Higher, Faster, Stronger

As a shouting of cheers rippled across the crowd, I found myself looking out in awe. My short hair was back in a ponytail and my helmet was in my hand. I was dressed in a Crimson and Gold uniform standard of Kelowna high. I had a huge knot in my stomach as people shouted for the time to start. Where was I? The first home game of the season but perhaps I should back up a little bit.

After the Council my days fell into a rather similar pattern. I'd wake up, go to school, have practice, go home, sleep and start over. Weekends I spent with Hannah, Izzy or both and sometimes with the boys: Keegan, Nate, Steve, Neil and sometimes Cameron.

When Isabelle and Hannah met I swear I thought Hannah was going to die from suffocation from the hug Iz gave her. I had to pry her off the smaller girl squealing, "She's so cute!"

We'd hit the mall or go out to eat but we seldom talked about football. Other than an occasional comment on how practice was, that time was spent with my boys.

Ok it sounds cheesy but the boys on the football team didn't mind me as much after I started proving myself at practices. Like I was one of them after all. It felt good to be normal again, to have a schedule. I missed that during the off season.

Not that I wasn't busy. School kept me hopping and practices were hard, no matter how much experience any of us had. Coach had us going like horses in the field. One exercise down, another to go. Play completed? Good, do another.

I gained a new appreciation for some of them during this time.

Steve proved himself brilliant in his role as tactician. I took a look at some of his plays and found myself stunned. The kid had skills for all of his cloud watching. Some were on the simple side and some were more complex but most ended in gaining yardage or touchdowns.

Nate proved himself bestial when it came to his stamina. No matter how hard he was run, he would not give up. Even if he came off the field bleeding with obvious bruises all over his body, his stamina and determination endured. It was amazing; to see how much of a beating he could put himself through.

Keegan was just as energetic as Nate and proved, despite his position as center to be able to judge people easily. He could tell who the ball was headed to next.

Neil proved himself to be a natural genius on the field as much as in the classroom. He took some of the most advanced classes that the school could offer and had colleges drooling over him. He proved himself of those hardest to catch and tackle on the field, but that's not to say he couldn't take hits. His fast footwork usually required teams to take him down. His eyes usually scared anyone dumb enough to look straight into them.

Another person I came to observe on the field was Glacier Boy. He was our natural quarterback and when I say this kid is unmatchable, hold onto your hat, you don't have a prayer. His speed was undeniable and the fact that his brain worked about as fast about his legs said something about his ability to call plays. Derek was a quiet intellectual. He frequented some of the classes that Neil did, though the boys seemed to be in a constant rivalry. Beat me why; they both deserved the fame they got and the head knockings they were going to get if they didn't shape up.

If I said it once, I'll say it again: he was one of the most infuriating people I knew. He had only a few friends, Nate being one of them. Theirs was a weird and unlikely friendship: both of them insulted each other every chance they got. But I think it was more of a mutual respect, even if Derek never showed it.

Cute but cold, he was once described as. He had his share of fangirls and my friends and I spent a good deal of our time making fun of them. Can you blame me? The fawning and drooling were a bit much but they never messed with me much. Except that one time but her shoulder is currently healing. Oopsie.

One thing that made me happier about the situation was that instead of treating me like a girl, he treated me like a boy. Not the spitting and scratching parts, but as a member of the team. Usually. Even boys PMS right?

Oh well…

Back to the game.

Our opponents were a bunch from West Kelowna. According to Nate, definitely not our school's biggest competition, that was the group from Sanford High. But they were decent enough. As soon as everyone was dressed, I was granted permission to come into the boy's locker room.

One wise guy cracked, "Hey coach! There's a girl in here."

I smiled in mock sympathy. "Actually there's two. Our room is that way." I pointed over my shoulder.

The laughter soon died down and we focused on coach who highlighted some of the opposition's weak points.

"Ok, boys and…girl. This team has shown consistent weakness on their right side, especially defensively. Kael, you and some of the other boys on special team, we might be bringing you out so as soon as you get out there, warm up. Defense! I want a clean game and if they gain 1 yard more than is necessary, you'll be doing up-downs for the rest of your lives. Offensively, we've got some new plays and we're gonna use them! Now get out there!"

This is the part in the story where I interrupt. I suppose I never told you our positions.

Neil and I were going to switch between wide receiver and fullback, both offensive positions. The coach couldn't decide but the added bonus was that each game was different. Today I was fullback and he was on receiving duty. Fullback's job is power running and blocking for QB and receivers.

Wide receivers goes long to get the goal and sometimes blocks.

Neil and I were fast but could also block, making it a harder choice.

Keegan's our center and gets the ball to the quarterback. What we do with it is our responsibility.

Nate was one of our linebackers on defense. He gets to read the plays and rush the appropriate passer, cover the receivers, and defend against the running of the ball

Sheamus's our defensive back. He prevents receivers from getting passes, can tackle QB etc.

Glacier Boy's our quarterback and all important thinker. He runs and starts most plays, but he's no lightweight either.

Back to the game.

After the coin toss, our team took offense. I was a little worried that if the opposing boys saw a girl, they'd start laughing and I'd have to start hitting and they'd be bleeding…until I stupidly realized that helmet covers my hair.

A theory of coach's is: go easy on the first few plays, analyze their strength and use it against them. I've seen many teams dumbly exhaust their power in the first 2 quarters, and be left totally useless in the last two.

These seemed like that type of players.

Luckily for us, they were. In the first half they reluctantly let go of our ground but come third quarter, they turned to putty. Fourth quarter, my offense came in.

Derek pointed out the major flaw in their defense.

"Three in from the left, they have a sniveling little weakling. Hogan, make a gap through there and run. I'll pass to you. The rest of you don't screw it up, including you, Pinky."

Spitting out a mouthpiece I snapped, "I'll take you on later. I have a name, use it."

I stalked back to my position irritated. When the play started I charged through defense like a hot knife through butter and blocked for Neil the full way down. Taking down anyone foolish enough to come near me, Neil scored. In another minute, the clock ran out. We won, 13-0. It wasn't a good overall scored but for first game it was good enough.

We all trudged back to the boys locker room (including me), wise cracks forgotten.

Coach gave a small speech and dismissed us.

Derek walked up to me, snapped his fingers and pointed toward the door.

"Is that your frigid blocked up way of saying you want me to leave or you want to talk to me?" I commented dryly.

He just raised an eyebrow and followed me out. Derek rested on the wall of the locker room while I stood in front of him.

"We get the fact you're a girl and you made the team. Now start acting like it. Be a little more humble because frankly, some of the other boys are overwhelmed. Back off a little."

"Oh that's funny, you telling me to back off. You're the one with no respect for anyone but yourself. You couldn't care if someone died on that field as long as you get your glory moment."

"Says Little Miss Perfect bragging about her experience? I think not," he sneered.

"Let's make a deal, you call me by my name and actually pretend to give a crap and I'll resist the urge to beat your head in every time you do something cold. Which, by the way, is a three second hunt."

"What fabulous conditions," he said sarcastically, "Or how about you shape up or I'll get you kicked off the team?"

"I think not," I said, mirroring his earlier statement. "I hate losing, especially to self absorbed idiots like you. See you tomorrow." I turned to leave he called out.

"Hall. I'm expecting a major improvement out of you. Your attitude too. By the way, I don't do tenderness. You want to go give them a hug that's your prerogative but I'm not going to baby them. You of all people should know this isn't a sport filled with sunshine and lollipops."

I stood there smirking.

"Never thought I'd hear you say the word lollipops. I'm not asking for you to tuck them in at night. Just show you're actually paying attention. Which I know you do, all the time." I started walking back to the girl's locker room.

"By the way, Captain. Sarah isn't too hard to handle is it?"

"I've a name. Use it." I just stood there laughing slightly at his boldness. He turned my words against me, as I did with him. As I heard the door shut, I sprinted back to the locker room. Ripping off my pads, I headed home.

On my way to the parking lot I saw Nate getting into his car. He waved me over, looking worried.

"How'd the meeting with Glacier Boy go?"

"Fabulous, we're planning a summer wedding."