Playing Rough

Chapter II

Chapter II ─ Anxiety

[ M I C H A E L   G R I F F I N ]

It was just another Monday in East Aredale, but here I was, sitting in my last period of calculus, silently dreading what was coming next. 

Normally, I wouldn't mind Mondays, they were chill - I was a bit of a morning person myself so I didn't mind the stereotypical fatigue everyone experienced at the start of a week - however, this particular Monday, I wanted to lock myself in my room and never come out.

Today was the fateful day my team would meet the West in an attempt to make amends, but I knew all it would end up in was a chaotic mess. Don't get me wrong, I loved the meatheads in my team, otherwise, I would have quit a long time ago. But I knew a storm was brewing and there was nothing I could do to avoid it.

I was supposed to meet Coach Williams right before practice, apparently to discuss some things before the West invaded our ground. Unfortunately, the idea of seeing him after this period was more dreadful than calculus itself.

I knew I was likely panicking for no reason, but you have to keep the fact that my team was full of dumb jocks, who loved picking fights, and the fact that I was the quarterback in mind. I was partially responsible for their attitude and the progress we would make as a team and, believe it or not, I was willing to try and settle the rough patch between our teams. 

It's not that I particularly wanted to have to befriend people from the West, but it was a better option than potentially losing my chance to play football in college over this, I quite literally could not afford it.

I had a single mother working overtime as a nurse trying to keep up with the bills, I couldn't strain our financial situation more by not getting this god damn scholarship. I might have been a varsity jock, but I wasn't by any means dumb or reckless, unlike my teammates.

Which leads us back to my real concern - fights were bound to break out and my scholarship was hanging on a thin thread because of it. I knew my coach wanted to talk about particularly that, he knew how overwhelming the guys can be. We just needed to get ahead of them and make sure us making amends with the other team doesn't turn into a blood bath fueled by testosterone.

Before I knew it, the bell rung and the sixth period had come to an abrupt end, I quickly shoved my books in my bag, ignoring the teacher's rambling about a test on Friday and dashed out the classroom door.

I decided against procrastinating and involving myself with small-talk, even running past my girlfriend Ash, a fellow redhead with striking green eyes, without much interaction. I had informed her of the commotion last night, so I wasn't surprised when she mouthed a quick 'good luck' my way.