Obsession

Suspect: Chapter 31

He knew it was coming.

It had become a daily routine, except on weekends when he did not have practice and matches that required his attendance. Gabriel did not have the mind to deal with the harassment and bullying that would come his way. He sought to get far away from his tormentors, avoiding all places where he knew the risk of encountering them was high.

The cafeteria, the locker room, and the soccer field. Those places had become the cursed three, as Gabriel had come to fondly refer to it. In the cafeteria, he was subjected to all manner of harassment from the casual tripping and occasional bumps and shoves to outright name-calling, full-on collusions in which he was punched and pinched, his belongings snatched and rummaged through, and food – good food – dumped on him. He was greeted with pranks and insults in the locker room, and on a single occasion, an attempted beating. Gabriel had stopped using the locker room after that, heading to the boys' bathroom. He had condemned himself for not using his brain earlier and reading the tension and situation ahead of time. He thought it would have stopped there but as was his luck, it persisted onto the soccer field, during practice when tackles would become deliberate, and it was straight-up foul play. He'd walk away with bruises, scratches, and at some points, limping because they would purposefully target his ankles, knees, or calves. But they had cornered him off the field. Nico Hoffman and his gang, and his girlfriend Lyssa Isaacs who took great pleasure adding her two cents, directing the others on where to hit next. They had been smart, too, to hit him where people wouldn't see the bruises.

Unsafe on and off the field, Gabriel had approached Coach Freidman and asked to be removed from the team. The coach had vehemently refused, telling him that he would only be a victim as long as he allowed himself to be. The coach didn't get it. Gabriel didn't have a moment of peace. Between the bullying at school, the side-eyes of condemnation from the locals as he went about his way to and from school, the only time Gabriel was able to breath easily was inside the privacy of his bedroom and even that had turned into a harrowing ordeal since S.A. was still somewhere out there.

It was happening. The one thing Gabriel feared and had once expressed to his father. They were taking away his soccer – a fundamental part of who he was.

The school week was over with the final bell on a Friday afternoon, and Gabriel made haste in gathering his belongings. Coby Becker and Rod Maxime shared his last class of the day, and he knew they were waiting for the chance to intercept him, perhaps drag him off for another beating or some vile prank, and they'd meet up with Nico Hoffman and his girlfriend. He had to get out of there. He had stopped going to soccer practice, so that was something he need not worry about.

He had stopped caring about the thing he loved so much. If it meant he'd be spared beatings, injury, harassment, and foul play, he would give it up, though not gladly. But it was a sport, after all, and not worth being hospitalized over.

"Hastings," Rod Maxime called, but the person in question wasted no time. Gabriel ignored the call and slipped out of the classroom, bumping into Coach Freidman as soon as he rounded the corner.

Rod Maxime and Coby Becker came to an abrupt halt, lowering their heads and walking off upon spotting the coach who gave them firm, warning stares. Coach Freidman placed a hand on Gabriel's shoulder.

"You haven't been to practice lately. Are you attending this afternoon's training session? Remember, we have an upcoming game this weekend to qualify for the quarter finals."

"Coach," Gabriel said, turning away, "I already told you. I'm quitting the team."

"You cannot quit, Gabriel. We're in the middle of the season, and you're one of our best. No, the best player this school has seen in years. The team needs you even if those boneheaded idiots won't admit it."