Running Through Rivers

Chapter Five

Chapter Five - Austin's POV

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I was lucky; I only had to do ten laps of the pitch. To Coach, that's getting off lightly.

Training lasted for over three hours, a mixture of ball work, team-building exercises, and push ups. Lots and lots of push ups. Then I had a game to look forward to but I didn't mind. It was against the Oakview Sharks; their name being the only intimidating thing about them. So that would give my screaming muscles a rest at least, as they hadn't fully recovered from the crap sleeping conditions.

Coach blew the whistle and we all jogged over to the middle of the field. The game was about to start.

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This was it. The final penalty kick. 10 seconds on the clock and we were tied equal.

The goalie shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unsure of where I would aim. I rotated my arms back to stretch, then bent down. Time to pounce. I ran forward, my feet pounding on the grass as I charged for the ball. I swung my leg with full force, my foot colliding with the leathery surface of the ball and causing it to fly through the air. Straight into the net.

The small crowd of students that had gathered on the bleachers roared, and I threw my hand up in the air in triumph. We won! The whole team was running over, cheering. Some even went as far as to pull their shirts over their faces and run around like maniacs. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

Idiots, the whole lot of 'em.

I saw coach smiling on the side lines, shaking his head as Alex narrowly missed a flood light. What my sister saw in that guy, I had no clue.

I ran off the pitch and headed for the showers, leaving the others to jump on each other as the Sharks trudged off in defeat. If the boys were like this for a normal match, I couldn't wait to see how they'd react if we won the final. Scratch that - when we won the finals.

I walked into the changing room and went straight to my locker, grabbing my phone out and checking for any news from Cassidy, not that I expected her to text me when she was probably back at school by now.

To my surprise, I found two messages and four missed calls. All from Cassidy.

Shit. What's happened now?

I opened up the most recent message.

'Meet us at Charlie's. asap. - Cass xox'

I frowned.

Us? Who's us?

I quickly showered, getting rid of the sweat and mud, before pulling on my uniform and racing outside, my sports bag thrown over my shoulder.

I ran up to Daniel, a tall, dark haired boy in my French class who was standing in the bleachers. "Hey, Dan, you've got your licence right?"

"Yeah, mate, why?"

"I need you to drive me to Charlie's. Like, now. It's important."

Daniel nodded and pointed across the field to the car park. "First blue car on the left, next to the 'Staff Only' sign. I'll meet you there."

I grinned and ran over to the car park, finding his car which was, indeed, parked illegally.

Meh, it wasn't hurting anyone.

I waited for him to unlock it and then climbed in the passenger side, throwing my bag down at my feet. Daniel got in and started the engine, driving down the road and round the corner as he headed for Charlie's.