The Omission Behind Ones Devotion

Chapter 17

Hayden's POV:

"Alright boys pick it up," my dad, well coach, yells at the team.

"Oh my god!" Coach yells throwing his clipboard down on the ground.

"I can't take this anymore, that's it, I'm going to go cool off. Hayden your in charge, condition them until they feel as if they reached hell."

A loud roar of grunts erupted from the team as they make their way over to me.

I scan the team to see majority of them out of breath, well all except my brother and Brayden.

"Are you trying to upset coach," I say more as a statement then a question.

"Not our fault we're tired."

"Trust me, I've noticed. But you guys have to pick it up if you want to make it out of this practice alive."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to do the drills we have to."

"Wanna bet," I said flipping my hair over and pull it into a pony tail. I take off my jacket leaving me wearing a tight black dry fit tank top with black volleyball shorts. I throw my cleats on and push past the boys who continue to stare at me with confusion.

"Well what are you waiting for, let's go." I said ushering to the group.

Brayden raises an eyebrow at me before stepping up, standing in front of me. He steps closer, crossing his arms over his chest staring down at me.

"Alright one on one, you and me. I win, practice is over and we all get to go home. You win and we continue to condition. Deal?" He said pointing a finder down at me. I grab his finger and wiggle it side to side sarcastically.

"Deal."

———————————-

"Ready, set, go!"

We both begin running 20 yards before coming to face the blocking sled. I slow down as I approach it and take a deep breath before pushing the heavy object. I place my shoulder on the mock shoulder of the dummy and push with my legs.

Looking up I see Brayden a few feet ahead of me.

Just push a little more your almost there.

As soon as I hit the 50 yard mark I make a dash for it and catch up with Brayden he looks over quickly and pumps his arms faster, increasing his speed.

Bring it on!

I let out a grunt as I pump my arms harder until I reach the end of the field, stopping abruptly before turning to my right completing 5 rounds of the ladder drills. After that I drop down to start my 50 push ups. Two players were in front of Brayden and I, counting off as we completed our push-ups. He was already 5 push-ups in front of me.

Shit

"49... 50 GO!" One of the freshman says to me and I push up off the ground and start pumping my arms. I was hot on his tail, trailing behind him. We had about 40 more yards to run and that's when the burst of energy kicked in.

I was neck and neck with him as we both grunt, pumping  our arms and pushing ourselves to the finish line.

Once I cross the finish line I feel my legs buckle before landing on the turf with a thud.

I struggle to catch my breath as I sit up looking to see Brayden next to me with his hands on his knees attempting to do the same.

"It...it was a tie!" Boyd, one of the seniors, said astonished.

"Well what does that mean," I say in between breaths.

"How bout this," Brayden started looking over at me where I was currently sitting on the hot turf.

"We do 20 more sprints then we can go home."

"That seems reasonable," I nod my head and reach my hand out only for him to respond by pulling me up effortlessly.

"Dang Thompson you looked good conditioning out there," one of the freshman pips from the side with his arms crossed over his body as his eyes roam over my body.

Ryan slaps him across the head and Brayden walks past him sending him a death glare before making his way to the field.

"Everyone on the line," he says through gritted teeth.

"Man you did all that running already, sit this one out...better yet go home." Ryan says pushing his friend off the field.

"Oh and bring Hayden, I'm picking up one of the cheerleaders and I don't need her third wheeling." Ryan says with a smirk and I just roll my eyes.

——————————

The car ride was nice, but mostly quiet.

"Why were you mad during med?" I questioned.

"Was it because I transferred in?"

"What, no! I uh...well you know how much I hate Kaitlyn so...she...you know...puts me in a bad mood I guess." He seemed to tense by the question so I decided not to press any further.

We park in front of my house and we both make our way in.

"Hayden oh good you're here, come here now." My father yells from the kitchen.

We make our way in only to find him with his laptop on top of the counter and his glasses rested low on his nose.

"Hay check this out, do you remember Power Black Elite?"

" The club volleyball team that travels all over country, and is ranked in the top 3? Yeah I think I remember them" I add.

"That's the one! Well guess who got an email from the coach....you have a tryout next week!"

"Oh my god that's amazing!" I say jumping up and down.

My old team in Chicago did travel to other states, but not as much as Power, and we were also ranked 5th in the country. I forgot that Power Black Elite resides in Florida.

"You're going to have to go back to your old schedule..do you remember it?" My dad questions.

"Wake up, train from 4:00-5:45 am go to school and come home to train from 2:00-5:00. Strict diet, and weight training, yep I remember." I say with a small sigh.

My dad gets up from his seat and places his hands on either side of my shoulder, "we're going to make you into a champion."

————————————————-