Bend It Like Becker
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Chapter 30 - POST-PRACTICE PARTICULARS
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As practice drew to a close, Becker felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. The players were actually working together as a team, and they even looked like they were playing footy! Becker was no longer despairing about the upcoming match the way he had been yesterday when he'd gone for the whiskey. Of course, he had no idea whether they had any real chance of winning on Saturday, since he didn't know what the RSID team would be like, but at least his team wouldn't make complete fools of themselves.
Once Ghani finished with the cool-down, Jess sent everyone off with a "Good job, everyone. And remember - only one more practice, and then it's match time."
Becker felt his heart stop. Only one more practice? He'd completely lost track of the days, what with the all-night anomaly, his ankle, and last night's whiskey/pain meds disaster. Perhaps he shouldn't have felt so relieved after all.
But Chas and Ghani seemed to think things were under control.
"The team's looking a thousand percent better," Chas commented as he and his girlfriend approached.
"Yeah," Ghani concurred. "I'm glad you finally got around to assigning positions."
Jess frowned as she joined them. "Why didn't you say something sooner, Neela? You know way more about the sport than either me or Becker - we definitely would've listened to any suggestions you had."
But Becker could guess why she hadn't spoken up. Ghani was one of his best soldiers, which meant she was used to following his orders. That was extremely important when it came to the sort of life-and-death situations they often found themselves in at incursions, but it wasn't so good for this whole footy business.
Neela shrugged. "I wasn't going to question the Captain," she said, confirming Becker's deductions. "I figured he had a good reason for it."
Jess shook her head. "No, no reason...except he's clueless."
"Thanks, Jess," Becker responded dryly, and she quickly went on.
"I am, too! We just don't know that much about it - there's only so much you can learn from the internet."
Chas gave a wicked smile. "I imagine there's an awful lot you can learn from the internet."
Jess blushed at his suggestive tone, but Ghani merely elbowed her boyfriend, scolding playfully, "She was talking about footy."
"Ah yes, footy," Chas said, turning back to Becker. "By the bye, your whole 'Connor draws the penalty' play might work once or twice, especially if he comes up bleeding. He seems to understand the offside rule and can probably stay out of offside traps. But any neutral ref is going to start carding him for diving in the box if he keeps going down like a Soho slag."
"What Chas means," Ghani stepped in with a roll of her eyes, "is that if he does it too much, the ref is liable to think Connor's feigning injury, just pretending to be fouled, which obviously wouldn't be very sportsmanlike."
"But he's not pretending," Jess insisted.
"Yeah, but the ref might think it awfully suspicious if Connor's being knocked down on every play," Chas explained. "You might want to save your fragile secret weapon for when you really need a goal."
Becker nodded. "Thanks for the advice. We appreciate all your help." It turned out Chas wasn't so bad after all.
As Ghani and her boyfriend walked away, Emily approached the coaches. "Connor and I would like to stay on to work on his penalty kicks and my goalkeeping."
"Sounds like a good plan," Becker agreed. Connor had been surprisingly good at the few he'd kicked during the game, so additional practice could only help.
Emily went on, "Jess, would you be able to drive me home after?"
Becker wasn't sure why Connor couldn't simply drive her, but Jess instantly beamed. "I'd be happy to take you home later," she agreed.
"Thank you." Emily gave a grateful nod before running off to join Connor.
"Speaking of," Abby said, sauntering over, "how are you getting home, Becker?"
Wasn't it obvious? "My car." Though after sitting in the carpark for two days, he hoped it still started.
But Jess didn't seem worried about the car as she blurted out, "But you can't drive - it hasn't been 48 hours yet."
Becker stared blankly at her. "48 hours?"
"The doctor said you had to be careful of your ankle for 48 hours, and it's only been a little over 47. And surely it won't be good for your ankle to have to press down on the clutch pedal every time you change speed."
Becker rolled his eyes. He knew she was simply being overprotective, thanks in part to her driving lesson last weekend, but surely she wouldn't actually prevent him from driving himself.
However, out of the blue, Abby offered, "I could drive him home; I can drive a stick."
After last night's aborted lecture, being stuck in a car alone with Abby was the last thing Becker wanted, but before he could protest, Jess gushed, "Oh, could you, Abby? That'd be wonderful! Then I wouldn't have to worry." She then turned back to him, adding, "You should be okay to drive in the morning, but do promise me you'll be careful anyway. I don't want you re-injuring your ankle, especially so close to the game."
Abby turned to Becker, a smug smile on her face, knowing he couldn't get out of it now without upsetting Jess.
Damn her!
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Jess was pleased with how the post-practice practice had gone. When Connor was able to take his time and approach his kicks as an experiment in Newton's Second Law of Motion, he wasn't so bad. He'd attempted all different ways of kicking the ball, only changing one variable at a time, so he'd have a better understanding of what worked well. And Emily had finally gotten a good workout, diving this way and that to try to block Connor's erratic kicks.
Of course, as they now headed for the car park, footy wasn't what Jess was eager to discuss. However, she didn't want to bring up the topic of Becker whilst Connor was still about, so instead she casually asked, "So why couldn't Matt stick around after practice?"
"Because I made him go home."
Whilst Emily didn't state it explicitly, Jess still understood what her friend was saying - she had purposely set things up so she and Jess could have some time alone to talk, which was exactly as Jess had hoped.
As they reached the carpark, Connor suddenly stopped, a look of confusion on his face. "Where did Abby get to?"
Jess laughed, surprised he hadn't noticed his fiance's absence before now. "She drove Becker home after practice."
Her answer, however, seemed to make him even more confused. "But our car's still here."
"That's because she drove Becker's car," Jess explained patiently. "I was worried about him driving his manual with his bad ankle, so Abby offered to drive him."
"Oh." Satisfied with the answer, Connor headed for his car whilst Jess and Emily turned the other way.
But as Connor opened his car door, he called out across the lot, "So then how is Abby getting home?"
This made Jess pause - that question had never occurred to her. She'd just been so pleased that Abby had volunteered, she hadn't considered the logistics of it all.
"Never mind," Connor called out, gesturing to his mobile. "She left me a message." Holding the phone to his ear, he climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door.
With him now settled and on his way, Jess quickly climbed into her own car and eagerly turned to Emily. "Thank you so much for arranging this," she gushed.
Emily nodded. "We never got a chance to finish our conversation from the other night, and I thought you might like to continue our talk."
"Oh, definitely!" And here inside the car they needn't worry about being overheard accidentally by anyone, which was a great relief. Jess started the engine and headed out towards the street. "So where should we start?"
"The beginning is usually the best."
Jess nodded. "Well, see, on my first day at the ARC, I began to read-"
"Perhaps the beginning of this football business might be more germane," Emily suggested.
"Oh, right. So last week - wow, was it only last week? It seems like an age! Anyway, last week, after we learnt of the upcoming match, I volunteered to assist Becker with his coaching."
Emily nodded. "You wanted to spend more time with him."
"Yes, partly, but I also wanted us to win. I can be a...uh...bit competitive," Jess added sheepishly.
"I hadn't noticed."
Jess glanced over at her passenger, uncertain as to whether Emily was being honest or sarcastic, but the Victorian's look gave nothing away. "So anyway," Jess went on, "ever since, he and I have been spending almost all our time together."
Emily nodded. "Work and practice do comprise the majority of your waking hours."
"But not just that. I mean, we've been spending most evenings together, not to mention nights at each other's flats."
Emily raised an eyebrow. "Oh yes?"
"Not intentionally," Jess hurriedly explained. She didn't think Emily was a complete prude - after all, she had been married - but Jess still didn't want her to get the wrong impression. "I mean, not entirely. It's just that...well..."
"It's complicated," Emily concluded for her.
"Yes! Exactly. For instance, on Tuesday, I merely fell asleep at his place, but then on Wednesday-"
"You had too much to drink."
Jess couldn't tell if Emily sounded judgemental or not, so she quickly defended herself. "It wasn't my fault. Lester's whiskey was way too potent, and he kept topping off my glass. And at least I behaved responsibly and didn't attempt to drive."
"So Becker took you to his home."
"But he was a perfect gentleman! He even let me sleep in his bed whilst he slept in the front room." Jess's own actions then came flooding back to her, along with the guilt. "Though I'm afraid I didn't behave very well." Emily gave her an inquisitive look but said nothing, so Jess reluctantly continued. "See, I tend to overanalyse things when I've been drinking. And I realised that Becker tends to get this look quite often."
"What sort of look?"
"Like...he's thought something improper and then feels guilty about it."
"Ah, yes," Emily nodded. "I am not unfamiliar with that look myself."
Jess could instantly tell that Emily was no longer simply referring to Becker. She grinned, asking eagerly, "Do tell!"
But Emily shook her head. "We are here to discuss you and Captain Becker. My...private life shall have to wait for another day."
Jess smiled - she could hardly wait.
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to be continued
Note: I've actually completed the story, although I am still editing chapters. FYI, there are 42 chapters in all. I will continue to post one regularly ever 3 or so days as I complete the final edits of each. At least be secure in the fact that I won't leave you hanging, as there is an actual end! :)