Chapter V
The Lacrosse Game
Legolas stood in the middle of the field with a lacrosse stick in his hand. He had it gripped on the wrong end and was swinging it back and forth, chewing on the mouth guard in his mouth. It was a sunny day, it felt good to be outside, though he didn't know exactly what for.
"Jocelyn, get over here!" Coach Berenson shouted, with the wave of an arm. He trotted over.
"Okay, girls. We're going to take four laps around the field. When you're done, choose someone to lead stretches, and then do some quick-stick. The ESD girls will be here in like twenty minutes," she instructed.
Almost immediately, all the girls began to run laps around the field. Legolas looked around and followed. He had had no clue what the lady was talking about. ESD? Quick-stick?
Oh well, he thought, if all we're doing is running, I shall be fine. He ran swiftly, and before long, even though he had started after everyone else, he found himself about a lap ahead of everyone. Even though in his elven body the muscles in his legs had been well-toned, he had practiced so much endurance in Middle-Earth that running a mile was no big deal to him. He finished almost two and a half laps before everybody else, and even though he was exhausted and his breathing was quick and irregular, he finally felt good. At last he had accomplished something.
After a few moments, the whole team was done with their warm-up. They grabbed their lacrosse sticks, a ball, and a partner, and began to throw back and forth to one another. A girl named Rome walked up to him with her stick and a ball and asked if he would like to be partners. He nodded, and looked around for a stick. Grabbing the closest one to him, he followed her. She threw the ball to him. He stuck out his stick with the net facing the wrong direction and shouted in dismay as it hit him in the forehead.
"Hey!" he shouted, scooping up the ball awkwardly like he saw the others do. Rome was laughing. What is this? Some sort of weapon? He examined the ball and stick for a few seconds before aiming and throwing with all his strength. The ball hit Rome in the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her shoulder.
"I win!" he shouted, doing a leap into the air.
"Stop it! You're not supposed to hit me, you know. It's called 'catching' and 'throwing,' " she explained sarcastically.
"Right…I knew that." He braced himself for her throw. His quick reflexes allowed him to catch it with no problem whatsoever. After about five minutes or so, he saw another group of girls walk onto the field. They had on different uniforms and blue skirts.
"Who are they?" Legolas asked Rome.
"I think that's ESD," she peered to get a better look.
"ESD?"
"Yeah, I think so. The team looks bigger though, I mean—" she was interrupted by the coach.
"Girls! Get over here. Okay, here are the positions for today's game…" then she continued to list the entire team and their positions. Legolas was playing right attack wing. Right attack wing? he pondered.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked the coach. "What is right attack wing?"
"Jocelyn…haven't you learned anything? It's right there," she pointed to a place on the field. He made a slight bow and ran off. He positioned himself in the right place and mimicked everybody else's positions. He watched in silent curiosity as two girls in the center began the draw. Once the ball left their sticks, the entire field began to move.
What sort of monstrosity is this? Why are they carrying that ball? And why are the other people trying to take it from them? And why is that girl hitting that girl's stick with her stick? Is it…no…it couldn't be, they're only little girls…I mean, we. But…maybe. I think it is. This is war!
And with that solemn thought, he ran off to help his allies. I supposed we're trying to gain possession of that ball object. He sprinted off after the enemy with the ball, and it was not long before he was right beside her. He hit her stick and watched eagerly as the ball dropped from her possession. He scooped it up and ran in the opposite direction she was. He ran…and ran…and ran…nobody could keep up with him, so he ran all the way…all the way back to the PE building. Everybody back on the field stared at him silently, too surprised to laugh, even though laughter was on the tips of their tongues. They watched his diminishing figure as he ran towards the gym. The referee, in frustration, followed him.
Legolas brought the ball back to the locker room and hid in the restroom. I wonder what this ball does. I mean, it is just a ball, it has to do something special. Perhaps if I break it, there might be something inside. He used all his strength to hit it against the ground, only to be shocked that it bounced back up, hit the ceiling, and bounced into the toilet. Only…he didn't know it was a toilet, because you see, elves do not have the luxury of bathroom facilitations or modern plumbing for that either. He stuck his head over it to get a better look. He leaned on the toilet as he began to reach inside for the ball. Unfortunately, the place he was leaning on was the handle to flush it. It began to flush. Legolas jumped back, frightened out of his wits.
"Aggghhh!" he screamed as the toilet began to overflow (the lacrosse ball had messed up the toilet, obviously). It flooded around his feet. "For the love of Elrond!" He pushed the handle again in a futile attempt to "turn it off." When he saw no improvement, he pushed it again, and again, and again, and again; and that's how the referee found him: surrounded in a shallow puddle of toilet water, screaming, and flushing the toilet incessantly.
"Stop it! Stop! Now! What are you doing? And stop that infernal screaming! Stop it I say! What's wrong with you?" she commanded.
"Are you going to stand there and yell at me, or are you going to help?!" he grabbed his lacrosse stick and began shoving it into the toilet.
"I'm getting your coach," the referee said, obviously scared at his strange actions: screaming while attacking the toilet with a lacrosse stick.
"Fine! Run away! Be forever branded as a coward!" Legolas shouted at her retreating back. It was not a minute later, when he saw the janitor come in.
"Oh my God…let me get that. You can't plunge it with a lacrosse stick!" she began speaking in rapid Spanish. She took a plunger and began plunging the toilet. Legolas wiped his forehead.
"Whew! Since it is obvious that you have this under control, I shall leave. I must say this is quite tiring," he gave a little bow to her and left. When the referee returned with the coach, all they saw was the janitor plunging the toilet, Legolas was not present.
Legolas wandered around for a few moments, looking for his locker-house. All of a sudden he ran into Alex.
"Jobas! I mean, Legolas, damn that's weird. You're coming to my house, remember? Or were you grounded?" she walked up to him.
"I…don't…know."
"Well, get your stuff…oh wait…you didn't bring your stuff, did you?" she sighed. "Oh well, we'll find some stuff when you get there. Lissette is already in the car. I'm surprised your game ended so early. What happened?"
Legolas was still breathing hard. "I am not sure…ball…stick…water…lots of water."
"Right…"
They walked off to her car and got inside. Lissette was sitting inside, reading her book, The Tales of Jack the Ripper. Legolas glanced at it. What a morbid name…Jack the Ripper.
Alex turned to Lissette. "Okay, there's something important we need to tell you, but we can't say it here. You've got to promise to listen to us through before asking any questions. It's a crazy story, but you've got to listen. Okay?"
The Lacrosse Game
Legolas stood in the middle of the field with a lacrosse stick in his hand. He had it gripped on the wrong end and was swinging it back and forth, chewing on the mouth guard in his mouth. It was a sunny day, it felt good to be outside, though he didn't know exactly what for.
"Jocelyn, get over here!" Coach Berenson shouted, with the wave of an arm. He trotted over.
"Okay, girls. We're going to take four laps around the field. When you're done, choose someone to lead stretches, and then do some quick-stick. The ESD girls will be here in like twenty minutes," she instructed.
Almost immediately, all the girls began to run laps around the field. Legolas looked around and followed. He had had no clue what the lady was talking about. ESD? Quick-stick?
Oh well, he thought, if all we're doing is running, I shall be fine. He ran swiftly, and before long, even though he had started after everyone else, he found himself about a lap ahead of everyone. Even though in his elven body the muscles in his legs had been well-toned, he had practiced so much endurance in Middle-Earth that running a mile was no big deal to him. He finished almost two and a half laps before everybody else, and even though he was exhausted and his breathing was quick and irregular, he finally felt good. At last he had accomplished something.
After a few moments, the whole team was done with their warm-up. They grabbed their lacrosse sticks, a ball, and a partner, and began to throw back and forth to one another. A girl named Rome walked up to him with her stick and a ball and asked if he would like to be partners. He nodded, and looked around for a stick. Grabbing the closest one to him, he followed her. She threw the ball to him. He stuck out his stick with the net facing the wrong direction and shouted in dismay as it hit him in the forehead.
"Hey!" he shouted, scooping up the ball awkwardly like he saw the others do. Rome was laughing. What is this? Some sort of weapon? He examined the ball and stick for a few seconds before aiming and throwing with all his strength. The ball hit Rome in the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her shoulder.
"I win!" he shouted, doing a leap into the air.
"Stop it! You're not supposed to hit me, you know. It's called 'catching' and 'throwing,' " she explained sarcastically.
"Right…I knew that." He braced himself for her throw. His quick reflexes allowed him to catch it with no problem whatsoever. After about five minutes or so, he saw another group of girls walk onto the field. They had on different uniforms and blue skirts.
"Who are they?" Legolas asked Rome.
"I think that's ESD," she peered to get a better look.
"ESD?"
"Yeah, I think so. The team looks bigger though, I mean—" she was interrupted by the coach.
"Girls! Get over here. Okay, here are the positions for today's game…" then she continued to list the entire team and their positions. Legolas was playing right attack wing. Right attack wing? he pondered.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked the coach. "What is right attack wing?"
"Jocelyn…haven't you learned anything? It's right there," she pointed to a place on the field. He made a slight bow and ran off. He positioned himself in the right place and mimicked everybody else's positions. He watched in silent curiosity as two girls in the center began the draw. Once the ball left their sticks, the entire field began to move.
What sort of monstrosity is this? Why are they carrying that ball? And why are the other people trying to take it from them? And why is that girl hitting that girl's stick with her stick? Is it…no…it couldn't be, they're only little girls…I mean, we. But…maybe. I think it is. This is war!
And with that solemn thought, he ran off to help his allies. I supposed we're trying to gain possession of that ball object. He sprinted off after the enemy with the ball, and it was not long before he was right beside her. He hit her stick and watched eagerly as the ball dropped from her possession. He scooped it up and ran in the opposite direction she was. He ran…and ran…and ran…nobody could keep up with him, so he ran all the way…all the way back to the PE building. Everybody back on the field stared at him silently, too surprised to laugh, even though laughter was on the tips of their tongues. They watched his diminishing figure as he ran towards the gym. The referee, in frustration, followed him.
Legolas brought the ball back to the locker room and hid in the restroom. I wonder what this ball does. I mean, it is just a ball, it has to do something special. Perhaps if I break it, there might be something inside. He used all his strength to hit it against the ground, only to be shocked that it bounced back up, hit the ceiling, and bounced into the toilet. Only…he didn't know it was a toilet, because you see, elves do not have the luxury of bathroom facilitations or modern plumbing for that either. He stuck his head over it to get a better look. He leaned on the toilet as he began to reach inside for the ball. Unfortunately, the place he was leaning on was the handle to flush it. It began to flush. Legolas jumped back, frightened out of his wits.
"Aggghhh!" he screamed as the toilet began to overflow (the lacrosse ball had messed up the toilet, obviously). It flooded around his feet. "For the love of Elrond!" He pushed the handle again in a futile attempt to "turn it off." When he saw no improvement, he pushed it again, and again, and again, and again; and that's how the referee found him: surrounded in a shallow puddle of toilet water, screaming, and flushing the toilet incessantly.
"Stop it! Stop! Now! What are you doing? And stop that infernal screaming! Stop it I say! What's wrong with you?" she commanded.
"Are you going to stand there and yell at me, or are you going to help?!" he grabbed his lacrosse stick and began shoving it into the toilet.
"I'm getting your coach," the referee said, obviously scared at his strange actions: screaming while attacking the toilet with a lacrosse stick.
"Fine! Run away! Be forever branded as a coward!" Legolas shouted at her retreating back. It was not a minute later, when he saw the janitor come in.
"Oh my God…let me get that. You can't plunge it with a lacrosse stick!" she began speaking in rapid Spanish. She took a plunger and began plunging the toilet. Legolas wiped his forehead.
"Whew! Since it is obvious that you have this under control, I shall leave. I must say this is quite tiring," he gave a little bow to her and left. When the referee returned with the coach, all they saw was the janitor plunging the toilet, Legolas was not present.
Legolas wandered around for a few moments, looking for his locker-house. All of a sudden he ran into Alex.
"Jobas! I mean, Legolas, damn that's weird. You're coming to my house, remember? Or were you grounded?" she walked up to him.
"I…don't…know."
"Well, get your stuff…oh wait…you didn't bring your stuff, did you?" she sighed. "Oh well, we'll find some stuff when you get there. Lissette is already in the car. I'm surprised your game ended so early. What happened?"
Legolas was still breathing hard. "I am not sure…ball…stick…water…lots of water."
"Right…"
They walked off to her car and got inside. Lissette was sitting inside, reading her book, The Tales of Jack the Ripper. Legolas glanced at it. What a morbid name…Jack the Ripper.
Alex turned to Lissette. "Okay, there's something important we need to tell you, but we can't say it here. You've got to promise to listen to us through before asking any questions. It's a crazy story, but you've got to listen. Okay?"