Higher, Faster, Stronger

Then I did what any girl in my situation would have done; pulled apart and backhanded him.

"That was for trying to beat up Nate and me. And for making me worry for over a week, Mr. I have NO CONCEPT OF TIME!"

He just glared at me. I wasn't yielding on that fact. He worried Nate and I sick for days. He just shrugged it off.

"I had to get things done." I'd say so. We both sat back down. He looked good. Not just in black pants, a rolled up black shirt and a loose maroon tie. But he was smiling again, or his version of smiling, which was that infamous smirk of his. His eyes looked alive.

"Where did you stay?"

"An old teacher's house. Kellan helped a lot."

Well better than beating up bears in the wilderness alone. I was so happy that I almost missed what he had just said.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Dost mine ears deceive me? Did he apologize? Were there drugs in that water I drank before I came?

"For?"

He raised his hands to form mock quotation marks. "Trying to beat up you and Nate. I didn't actually. I just thought I needed to be left alone for a long time. Usually when I'm pissed off the last thing I want is to be near anyone." I didn't really question it, it sounded normal. It was actually the same with me.

"So, this…Kellan was it? He helped?"

"He beat some sense into me. I have the bruises to prove it."

I paled. "You sparred for over a week straight?"

"Obviously not. There were times for food and showers."

"I'll never understand any of your relationships with people."

From across a hall came a loud shout. "HEY! BASTARD'S BACK!"

A wide grin graced my face. "Stop shouting idiot, they can hear you in Norway," was the eloquent response. Nate came barreling down the room, clad in dark pants and blue shirt and came to a skidding stop in front of Derek.

"I don't know whether I should beat you up or not." Nate was contemplating…Derek raised a long, thin eyebrow. "She already beat you to it."

Nate turned around to high five me.

Yeah, I think this was where I was happiest. With my two boys, contemplating violence. It was bliss.

Volunteers, parents and players trickled in slowly. Some of the boys made their way over to our table. Keeg sat down, and so did Cameron, Neil, and two others.

It was only then did I feel a real difference between the boys and me. They were in their dress shirts and long dark pants, and well, so was I. But I was clad in the girl version of those clothes. They, however, treated me the same as they did all year: smiles, easy conversation, and occasional bowel jokes. Oh well, boys will be boys. I can't change that much.

The trio (us three) walked over the collage of pictures. There was one of us from practice, completely covered in mud. I hated those practices: even if you ran all practice, you still get splattered.

It didn't matter what picture we happened to look at. They all seemed to reflect die hard determination, crazy practices, maddening sets and a whole heap of fun too.

Terry made her way over to me. I was greeted with the tell tale camera around her neck and a friendly smile on her face.

"Wow, I'm so used to seeing you in pads, but you look great in normal clothes."

"Thank you. I think that's a compliment. You however, have that camera attached to you by some sort of umbilical cord."

She laughed. "I'm covering this event for the paper and I promised Dad I would come and take pictures of our darling baby brother."

"You really have to tell me some good stories one of these days about 'baby brother' for all the times he started whining like a girl in practice."

"Yes, blackmail can be useful."

"Of course. How's everyone's favorite pint size psychopath?"

"Well, thanks. He has not yet pulled a Houdini and escaped from the straight jacket, for that we're thankful."

Of course, it's at this point during the conversation that the boys were giving us looks like we had sprouted 3 heads, 4 eyes and a spare kidney out of our ears.

"What? Girl talk."

"Amazing." Nate was in shaking his head. Terry waved bye and Coach walked up next to us.

"You ok kid?" he asked to Derek in a gruff tone. Derek responded with a formal nod and the Coach ruffled his hair. He tried to do the same for me but I reminded him that messing up a girl's hair during a formal occasion had ill advised side effects. He backed off and went to admire the trophy.

"What? If I'm going through the trouble to look this good, no body is going to mess it up."

I could have sworn I saw Derek eyeing me, but that might have been wishful thinking.

It was at that time that the waiters started to come out of the kitchens. We returned to our table. Salads and bread were dispersed into the crowd. Heaping plates of chicken and pasta soon followed.

Halfway through the courses, despite the fact that my table manners were better than all of the boys mentioned, I still got the glib remarks from Cameron.

"Hey Sar, the way you're going through food is none too lady like," he teased.

"No, you're just jealous that I could eat everything on the table and not gain a pound, whereas if you eat a salad, you go up a size in sweatpants. Besides, eat like a model? Heck no."

He flushed a bright shade of red and glowered at me for a good ten minutes. Everyone had a good laugh at that one.

Later on, I saw Neil unfold a piece of paper that he had in a pocket. Curious, I asked what it was.

"It's my speech."

"What?" Now I was fully paying attention. Speech? No one said anything about a speech.

"It's traditional that all the graduating seniors say something."

Oh HELL. That meant that Nate, Derek, Neil, Sheamus, and Steve and I would be making speeches.

Noticing my stricken expression, he tried to cover himself. "Oh that's right, you haven't been here all four years." Thanks for the reassurance.

Well, I'm going to do something that I haven't had to do since that day when I accidentally lit a project on fire. I'm going to totally BS a speech.

Dinner predictably wound down, but not for a while. Teenage boys eat a lot.

I pulled Nate aside. "We have to make some sort of speech?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, just say you had fun this year and good luck to the rookies. That's what I'm going to do," he said with a smile.

"Not horribly convincing."

"Don't worry, you have the entire ceremony! They're going to pass out awards and that takes AGES."

I sat down, now sweating and hoping my deodorant held up. There was a five minute that the waiters took to clean off the tables as the ceremony merged forward. I put my napkin down and walked as fast as I humanely could in heels.

I walked into the bathroom, which made me look even more yellow. After a minute or two of fussing, I walked out. Someone from behind grabbed my arm. He was leaning casually up against the wall.

"You're freaking out because of something that won't matter in the long run."

"I hate being unprepared."

"Freehand it, you'll be fine."

"Do you have anything written?" I asked.

"What do you think I plan to do?" he said with that casual smile of his. He shifted forward to once again prove he's taller and possibly prettier than me. Why does he have to look like that? It's hardly fair.

"Look at it this way. You're hardly going to be the worst person there." He pointed to Nate.

"True." He didn't let go of my hand as we walked back. I could feel myself blushing like mad. I was half expecting cat calls. They didn't come as we sat back down. I think the team thought I couldn't do worse than him and he was okay in their book. Derek had earned their begrudging respect, for the sheer fact of the tough practices that he put them through and the hard work he did to support the team.

Coach got up, clearly irritated to be in front of a microphone. Clearly being the key word because he got rid of the stupid thing and started to bark as loud as he normally does.

That being said, he made us jump about a foot in the air.

He started off with the younger players. He'd say something good or funny about them individually and work his way up.

"Now, this boy is the most determined person I've ever seen. He's willing to push himself through pain, even when we tell him to back down. And sometimes he just doesn't stop. But for that, he's earned my respect. Nathan, get up here."

Nate bounded up to accept his award. Hell yeah. Haha.

As Nate settled down, Coach started again. "This next boy is a literal genius, if you get him to move more than five feet. He never actually played but I never wanted to be on the receiving end of one of his plays. Steven."

He went through Shea and Neil a similar way.

"This next kid is a recent addition to this team. She came here early and made quite a splash. You all know whom I'm talking about of course. Hall made history and I couldn't have been prouder of any player, girl or boy. She played as hard as any boy and she pushed through injury to be at her very best. Sarah, our female fullback, get up here."

Aw, that was complete eloquence out of Coach. I accepted my little trophy with a small smile. It was shaped like football but the detail work was impeccable. And they spelled my name right on it!

"Of course, that leaves our last player, Captain of the team, Derek Thompson. He's the kid who could put you through your paces and stop any complaint at a hundred yards. Always got the job done, on or off the field and made an excellent captain. Get on up here, kid."
Derek walked up with casual bored-ness. It was really the best amount of emotion that he was going to get for the situation.

When he had settled down, Coach brought forth a few special plaques. I had expected this to a certain extent. It had happened before in my other school.

"Now, for the special stuff." Such elegance and grace. "Now, this one is for the players who were Most Improved."

Coach proceeded to call up two boys, sophomores, who, like me, had been new to the team.

Unsung Hero is an award that went to the person who never got recognition for the hard hours he put in, or conduct or attitude. When Keeg's name was called, I broke into smile. He deserved it. As center, his job wasn't easy at all. Derek escaped bruising because of him many times over. Keeg seemed content and I felt happy for him.

"Now, for Most Outstanding players, I have two in mind. And equally I could not choose between either of them. Both put in long and hard hours, were smart, and were an asset to the team. Neil, and Nathan, get on up here."

I was smiling and cheering for both of them. He was right. Nate played through the pain and Neil was just as smart as Derek and Steve, if partially under appreciated.

"Before I announce League MVP, I had one other announcement. Hall, get on up here." I froze and my brain started to race. I didn't know what was coming up next. I stood next to Coach near the microphone stand, completely stiff.

"This girl here has made a gigantic difference. She proved that she could play with boys that were literally twice her size and weight. And despite some rough tumbles, she made a positive difference in the team this year. I am proud of her. At first, I had my doubts. I think everyone did. But, from the second she hit that blocking frame…well, it was safe to say that all doubts dissolved. After an extensive talk with Jared and our superintendent, Taylor we came to a conclusion. The Kelowna Leaves will no longer discriminate on the basis of gender. Any person, male or female can try out, provided that they pass the same procedures that Hall did, running the mock practices and passing the physical. Any player who makes those guidelines will be part of the team. And despite our new status, the rulebook says nothing about co-eds or girls not playing. Same division and same league as before."

Honestly, I half expected people to start throwing tomatoes. I remembered that meeting when I first started off. I'm going to be honest, people still didn't like me. They didn't like what I was doing on a team with all boys. But people continue to defy my expectations.

People started to clap, to cheer. For me, like I did something really amazing.

All I remember is blushing cherry red in response to the clapping. People had actually gotten to their feet, friends, parents, volunteers. Everyone.

This was the sign I had been waiting for. I was so wrapped up trying to get everyone's approval and now, here it was. It was plain enough, but I felt it. I felt warm. Happy. Content.

I know now, I can't please everyone and I spent so much time worrying about what others thought that it drove me mad. Now, I could put those debilitating thoughts to rest. I felt complete, like I knew that I had done what I set out to do.

While Derek was being called as League MVP, I knew what I was going to say in my speech.

"Now, I'm going to turn over the microphone to the seniors," Coach barked. Funny, he hadn't been using a microphone. We had decided that Neil would go first, then Nate, Shea, Steve, me then Captain to wind everything up. I guess it had been sort of a tradition to have the Captain(s) wrap everything up in the end. I was fine with it. They mainly decided the order so to give me a bit more room to come with something half intelligent in my head.

Neil's speech was exactly like him: practical, collected and to the point. He made it short and spoke of mainly dedication and how he had liked and appreciated the hard work. It was relatively dull but he managed to throw in an insult to the boys' team about, "I also find it remarkable that one girl managed to keep up appearances and SMELL better than the entirety of the boys team put together. For the freshman, sophomores and juniors, bathe more, you won't repulse the rest of the population." I couldn't stop laughing for a good five minutes. It was true to a certain extent, more scrubbing and less gloating. Neil had always been the blunt one.

Nate's was upbeat and relatively happy. Of course, he had to through in little remarks that would make me smile years from now. My favorite part was talking about the championship game and how, "…it was so gratifying to make those freaks from Saratoga eat lawn pancakes."

Shea was next and his speech was short, kind of ambiguous and a little odd. We could never really tell what he was thinking beneath those dark eyes.

Steve summed up the season from a tactical standpoint, about the season's record, how fortunate we were not to have many injuries and how he had enjoyed the challenge. I knew for a fact that his entire speech was bull. Our record stayed perfect out of luck in some parts, rage in other and the druggie other team. We had had our fair share of injuries as well; almost no one came out without bruises and bumps to prove it. And making the plays had not challenged him. Technically, if done right, his plans are almost foolproof. It would be variation on our part that makes us vulnerable.

I dreaded the end of his mini 'State of the Union' address. Means it would be my turn soon.

I got to the top of the platform and looked out over at my teammates, their parents and Coach. My stomach dropped straight through my bladder.

"Well, as you know, I was new here this year and I wasn't aware that I needed to make a speech until oh," I turned around to check a clock, "...thirty-five minutes ago." People chuckled to start. "I'll just start then. I moved here a couple months back and was pretty shocked to find that there wasn't a team for girls. So I did what seemed logical for me, try out for the boys' team. I just never imagined it would attract such attention. But eventually, I was let play and got to know my new team. Girls or boys, I don't think I could have asked for a better team, plain and simple. Honestly, it was less awkward than could be expected. I didn't get any special treatment but no one put me out of my comfort zone either. Of course, we can infer about all the jock-strap jokes I've heard in these few months alone." They laughed again, but it was true.

"This team hasn't been without a cost either. Coach said I've taken on guys twice my size, but not without injury. It's like a necessity of sports; you're going to get hurt. Just a disclaimer, if you didn't get hurt this year, you will in the future. But despite the fact that it's often painful, we do it cause we love it. No other reason. And some of the bonds that we form are worth it. I don't think I could have imagined this year without my friends, people I've grown to love like brothers. Drama, yes. But I wouldn't imagine it any other way."

As I stepped down, a rush of sweat and endorphins suddenly enveloped me. I felt light, kind of free of a burden. I sank down to my seat and watched as a blur passed by me. Derek was next.

He had no paper with him, so clearly he was free-handing it.

"I came into this year with no real expectation. I knew I'd get into college but didn't think about sports at all. We had a few shake ups but it was a really good year. I'm proud."

So short. What else would we expect?

He stepped down and Coach stepped up to say a few parting words. We weren't really paying attention. Nate, Derek and I were just chatting like old times. And it felt fantastic to be back to normal. Whatever that was.

"Elegant speech bastard," Nate smirked.

"I don't do speeches, idiot," responded Captain.

"Is this a guy thing, that you guys are always competing?" I waggled my fingers at them and laughed.

"There's no competition," Derek smirked.

"Hey! Are you saying I can't beat you? Bastard, you cocky…!" He let off a string of words that would easily make my mother blush like mad. I just laughed. Yup. Normal. We walked out together to the parking lot. Nate waved and drove away, promising to beat Derek into the ground tomorrow. I got a hug, and Derek a man-shake. Typical. They go from animosity to practically hugging in ten seconds flat.

I walked Derek to his motorcycle, which conveniently was hidden behind one of the cars. I hadn't seen it when I went in. His hand in mine, I felt safe. Secure. He was cold, I was warm. I knew we'd be okay though. The world was back to normal. No, that's wrong. After so much that happened, the world can't go back to normal. But it can go back to another way, better than before. Better than what we had known.

Suddenly, I was pulled toward my boyfriend and given the most searing kiss I had ever received. A kiss that sent a fire straight down my back.

As well pulled away, I had a surprised look on my face. "What was that for," I asked playfully.

"It's a promise. I won't leave you again… or idiot." He added the last part with reluctance. I just smiled.

He was a man of his word, for the most part. I'd forgiven him for staying longer than a week out of all knowledge and time. He said he wouldn't leave either of us when we needed him.

Derek was true to his word. He said he'd never abandon either of us, and he never did again.

This may not seem like an ending. It's not in a way. This is just a chapter or two of my days. But it was the start of the best part of my life.