Sorry I know I haven't updated in awhile but it has been hectic. Everything has been hectic and I have put off this fic I know I'm sorry. But really have to devote most of my time to my studies or else I'll have to quit soccer. Lets say it this way, bluntly, I'm failing and I've never done that before. I have till May to get my math to a B or else I have to quit soccer, which I have been playing for nine years! Bleh sorry, venting my anger…not so sure about this chapter, but I hope you can get away and stop thinking about your life while you read it.
None of it's mine, even though I wish I owned Volcolm since that would be awesome!
Kel looked around the already almost desolate locker rooms. With the rainy day the cheerleaders had retreated to the gym to cheer on the freshman volleyball team. The only other people that were in the lockers were people who appeared to be ditching class. Of course that's why that atmosphere appeared to be so smoky. Kel slipped off the white Volcolm shirt that she had so smartly picked out for the rainy day.
It was soaked through and she was thankful that she had decided to wear a hooded sweatshirt even if the cotton and fleece had soaked the water all up and kept her miserably cold all day long. Kel hurriedly slipped on her powder blue and gold-bordered jersey. She listened as the rain pattered against the roof of the locker room and it became a melody of its own as the tears of the earth came down to plummet the roof.
Kel warily went outside and felt as the drops struck her head and pelted against her body. She looked up into the melancholy sky to see the steady rainfall coming down. As she continued to walk she watched as the rain seemed to dance contently against the grass and concrete. The drops hit the surface with a content plop then would jump up a little from being splattered against the hard surface. Kel walked past all the baseball fields and soccer fields till she made it to the football field she saw some of her friends huddled together in the center. It seemed there was a circle and they almost looked like bums circled around a fire. The only thing that deceived this view was that they were all wearing football uniforms.
Kel marched across the field and rolled her eyes as she saw a couple of the more immature boys use the slippery field as a slip and slide. In some areas it was more crowded then other and it was almost up to the boys' ankles. At Tortall High the field was domed shape so that the water drained to the sides where there were gutters. At some of the high schools they had put in rubber fields, but here it was the old fashion mud and water while it was raining.
Kel shivered as she felt a cold wind brush through the open field and started jogging to go to where her friends were huddled together. In the circle where she had imagined a fire she actually saw Merric and Cleon wrestling. They were constantly slipping off of each other, because of the rain and the boys were entertained. Cleon and Merric were playfully taking each other down and patted each other on the back as they got to their feet.
Kel went to stand beside Neal and he appeared to have a stormy expression on his face. His face held a forbearance that she didn't feel like intruding on, but the worry in his eyes made her question him.
He answered by saying," Today is the last day till the first cuts and its raining. Rain never brings good luck. It is a bad omen I tell you."
"Rain does bring flowers though." Cleon said off-handedly.
Neal turned to glare at the red head," Well I wasn't talking to you now was I Kennan?"
"No but I feel it is within my own right to listen to what everyone has to say."
"I'm sure you do Cleon…" Neal broke off as he heard a sharp whistle break through the air and atmosphere. The whistle struck Kel's frozen and water logged ears with an echo in it. She held her ears in pain and jogged in to Coach Wyldon. Kel could see that several people weren't there. There was much less since it was raining and only the dedicated or crazy people were out at a raining practice with Coach Wyldon. She looked around the group while Wyldon spoke to them and saw Joren and his allies. Joren wore his usual calm features, but his demeanor an atmosphere that told the world that he was pissed off.
Garvey and Vinson still wore their battle scars from Kel and she beamed happily to herself to see that even after four days the swelling had not yet gone down.' True they did get out of practice yesterday, because their parents wrote injured notes. More time for Coach Wyldon to see me I guess.'
Zahir stood beside Joren with his hands crossed over his arms. He looked around boredly and he wore a Bloody Hawks' uniform. It was a black top with red writing on it and black pants. It had the number thirty-two on it. Kel racked her memory trying to remember who had played it.' He's a captain and he was Bazhir. What was his name? They called him the Voice, because he had such good people skills and game calls. Ali Mukhtab, gods at least I remembered something today…'
Kel smiled to herself and as she came out of her thoughts she felt herself being pushed with the tide of boys she shrugged to herself and went with the group of boys that were acting like trout during mating season. Coach Wyldon brought them to a far wall and told them all to take seats against the wall. Kel furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and felt a drop of water slide from her eyelash to her face. She took a seat against the wall beside Neal and asked what they were going to do.
"Its pure torture really, you sit against the wall at a ninety degree angle and have your arms out. It works on your leg and arm muscles. Usually there is a punishment for the first one to break down."
Kel looked over to where Coach Wyldon stood in front of him and he barked out," The first lad to fall will run a mile and a half." His words meant by groans and he shrugged," You didn't let me finish, then you will do push ups and sit-ups."
"Gods you are so lucky Kel, there was a loophole in what he said you know." Neal whispered.
"What are you talking about?"
"He said that the first lad to drop out would be running."
"Well knowing him he probably just considers me a boy by now." Neal snorted and looked over to where Joren was asking a question.
"Coach I don't mean to interrupt or be a prude, but isn't there a problem with what you said."
Kel whacked Neal upside the head," You dolt he heard you."
"Well don't take it out on me!" Neal cried.
As Joren explained what Neal had just been explaining to Kel Coach Wyldon's lips curled into a sly grin.
"What Joren has just been so kind to point out that there is a lady here." All the heads turned to his gestured hand even if they knew whom he was pointing to and Kel felt herself try and sink farther into the wall and behind Neal. Kel heard a few scoffs and rude remarks, she looked down but maintained a straight face.' They'll respect me in time…' " We will be having the first lad and lady to fall. Does that make it better Stone?" Joren grinned and gave a quick smirk to Kel who looked ready to kill him.
"Everyone have their backs against the wall!" Coach Wyldon bellowed through the rain so it echoed out of every boy's eardrum. Kel pushed herself off of the ground and matched her legs angle to Neal's." Arms out!" Kel pulled her numb arms out and Coach Wyldon yelled out," Starting now, if you put your arms down then you can start running."
Kel looked at her peers through her bangs that were sticking to her forehead. The curtained view showed her that after five minutes some of the boys were starting to struggle. One boy's legs were shaking, she didn't know if it was from the cold or from having sore muscles.
Her own muscles were too numb to feel and for that she was thankful.' I could just start running right now…no I have a sense of pride to hold. I'm the only girl, therefore I have to excel.' She kept giving herself encouraging thoughts in her head and she was knocked out of her stupor by a loud thump. All the boys turned and saw one of Owen's cousins fall to the ground. He appeared to be more emotionally damaged than physically since his eyes were lowered to the ground in shame.
"Start your lap Vikison." The boy gave a firm nod and started into the rain. Many boys dropped out due to the fact that they didn't want to push themselves farther than they had to. As Iden rounded his third lap Kel looked at her friends and saw that Neal and Owen both were starting to struggle. Neal was biting his lip so hard that it was starting to bleed, but the water that plummeted to the earth swiftly took the blood. Neal looked to his right when he heard a faint cough and he plummeted to the ground when his concentration was elsewhere.
Neal blushed and his flushed cheeks were red against his pale mouth and features. He looked over all the boys to see who had coughed and he surveyed all of them with observant eyes. He trailed over to Joren and he was met with a smirk and a small wave. Neal glared at him and walked towards where Owen was.
"How far do you think Kel will go?" Owen asked quietly.
"I think she'll get one of the top ten she's tough enough to, if someone doesn't mess with her."
"Yeah I saw that, I was ready to get the ice prince for you. Funny that he doesn't like the rain eh? You would think a person who is so cold would be able to take a little rain without pouting." As if to prove his statement Joren sat moodily against the wall glaring up at the sky every time he was pelted with a raindrop.
Kel watched as Iden made his final lap around the track and sighed she was beginning to tire and there were still eight boys left. Everyone else had slowly dropped out when either their legs gave on out them or they grew too tired. The boys that remained consisted of Faleron, Zahir, Cleon, Garvey, and two others she didn't know. Kel could see that Cleon's legs were beginning to shake violently, more than they had for the last couple of minutes.
She leaned over to him and whispered," You don't have to prove anything Cleon. If you're too tired then just drop out."
He grinned a little despite the pain," I can't leave you and Faleron to fend for yourselves against the ice prince. It just wouldn't be right. Anyways I need to keep some sense of pride."
Kel nodded her head in understanding and continued her battle against herself and the elements. Cleon dropped out a couple minutes later along with one of the unknown boys. Kel looked determinedly calm and composed trying to not let the pain that she was beginning to feel surface itself so her friends and enemies would see her when she was weak. Kel felt her arms begin to feel like lead and tried with all her might to get them to stay. She kept her arms up when every they started to quaver or wobble downwards.
She could hear her friends cheering her on, but she could also hear the cat calls when she would her arms would begin to fall. The harsh words were blocked out, but her friends still heard it. They taunted her about her sex and made lewd jokes that should not have been said in front of a lady.
Kel having heard just about everything they were throwing at her sighed as once again the past was repeating itself. Kel heard two groans from her left and concluded that there were only three left including herself. Kel felt her legs begin to give out, but the noise of the boys just seemed to intensify, and she again caught herself. She struggled to keep herself from dipping down and felt her legs give out on her. She looked down miserably as the catcalls intensified. She heard a plop and Joren was dubbed the victor.
"Third isn't so bad Kel…" Neal told her as he helped her up from the ground. She smiled shakily at him. Even if she didn't agree with him she wouldn't say so aloud. There seemed to be others that didn't think third was good enough.
"Start your laps Mindelan." Kel bit down a retort and started jogging around the track alone. The boys were given a break until she was finished with her laps and she watched them play around until she came down the home stretch every time. They would go over there and shout crude obscenities at her. As she finished her friends comforted her, but she pushed them away for her own prideful reasons.
Coach Wyldon ordered them to line up in front of him and he addressed them as if they were in the army." Today some of you proved how tough you can be, while others it was a disappointment." His eyes seemed to penetrate Kel's own and she felt as if her soul was being searched through.
Kel heard a faint snicker through all the rain and he continued down the line." Our team would be honored to have any of you for our team." He drawled the statement as if he had said it dozens of times before." Unfortunately we can't have everyone. The first cuts will be made tomorrow determined on your performance from the last two weeks. If you've had a bad two weeks then you might possibly be pushed up to Varsity by the end. Those of you who do not make the cut will go down to the Junior Varsity tryouts with Hakuin Seastone. He is the Junior Varsity Coach if you are unfortunate enough not to make that team either you will be taken down to Freshman with Eda Bell." He said the last name with scorn and Kel wondered what this person had ever done to him.
"Seniors must make Varsity or else they are out of the program and Juniors must make JV or Varsity. The Freshman and Sophmores will either make a team or watch from the sidelines. Or they can go out for cheer quad."
There a few collective whistles and Kel rolled her eyes at the boys' antics. Joren snickered and looked down at Mindelan and watched, as she seemed unphased by the coach's biased words. Her face had remained calm throughout the entire ordeal, but even Joren could tell that she was starting to crack as her fists clenched and unclenched. Her hair was caught up against her wet forehead and it looked as if it was permanently set there. The girl's uniform was stuck against her chest from the heavy rain that kept on falling. Joren blinked,'Gods I have really got to think about something else, the only reason why I was even looking at her is because she is the only girl out there. If there were cheerleaders out here, I would be watching them doing their kicks.' He thought smirking to himself.
He found that he was still looking at the girl and Neal must have caught on to it because he gave him a dirty glare and continued to watch Coach Wyldon when Joren had turned his head away. As the annual speech was done and they were dismissed Joren walked past all the other boys. He led the way towards the locker room with Zahir, Garvey, and Vinson not far behind. Joren walked into the locker rooms and was happy to see that they were clean and warm, well as clean as a locker room could be.' Why did the damn rain have to come? It just had to come and ruin by day.'
Joren twirled the dial of his locker and took out his pants that were folded neatly at the side. He took off his soaked and heavy pants then folded them neatly onto his locker. The jeans were warm against his numb legs and Joren almost felt like sighing in content. He turned around as he heard someone walk down the row. Joren scoffed,' Its just Queenscove.'
Neal managed not trip on his way back to the locker rooms since his legs were so heavy, but stood up straight and tall as to not show weakness in front of Joren. Neal shifted his emerald eyes around and finally found his locker. He opened it and took out the pants that had been thrown in haphazardly. As he slipped on his pants he turned to Joren and asked," Why were you looking at Kel?"
"Is it not okay for me to look at her, if you didn't notice there were no other female for me to stare at."
Neal's eyes narrowed," Then why were you looking at her chest?"
Joren covered his disbelief easily," Girls do tend to have a chest, the rain just made it more apparent that she has one."
"You bastard, Kel isn't one of your play toys like most girls."
"Queenscove you obviously have no high regard for my talent as a sex magnet." Joren replied smirking.
"Kel's different if you haven't noticed that by now Stone. She isn't going to jump into a person's lap."
"The harder the better." Joren said wistfully and he pulled on his black turtle neck." See you around Queenscove." He said coolly and walked out of the locker rooms.
Neal glared at the spot where he had been standing and mumbled a small damnit. Neal pulled over his sweatshirt and jogged out to the parking lot where Kel was huddled in a ball. Yuki had said that she would take her own car that day. Neal walked over to Kel and tapped her on the shoulder." You ready to go?" Neal said softly. Kel mumbled a small yes and followed Neal to his car. As the two got into the car Neal heard the revving of a motorcycle and turned around to see Joren ride past him. Neal growled under his breath and started the engine of his own car.
The ride went by quietly and he stopped in front of Kel's house. She mumbled a small thanks and picked up her backpack. They agreed to go early to see the first cuts and Kel shut the door. Neal looked at her retreating back and said to himself," May the gods be with you…"
Hey! Sorry for the long wait, and this chapter was a little lame, but I did update ooray! All you lovely reviewers are wonderful! Thanks so much for you support:
Lady Pirate Nancy Kington- sorry about the long wait and here's some more for you
Native Wolf Cub- well I did put an almost challenge up on this chapter, but I really do love the idea. I might put something else in, but who knows. As for good fics, phew, this might take a while. If you go to my username page or whatever it is called I have a lot of hyperlinks connecting to good authors and fics. I hope that helps! If you still need fics to read then just email me
Venus Lynx- lol I'm pretty sure you meant update right? Well I did, hope you somewhat enjoyed it
Parcheezie- I guess it is three chapters for every one of mine? Heh well at least I did update!
Anywien- Lol I must sadly agree, this fic could easily turn into a k/d or k/n, but I don't want to make it easy lol. I like it difficult.
oceanspike- last minute projects are my life, hope it went well
ubiquitous girl- bleh didn't like this chapter so much even when I edited and tried to fix. Thanks for the compliments and keep up on penance!
debra- I'm not really sure if I'm going to have Numair, Alanna, or George. George probably won't be since I never am able to have him in character. In general I just avoid him. Numair is the best bet out of the three
Sheyana- Lol yes it was a bit of Gwen's minds together last chapter and mine. But this fic is actually based after one of my friend's experiences. Not the training parts, but the game parts will be.
fuzzyhair- lol I have never heard of that, I live in California and the only rivalry here is USC and UCLA. But I will put down your suggestion )
lil-saturn-goddess- sorry for the long wait and hopefully you somewhat liked it
Protectress of the Small- lol sorry you're not a big yuki fan I see? Well I was actually thinking of making Yuki less stereotypical because Kel is going to need a girl friend, but I guess I could always make one up…
FanFictionFantom- is long not usually good?
MysticMoonEmpress- lol thanks very much, hopefully you somewhat enjoyed this chapter
Imperfectionist ;D- lmao you have no idea how good that made me feel to read your review. I enjoyed it so much. Bleh too tired can't type anymore
Alenor- yes I actually quite loved that psychological crap that I had in there, I dunno why but I loved it. Dom would be perfect for her in this fic sigh but I must be difficult because it is much funner.
Some phrasing might be off so sorry if it is! Also if you need to email me then you can get ahold of me at And please review, I would really appreciate input and ideas. Till next time everybody!
And in the words of fuzzyhair,' Kill a duck feed a family!'