for there was a newfound chemistry or one that had returned from before. She honestly could not tell. They had had a lot to catch up on still even after hours of hanging out since they rekindled their friendship.
The whistle brought her out of her trance and she brought her focus back to the game as the ball started to move back towards her already. They knew what they had to do, and they needed to play this game as if they were playing in the championship because it was win or go home - and they were definitely not done just yet. This was the second game of their campaign, and if they were to win this one and the next one, they were in the finals.
"Up, up, up!" She yelled at her team as she got the ball in her grasp. She saw Peter free at the top of the circle, and she punted it hard up the field, able to get the ball just far enough in front of him to run onto it. He went to take a touch and got tackled hard to the group, and the referee instantly blew the whistle as Peter collapsed to the ground holding his shoulder. The referee issued a yellow card to the offender as their trainer came out onto the field.
"He's saying it's dislocated. He can't play the rest of the game." Nash relayed back to her as he came back from the fifty yard line, and she gave a sigh.
"Damn, he and George have some of the best chemistry on the team." She grunted with some frustration. "It's high school soccer. Why the hard ass tackle in the first place?" She questioned.
"I don't know, but it was petty as hell. Looks like coach is sliding Ben up top. Like for like sub." He said as they watched him get up to the sideline as they got Peter up to his feet to walk off the field. Ben came onto the field, and she let out a shaky sigh.
"He doesn't have the speed like Pete though, but he knows how to be in the right place at the right time I guess." She commented as they bumped fists to get back into the game. He stayed at the bottom of the circle while Bill took the free kick, but they were unable to come away with anything other than a throw in after the fact. When halftime came they were scolded for not making much effort on goal but they were praised for how well they were still controlling the entire game. They gave each other some pointers, checked in on the status of Peter, then took to the field once again to try and get on top of a scoreless game.
"Watch this outside Nick!" She shouted as the Lexington forwards started coming down the middle, their outside midfielders getting wide and attempting to get open. They had a flat defense and they knew how to defend in staggers, but they were too slow on the switch, the forward splitting Nash and Nick and slipping the ball through to their midfielder. They started to crash her net, but she stayed on her toes and alert as the cross was starting to come in. She leapt up into the air as a forward went to head the ball, and she felt an elbow go into her ribs and she felt as if she had to gasp for air. She was able to get a hold of the ball and came back down, but took a knee, gasping for air.
"Reed ya good?" Nash asked as he pat her back while they started to move back up the field.
"Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me." She answered as she got back up to her feet and rolled the ball wide for Ryan. He passed the ball across the field to Nick and he played it up the middle for Owen. He faked a move around an offender and passed the ball out to Jack, who had a wide open run towards the net. He took his opportunity until he got shut down just outside the eighteen yard box, but he laid off his pass to Ben who was able to put a beautiful cross up for George. He did a bicycle kick out of the blue and was able to get the ball into the back of the net, and their crowd went wild. They all went wild on the field as they celebrated the goal, and she watched the Lexington team as they looked at their own net with disbelief and shrugged shoulders. The referee was the one who blew their dreams of getting into their third game of the tournament, and while they sulked, the Pirates of Harbor Beach celebrated. One more game to go and they had a championship berth.
"George, that was amazing!" She told him as they got to the sidelines after shaking hands with their opposition and the referees.
"Had to give 'em something to appreciate." He chuckled as he fist bumped Ben, who made the initial cross.
"Alright guys, that was a pretty cool win, but we've got two more before we can celebrate big time. Light practice tomorrow and then it's go time again Wednesday, so let's make it good." Coach Wallace told them, and they all broke for the rest of the evening.
"Yo Reed you wanna go to Smalley's?" Ben asked her, and she sighed.
"I wish I could but I gotta paper due tomorrow first hour. Next time for sure though." She answered, fist bumping with him. In reality her said paper was not due until the end of the week, but she wanted to get it done and was not really feeling it after getting an elbow to the ribcage. She said goodbye to the lot of them and proceeded out to her car, but finding Dana with the rest of the crowd waiting to see their players following the game.
"Hey, great game as always." She told her, making her chuckle.
"Thanks Dana." She said with a smile. "I'll see you at home?"
"Yeah, and I placed a pizza order so don't grab anything." She responded with a chuckle.
"Alright bet. I'll see you there." She said as they parted ways to their own cars.
"Hey! There's the bitch that cost us the game!" She heard a young voice say as she got to her driver's side door. She turned her head to see three boys from the other team walking up behind her, and she felt her breath hitch.
"Guys come on knock it off. I'm just playing my position like everyone else on the field. Sorry I just actually happen to be good at it." She answered with a firmness to her voice that even she was surprised about. "Go home. You're on school property and a bunch of petty assholes. I've got no bone to pick with you."
"Yeah but we've got one to pick with you." Another one of the kids said as he threw a punch into her gut. It was not like any pain she had felt before, but it still did some damage as they all started to get closer. Before any of them could continue to beat on her, she set off her car alarm just as another one was about to swing. It distracted him and she grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the crotch. He hunched over like a beached whale and the others took it as a sign to scram. She turned her car alarm off and grabbed her stomach where she had gotten punched just as Nash and Ryan came over, seeing her in pain.
"Reed you alright? We heard the car alarm and saw it was yours." Ryan asked her as Nash came to her side as a support.
"I'm fine. Three fuckers from the other team were trying to jump me because they lost. Sore losers." She grumbled as she unlocked her car and put her soccer bag in the back.
"Did you get their numbers? Anything?" Nash asked quickly.
"I think one of them was their forward, number five I think. I didn't get the other two. Only reason I got his is because I kneed him in the balls." She chuckled in response, trying to make a little light of the situation.
"Good going. I bet the security cameras have footage if you need it." Ryan told her, bumping her fist.
"Yeah I would assume so but I'm not worried about it. They seemed scared enough I was able to land a hit on one of them. I'm just gonna head home." She chuckled, climbing into her driver's seat. She gave them a wave as she took off, chuckling to herself. Who in their right mind would go and try to beat someone up and jump them just because they lost a soccer game? It baffled her greatly the entire way home, but she just shook her head and laughed about it as she pulled up to the curb in front of the house. She was not going to tell Dana about it because she was sure she would get the school administration involved, and she did not want to go through all of that. It was bad enough they wanted to beat her up over a game, there was no need to put a target on her back. Instead, the two of them laughed and had conversation over pizza before she headed up to work on her paper, before she passed out at her desk trying to get a chunk of it done.
When she woke again it was morning, her alarm blaring from across the room. She rubbed her eyes and quickly got changed, seeing she was already running late for school. Dana had already left so she could prepare lesson plans for the rest of the day, and she left a note with breakfast. Samantha only had time to grab the muffin off her plate before rushing out the door so she would at least be in the parking lot by the time the bell rang, but she knew her teacher would not mark her late - they were too good of friends to do so. Although they had just a regular, platonic student-teacher relationship during school, they would give each other breaks throughout the day to make it easy on one another. Plus, she had never been late to her class before and this would be the first time, so she was bound to let it slide anyhow.
It was going to be one hell of a Tuesday.