Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the Titains or the town of Alexandria, if anything looks new that you don't recongize from the movie then that means I made it up.
New Friends and Faces
It was Athena's second day in 1971, she wasn't really homesick because she was hardly at home anyways back in her time, but she did miss Misty. She and Sheryl had become quite close, almost like sisters. "You know something; I wish I could meet Camara." Sheryl said through a mouth full of chocolate ice cream.
"Don't talk with your mouth full; I think you two would really get along." Athena said before taking another bite of her banana split.
"So tell me about the time she broke her foot." Sheryl asked again this time swallowing what she had in her mouth first.
"You already heard that one, but ok I'll tell you again." Athena said smiling before she re-told her story to Sheryl.
After a few minutes Athena suggested that they leave, since she was feeling too comfortable with everyone staring at her.
"You'd think I would be used to it by now." She said out loud.
"Well, this is a different time, you know. I mean like people aren't used to short hair that's got blue in it. They are a bunch of rednecks anyways." Sheryl said as they walked down Main Street.
Once they reached the corner where the school was they both noticed that the Coach and some of the guys were marching into the building. "Come on let's go see what that is all about." Sheryl said as she started to run across the street.
"Let's not and say we did, we'll find out soon enough about what happened. Come on let's go to the park, so you can try to teach me how to throw a football the proper way." Athena said coming up behind her.
"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Athena yelled over her shoulder as she started running towards the park.
Gerry, Ray and Alan found them an hour later still at the park, with Sheryl still trying to teach Athena how to throw the right way. "Hey Coach, what are doing?" Gerry called over to Sheryl.
"Well, I'm trying to teach Athena how to throw a football but it ain't working to good." She called back.
"I tried telling her that about 30 minutes ago but it didn't work." Athena said as she jogged over to the guys.
Ray looked her up and down with a sneer on his face, "What kind of name is Athena anyway." He asked.
Athena looked over at him with a glare on her face, "I don't know what kind of name is Ray. But see unlike you, I don't ask questions like that because I have the common decentsy to keep my opinions to myself if they would probably end up hurting people's feelings." She told him a little loudly before taking the football and throwing it towards a tree.
She did that to get rid of her frustration instead of hitting him in the face like she wanted to. But what surprised her was the fact that it was heading towards a guy but it was to late because it had hit him in the head. Leaving the others and an especially angry Ray she went over to the guy not noticing that he was black.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to throw it that hard let alone hit you in the head." She said as she held out her hand in a greeting. "The names, Athena."
The guy was cut off guard, because there was white girl standing in front of him wanting to shake his hand. "Well, at least you came over here to apologize which more than what others would do. The name is Rev.," He said as he took her hand.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Rev, so are you a football player, if you don't mind me asking."
"Yes, I'm going to play for T.C. Williams hopefully, if I can make it thru camp first." He said grinning.
Across the way the others were looking on with mixed emotions, "How can she stand there and talk to a 'coon?" Ray said before turning around and walking off. Not once had any of the girls around here talked to him the way that she did and he wasn't about to let her get away with it. The other three on the other hand weren't sure what to think.
Rev and Athena talked for a couple of more minutes before they were joined by two others, who names where Petey and Blue.
"Well, what have we here?" Petey asked as he put his arm her shoulder.
"Well if I'm guessing right, I would say that I'm a girl and I'm standing here talking to Rev." Athena said with a smile.
"I'd say we have ourselves a soul sister." Blue said finally.
After a few minutes the three invited her to come to Charles that night to meet some of the other guys. "Alright I'll see what I can do." She told them before running back other to the others.
That night she and Sheryl found out that they would be accompanying Coach to the football camp in Gettysburg. "I know you really don't like football but maybe you could help out also like with the water and everything." Coach said looking across the table to Athena.
"Alright, I don't mind doing that." She said going back to her mashed potatoes. "Umm, do you think I could go to over to Charles, I meet some of the football player today at he park and they asked to me to come." She asked hoping silently that she could.
"Do you know where Charles is?" Coach asked.
She knew all right because she would go there every Thursday night to watch her dad play pool, but this was 1971 so what could be so different about it now.
"Umm, not really." Athena said looking up from her potatoes.
"It's in the 'Burg, the black part of town." He said simply.
"Oh, so does that mean I can't go." Athena replied.
"I don't feel comfortable with you going there by yourself, but I'm not your dad so I really can't tell you what to do." He said.
"Well, as long as I'm under your roof I'll do what you say, but if you feel uncomfortable with me going by myself why not drive me there and pick me up." Athena said simply.
After a few minutes Athena was walking into Charles but not without getting weird looks and some rude comments from the patrons. "Hey, 'Thena girl what took you so long." Petey said coming up behind her not giving her time to answer since he dragged her over to meet some of the other guys on the team.
Athena had never felt so in place anywhere in her whole life. All of the guys she had met at Charles made her feel welcome, it wasn't that Coach didn't but there was just something about Rev and the others that just clicked.
"Hey, 'Thena I challenge you to a game of pool." Blue said holding out a pool stick to her.
"Now Blue what makes you think that she knows how to play?" Petey said with his arm around her shoulder.
"Well, Petey I guess there is only one way to find out now isn't there." Athena said taking that stick from blue and breaking the balls making three solids.
"Well it looks like I do know how to play." She said looking over at Petey with a grin. A few minutes later Athena had beat all the guys at least twice.
"Man girl where did you learn how to shoot?" Blue asked sitting down across form Athena.
"Well, my dad taught me up until left." Athena said inwardly hoping that they would drop the subject, she hated talking about her parents to anyone; Misty didn't even know the whole story.
"What 'da mean left, where did he go?" Petey said.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it alright so just drop it, ok." She said in a harsh voice.
"Ok, you didn't have to get all mean about it." Petey said with a hurt look on his face.
Out of nowhere there came a voice behind her. "What's a cracker doing here?" Athena was in no mood to get in an argument so getting up she turned around to face the person that had said such a derogatory thing to a fellow human being. She didn't think that he would be so tall, not letting that stop her.
She squared her shoulders and said, "Well, we are fresh out of crackers but I really don't think you where talking about that kind now were you? I really don't see any crackers here anyways nor do I see coloreds, what I see is a group of teenagers sitting around a table talking; so would you like to join us? If not then you need to keep your closed minded opinions to yourself." She stated overly sweetly.
"I'm not talking about the kind of crackers you eat dumbo, I'm talking about you." He said pointing a finger in her chest.
"You know you are really showing how smart you are by saying something like that. You don't hear me calling you names now do you, why because I respect for my fellow man unlike you. Petey, Rev and Blue I'll see you guys around, it's suddenly it gottten a little too crowded in here for me to stay." She said with her face red from anger.
As she walked she noticed that the other patrons where staring at her as she walked out stopping at the door she turned and said, " The food was great and so was the service thank you for making feel welcome." And with that she walked out the door.
She didn't see any of the guys for three days, it wasn't until the day of camp that she saw them, but she couldn't go over to say anything to them since there was already a big fuss about blacks and whites getting ready to go to camp together. Plus, some people on the school board still wanted Coach to be head Coach at T.C. Williams. She instead she kept Sheryl company until it was time to leave, but she noticed that Garry and Ray walked over to talk to Coach Boone, which in Athena's opinion wasn't a good idea and it turned out that she was right because Boone ended embarrassing both Garry and Ray.
"Well that is what they get if you ask me." She said aloud.
"They didn't deserve to be humiliated like that, stupid man." Sheryl said looking up at Athena.
"Looks like I need to stop thinking out loud." She added with a grin.
It wasn't long before Coach Boone had every one off the bus and was pairing them off with another team member of a different race that would also be their roommate. "This was a good idea."Athena thought to herself this time and not out loud.
Pretty soon they were on their way to Gettysburg, Athena on the bus with Garry, Alan, Rev, Blue and the guy that had ticked her off at Charles three nights ago. She just stared out her window watching the scenery go by until she heard Blue start to sign.
"Baby there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough." But he couldn't continue because that guy had told him he didn't want to hear his voice again and the same went for Garry.
"He definitely needs an attitude adjustment." Athena thought to herself.
The rest of the drive was boring; nobody talked or did anything except either look straight ahead or out their window. Pretty soon she was dosing off, twice she hit her head on the window, which caused Blue to laugh.
Turning around Athena mimicked Julius's voice, "Blue, I thought I told you I didn't want to hear your voice again." She said letting out a laugh.
Julius wasn't too happy about her performance but just looked straight ahead acting as if it didn't bother him. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep but she woke up because Blue kept pestering her until she noticed that they had arrived.
The first day had gone pretty well, except for the fight that broke out on the guys' floor. She and Sheryl both had heard the lecture from Coach Boone, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the guys cause that was how they grew up but still that wasn't cause for fighting especially over a picture. Practice was hell at least in Athena's opinion, it was hot and what Boone was doing she considered crazy, not letting the guys get water, come on.
Her and Sheryl had spent a lot of time filling up the cups to have it all go to waste when Ray shoved Rev out of the way when it was clear that Rev was first. Sheryl was shouting them," Come on you guys, your acting like a bunch of jerks."
"More like retards who are babies if you ask me, no offense Rev." Athena added looking over at Rev.
That day at lunch Louie ended up getting grief from Julius, "Jezz, what is wrong with him all Louie wants to do is sit and eat. But I guess to Julius it doesn't matter."
"Well, maybe he hates change." Sheryl said popping another grape into her mouth.
"Well the times are a changing so he might as well get used to it." Athena said lookin back at Louie.
About that time Coach Boone called Louie to the middle of the room and asked him a question about who he was rooming with, which didn't make Blue to happy.
"Remind to ask Blue about that later." Athena stated looking over at Sheryl. So it was decided after nobody else would go after Louie and that every guy would spend time with the others on the team and they would do three a days until every one had met each other. If not then it would go to four a day, silently Athena wanted to scream with joy, this was the exact type of thing she was hoping for maybe after this the guys would be closer to acting like a team.