The Gray Case

fifteen

In his habitat, with his feet on the grass he is so accustomed to, he sprints for the last time today, running as fast as he can. The wind brushes on his skin and his throat is dry.

He reaches for air, grasping the last bit he can before he is tackled and brought down to the ground, forcefully. His body is slammed onto the ground by one of his teammates that during this practice is playing as the opponent.

The guy stands up as soon as Alexander's hand tries to move his body to get up. He is now on his feet as he breathes the anger out of his lungs.

"Fuck," he groans loudly, removing the helmet from his head, harshly. His cheeks are now tinted a bright red and his hair is damp caused by the sweating.

This, for him, has been the worst he has ever been on field.

"No, no, no! Alexander, come over here," his coach shouts, "now!"

Alexander sighs walking across the field to grab his water battle that is placed on the bench, next to his coach who is raging.

He quickly reaches for the water that with no hesitation, he gulps down, the cold liquid runs down his throat like a river that finally flows into its sea.

He sits down, shaking his head to move the strands of hair that fall on his forehead blocking his sight. His head low and his breathing irregular, he already knows what his coach is about to say.

In front of him, he has his hands placed across his chest and his eyes look at him displeased. His limbs are tense and Alexander can catch a sight of his feet tapping the grass, a small sign of his even bigger nervousness.

"What?" Alexander snaps aggressively, maybe a little harsher than he should've been.

"We have a game this Friday night and I need you to be at your hundred percent! I don't know what's up with you today but you better snap out of it."

Alexander doesn't answer. He simply looks away, his gaze lands to the bleachers as they always do. But this time, he is looking for a pair of brown eyes that, unfortunately, he doesn't meet. He is almost disappointed and doesn't even realize that his coach is now sitting next to him until he places a hand on his shoulder, losing the anger he had before.

"Look, I know about what's going on with your father and I'm very sorry about it. I realize it's very hard to cope with everything all together. Grades, family, friends, a girlfriend and football too but, don't forget to do the things you really love. Because I know you love football and I know you get even more angry than I do when you don't succeed in it."

His tone softens and his eyes do the same too. His hand on his shoulder gives him a sense of reassurance and realization. Alexander nods, silently and listens to his voice talk while he looks at his other teammates run on the field.

"You are Alexander Gray, for fuck's sake. You are the team captain and we all, as a team, need you, alright?" His coach is now standing again, with a warm smile on his face and his arm stretched out to help him get up.

He takes his hand and stands up, returning him a faint smile. He starts walking away when he hears his coach shout again.

"Practice is over, you can all go change!"

They all run to change and shower and quickly the locker room fills with chatter and laughter. Alexander is in the middle of it all, his mind concentrated elsewhere.

He is still angry with himself mainly. He had hoped to at least be able to free himself a little by playing. But that didn't happen.

Instead, he feels even more trapped in a cage he can't see the boundaries. Forced to play the role of the perfect human being, because that's what he is designed to be.