Bend It Like Becker
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Chapter 19 - AVOIDANCE & ASSISTANCE
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So far Becker's plan to stop spending time with Jess wasn't going so well. In fact, his plan was failing miserably.
He couldn't believe he'd been talked into having Jess stay over last night! He would've made more of an effort to get out of it, but Connor and Abby had made a powerful argument about needing to respond immediately to an alert. Besides, what effort he did make to resist had backfired completely - thank goodness Jess had made the comment about playing video games, for he'd been at a total loss as to what to do to appear "busy". And at least he'd been able to release some of his pent-up frustrations by shooting things, even if they were only virtual bullets. Unfortunately Jess had grown interested in the game and had ended up sitting next to him, "helpfully" giving him pointers on strategy most of the evening - so much for spending time away from her!
Back in his own bed that night, since Jess had insisted on taking the couch, he'd finally gotten a decent night's sleep for the first time in days. But while he obviously needed the sleep, it didn't help that his dreams were filled with Jess - even his unconscious wasn't letting him spend time away. Thankfully Jess got up and took her shower whilst he was out on his morning run, so at least that awkwardness was avoided. She'd apologised profusely for using up so much of the hot water, but he didn't bother explaining that that simply wouldn't be an issue after the dreams he'd had.
Once he'd arrived at work, he'd reaffirmed his determination to spend time away from Jess, forgetting that there was an all-staff meeting scheduled for most of the morning. And at lunch, it would've been rude to sit at a table by himself when his friends had so graciously reserved him a spot. Even his afternoon hadn't been Jess-free, as new earpieces for the comms had come in and Matt assigned him to help Jess test them out.
With the way things had been going, he wasn't even terribly surprised when his garage informed him that his car wouldn't be ready for at least another day, thus ensuring another night of Jess on his couch. He considered lying to her about it, but he didn't dare risk her wrath in case there was an anomaly and he was stranded without a car. And in a way, having her stay over again "just in case" of an alert meant they were practically guaranteeing that one wouldn't happen.
So by the time practice finally rolled around, Becker felt like he'd spent the entire day with Jess, and of course he already knew he'd be spending his evening with her as well. So after Abby finished leading the warm-ups, Becker did the only thing he could - he placed Jess on the opposite team.
"We're going to start playing today," Becker announced to everyone. "We'll split up into two teams, with Emily being the goalkeep for both, as we're only playing on half the field. So let's see - Abby, Ghani, Scott, and O'Rourke, you'll be with me, and the rest of you will be our opponents. So let's get started by-"
"Actually," Jess said, interrupting him as she stepped to the front, "since it's been so long since we practiced, we're going to start with some laps to get us loosened up. So go ahead and start running, and we'll tell you when to stop."
Becker wasn't sure why Jess hadn't mentioned anything to him about this idea before, but it seemed like a solid plan. He was about to start on his own laps when she reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him. This wasn't an absent, friendly grasp as she'd done at the Pet Show - this was clearly intentional, and Becker could tell that she was upset.
He also could tell that Connor and Lester seemed to be waiting for her to begin their run. Jess realised it, too, and turned to them, stating, "You two go on and start running without me. I need to have a talk with the Coach."
"Uh oh, sounds like you're in trouble, mate," Connor said, giving Becker a supportive pat on the shoulder as he jogged by.
Once they were out of earshot, Jess turned back to Becker. He wasn't sure what he'd done, but the anger was evident in her eyes.
"What do you think you're doing?" she asked without preamble.
Becker shrugged. "Dividing up teams to play, like we discussed?" he answered, suddenly unsure.
"No, you're destroying every ounce of team spirit which we worked so hard to build up last week."
Becker didn't know what to say so he simply waited for her to go on.
He didn't have to wait long. "Do you not see that you put all the GOOD players on one team and the pathetic ones on the other?"
Becker hadn't even noticed. He'd just been so determined not to have Jess on his team that he'd simply said the first four names that had popped into his head; naturally they were the players he'd interacted with the most at practice, or, as Jess put it, the 'good' players.
"It's not like we don't know, you know," Jess continued. "It's clear that we're not as good as the others, but it doesn't mean we're not trying. But to simply group us all together like that - it's humiliating!"
Becker gulped nervously, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. He hadn't meant to hurt her or the others, but clearly he'd touched some sort of nerve.
"You don't have to explain why we were grouped together - it's pretty obvious," Jess went on. "It's like in school. The teacher can give the reading groups cutesy animal names like the Bulldogs, the Foxhounds, and the Springer Spaniels to try to make the groupings look random, but you ask any kid and they can instantly tell you which one is full of pillocks and which one's all swotty-pants."
Ah, so that was it! This wasn't just about football - it was about being singled out for being different. As adults, being smart and eager and, to be honest, a bit OCD was an asset, but it must've made Jess's childhood painfully difficult.
And obviously the memories still stung, for the corners of Jess's eyes had grown misty with tears. Becker felt like a prat for not only messing up as a coach but for making Jess cry - that certainly was the last thing he'd intended when he'd divided up the teams.
"Jess, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to single anyone, or any group, out. And you're right - it makes sense to have more balanced sides anyway. So how do you suggest we split up the teams?"
Jess sniffed and absently wiped her hand across her eyes before turning to take stock of the ten players. "How about...Neela, Scott, O'Rourke, Matt, and Connor on one team, and Abby, you, Duggan, me, and Lester on the other?"
Becker smiled as he realised what she'd done - she'd taken each pair of comparable players and split them up between the two teams so they'd be precisely even.
"You're brilliant," he praised before quickly adding, "and I don't mean that in a 'swotty-pants' sort of way."
Jess blushed. "Sorry about that. I guess I overreacted a little, yeah?"
Becker shook his head. "No need to apologise. And you've actually fixed the teams, which is what matters."
Jess smiled. "So should we call them back over so we can start playing?"
Becker simply nodded, letting her take charge. This interchange had shown him that, despite spending so much time with her lately, he still knew so little about her.
And he definitely wanted to know more.
Though it wasn't until they were heading out onto the pitch together that Becker realised Jess had placed them on the same team!
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Jess was just as grateful as the other players when Becker finally yelled, "Okay, that's the half. Everyone take 15."
"Only 15?" Connor whined as Lester collapsed, exhausted, onto the grass.
"And don't forget to drink water," Abby advised, heading towards the sidelines where they'd piled their kit.
"Yes, we all need to stay hydrated," Neela confirmed.
Becker nodded. "C'mon, let's all meet over here so we can go over some things."
Of course, it was just Jess's luck that she'd ended up on the far side of the field from the others when the half ended. She started trudging across the pitch, watching with envy as her fellow teammates reached the sidelines and collapsed onto the grass. Jess, too, wanted to make a beeline for her kit, but she also felt somehow responsible for making sure Connor and Lester were taken care of.
As she reached Lester's side, she offered her guv'nor a hand, saying, "C'mon, you'll feel better with some water in you."
"I'd feel better with some whiskey in me," he replied dryly as Jess helped him to his feet.
"No whiskey till after practice," Jess scolded, knowing full well he hadn't brought any with him.
Once he was headed off, she went over to Connor and put an encouraging hand on his back. "How're the toes?"
He shrugged. "They'll be fine. And it's not like I need them for anything this week anyway, right?"
Jess laughed as she walked with him over to where the others were now sat on the grass, drinking their water. Jess found her bottle and took a giant gulp from it, watching in amusement as Connor proceeded to pour his water over his head.
"Connor!" Abby scolded.
"What? I'm hydrating," Connor objected.
Jess sat down with a sigh. For the first time since practice began, she felt able to think. Luckily her concern over her embarrassing outburst was long gone, replaced instead by utter despair of the team's abilities. Not even Neela was playing well today, which Jess guessed was due to the girl trying to referee the match as well. Abby may have been handling the ball well, but she seemed to keep forgetting certain basic rules of sportsmanship - luckily Connor wasn't too upset over it, and his toes would be fine by tomorrow. Even Becker seemed distracted, as if his mind wasn't on what he was doing, though Jess couldn't be certain what his problem was since he seemed to always be at the opposite side of the pitch from her. Jess herself was so tired that she didn't even know how she was doing...and didn't much care - all that had mattered to her was counting the minutes till the half.
"Okay, everyone, let's listen up," Becker announced, now that the entire team was assembled. "Ghani's going to explain, yet again, the offside rule."
Neela, who didn't seem to be breathing quite as hard as the rest of them, proceeded to explain the rule for what felt like the zillionth time. It wasn't that Jess didn't understand the concept, it was simply hard to keep in her head when she was so focused on trying to score, and she imagined the others were having the same problem.
Once Neela's explanation was over, Becker suggested that everyone do some stretches, to prevent their muscles from getting cold, before everyone dissolved into their own private conversations. Abby apologetically tended to Connor's bruised toes, and Lester took off his trainers and began rubbing his obviously sore feet. Emily wasn't nearly as tired as the others, since she hadn't spent the entire 45 minutes running nonstop, so Neela started teaching her dropkicks, which she'd need to know for the game. Scott eagerly volunteered to retrieve the balls for Emily as she practiced, and Jess couldn't help but notice that Matt didn't look entirely pleased with the flirtatious soldier's sudden attentions.
Jess herself was sat staring absently into space as she slowly nursed her water bottle when suddenly Becker was kneeling at her side.
"So how do you think it's going?" he asked, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't hear.
Jess wasn't sure how to answer. She knew that Becker valued her honest observations, but she could also sense that he was looking to be cheered up, and she couldn't figure out how to accomplish both. The truth was that the "team", such as it was, seemed destined to humiliate themselves on Saturday, but saying that was hardly likely to make Becker feel any better. She wanted to say something constructive, something that would actually improve the game, but she couldn't think of anything useful. She couldn't even say anything positive about HIS playing, since he'd seemed so distracted all half.
Distracted. That was it. While she and the others had been focussed on playing, he must've been busy coaching, trying to watch the others so he could help them improve. She felt a fool - it hadn't even occurred to her that she, as the assistant coach, should be doing the same thing!
Though being thus distracted certainly wasn't helping Becker as a player, nor Neela neither. And suddenly Jess realised what must be done.
However, it occurred to her that she'd never actually answered Becker's question. "I have some ideas on how we can improve," she answered honestly. "I'll, uh, be right back."
She stood up and hurried over to Neela, who was now coaching Emily on assorted throwing techniques as well. Scott was still helping retrieve the balls, but Jess noticed with amusement that Matt was now assisting as well. Really, did the lads think that any intelligent girl would actually fall for Scott's rubbish? Jess decided to leave it up to Emily to admonish Matt and instead called out, "Neela, can I talk to you for a moment?"
The soldier nodded and walked over, leaving Emily to continue practicing with the two lads.
"What's up, Jess?"
"Your boyfriend plays football, yeah?" Jess asked.
Neela nodded. "Yeah, it's how we met, actually. Why?"
"This might sound strange, but do you think he might be available to come ref for us the next few days here at practice?"
The soldier shrugged. "I could definitely ask."
"I know it's a lot to ask, but I just thought it might, you know, help."
Neela nodded. "It'd definitely help ME. Let me go text him and see."
As she started towards her kit, Jess headed off towards the other soldiers.
"Drew, can I talk to you for a moment?" Jess asked, adding, "Privately?"
O'Rourke got a panicked look on his face as he extricated himself from the conversation he'd been having with Duggan.
"What is it, Jess?" he asked nervously, clearly convinced he was in trouble.
For his own good, Jess walked with him till they were out of earshot of the others before asking, "Do you still work with model rockets?"
The soldier's face turned red, clearly embarrassed at having his hobby found out. "How on earth did you...?"
"I read your file," Jess explained. Really, why could no one ever remember that reading their files was part of her job? "I was wondering, do you still record all your launches?"
O'Rourke nodded. "Yeah, though I only post the interesting ones. Actually, this past weekend I-"
Jess politely cut him off, focussed as she was on her plan. "Then I have a request. Could I borrow your video camera for the next few days?"
The soldier looked wary. "Of course, though it's not a proper one. It's just a little keychain version that I tape to the rockets."
Jess smiled - that was exactly what she'd hoped to hear. If the players knew they were being recorded, they might feel self-conscious. But something small that Jess could surreptitiously attach to the goal was precisely what she'd been looking for. "Perfect! So may I borrow it?"
"If you'd like. I'll bring it into work tomorrow, yeah?"
"Thanks, Drew. You're the best. And don't worry - I promise to not tell the others how you actually spend your weekends."
O'Rourke smiled. "I'd appreciate that!" he called back to her as he returned to his friend, who was now talking with Becker.
"Hey, Jess!"
Turning at the sound of her name, Jess saw Neela, her mobile still in hand, give her a thumbs-up.
Jess tried not to look too smug as she walked up to Becker and, grabbing his hand, dragged him off privately.
"What is it, Jess?" he asked.
"Well, I'm afraid I can't do much to solve our problems today, but I've at least taken care of some starting tomorrow." Becker raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and Jess continued. "Neela's boyfriend is going to come act as ref for the next few days so she doesn't have to."
Becker smiled. "That's brilliant."
"Yes, I know. And even better, a keychain will be momentarily taking over your job as coach, during practices at least."
Becker raised a doubtful eyebrow.
"I'm going to start filming practice," she explained. "That way, whilst you're here, you can simply play instead of constantly trying to watch and coach everyone else. Then you and I can go over the video later, analyse it, and figure out precisely what we need to work on."
Becker shook his head in amazement. "Seriously, Jess, what would I ever do without you?"
"Probably start the second half late," she teased, turning to the team and announcing, "The 15's almost over, everyone. We'll be starting again in just a few minutes, so take one last swig of your water - swig, Connor, not drench - and let's head back out to the field."
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to be continued