Contronym

Chapter 19

I let the bar drop on the mat with a loud thunk as I stepped back and wiped my hands on my black spandex.

"Nice one, Mason. That max lift is moving up." Chris commented from spotting me. Between my time at the gym, practice, and my free period, I had been getting in a lot more time to weight lift. Finn and I continued to spot each other during free period but we didn't have any conversations.

Sam and Chris switched between being partners with Finn and I just so we could all see each other. I had been excited all day and it was translating into my intense workout. My eyes found their way to Finn's. He was across the weight room with Sam doing Clean and Jerks like Chris and I.

Out of the four of us, Finn was easily the strongest followed by Sam then Chris and I at similar weights. Chris wasn't into it as much as the three of us so he didn't practice it, hence why I was so close to him. But, Chris was easily the fastest runner between the four of us. Sam obviously had the fastest reflexes and I had the best agility and aim.

It seemed that our hug in the hallway was long forgotten because lunch and weight training were as cold as ever. It made me wonder if Finn and I could truly stick to the plan when we were going to the Olympic trials together. I doubt both of us would make it, though. My money is on Finn. Especially since he actually has a dick.

I was drawn out of my trance when Coach entered the weight room and blew his whistle. Today we were focusing on conditioning, not stick work and plays. It was nice but I was about to drop dead after my period 8 work out.

Everyone put down their weights and gathered around Coach while taking a knee. Finn, Chris, Sam and I found ourselves in the very back, panting like animals.

"I have some very exciting news to share with everyone." Coach announced in a scarily bright voice. Finn and I shared a glance from the corner of our eyes as everyone else perked up. Wilson's eyes found mine and Finn's before he spoke again. "As you all know, the 2020 Olympics are going to be hosting Men's Lacrosse and two players from this very school have been selected to go to trials as the only high schoolers at the try out."

I could feel the eyes wandering. Everyone probably thought it was Sam and Finn. Just because a high school let a girl play defiantly didn't mean the International Olympic Committee would. I didn't blame them.

I felt Sam's eyes on me because he hadn't heard anything about the trials so he assumed it wasn't him. Such a pessimist, even if he was correct this one time.

"Let's get a round of applause for Finn Riley and Sylvia Mason." Coach happily announced. All eyes were on me and Finn, who was to my left. There was a round of applause and cheers. Chris gave me a punch on the right arm and smiled while I heard the others shout encouraging things. There were also some stupid things like 'slay girl' and 'yaas queen' yelled in mocking voices that made everyone burst out laughing. I'm 90% sure that was from Luke and Aiden but no doubt Jameson contributed.

Coach eventually got us to quiet down before he spoke again, dismissing us. "Get everything cleaned up and you're free to go for the weekend. I'll see you all on Monday." He said with a rare smile as he left the weight room.

"You little bitches didn't tell me shit!" Sam exploded and hit us both upside the head. Everyone else was putting their shit away and going to change.

I smirked before I responded. "We just found out this morning. We weren't supposed to tell."

"Guys, you could be the first high school athletes to play Olympic Lacrosse. This is huge." Chris said from next to me.

"No shit." Finn said with a smirk.

"If you're going to Tokyo, I better be your plus one." Sam said and gave me a look. I laughed and agreed even though it would probably go to my father. I doubt I would even make it that far. Even if I did there was still the issue of my vagina.

"I wouldn't hold your breath though, Sam. I seem to be missing a key component." I gestured in front of my lower abdomen and Finn let out a light laugh. "So even if I somehow made it, I still doubt they would let me play."

"If the United States thinks a woman is good enough to play, they'll let her play. The US has won every lacrosse championship for years. We only lost to Canada three times. If you're good enough to play on the US team, the Olympic Committee will let you in." Finn said.

"Besides, what other countries even play lacrosse? The US, Canada, England, and Australia are always the biggest contenders in the World Championship. Even if England never gets above fourth place." Chris pondered aloud. I guess that was something I never really thought about since it was such a North American Sport.

Sam typed it into his phone and proceed to read a list of countries out loud. "Australia, New Zealand, Haiti, Luxembourg, China, Taiwan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Bermuda, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Canada, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, The Iroquois, Wales, and the United States all participated in the World Championship last year."

"That's 50 teams." Chris muttered. My eyes were wide at the thought.

"Well England, Scotland, and Wales are all one team. The Iroquois have to compete under the US flag too. That narrows it down to 46 teams. Besides, the US always wins and the times they didn't, they won silver in the Championship. If we make the team, we're good as gold. Literally. " Finn said with a shrug.

A frown dawned on my face as I put two and two together. My eyes went wide. "No." I said in an unbelieving voice. "We have to face the Iroquois at tryouts. They are better than all those teams except the US and Canada. That means it's two high school kids against two Championship teams, professionals, and D1 players."

Despite Finn's confidence, even I saw the fear ripple through his defined angular features. He hadn't thought of it as them or us. He had only saw it as one less team to beat once he makes the team. For outsiders, we look like the weakest links. Surely we are better then some of the college kids, but the National players? I'm not so sure. Even then, the Iroquois invented lacrosse, despite the sport being dramatically modified. They were bonafide professionals. It was in their blood.

"Don't go to that place." Sam said, drawing both my attention and Finn's. "You both go to this paranoid space in your mind, even if some of you are better at hiding it then others." He glanced at Finn.

"Yeah." Chris chimmed in. "They wouldn't have even picked you if they thought you didn't stand a chance."

They were trying to comfort us and quell our nerves but it wasn't working very well. I distracted myself with putting the weights from my bar back on the rack. Everyone else was filing out leaving Chris, Sam, Finn and I. I wiped my face on the shirt I had taken off and headed out with them.

I was about to enter my locker room when Sam spoke up. "Get your stuff. The four of us and Al are going out to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" I asked while turning to face the three guys.

"Your Olympic victory." Sam said in a confused voice.

"You realize we haven't been accepted yet....." Finn trailed off, voicing my thoughts.

"Yeah, but you guys will." He replied, not missing a beat.

"Don't get our hopes up." I muttered and crossed my sweaty arms. I needed a quick shower if we were going out.

"And don't get yours down." He replied sharply. "Now go change. We have celebrating to do."

I guess I was having a night out after all.