We Come Alive

First Game of the Season

The following day, Jacob was sitting in his last class of the day. All day there hadn't been many students around school. Nearly everyone who went to the party last night, didn't come to school today.

Jacob looked across the class room to see the students who were in the room were uninterested in the topic that their teacher was talking about and were ready to leave school already.

When the bell finally rang, Jacob grabbed his books and got out of class as quickly as he could. He walked down the halls and to his locker, when he got there he saw Jose waiting for him.

"Hey." Jacob sighed as he unlocked his locker.

"Hey." Jose mumbled as he leaned against the lockers and waited. Once Jacob finished, the two walked out the school and headed to the athletic building.

When they walked in, they could hear their teammates yelling and messing around. Jose walked around Jacob and headed towards the locker room. When they walked in they saw their teammates messing around as they got ready.

Jacob walked over to his locker and spun the dial around as he opened it. As he took off his shirt to change he heard one of the safeties, who was standing in the middle of the room, laughing as he spoke.

"Nah! You should have seen Diego with that girl." He laughed. "You was telling us about how you went to her place early this morning. You walk her to school?"

Diego chuckled as he put his arms through his shirt so he could put it on. He chuckled as he looked up at him. "That's for me to know and you not to. I don't kiss and tell, boys. You know that."

Nearly all of the locker room exploded with yells as the boys knew what that meant. Jacob ignored them as he finished getting ready. He looked a couple lockers away from him and saw Ricky putting tape around his knuckles. Jacob watched as he noticed that he was shirtless and had bruises on his ribs as well as on his jaw and eye.

Ricky looked up and looked over to see Jacob closing his locker and walking away. Ricky closed his locker and locked it. He slid out the locker room and to the away team locker room. He knocked on the walls as he got closer.

When he walked in he saw Clover lacing her sneakers as she sat on the bench.

"Hey." Ricky said. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Clover looked up to him as she dropped her feet down on either side of the bench. "About what? Practice? The game tonight?"

Ricky sighed. "Nah, about last night. You ignored my texts and calls all night."

"I went to bed when I got home. I had to sneak in and I was tired." Clover answered.

Ricky gave her a look knowing she wasn't telling the truth. "I'm serious, Clove."

"So am I, Rick." Clover replied as she got up. "I have to go warm up and you need to go lift weights."

She got up and headed towards him. She walked around him as she left the locker room.

"You mad at me? About the fight?" Ricky called after her.

Clover stopped and walked back to him. Ricky turned around to face her as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"Am I mad you picked a fight? Am I mad you beat a guy half to death? That you nearly got arrested?" Clover asked with a scoff. "Honestly, I couldn't care less. What you do in your free time is what you do. I don't care."

Ricky sighed as she turned around and walked away. "I'm sorry." He said aloud.

"One day you're gonna get in a fight with the wrong person." Clover sighed as she was about to turn the corner. "That day, we're not going to be able to get you out in time."