SEVENS

GENTLEMEN

I didn't like being in Raf's car. It wasn't comfortable, the seats were leather and the ac was too cold and I was acutely aware of how cramped the inside was. The bus had more space and the benches were worn in and not stiff. Mom had always liked them though, the expensive cars. She bought us one once. Except 'buying' for her ment hotwiring. I remembered being strapped into a seat like this, not being tall enough to even see out the front window. I could see the red and blue lights in the mirrors though. That was when I was six. I hadn't liked the cars since.
I crossed my arms and shifted. I had been forced into the car with Raf when all the other cars had been filled with the other teammates. There was no real good way to get comfortable in this thing except maybe place my elbow on the middle console and your feet on the dash but Raf had his arm already propped on the console and fist on the gear shift and my shoes were still caked in mud.
    Raf took the next corner fast, barely missing getting teed by an oncoming car. The other car slammed on their horn and Raf turned up the music to drown it out. I swallowed down the bile that had filled my mouth rounding the corner and decided to put my feet on the dash anyway. Dirt clumps fell out of the tread and onto the floor and I smiled smugly to myself. If he didn't like it he would have to suck it up. He could black mail me all he wanted but that didn't mean I had to be nice to him. But when he only glanced at my feet before focusing again on the road I felt a little less smug.
    Raf sped through a yellow light, barely rewatching the intersection before it turned red. I thought I heard honking over the speakers but couldn't be sure. I hit the knob for the music and glared at him. "Do you have a problem with going a normal speed?"

    "I want to get to the field before Jean. If he starts waiting too long he gets all touchy-feely with Joel and its obnoxious." He sneered like he was smelling shit.

    "So you speed because Jean likes to talk to people?"

    "Yes." To exaggerate his point he pressed hard on the gas, shifted several gears, and passed a minivan.

    "Well you look like a douche when you do that." I nodded back as the space between minivan grew.

    "You look like a child when you complain."

    "Oh fuck you! And fuck your expensive tin bucket!" I waved my arms trying to release some of the angry energy pounding behind my eyes. It wasn't even like it was a good insult but he said it with a tone I'd heard a thousand times before. Condescension poised to ensure I didn't feel confident enough to talk back.

    "Its Italian and why are you so opposed to it?"

    "I'm just opposed to people who think they're above the law and go around punching people in the face for trying to help them!" We pulled into a parking lot and I stopped yelling when I looked around. We were at the country club. "What are we doing here?"

    Raf pulled into a spot with 'Staff Parking" written on it but didn't seem to notice. "Tryouts. We need to actually make sure you are as smart as Jean pegged you to be and that you can actually play if we need you to. Which brings me to the next topic: the security of your scholarship." I shifted in my seat and looked away. I already knew what he was going to say. As long as I wanted to stay safe I had to do what he wanted or he would call the cops.

    "Yeah— yeah I get it okay. You don't need to repeat yourself."

    "I'm going to tell you again anyway. You are a part of this team now. That means that you will do anything to help us get to finals." I swallowed and looked at my clasped hands. "Everyone calls Rugby the barbarians game played by gentlemen, and we take that seriously.   Jean and Mal will tell you the same thing. You take any shit onto that field and you're gone."

    Raf didn't need to expand on that for me to understand.

    "Cause trouble away from the field and out of sight. The media hounded us last year because some students thought they were above it all and the only reason we had to offer up a position on the team is because we need the good press. You will act every part gentleman while on the field. You will respect the sport and the team. Do you understand?"