treacherous • alan bosley

early mornings

"ready to go?" maisie asked sheryl, despite the teenagers eyes still being closed. the pair's alarm clock had gone off about twenty minutes ago, and they needed to get going soon.

even though maisie wouldn't be practicing with the guys, she still made it her mission to be there just as early as they would. she would be dammed if she missed a single writable moment.

"are you?" sheryl questioned, giving the girl a strange look. the young one had been up and at 'em for about fifteen minutes, while maisie was still snoring at that time.

maisie had managed to slap on some quick makeup, but made no attempt to try anything with her hair. it was barely worth it, anyways. those boys would probably be looking at their own throw up more than they were looking at her.

"yup," the girl spoke, trying to convince herself, "let's go."

she held her notebook and pen, making her way to the field with sheryl.

when they got outside, they ran into the guys, who were also headed to the field.

"morning, pulitzer." blue smiled, greeting the tired teenager.

"morning, boys." she replied sluggishly, deeply regretting all the commitments she had made. this was all alan's fault anyways. he's the one who kept her up. it was true, he didn't stay that late, but maisie was up all night thinking about him. she hated herself for it.

"not up for it today?" louie asked, chuckling at the girl who was now walking with her eyes closed.

the girl shrugged, not having a good reply, "probably won't ever be. i'm not built like y'all athletes. i can't sustain this."

louie laughed, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. none of the boys had really been prepared for this. they usually didn't practice so early in the morning when yoast was in charge, but they seemed to have a stronger mindset than her about the situation.

she felt someone bump into her, and turned to see alan.

"oh, it's you." she sneered, causing the boy to chuckle.

he had done that on purpose, looking for a reason to talk to her. he was annoyed that their time had been cut short last night, and was hoping for a few fleeting moments before he got thrown into purgatory.

"well, maybe open your eyes and these kinds of things can be avoided." he spoke, nudging her again.

"oh, well don't you just have all the answers?" she retorted, giving him a sour look.

"bosley, leave her alone," gerry called out from a few feet behind, "she doesn't want no little boy botherin' her at seven in the mornin'."

alan threw his hands up, looking down at the girl in disbelief. she simply shrugged back, sending him a teasing look. of course she liked the boy bothering her, but she liked messing with his head even more.

"well, i was just tryin' to make the mornin' more interesting for you," he started, clearly offended that she wasn't defending him to gerry, "that's what i get for bein' friendly."

"yeah, but i'm sure you know better than that now," maisie replied, now wide awake. something about the boy just had her springing with energy, "even the rats eventually learned not to get zapped."

alan rolled his eyes, another quip hot on his tongue, but everyone was reaching the field. there was no more time to talk, because coach boone was already prepared to work those boys to the bone.

they all ran off, and maisie took a seat in the front row of the stands. most people would've been bored out of their minds watching a bunch of boys roll around in the dirt, but anything worked for the young writer. she could've written a story about the grass growing, and would've had a wonderful time researching it.