I sat on the cold bench, watching my brother and all his friends play rugby.
I have always loved watching rugby. I loved its physicality and brutality.
I don't think I could ever survive playing, though. Seeing all the injuries my brother has gotten over the years has haunted me beyond belief.
My eyes strayed from the field as I caught sight of a very short girl with long brown hair about to run across the pitch.
"Hey! I don't think that's a great idea," I yelled as her head snapped in my direction.
I walked over to her and saw how pretty she was. She was seriously so naturally beautiful.
Almost frightened, the girl looked at me as I stood beside her.
"These players won't stop their practice for you to cut through their pitch. Johnny would flip out if he saw a random girl cutting through the pitch. What's your name anyways?" I asked the girl as I realized I was lecturing her without knowing her name.
"Shannon, Shannon Lynch," she replied timidly
"Oh, you're the new girl in third year, right?" I asked as the name set a lightbulb off in my head.
"Yeah, I just transferred from BCS," she answered. Why'd you come to Tommen halfway through the year?" She looked away and towards the ground. I just needed a change, I guess." I could tell this was a topic she didn't want to talk about, so instead, I led her to the footpath for students to walk to the second building.
I looked at my timetable and realized I was also meant to be in this building in science. I groaned internally, realizing I would have to walk awkwardly into science with the whole class staring at me.
My worries were sent to the back of my mind as I heard a loud bang and then a thud next to me
My eyebrows practically raised to the hairline as I saw Shannon sprawled on the floor and a.. rugby ball.
My eyes snapped towards the rugby pitch as many of my brother's teammates stared at Shannon, concerned, but of course, some of them had a hand covering their mouths, silently laughing.
Shannon groaned, and I was immediately beside her, trying to help her off the ground.
I heard whistles behind me and realized I was giving them a free show. My cheeks flamed in embarrassment as I turned around and glared at them.
They all turned around when they realized it was me. There was an unspoken rule on the rugby team: you don't mess with anyone's siblings. Being the captain of the rugby team's younger sister meant that practically no one on the team talked to me. If you tried to date any of their siblings, you would be cast out from the rugby friend group.
But I guess that wasn't true, considering I had 'kissed' one of the rugby lads, and I was cast out while he was praised every day.
"Maeve, what are you doing?" Patrick asked as I leaned over to help Shannon get off the ground.
"Pa? She won't get up; I think someone knocked around her brain," I said, concerned for the small girl who was clutching her head and groaning.
"Shite, shite, shite," I heard the unmistakable voice of my brother as he ran over and looked at Shannon concerned.
"Was this you, Johnny?" I asked angrily, thinking about how much this could damage his rugby career.
Johnny glared at me and then bent over to check the damage on Shannon's head.
I guess he's still mad over last night. He made me take the bus earlier this morning because I was so independent these days.
I looked at the time and felt fear wash over me. If Mom got a call that I had skipped class, she'd be raging with me.
I quickly got up and looked at Johnny. "Have you got this sorted? I need to get to class, or I will be put down as absent." Johnny just scoffed and muttered something that sounded 'reliable as always.'
I felt tears come to my eyes as I swiftly turned around and walked to class. I thought about turning around and saying something to Shannon, but the hurt clouded my vision, so I kept walking.
I heard heavy steps behind me and tensed, hoping I wouldn't reencounter Pierce.
I turned around to Patrick, who was looking down at me.
"What's going on with you and Johnny? Why's he being such a dick to you lately?" I shrugged and looked at him with resignation.
"I don't know. I guess he's just stressed with rugby and school. That surgery freaked him out because he thought it would ruin his career."
Pa looked at me unconvinced until he finally stood straighter and grabbed my backpack off my shoulder
"Alright, well, I'll walk you to class and head back to practice."
After saying a final goodbye, I headed into the classroom with my head down, ignoring the stares from all my classmates.
