Silas loved game days.
There was so much energy that filled the locker room when all the players gathered. Barros was playing samba over the speakers, and the guys were dancing around the room still wearing their warmup kits. Bastian was running around and whacking people with the Thera Gun, a massage device the physical therapists used on the players’ sore and tight muscles. Now, it was a weapon that brought raucous laughter with every attack.
Even though Silas still felt like he was on the outside of the team looking in, the excitement was contagious. There was a perma-smile on his face at the sound of excited chatter competing with the loud music. The only thing that would make it better was if he’d made a little more progress with Miriam.
Talking at the gym was a start, though Miriam might have been in a better mood if she hadn’t seen him with his personal trainer. Miriam had never believed him when he told her how beautiful she was, and he’d almost blurted it out at the gym. With her hair up off her face he’d had a clear view of those eyes and freckles that drove him crazy. The tiny shorts she’d been wearing had made it almost impossible to talk to her normally about his school outreach idea.
Not that he could focus on that right now. He needed to get his head in the game.
No sooner had the thought entered his mind when their coach walked in. He went to the giant white board off to the side of the locker room and started drawing out plays. Though excitement still hummed throughout the room, Barros turned the music off and everyone stopped talking.
“Okay, guys. The last game went great.” Coach continued to draw on the board. “We won our season opener. The fans loved it. Harris said the sales for today’s game are already higher than last time, so we want to keep the momentum going.”
A chorus of yeahs went through the room.
“Maryland is a good defensive team, so we’re going to have to step it up with those offensive plays. Jenkins, Cardosa, I want you guys to go hard. Take every shot you can.”
The two guys nodded.
“Finn. Their forwards are rookies and are still getting their feet wet in the arena. You should have no problem blocking their shots.”
Finn clapped his hands together once and rubbed them together. “I’m ready.”
“Bastian, I want you to stay on Valle like your life depends on it. If anyone is going to score, I think it’s going to be him.”
“Got it.”
Coach continued to go through the roster, giving each of the players a specific task. When he was done, he talked about what he’d written on the whiteboard, mostly plays if they got a penalty kick.
There was no way of knowing if it would happen, but it was where the Storm shined. They almost always got a goal thanks to their coach’s plays.
“Now go out there and get warmed up.”
With a final few whoops of excitement, they filed out of the locker room and onto the field. Fans were just starting to arrive, and Silas could see them coming in and finding their seats as the team worked on passing and dribbling.
Even though he knew he wouldn’t see her, his eyes scanned the crowd and the floor seats for Miriam. He wondered if she would watch the game tonight, or if she planned on hiding in the halls of the arena like last time.
“Think you could focus on warming up instead of watching the stands?” Grant yelled as the ball rolled past Silas feet and hit the wall.
Silas jogged over and kicked it back to Grant.
The midfielder still hadn’t forgiven him for what happened at the first meet and greet. Even though word had never gotten back to Greg about him and Vinny showing up late to The Sports Emporium, Grant was convinced that it would somehow count against him. He was only cordial enough to practice and play with Silas—and even that wasn’t exactly comfortable.
The two passed the ball in tense silence for the duration of that part of their warmup, and when it came time to work on shooting drills, Grant was quick to move to the front of the line. Silas, meanwhile, hung back to put some space between them.
The guys took turns taking shots on goal. Finn was running back and forth in the goalie box blocking them one after another. The guy never slacked, even during warm up. When Silas’ turn came, he was sure that Finn became even more determined not to let the ball pass.
This went on for another ten minutes as fans continued to fill the stands. When the buzzer went off, Silas gave the crowd, mostly a sea of green and black shirts, one last glance before jogging off the field with the rest of the team.
They all hurried to change into their kits, and Coach was giving them one last pep talk before the announcer started calling them out onto the field.
“This is our game. We’re going to get the win tonight.”
“Yeah,” the guys all answered in unison.
“We’re going to send Maryland back home with the L.”
Everyone started cheering and clapping. “Yeah.”
