SEVENTEEN years to Live

12 ●○► ANOTHER TEAM

CHAPTER TWELVE

●○► ANOTHER TEAM

When Baron and Dave step into the field, Kate and Heather start to cheer.

Every one of us is expecting a good game from them. Baron and Dave are teamed up with Emil, and some rules are added in the game. Baron and Dave will play around the field; Emil will still be guarding the goalpost. But since Emil is with Baron and Dave, he will let the ball go so that their can score. Of course, Emil has to catch the ball the other teams throw at him; the “three catches” rule is still applied.

The teams have gone back into the field, all waiting for Beth’s whistle. The girls give a long cheer first, each supporting one team. There is a moment of loud voices bouncing in the empty air. I can see the boys smiling at us. The expression on their faces looks as if it is their first time to see this kind of weirdness. Yes. I think we’re weird.

Finally, Beth blows the whistle.

The ball is at the center of the field, waiting to be taken by the Snatchers. In Emil’s team, Baron has volunteered to snatch the ball. I can see his teeth clenched as he pushes his feet harder on the ground. Bryan and Patrick struggle toward the ball. Among the three, no one is the fastest; they all have the same speed. It’s hard to know who can get the ball first. If not, who can kick it and pass it to their teammate?

The girls’ cheers go louder as the three guys get closer to the ball.

“Go Patrick!” “Go Baron!” “Go Bryan!”

For a moment, I notice that I am the only one who supports Bryan. I shout, “GO BRYAN!” at the top of my lungs. Bryan seems to hear me. I see him smile, but only for a second, then his face turns serious, fierce. I clap my hands.

The three of them has finally reached the ball. But it is Patrick who kicks it to Paul who is running near the edge of field. Paul jumps a little and makes the ball bounce at the top of his head. It lands on the grass very softly and he manages to protect it from Michael who is running toward him.

Michael tries to scare Paul. I see his face make an evil look at him. Paul looks away from him and watch the ball below him instead. He tries to keep it away from Michael because he has already reached him. Paul turns his back to him, taking the ball with him in every turn. Michael kicks his feet to snatch the ball. And after a few kicks later, he succeeds.

Michael takes the ball with him as he runs for the goalpost. Emil poses to ready, hands and eyes alert. He watches Michael move toward him, examining the way he acts. Michael’s fast. He kicks the ball in a blink of an eye Emil doesn’t even notice the ball is already passing next to his ear.  I hear Emil grunt in frustration. Then I jump to my feet to cheer for the Blue Team.

“WOOH!” I shout, clapping my hands.

“That’s alright!” Heather says. And my head suddenly turns to her in surprise. “We can still overtake their score. GO BARON!” She puts her hands at the sides of her mouth as she shouts. “Wooh!”

When I sit back down, the game resumes. Jed has the ball, kicking it with small force while protecting it from Dave who appears behind him. Dave runs as fast as he can toward Jed. Jed then starts to make his kicks hard as he runs, putting the ball few feet away then coming to fetch it back. For a few moments, Dave is already beside him, pushing him to the side with his large built so Jed will lose his balance. Jed fights him, still protecting the ball. But then Dave snatches it and he takes it with him toward the goalpost. After a second, he shoots the ball with a blinding speed to get a score.

Now the Red Team and Emil’s Team have the same score: six. The Blue Team has eight points so far. And the game will only end when a team gets a score of ten—two points for the Blue team to earn.