Dodging Disasters ✔

Chapter Thirty-One

I've used the term football from the very beginning but in American English it's called Soccer. And though the story is situated in the United States I made the mistake of saying football instead of soccer. Please excuse this. I really don't think I'll be able to replace the word 'football' with 'soccer' in all the chapters.

31. A Man Is Hungry

"Why did they stop?" I question no one in particular, as the referee blows the whistle and both the teams come to a standstill on the field.

Khushi plops a popcorn into her mouth and answers, "It's an offside."

I frown and look at her. "A what?" I ask, as I watch the players take their positions again and the game resumes.

"Offside," she repeats. She points towards the game and continues, "Did you see that guy run past Kevin?"

I nod my head as I remember watching something of the sort happen, but with her eyes still fixated on the field she says, "Kevin is the last defender. And the opposite team player ran past him which is not allowed." She finishes slowly, in simple words, as if explaining things to a child.

When it came to football, I had absolutely no idea what was happening. I'd attended Jason's matches before but that was only because I wanted to support and cheer for him. I would just sit in the stands and yell his name because there was no one to explain to me what the hell was going on. But now that Khushi was here, I was going to try my best to understand the game.

This was the first match of the season - we were playing against St. Peter's College, the college that we had won the finals against, last year.

According to what I understood from the long explanation that Khushi had given me; twenty colleges were going to participate in this Tournament, out of which each college would earn points for every match that they won. So after some calculations Khushi estimated that we needed to win six matches, to reach the finals. And all the six matches would be played in a span of two weeks; the Tournament finals being scheduled for a date after Thanksgiving.

When RubyWoods wasn't playing a match, the other teams would be competing against each other, but I was least bothered to watch any of their matches.

The stadium was filled with students and parents wearing red and blue clothes - matching their favourite team's jersey color. There was obviously a majority of red, considering the fact that my college was hosting the Tournament. To the far end were stalls of different food items and drinks lined up on one side. A lot of people had gathered there, making it extremely difficult for us to get anything to eat, probably why Liz, Anna and Susan hadn't returned yet.

Sure enough, the Tournament was a big deal and it definitely could be called grand - flags of the competing colleges, fluttering in the wind, hoisted high on the poles that lined the circumference of the field. It was almost as if Hogwarts houses were competing against each other, right now - Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.

My eyes search for Travis in the crowd and I see him navigating his way through the stadium, bringing two cups of coke in his hands, Kay following close behind. They hand us our cups and sit themselves next to us.

"Where are the others?" I ask them, squinting, as I try to fine a familiar face in the crowds at the food stalls.

"They were still in the hot dog line when we left," Kay says, sipping her coke. "They should be here in a few minutes."

I focus my attention back to the game as Jason passes the ball to Alex who dribbles it past the opposing team's player with ease. He then kicks it towards his left where Tyler is waiting for him and then runs forward towards the goal post.