Would you like to play Goalball?
Disclaimer: How I wish the boys were mine. But nope, they belong to someone else. A huge thanks to my beta Darkflame's Pyre.
Author's notes: After being bored for half a day I decided to try a one shot. If there are any mistakes in this story, then I'll say sorry now before someone kills me. Hope you'll like it anyway. Happy reading.
A rescue call came in early one morning. Jeff had sent the boys off to a school for the blind, where a small group of blind girls along with two teachers were trapped. Luckily getting them out wasn't too hard. As Scott, Virgil, John, Gordon and Alan got ready to leave, one of the blind girls made her way to them. Seeing the girl heading their way John walked up to her. Stopping her with a hand on her left arm he said: "Whoa. Where are you off to young lady?"
Turning her head to John the girl smiled. "Would you like to come play Goalball with us?" When she got no answer from John she said: "My name is Amy." When John didn't respond she pulled her arm away from John and grinning up at him she said: "You're thinking 'what on earth is Goalball'? Am I right?"
Smiling down at the girl John had to admit that he had no idea what Goalball was. "Sorry. Amy, right?" When he got a small nod of her head he went on. "What is this Goalball you're talking about?"
Grinning even more Amy said: "Why don't you go ask your friends if they want to play and then I'll tell you what it is and how to play it. I know that International Rescue have to go back to get ready for another rescue call but it would just be one game which will last only one hour. Please mister? Just one game and then you can go home."
Looking at the girl's eager face John couldn't help but return the smile. "Okay I'll go ask. However I can't promise that they'll agree to play. I'm John." Getting another nod from the girl, John turned her around and gave her a slight push in the direction of where the rest of the girls were still standing. After watching her walk back to her friends who were clapping their hands to guide her back to them John walked back to where his brothers were standing next to Thunderbird One. Tapping Scott on his shoulder John waited until he turned to face him. "Scott. I've just gotten a request from a girl called Amy. She asked if we could come and play Goalball with them." Seeing the questioning look Scott gave him John went on. "I have no idea what goalball is or how to play it. Amy said that she'll explain it all to us."
Shaking his head Scott was about to remind John that they didn't come to play. Only to rescue the kids and teachers. As he opened his mouth to say just that, Gordon spoke up. "Aww, come on Scott? We still have an hour or so to kill. What will one game do to us? What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him."
Shutting his mouth again Scott looked his brothers over as if he was looking for an excuse to say no. Not finding anything he could use to get them to leave he gave a sigh. "If one of you says one word to Dad I'll hold it against you for the rest of your lives. Got that?" Getting an affirmative answer from his brothers he turned and headed towards the group of girls with his brothers following behind him.
Hearing the men of International Rescue approaching Amy said: "Shush I think that's them coming." The whole group went quiet and listened intently to the sound of boots heading their way. Amy nearly jumped a mile when John spoke behind her. "Here we are." Seeing her give a startled jump he said: "So what is Goalball and how do you go about playing it?"
Turning to where she thought John was standing Amy gave a sneaky little smile and said: "Right. First we need to get to the gym." Scratching at her head Amy thought for a bit before saying: "That is if it's still standing." One of the other girls who had being standing near Amy yelled out. "Mrs. Elsa! Is the Gym or Goalball hall still standing?" Turning on the spot Amy said: "Emma? Do you want Mrs. Elsa to bite your head off again?" Hearing the men of International Rescue laugh at them Emma turned bright red in her face. "Oh, man. I'm so busted." She whispered. Turning back to the International Rescue men Amy said: "While we are waiting for Mrs. Elsa to give us an answers to Emma's question I'll explain how the game works."
Looking all professional Amy started to explain. "I'll start with the history and then everything else. Just to give you an idea how this game started. Okay?" Not waiting for a reply from the International rescue men she went on. "Goalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes. It was devised by Hanz Lorenzen from Austria, and Sepp Reindle from Germany, in 1946 in an effort to help in the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans. The sport evolved into a competitive game over the next few decades and was a demonstration event at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto. The sport's first world championship was held in Austria in 1978 and goalball became a full part of the Paralympics from the 1980 Summer Paralympics in Arnhem onwards."
Stopping herself from rambling everything off Amy waited for a minute and then went on with her explanation. "Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents' goal. Teams alternate throwing or rolling the ball from one end of the playing area to the other, and players remain in the area of their own goal in both defence and attack. Players must use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball. The games consist of two 12 minute halves (formerly 10 minute halves). Blindfolds allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players."
Stopping again Amy asked: "Do you guys understand what I'm talking about so far?" Getting a collective yes from the men present, Amy smiled and went on. "Up to three substitutes are allowed in addition to the three starting players: one Center and two Wingers. Men and women compete separately. Eyeshades must be worn at all times during the match. In tournament play, patches cover the eyes beneath the eyeshades to prevent any player seeing if the eyeshades are inadvertently knocked off during the game. If eyeshades are knocked off, then play is stopped, and eyeshades are put back on. Goalball players are not allowed to compete without wearing eyeshades. Touching eyeshades Causing undue delay to the game - unnecessary eye shade checks, etc."
Smiling at the International Rescue men who she could imagined was cringing at the thought of being blinded with a blindfold to play the game Amy went on. "Infractions are generally punished by the loss of possession to the other team. Premature Throw - throwing the ball before the official has called "play". Pass Out - while passing between members of the team, the ball crosses the sideline. Ball Over - the ball rebounds off a defending player, the crossbar or goalposts and crosses back over the centre line. A penalty throw may be awarded for:
A team taking more than ten seconds to throw the ball.
A player throwing a ball a third time consecutively. Illegal Defence - defending a ball while out of your team area Short ball/high ball/long ball - ball does not land correctly in opponent's court."
Hearing the men sigh Amy and her friends started to giggle. Trying her best not to grin at the men Amy said: "Almost done guys… In a penalty situation a single player is required to defend the entire goal for one throw. I won't go on with the Paralympics stuff too."
A short woman walked up to the girls and stopping next to the group said: "Miss Emma. I'll let your yelling pass for today. The goalball hall is still in one peace." Turning to the five men she said: "Now that Miss Amy has given you lot the run down on how to play this game I won't say more than what has already being said. Now if you all would grab yourselves one of the girls and follow me to the hall so that we could start this game."
Not wanting to end up in the older woman's bad books like poor Emma, the International Rescue men each took the arm of a girl and followed the short woman to the goalball hall. Smiling at the girl next to him Gordon said: Um, what's your name?" The girl turned her head and grinning at him said: "I'm Ellen. What's your name?" Grinning back at the girl Gordon said: "I'm Gordon."
Scott looked down at the red faced girl he had with him and wondered who she was mad at. The girl noticed that the man she held on to wasn't sure if he should talk to her. Giving a soft sigh she said: "I'm Tessa. I'm not mad at you Mister. I always look like this. What's your name?" Sighing inwardly Scott said: "I'm Scott. Nice to meet you Tessa."
Walking behind Scott, Virgil had a girl who was jumping more than walking. The girl started to giggle. "Sorry mister. I'm just a bit hyper." Shaking his head at the jumping girl Virgil couldn't help to think back to their childhood. Gordon had being just as energetic as this girl. Turning his head just a bit to the girl he said: I'm Virgil. What's your name?" Trying to jump even higher the girl said: I'm, Tina. Nice, to, meet, ya!" Jumping a bit to high she somehow got her one leg caught around Virgil's left foot and sent them both sprawling.
Just behind them Alan was walking with a girl who almost looked like Tin Tin. Reminding himself that it wasn't her he dodged Virgil and the hyper-active girl as they went down. Hearing a grunt the girl next to Alan started to laugh. "Oh, and another one bites the dust." Turning to his companion Alan asked: "So he's not the first one to go down?" Laughing even more the girl whispered: "Just yesterday she sent Mrs. Elsa flying. Oh yeah, I'm Emma." Smiling Alan shook her hand and said: "I'm Alan."
Stopping where Virgil and the hyper active girl were still lying on the ground John couldn't help himself and started laughing. Not having paid much attention to her surroundings earlier Amy tugged on John's arm and asked: "Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" For a moment John had forgotten that the girl was blind and there for wouldn't know what his laughing about. Trying his best not to start laughing all over again John grinned. "Well, one of my friends is currently lying on the ground with a laughing girl next to him."
Amy sighed "Let me guess. It's Tina. She's the only one who would send whoever she's holding on to flying. We should have told you guys about her before we started walking."
Walking a bit closer to the two on the ground John held out his hand to Virgil. "Need help getting back up?" Taking the hand gratefully Virgil pulled himself up and then the hyper active girl who only grinned at him. "Thanks Mister Virgil."
Walking the rest of the way to the hall everyone was happy that no one else decided to take a dive. Once inside they all met a tall women who looked much friendlier than Mrs. Elsa. Closing the door behind the group the tall woman said: "I'm Miss Ealida. I've gotten everything ready. We are not going to play by all the rules. Instead of three people we'll use five on each side. To make it a bit fun each group will have someone they don't know."
Looking at the men she said: "May I have your names?" Pointing to the first man she said: "And you are?" Smiling at her they each said their names as her hand moved to them. "Gordon." "Scott." "Virgil." "Alan." "John." Smiling at them she handed them all blindfolds. The men all got down on their knees to let the girls put them on.
When they were done, Gordon spoke. "To be honest with you, girls. I feel kinda scared."
The girls didn't laugh at them. Not knowing what to do next the men got up and waited for someone to say something. Nearly jumping themselves when a hand got a hold of their arms and made them stand on a line. Smiling at the men Miss Ealida said: "Right. I would like you men to take off your boots. The reason for that is so that you could use your feet to feel where your line is and not to kick someone and hurt them real bad. I also need you to take off anything that could hurt you when you have to fall on your sides to get the ball."
The men did as they were told and got off their boots and anything they had on their belts. That done, the teachers took each man's possessions, and placed it in a corner so that they wouldn't be in the way. Smiling at everyone the teachers saw that the girls had done the same; taking their shoes off and had somehow placed it in a corner too and made their way back to the lines they had been placed at.
Walking to the one line Miss Ealida said: "When I touch your arm I want you to say your name so that the others in your group will know who's next to you." Walking to the left of the first line she touched the arm of each person and they started to say their names: "Tina." "Ellen." "John." "Virgil." "Tessa."
Moving to the other line she did the same by starting on the left. "Alan." "Gordon." "Emma." "Scott." "Amy." Walking up to the first line Missis Elsa started to move everyone apart. Miss Ealida did the same to the group on the other line. That done, they both moved away. Picking up a ball from the ground in another corner Miss Ealida gave it to Alan. He nearly dropped it on his foot. "Whoa. I didn't realize that it would be so heavy." Hearing the girls laugh, Alan was grateful that his brothers were not able to see him blush.
Smiling at Alan, Miss Ealida asked questioningly. "Do all of you feel the line under your feet? Shifting around the men could feel the line. Tapping his foot on the line Gordon said: "Feels like sand paper." Walking up to Gordon Miss Ealida said: "Yes, and you all have to try and stay on it or else you will have no idea where you are. When you hear the ball coming, you should fall to the left or right and try and stop it before it passes you. If it does pass you the other group gets two points."
Moving away from Gordon Miss Ealida said: "Please don't kill each other and try to throw or role it in a strait line. Getting a yes, mam from everyone she said: "You men should try and be gentle on the girls."
Waiting until everyone was ready to play Missis Elsa said: "Play!" Alan through the ball as hard as he could to the other side, hoping that the ball didn't hit a girl but one of his brothers. Hearing a sudden shuffle Allan new that someone on the other side were trying to get the ball before it could pass. A sudden cry went up from the other side as someone caught the ball.
"Got ya." Clapping her hands Miss Ealida said: "Good catch Ellen. Getting up Ellen waited for Missis Elsa to say play again. When she threw the ball, the same shuffling came from the other group and then someone yelled: "OW! That's my head." The ball made its way past Gordon and Emma who was trying to find the line again. Finding it Emma said: "Sorry Gordon."
Hearing the laughter on the other side Gordon and the rest of the group new that the other group has just scored two points. Picking up the ball and handing it to Amy, Mrs. Elsa moved off again and said. "Play." Rolling the ball hard the group on the other side all fell to the left. This time John got hit full force by the ball. "Ooo!" Rolling over John wondered how on earth the girls could play such a game. Rolling back on to his side he said: "Darn it." Who through that hard fast ball? That hurt." The girls all started to giggle at John's pain. Shaking his head John got up again and said: "Knocked the wind out of me." This time the girls laughed at him.
Picking up the ball, John waited for Missis Elsa to say play. He aimed and through the ball hard. This time the group on the other side all went to the right. Stretching her arm out Emma touched someone's foot. Before the person whose foot it was could move, the ball slammed into it.
"Ow!" Pulling his leg in Scott started rubbing at his foot. Laughing, Emma picked up the ball and waited until everyone was up again. Emma could hear Mrs. Elsa walk past her and then heard the teacher's order to recommence.
Rolling the ball hard Emma hoped that someone on the other side would make a mistake and not catch the ball. This time there was a loud grunt and then an exclamation of "Got it!"
Sighing Emma got up and waited to hear who that was. On the other side, an "Oh yeah!" was heard. "Good catch Mister Virgil." That was Tessa.
When everyone was upright again and found the lines Missis Elsa said: "Play." Virgil swung the ball once, twice and then he sent the ball flying. On the other side there was utter chaos. Alan fell to the right, Gordon to the left, Emma to the right, Scott to the right and Amy to the left. This time the ball rolled and slammed Amy hard against her neck. Coughing Amy held the ball and sat up. "Whoever that was, is so dead." She felt a hand on her back and then. "Are you okay?" Giving a long suffering sigh Amy said: "Yes, Mister Scott. I'm fine. We're use to hard play."
As soon as everyone was upright once more, Amy waited for Mrs. Elsa. When she got the word play, she sent the ball rolling and hoped to get sweet revenge on the group member on the other side who had thrown the ball so hard. The group on the other side all went left. This time the ball went through a gap between Tina and Ellen. Hearing the ball soar past her head, Tina tried to grab it. Missing the ball by a few inches she cried out: "Darn it. Missed it!"
Hearing the other group laughing, she sat and then got back up again. Missis Elsa gave Ellen the ball and said: "Right. Only one more round and then we're done." Walking off to the side she said: "Play." Smiling to herself, Ellen sent the ball off to score them more points. On the other side everyone fell to the left. Realizing that the ball was going the other way they all scrambled to catch it before it could pass them. Not noticing how close Alan was to his feet Gordon kicked out and hearing a sudden gasp he knew that he had just kicked his brother. Where he had kicked him he didn't know. He had the ball along with Emma. Letting her take it he turned back around, and feeling his way to Alan said: "Al. You okay?" Not getting a response, he found Alan and saw that he was curled up on his side.
On the side lines Miss Ealida saw what was happening and walking to where Gordon and Alan was she asked: "Everything okay?" Shaking his head, Gordon spoke "Can I call my friend Virgil over here to have a look at him?"
Turning around Miss Ealida said: "Virgil. Please make your way over here? You may take your blindfold off." Not wasting a second Virgil was over like a shot. All the other brothers also took their blindfolds off, and were now crowded around Alan.
Unfolding himself, Alan said: "I'm okay guys. Just got kicked a bit hard by the Fish over here." Grinning at Alan, the brothers moved somewhat to the side to let Virgil just check him over. Alan hated it when he got hurt. Luckily it wasn't one of those days where he had to be strapped down on a stretcher.
After getting the okay from Virgil, they all moved back and had the girls help them put the blindfolds back on. They played for a bit longer during which both groups scored some more points. There were also a few grunts and shouts of "Ow!" When the game ended, they all gave each other a high five and a few of the girls even gave the men a crushing hug. It was a tie. They all had a few bruises to remember their win.
Getting all their discarded items back and getting their boots back, on the boys could only smile and give each other a silent high five.
Walking with the International Rescue men back to their Thunderbirds, the girls all gave them a goodbye hug. Linking hands they all trailed after Miss Ealida, who had Tina's hand on her arm. Stopping suddenly and halting the rest of the group, Amy turned around and smiled. "Thanks for playing with us guys!" Smiling at the group of girls, Scott said: "Well, now you have something to tell your families." Seeing the girls' faces fell, Scott had a funny feeling that what he just said had reminded the girl of something, not necessarily good either.
Letting go of Emma's arm Amy walked back to the men. When John saw her coming he stepped past Scott. Kneeling down to match the girl's height he stopped her. "What's the matter Amy?" Looking to where she new his face would be Amy said in a soft voice: "We're orphans Mister John. Those two teachers are from our orphan home. We're all sisters. All of us girls. I'm the oldest and Tina the baby of our family." After me it's Ellen, Emma, Tessa and then Tina. We are about a year apart from each other. I'm sixteen. You could guess how old the others are."
Smiling at her John hugged her to him and rubbing her back softly he let her cry for a moment. Looking up John saw that each of his brothers had gone over to the girl they first met and were giving them all hugs. Taking Amy back to the others, they all said their goodbyes again and one's they were all back at Thunderbird One, they watched as the teachers and girls walked down the street.
Turning to his brothers Scott spoke firmly. "Right. I think that those girls need a little help."
Gordon smiled. "How, Scott?"
Resting his hand on Gordon's head Scott said: "We'll just send a letter saying that we sent out a request to Tracy Enterprises asking them if they could help out five little girls." Getting a grin from each of his brothers, Scott turned to get into Thunderbird One. He nearly fell out the door when all of their watches started to vibrate.
Looking down at his watch in concern John sighed. "Now we're so busted."
Grinning, Virgil, Gordon, Alan and John all ran to Thunderbird Two. Scott got into Thunderbird One, and as soon they were in the air and heading home.
Scott put a call through to Tracy Island. Waiting for Virgil's face to appear next to their Dad's face, Scott said simply, "Mission complete." Not waiting for his father's reply, Scott cut the link and started planning. He had to find a really good excuse to get himself and his brothers out of what was waiting for them at home. Virgil also cut his link to Tracy Island. Smiling he turned his head just a bit and saw that his brothers had the same happy smiles on their faces.
Back on Tracy Island Jeff had a huge smile on his own face. He had seen and had listened to everything through the boys' watches. Turning to see Tin-Tin watching him he said: "Let me repeat Gordon's words. What they don't know won't hurt them. Right?"
Seeing Tin-Tin grin at him he started to chuckle.
Later, when the five boys came into the lounge Jeff said: "That's my boys." Seeing the confused look on their faces he said with a straight face. "What? Can't I be proud of you? Go. Debrief is in half an hour."
The brothers all left, wondering why their Dad was acting so strange. What did he know that they didn't?
That night, the boys all slept peacefully. Dreaming of the fun they had with five special girls.
You can find all the information on this game on Wikipedia. Use to play it when we had Jim class and boy, it hurts when the ball hits you with a vengeance.
So let me repeat the question one's more to all of you. Would you like to play Goalball? Smiles.