Deviant

Chapter 9~ Competition

Really sorry for the wait guys
I literally had this whole chapter typed out and edited thoroughly but the device I use to type this is soooo old and messed up. It crashed and deleted all my work
I was so mad cause it was perfect uGH
Please bear with me cause I REALLY DO LOVE THIS STORY (((and you guys)))

* * * * *

After the locker room ordeal, I had rushed back to the bleachers where all the tryout guys were looking at me. Their expressions ranged from disbelief to disgust but I didn't let that get to me. The trainers and managers were whispering and stealing glances at me as we arranged for tryouts.

My friends had also ran after me from the locker room. They had heard everything and to sum it up, they were proud and Zach was mad at Alec.

As always.

Alec retired to the other side of the football field, clearly angered by the agreement and my statement against him. I laughed.

I made him look like a fool and he deserved it.

As for me, well my emotions were everywhere. I couldn't even believe it was happening. Ultimately I was in disbelief yet glad that they gave me a chance. It was so unlikely and, again, so... surreal.

Right now, we were preparing to run the 40 yard dash. Each of the offensive players lined up on the line, with the exception of the linemen. There were 11 of us-which consisted of 2 quarterbacks, 3 running backs, 1 halfback, 2 tight ends, and 2 other wide receivers besides me.

I pursed my lips. Most of the guys were bound to be second stringers since they didn't seem to be top notch and there were only 3 spots anyway.

I examined each of my competitions. One of them seemed determined, as he was warming up and doing several sets of variations of push ups. The other kept sneaking peeks at me from the corner of his eye and he was clearly nervous.

I cracked my neck and twisted my torso. I wasn't about to let anyone get in between me and that spot on the team, especially after making it this far.

Coach Carter walked over to us, looking at his clipboard and taking glances at us. Next to him was one of the managers who was looking at me from the corner of her eye.

I tightened my pony tail and lined up behind the guys. Coach Carter went over to the other side of the mat and stood right in front of the stop watch strip. He looked over us and pointed at the halfback. "Step up and run."

The guy stepped up to the beginning of the mat and after wringing his hands nervously, he took off.

With a click, he stepped on the stop watch.

Coach looked down and back at the manager. "7.4 under HB Vasquez, Mia."

Mia jotted it down and one by one, he pulled out a guy and they ran. The times ranged from 5.7 to just under 8 seconds.

He left me last, so when it was my turn, the nerves had taken over and given me even more energy. Coach Carter indicated for me to step up and then quickly, giving them no time to look up, I sprinted across in record time.

Relief flooded over me as I felt the click beneath my feet. I looked down at the time.

A solid 5 seconds. As soon as he said the time out loud, I heard one of the boys let out a low whistle. I pretended not to hear it but inside I was grinning.

The manager Mia leaned in to whisper in Coach Carter's ear but he shooed her away. I cracked my knuckles and smiled at myself. I already made it farther than I originally thought I would.

We moved onto the next station, which were the speed chutes.

I bit my lip. I didn't know what these were for and what they did exactly but I knew they were for resistance.

Coach Carter stepped up to the chutes. Throwing his clipboard to the floor, he picked a chute up and held it with both hands. "This is a speed wind resistance parachute. It provides practice for continuing running despite tackles, as some of the greatest players can do with ease. The faster you go, the more the resistance weight will be. These are amateur because they provide 30-50 pounds of resistance depending on the speed. This is extremely important for linebackers and running backs and only mildly important for wide receivers and quarterbacks. These are details we'll get into IF you make the team."

He moved over to the sprint weights. "These also are the same concept. Both of which we'll attempt next session of tryouts."

"Mia? Clipboard please?" She picked it up off the floor and handed it to him. "We're going to combine again and run through some drills. This is where we'll make our first cuts."

* * *

"3-2-1-DOWN!" Coach Durham yelled. I threw myself down to a push up position, moving up and down in a smooth motion as sweat dripped from my forehead. I looked around at the guys.

They had lined us up and we were doing sets of running in place then dropping down to do several push ups. Some were struggling to catch up and some were gliding along like me.

"BACK UP!" Durham bellowed, pacing in front of us. I shot back up and started running in place. Coach stopped in front of one of the guys who was clearly having a hard time. He was red in the face and was breathing heavily. Durham stepped up to him.

"You gonna quit now, Johnson?"

"No sir." Johnson heaved.

"You sure you want this position bad enough?"

"Yes sir." He breathed.

"Then show me you deserve it." Durham took a step back. "DOWN!"

I fell back down and glanced over at the guy, who seemed about ready to lose it. After about 5 seconds, Johnson fell on his stomach. He instantly looked up and Durham shook his head. "Exit." He said to him.

"UP!" He looked around at the rest of us. "LET'S KEEP IT MOVING, NO SLACKING OFF NOW. YOU'VE BEEN GOING FOR 15 MINUTES, YOU ONLY HAVE 5 LEFT."

I exhaled and continued running. The only thing running through my head was the next person to leave was not going to be me.

Durham continued walking up the line. Just 2 people down from me, one guy stopped and walked away as if saying "you can't fire me, I quit."

We kept going and the sun felt as if it were simmering my sweat.

The number of people who failed reached 5 when finally he got to me. He gave me a look and then stepped in front of me.

The guy next to me looked at me from the corner of his eye as if to say good luck.

I had just gotten up from doing push ups and was running with all of got. He looked me in the eye. "5 gone... who will be next?"

"Not me, sir."

"I mean, you are a girl. You can't do this, right?" He said sardonically.

"The people who say that are the same ones who walk off, sir."

"You sure you can do this, Evans?"

"More than anything before, sir."

I heard a faint beep. He looked at his watch then looked up at me. "You proved it to me today."

He stepped back and yelled. "TIME!"

We stopped simultaneously and stood, waiting for further orders.

Behind Durham stood Coach Wesley, Carter, and Williams, who were surveying us and writing notes down on their clipboards. Durham nodded. "As you can see, not all of you remain. You made it today, but there's still more to come. Water basins and Gatorade or water stations are set up near the sidelines. We'll see you tomorrow."