treacherous • alan bosley

tc williams vs hayfield

after a debrief with all the coaches on what she would need to be writing about when the game started, maisie went to find some water. truthfully, the whole thing was a little overwhelming to the girl. she wasn't exactly a football expert and knew it would be hard for her to keep up. hopefully some of the guys would be willing to help her after and explain any gaps in her knowledge.

as she reached the water fountains, she couldn't help but notice coach boone hunched over. he had left a few minutes prior, but she figured he was just heading to the locker room to give a pep talk.

"hey, coach. are you-" she cut herself off as a terrible smell smacked her senses. she swallowed hard and pinched her nose, "okay, so... um- is everything okay?"

she wasn't exactly sure what to do. seeing her coach throw up wasn't something she ever expected. the man was so stoic in nature that she wasn't sure he had any bodily functions at all. she was at a loss.

boone turned around, annoyed that the girl had caught him like this. he was hoping to suffer in silence, but clearly the universe had other plans for him.

"i'm fine," the coach replied with a wipe of his mouth, "we don't have to talk about this-"

"yeah, nope, that's what i was thinkin'." the girl replied hastily, not wanting to make the moment any more awkward than it already was. as much as she wanted to comfort or be there for the coach in some way, that was not the kind of relationship they had. they were almost strictly business and maisie intended to keep it that way.

she quickly turned on her heels and made her way back to the field. whatever moment coach was having was nothing she needed or wanted to involve herself in. when she approached the field, she noticed that her photographer had finally showed.

johnny, the best photographer on her newspaper, smiled, "hey, maisie-"

"you're late." the girl responded harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. one of her biggest pet peeves was tardiness. it drove her crazy to be late and she found it best to hold everyone to that standard.

"i know. i'm sorry," he spoke, trying to smile his way through the girl's anger, "my camera was out of film and i had to run to a store to get some, but it won't happen again."

typically maisie would've just taken the photos herself, but she knew she couldn't keep track of the game and take pictures at the same time. johnny had always been pretty good with a camera and she figured the boy wouldn't let her down.

"i-it's fine," maisie dropped the conversation, deciding she could die on that hill another day. she saw coach boone coming back from the locker room, and decided they needed an introduction, "come on."

they approached the intense coach, a polite smile painting both the teenager's faces.

"coach, this is johnny richards," maisie introduced the boy, mostly so boone wouldn't be caught off guard by the random boy on his field, "he's my best photographer."

"good to meet you," coach replied, giving the boy a firm handshake, "gonna get some great action shots?"

johnny nodded, a determined look on his face, "absolutely, sir."

boone smiled and thanked the boy, before heading off to debrief with the other coaches.

maisie couldn't help but notice all the adoring fans and parents that were entering the stands. the girl watched as the opposing school entered the field and the away stands started to cheer like crazy.

when the titans walked out, they were not met with such enthusiasm. maisie opened up her notebook attempting to scribble down notes with only the lights that the stadium could offer. it was dim, but it would have to do.