OH DEAR LORD, IT'S A FREAKING CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.
I can hardly believe it. If I'm dreaming and someone pinches me awake, I will personally hunt them down and kill them for snapping me out of my blissful fantasies.
School Days has officially breached 1,000 reviews.
OH MY GOD THAT IS AMAZING. I just want to thank all of you for your brilliant, amazing support. Thank you all!
DEDICATED TO: Serenaisbestezrq387, for her faithful reviewing practically every chapter as she read and for being Review #1000! Also to villite246, who threatened me into updating. Also, you're not missing anything. That thing you mentioned is something that will be picked up on later. =)
On a COMPLETELY random note, don't you just HATE that pseudo-wifi where it says you're connected and have full bars, but then when you try to use the damn wifi it's like 'CANNOT CONNECT'?
FPOV
It was lunch time, and I was extremely confused.
Iggy and Max were huddled at one end of the plastic picnic table, heads bent together and whispering furiously. No one else but Ella and I seemed to notice their strange behavior, probably since we were both dating one of the two culprits.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Ella asked me, setting down her sandwich and shooting a furtive glance down the lunch table.
I shrugged.
"Can you hear them?" Ella pressed, craving her neck past Gazzy and Nudge to look at Iggy. Gazzy was attempting to help Nudge learn to write left handed, laughing and trying to fit her fingers properly around the pencil. Nudge was having very little success, and kept shaking her right hand in its bulky brace, staring at it longingly and complaining loudly. Altogether, the duo were making quite a bit of noise, and I couldn't hear anything that Iggy or Max were talking about. I shrugged at Ella again, taking a bite of my apple.
"I mean, what could possibly be so important that they've been ignoring everyone else for the past ten minutes?" Ella continued, sounding distressed.
Having no answer to Ella's questions, I just shrugged again.
"Will you please stop doing that and answer me?" Ella snapped, turning to glare at me.
I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you jealous?" I asked calmly, avidly watching her expression. Ella's face was a dead giveaway to how she felt: the girl couldn't control her emotions very well.
Just as I predicted, Ella's eyes widened in shock, a dull red flush instantly coating her cheeks. "I am so not jealous!" she protested. "Max is my sister, and I trust her, and I know she's totally obsessed with you anyway!"
At this, I felt an involuntary grin break across my face. "Max is obsessed with me?" I asked, trying to sound skeptical.
Ella rolled her eyes. "That's not even a question, Fang," she replied, picking up her sandwich again and taking a moody bite. Ella's nose scrunched in distaste, and she balefully inspected her sandwich. "Salami," she muttered. "Yuck."
"You like salami. You're just mad about Iggy," I informed her.
Ella threw down her food in exasperation, huffing to herself and trying to look around Gazzy and Nudge again. "I might be a little frustrated that I haven't talked to him since our date on Friday, okay?" she admitted, her eyes locked on Iggy's turned back. "I mean, I had an amazing time, and I just can't help but feel like maybe Iggy wasn't as excited as I was." Ella's anger faded, replaced by the slumped shoulders of defeat.
Oh crap. I was dealing with an upset teenage girl who just happened to be the sister of my girlfriend here. There was no doubt in my mind this situation would not end well for one of us.
That person would most likely end up being me.
"Ells, Iggy likes you," I told her firmly. Drawing another breath, I racked my brain for something wise and emotionally appropriate to say… and came up blank. The only thing I could think of was that my apple was a little too tart for my taste. Damn mind! Why can it only focus on food?
Ella laughed shortly, raising an eyebrow at me. "Is that your great comforting speech?" she asked dubiously. "That's pathetic. I hope Max never needs you to comfort her- you would suck so much at it."
"Just trying to help," I muttered, setting my too tart apple down and picking up a granola bar instead. "I'm not a therapist or anything."
"Speaking of which, didn't you get called to the guidance counselor's office this morning?" Ella snickered, diverted momentarily from the topic of Iggy.
Phew.
"Yeah," I confirmed, "but that was only because Max and Lissa got in a fight over me in homeroom and I had to come settle it out."
"They what?" Ella shrieked, her mouth dropping open in shock. "Oh my God, Mom would murder her if she knew she was in another fight!" Ella leaned across the table towards me, everything else instantly forgotten. "What exactly happened?" she demanded.
"Lissa was hitting on me and Max told her to stop talking to me 'cause I'm her boyfriend and not Lissa's," —I couldn't stop another smile from taking over my lips at that. It still made my stomach flip a bit to publically acknowledge Max as my girlfriend— "and Lissa flipped out and slapped her, insulted Max and you, and Max got her in a headlock and Ms. James sent them both to the office."
Ella looked concerned by my whole explanation. She had a full on 'crap-my-sister-is-an-idiot-and-is-gonna-get-in-so -much-trouble-with-mom' look on her face, and her eyes were filled with worry. "So Max didn't start it at least, right?" she prodded, her eyes locked on mine.
I shrugged. "Depends on how you look at it, I guess," I replied honestly. "In my opinion? No, she didn't."
"Well hopefully our mom shares your opinion," Ella groaned. "She just might kill Max for fighting two days in a row."
"Why was she so serious about the whole thing yesterday anyway?" I asked. The question had been gnawing at me all day, and I couldn't help but wonder why Dr. M has reacted so strongly to Max protecting Nudge from those Flare girls. It wasn't like she had started the fight or anything- she was defending herself and a friend. That was perfectly fine, in my book, but obviously it was a huge no-no in Dr. M's.
What I wanted to know was, why?
Ella shifted in her seat, suddenly guarded and uncomfortable. The change was highly visible in her body language, and I was instantly aware of some internal conflict bubbling up. "Well, Max is a pretty powerful person," Ella said slowly, delicately avoiding my eyes. "Mom is kinda worried she might accidentally hurt someone. In fact, Mom taught Max how to do that headlock she used on the Flare girl yesterday. She wanted her to know how to protect herself without her fists."
I nodded, taking another contemplative bite of my apple. I chewed quietly for a moment, and while I waited I could practically feel Ella's discomfort rising. There was no doubt in my mind that she was hiding something. "That makes sense," I remarked casually.
Ella looked relieved, something that only confirmed my suspicions. "Yeah," she agreed quickly, smiling at me.
"But I don't think that's the whole truth," I added, just as casually. My eyes were locked on Ella's face again, searching for tne smallest hint of a giveaway emotion.
I didn't have to look very hard. Ella's whole face crumpled, and her gaze slid instantly down to her food again. "Fang, just please don't ask me," she murmured, sounding very small and vulnerable. "Ask Max if you really want to know- it's not my place to decide when or what she tells you. I don't even remember all of it, and Mom refused to tell me everything."
"It's that bad of a secret?" I asked dubiously.
"It's pretty bad," Ella confirmed, her voice cracking. "Can we ditch the topic now? Please?"
I really didn't want her to start crying, so I readily agreed. "Do you know who we're playing tomorrow?" I asked, switching automatically to the most important thing on my mind.
Soccer. Well, duh!
"I think it's Lynxes versus Trojans," Ella said hesitantly, cocking her head to the side as she thought. "I'm not sure. I think Danny has to play center defense because of Nudge's wrist though, so we'll see how he does."
We only got to talk about the team for a little longer until the inhumanly energetic creature known as Terra came bouncing over. "Fang Rianild and Ella Martinez!" she thundered. "Why aren't you sitting with Iggy and Max? How dare thee neglect thy significant others?"
I rolled my eyes at our lovely, overdramatic friend. "Because Iggy and Max are having a gossip fest, so Ella and I banded together as the Abandoned Ones," I explained seriously. Ella nodded vigorously in agreement, putting on her best pitiful face.
Terra snorted. "Not an acceptable excuse," she announced. Terra grabbed both of us by the arm and yanked us out of our seats. Ella yelped in protest, and I just rolled my eyes. Sadly, I was used to this abuse from Terra.
We were forcibly dragged from our comfortable seats and marched over to Iggy and Max's little gossip corner. Terra shoved us down on the bench and stalked away, obviously satisfied that her work was complete.
Max raised an eyebrow at us, looking in confusion between me and Ella. "And what was that about?" she asked skeptically.
I shrugged in reply. "Don't even ask," I muttered, taking another bite of my apple. Thankfully, Terra hadn't confiscated my food. I might have had to kill her if she tried that.
"So what are you guys talking about?" Ella asked brightly.
"School stuff," Iggy replied vaguely, his sightless gaze trained perfectly on Ella's face. Strangely, his eyes seemed sad and almost wistful. I wondered briefly if he was wishing he could really see Ella, instead of pretending to look at her. "You?" Iggy asked.
"We were talking soccer," Ella replied, her eyes lighting up as she leaned closer to Iggy. "Since Nudge is out for awhile, Anne has to switch around some players on the field."
Iggy looked interested now, most of the sadness in his eyes suddenly hidden away. Soccer had always been his thing, pre-blindness and after. "Who's she putting in Nudge's spot?" he asked, leaning forward slightly.
Ella looked pleased to have effectively gotten Iggy's attention, scooting a little closer to him. "We don't know yet, but I'm guessing Danny or Matt," she told him. "Nudge can't play again until at least end of the season with her wrist busted."
Iggy opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak he was cut off by a third party joining the conversation. Nudge, accompanied by Cassie Lassen and Daphne Kurtt, sprang out of nowhere and started squealing uncontrollably.
Well. Someone was looking excited.
"Max! Ella!" Nudge screamed, a grin spreading all the way across her face. "ZOMG guess what?"
"If you need any convincing to join Downpour, this is it," Daphne interjected, smiling and bouncing on her toes.
"What is it?" Max asked, looking interested. Ella nodded, shooting Nudge an inquisitive look.
"Christie's taking the team to Hawaii for a soccer tournament!" Cassie screamed. She drew more than a few strange looks from people around us, but didn't appear to care. She was practically vibrating with excitement. "Won't that be amazing?"
"Hawaii?" Max asked blankly, apparently not processing.
"Hawaii!" Ella squealed. "I've never been there before!"
"I know, me neither!" Daphne agreed. "We went to Oregon twice for a tournament, but we can't go anymore because it only goes up to girls under 14 and we moved up to under 15."
Suddenly, Ella's previously animated face fell and she slumped down in her seat, looking dejected. "I knew I was forgetting something," she groaned. "I'm too young for U15."
"Too young?" Cassie asked. "You're a freshman, aren't you?" A confused look was etched on her face, the same one forming on all of ours- except for Max and Nudge.
"Oh crap, I forgot too," Max sighed, disappointment leaking into her voice. She reached over and put an arm around her sister in that half hug sort of thing girls do. "Sorry Ells."
"Well you can play up to U15 even if you aren't fourteen," Nudge argued. "You're good enough to play up, Ella."
"Wait a second," Iggy interrupted, looking extremely confused. "You aren't fourteen Ella?"
"No," Ella confirmed, shrugging her shoulders. "I skipped a grade in second grade, so I'm always the youngest. Over the summer between first and second grades Max just taught me all the standards I had to know, and we worked on them till I was practically perfect at everything," she explained. A mischievous little smile stole over Ella's face. "The teachers all thought I was a genius, when really we both just wanted to be in the same grade," she added with a giggle. "I'm still thirteen, don't turn fourteen until November."
"You are pretty smart," Max argued, looking annoyed by her sister's modesty. "How many first graders can learn every second grade standard in one summer?"
"I don't know," Ella hedged teasingly, grinning at Max. "How many second graders can teach their younger sister every second grade standard in one summer?"
"How come you never mentioned this before?" Iggy broke in, his voice sounding strangely off. I frowned at the difference, but nobody else seemed to notice.
Ella shrugged again. "I don't know," she repeated casually. "It never seemed important. I told Nudge when we moved here, but nobody else ever asked."
"Well I'm sure you can play up. You were amazing yesterday," Cassie assured her brightly.
"Really? Thanks!" Ella replied, her face glowing with pride at the compliment.
"I've got to go now," Iggy announced, standing up abruptly. "See you guys."
I stood up immediately, and noticed with some surprise that Max had stood up at the same time. "Iggy, are you okay?" Max asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," he replied shortly, tossing his empty lunch bag in a trash can.
"I'll come with you," I offered, moving to grab my own lunch bag.
"I said I'm fine," Iggy snapped. Everyone fell silent, staring at him in confusion. Iggy stood completely still for a minute, then turned quickly and strode away, shoulders tense.
"What's wrong with him?" Daphne asked, surprise plain in her voice.
"I don't know," Ella murmured, staring after Iggy with a little bit of hurt clear in her eyes. "He just… exploded."
"I'm going to go find out," I decided, tossing my trash away and swinging my legs over the bench to follow Iggy.
Max's hand on my wrist stopped my movement. I looked from her hand to her face, raising an eyebrow and not speaking until she finally let go. "Give him space for a minute, okay?" she asked softly. "He should be fine."
"What if he needs to talk to someone?" Nudge asked, sounding distressed. "Being alone and sulking isn't going to solve a problem, whatever his deal is!"
Max smiled wryly, looking back down at the half-eaten food in front of her. "He's got someone to talk to, Nudge," she murmured. "Don't worry about it."
Silence fell again, broken only by Ella's nervous twisting of a paper napkin. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked hesitantly. Her eyes were still locked on the spot where Iggy had shoved the cafeteria doors open and disappeared.
"I don't think so…" Max offered weakly. "How could you have?"
Nobody had an answer.
"She's thirteen, Richie. Thirteen years old! I'm practically a pedophile!"
Iggy stormed around the small space, his eyes frantic and hands running distractedly through his hair.
Richie watched calmly as Iggy ranted his way around the room. A half eaten box of powdered donuts lay open on his cluttered desk, and Richie leaned back in his chair as he tried to piece together the information Iggy had spit out upon storming into the room seconds before. "Iggy, being two years older than someone and liking them does not make you a pedophile," Richie assured him soothingly.
That made Iggy freeze. "But I'm not just two years older," he argued, sounding thoroughly worked up. "Ella said she's turning fourteen in November! I'm turning sixteen next month! That's closer to three years than two!"
"So? There are seniors who date sophomores, freshmen who date juniors," Richie pointed out. He thought for a moment, then added, "My girlfriend right now is three years older than me, actually."
"You date cougars?" Iggy demanded, sounding appalled.
"Darlene is not a cougar!" Richie retorted. "Three years is not a big age difference, Iggy! That's the point I'm trying to make here!" He paused for a moment, a confused look making its way onto his face. "So Ella skipped a grade and is a year younger, but how are you almost two years older?" Richie asked.
"Aren't you supposed to have files on these things?" Iggy snapped, his hand flying back to his hair and yanking through it. "I went to preschool a year late, and then I got held back in first grade because I wasn't learning to read in favor of building mini stink bombs. That turned out great anyway because I met Gazzy, Fang and Nudge the next year."
Richie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You knew how to build stink bombs in first grade?" he asked, sounding vaguely impressed.
Iggy shrugged. "It isn't that hard," he replied dismissively. "But what the hell am I supposed to do about Ella? I can't date a thirteen year old! That's not right!"
Richie sat up in his chair, leaning forward and looking intently at his distressed client. "Why don't you ask her?" he suggested. "Ella might not care that you're almost sixteen."
"Girls never do," Iggy groaned, falling into a chair. "They always think it's hot or romantic or some crap like that. But it's not! It's stressful!"
"Did you ever think there might be a reason age wouldn't matter to her?" Richie pressed. "If it doesn't matter to Ella, why should it matter to you if you really like her?"
Iggy just shook his head, looking defeated. "I just can't do that," he muttered. "I would feel like I'm taking advantage of her."
Richie sighed, falling back in his chair again. "Well, do what you think is right I guess," he said finally. "My real job is to talk to you about being blind, not your girlfriend." Iggy bristled at the word 'girlfriend', but Richie pretended not to notice. "How are you on that front, anyway? Been making any headway in defining your emotions and stuff?"
"And stuff?" Iggy echoed dubiously. "Can I see your degree? Are you really certified, Richie?"
"Don't call me Richie," Richie replied automatically. "And no you can't see my degree. We're discussing your blindness, Iggy. Remember?"
Iggy's mouth twisted sardonically. "Oh, how ironically clever of you, Richie," he remarked, rolling his eyes. "Do you want a cookie as a reward?"
"If you aren't going to talk, I'm sending you to sixth period," Richie threatened.
Iggy paled visibly. "Nooooo," he whined, sitting up straighter. "Science is next, and Mr. Lundom makes me sit in the corner like an idiot and never lets me do anything!"
"Well stop messing around then," Richie scolded. "Believe it or not, I'm actually supposed to be helping you, not just fattening you up with donuts."
"Fine," Iggy huffed. "I talked to Max today."
Richie brightened, sitting forward in his chair. "Really? How'd it go?" he asked eagerly. Richie had been secretly hoping Max would confront Iggy after realizing he had been talking with the school guidance counselor. She seemed like a very able girl, certainly capable of cracking into Iggy for hiding the reason to his mysterious escapes out of history class.
"It was fine," Iggy replied shortly, obviously disinterested. "She mainly wanted to know why I didn't tell anyone about talking to you."
"And what did you say?" Richie prompted. Could it be that all Iggy needed was some gentle pushing to open up?
"I told her the truth," Iggy told him, somewhat irritably. "That I wasn't purposely keeping it secret, but that I was always interrupted before I could say anything, and then everybody forgot about it." Iggy shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "It's not that big of a deal, anyway," he murmured, closing his sightless eyes. "Mind if I take a nap, Richie my boy?" he yawned. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
Richie fought back a smile, summoning up the self discipline to sound stern and in charge. "Iggy, what did I just say about actually needing to talk to you about your problems?" he reminded him.
Iggy waved his hands around noncommittally. "Can I just have a donut?" he asked simply. "That would solve all of my problems."
Stifling another smile, Richie solemnly plucked a powdered donut from the box on his desk and tossed it lightly to Iggy. The blind boy caught it with impeccable precision.
"Thanks," Iggy murmured, his pale eyes trained on the donut as if he could actually see it. Something in his voice sounded impossibly small, utterly frail, yet still very well hidden by the loud, cheeky tone. His blunt confidence was an expert tactic for drowning out his vulnerability, but just for a moment Richie could see through the veil. He softened a little, gazing sadly at the distressed teenager in front of him. He wished he could do something for Iggy other than help him ditch class and supply him with junk food.
Finally, Richie cleared his throat, trying to sound comforting. "That's my job," he replied quietly. "Isn't it?"
Iggy's solemn face broke out in a crooked half-smile. "I guess it is," he agreed. Iggy sighed, taking a bite of his donut and chewing thoughtfully. "Thanks anyway though."
Richie smiled back, even knowing Iggy would never see it. He had done his best to help, and both of them knew it. Iggy just had to pause for a moment to smell the flowers, hear the breeze sigh, listen to the music- and he was making progress on that front.
He would be okay.
"I can't imagine what I could have done," Ella groaned, her shoulders taut with distress even as she attempted to loosen up while we stretched out.
Max looked up from her butterfly stretch, her face sympathetic, but getting a little impatient. I couldn't really blame her: Ella had been freaking out about Iggy's lunch time drama the whole practice. "Ells, calm down already," Max ordered, leaning into her stretch. "There's nothing you can do right now."
"But what could I have done?" Ella wailed. She swiped furiously at the toes of her cleats, leaning down low at the waist to scrape the grass with her dangling fingers. "I just don't get it!"
"Chill, Ella," Liz advised her, her voice calm and soothing. "I'm sure it was nothing."
"Girls overreact to everything guys do," Danny agreed emphatically. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Nudge's reaction to her crush speaking.
Her face didn't change, no blush tinting her cheeks as she prodded at her left ankle, rotating it and kneading along the side. Her wrist was still encased safely in the brace, but she was adamant about staying off to the side and passing the ball around with Anne while we practiced. She didn't want to get out of shape while her bones mended.
But I'm getting off track. The point is, Nudge didn't react at all to Danny's comment. That was strange in itself, seeing as since she was eight years old Nudge's face has been as easy to read as a children's learn-the-alphabet book. If she so much as saw a boy she liked, her entire expression would change instantly. Yet here was Danny talking about girl-boy relationships right in front of her, and Nudge wasn't batting an eyelash.
Intriguing. Was she over him already?
"Circle up, Lynxes!" Anne ordered, materializing behind Lauri and Ford. We all obeyed instantly, jumping up from our various stretching positions and crowding in a small lump around our coach.
Anne looked around at all of us carefully, studying each face with an intense, searching light in her eyes. "I'm sure you've all noticed Nudge's injury," she began, sounding disappointed at the very mention of it. "She will not be able to play for at least five or six weeks, which we all know will be a hard blow to our defense. I'm switching Ella back from stopper to sweeper, and several of the normal wing defenders will be trading off playing stopper. All of you need to take care of yourselves. I don't want any more injuries!" Anne finished, tapping her clipboard decisively. "Is that clear? Watch out for yourselves," she ordered. "Now let's get down to work. We're playing McCarthy tomorrow, and they're a notoriously rough team."
"I've heard some nasty rumors about their forwards," Lucas volunteered, wrinkling his nose at the very thought.
"Apparently they've got one girl who likes to hit people like a truckload of bricks," Devon agreed. "I heard that too, Luke."
"It doesn't matter who their players are, as long as we play our game and don't succumb to their playing style," Danny declared. I could've sworn he snuck a look at Nudge, but she wasn't paying very much attention, gazing forlornly at the brace strapped to her wrist.
"Well said, Danny," Anne praised. Danny shrugged noncommittally, and I knew he much would have preferred a different girl's compliments. "Let's get down to work! No skipping Death Defiers today, kiddies!"
Everyone groaned in unison, but grudgingly started off on our usual warm ups routine. We had all known that Death Defiers would be returning eventually, and had savored their momentary absence while it lasted.
For anyone who wants to know what a Death Defier really is, I can explain in two words. Pure. Hell. Enough is said on that subject with that simple pair of words. If someone really, really wants to know more, they can go request a set or two from Anne to try out. I have to admit that the burning pain does mean it's a good workout.
Practice was going smoothly enough after warm ups, with little to no mistakes made by our players. Anne and Nudge worked on smaller drills off to the side, ones where Nudge wasn't in danger of injuring her wrist. Meanwhile, the rest of us were engaged in a heated game of possession, red pinnies versus shirts, one where there was only one goal to shoot on, and six passes were necessary before taking a shot on Lauri. Of course, Anne just had to place both Max and Gazzy on the red pinney team, and they were dominating the game with their ridiculously perfect passing. Those two were a deadly threat, one always knowing exactly what the other would be thinking. Juliann and Ford were on the shirts team with me, and the three of us attempted to isolate the Dynamic Duo while the rest of our team scurried around trying to gain possession of the ball. Anne had threatened the losing team with extra Death Defiers, so obviously it was in our best interests if we shut down the Gazzy-Max passing machine.
That's when it happened.
Max swooped in and stole the ball from Sadie, faking her out with a slick little pullback before dribbling swiftly away from the scene of the crime. Immediately, Juliann and Lucas were hot on her back, doing their best to revoke the ball again. Max performed a tidy little scissors, faking out Lucas and shaking him off her tail. Juliann, however, was not fooled, and it took Max a very impressive rainbow flicked from her heels over her shoulder to get past the second defender. As soon as she had struggled free of Juliann, Max passed the ball off to Jack, who was forced to cut haphazardly around Liz before passing quickly off to Rosanna. Four more passes for the opposite team later, Jack was back in possession of the ball and speeding towards Lauri in the goal. Ella closed abruptly in on him, attaching to his side like a leech and trying valiantly to poke the ball away from his feet.
Jack managed to keep possession all the way to the goal box, mainly due to the fact he towered at least eight inches over Ella's head and was using his advantage well. The rest of the shirts team spread out to cover the pinnies, but everyone had their eyes on Jack and Ella. We were all wondering who would win out in this struggle for the ball: quick, agile Ella, or stronger, more powerful Jack?
The answer was the goal post.
Strange answer, I know, but it was true. Jack and Ella fought for the ball all the way through the goal box, each completely intent on keeping the ball in their control. They completely disregarded the yelled directions from each of their teams, simply plowing on towards the goal. Lauri crouched in the center of the net, hands at the ready to catch even the vaguest possibility of a shot.
Jack was only about fifteen feet away from the goal, but he hadn't yet shot. Some players on the shirts team started surging towards him, and Max's booming orders to pass the ball off increased vastly in both volume and frequency.
Jack ignored her, eyes on the goal.
"Lauri, come out and challenge!" Anne ordered from the side, stopping the ball under her foot to watch for a moment. "Jack, try to juke her!"
Both players immediately obeyed, Lauri running towards Jack with her eyes locked on the ball. Jack simultaneously fought off Ella and Matt and tried to pull off a little move sequence that Anne had made us practice last week. It actually worked surprisingly well, getting Jack safely past Lauri and shaking Matt off his tail. Jack finally seemed to decide to shoot, pulling his foot back and smashing it into the ball.
Or at least, the spot where the ball had been half a second before.
Unfortunately for him, Ella had darted in at precisely the right time and snatched the ball away, rolling it under her foot and whirling around. Undaunted, Jack lunged for it again, and miraculously managed to nip the ball away. A rather shocked Ella stopped in her tracks, then raced to catch up with Jack again.
Lauri had recovered from Jack's juke at this point and was back in the goal, but she was getting extremely confused by all of the movement directly in front of her. It appeared that she was valiantly trying to track the ball's path, but Ella and Jack's quick, erratic movements were making it extremely difficult for her to do so. They came closer and closer, until they were only three feet from the net with several players from both teams converging on them. Neither Ella nor Jack could get a firm foot on the ball though, and finally Lauri threw all caution to the winds and simply leaped on it.
Her arms closed around the ball in a strange little hug as she dove, and Lauri hastily tucked her head down so she wouldn't be cleated in the face by Jack or Ella. Our goalie rolled like an egg out from under the two players feet, effectively tripping them in the process. Jack went sprawling, flying into the goal itself and tumbling into the net, where his cleats got tangled up and he banged his elbow hard on the back bar. Ella yelped loudly as she went careening wildly over Lauri's head in an attempt not to kick the girl. She wasn't as lucky as Jack though, and instead of landing safely on the turf, Ella crashed into the goal post.
Everyone froze, watching helplessly as Ella slammed into the post and flopped limply down to the turf. She rolled into the fetal position, crying out weakly in pain. Ella's face was pasty white, and her eyes scrunched together as tears leaked steadily out the corners. She curled up into a tighter ball, clutching her left arm desperately in her right hand.
Then someone broke the silence.
"Ella!" Max screamed, somehow materializing beside the fallen girl. Max fell to her knees, leaning over and staring helplessly at the forlorn little bundle that was her sister. "Ella, are you okay? Shit, of course you aren't. Let me see your arm, okay Ells? I'm going to protect you. You won't get hurt again," Max rambled, her eyes locked on Ella's pale face as she gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
Ella whimpered, but seemed to understand Max's pleas. She rolled over, leaning into Max's kneeling legs and hiccuping pathetically. Tears continued to stream down her face, and Ella buried her face in the baggy hem of Max's shorts.
"It's okay Ells, I'm here," Max crooned, stroking Ella's hair in a strangely maternal way. "I've got you. Max is here."
The Lynxes stood silently around her, frozen in their previous positions as they stared at the scene before them. Even Anne seemed in shock, unable to do anything but watch as Max gently comforted her sobbing sister, gathering her up in her arms and pulling her tight to her body.
Then Max's head shot up, all traces of gentle maternity vanished as she whirled to face Anne. "Well, are you going to get her to a doctor?" Max snapped, her eyes unnaturally bright from held in tears.
This seemed to jolt Anne back into action. "Practice is canceled," she announced sharply, striding over and kneeling beside Ella and Max. "Can I trust you all to stay out of trouble for an hour?"
There was a weak chorus of 'yes' from the shocked team, and most people began to slowly disperse, shooting worried looks at the two sisters.
"Ella? It's Max, and I want you to tell me what hurts," Max whispered, her voice surprisingly soft and gentle once more.
To everyone's surprise, Ella actually laughed. It was mildly worrying, actually: a harsh, high, almost delerious sound that was nothing like her usual delighted giggles. "My arm," Ella gasped, her voice about an octave over her usual tone. "Oh crap, my arm hurts like burning hell." She clutched her arm even tighter, rolling on her back and squinting up at us. "This is ironic, isn't it?" Ella managed to ask, grinning weakly through the tears streaming down her face. "First Nudge gets her wrist broken, then Anne tells us not to get hurt, and now I busted my arm. This is painfully ironic." She paused, then burst into another round of raucous, shrill laughter. "Painfully ironic! Oh dear lord, I'm hilarious!" she wheezed.
Apparently, Ella got hysterical when she was in pain.
Max's face hardened suddenly into an unreadable mask, an action that made my heart twist oddly. Everything else seemed to fade around her as I stared at the cold stoniness of her expression. Max was closed off, emotionally completely shut down.
My chest started to ache.
Yes, I'm a hypocrite for feeling this way. My own face was void of feeling practically all the time, and I purposely kept it this way. But on Max, to see her looking so closed and emotionless… it tore at me. She shouldn't look so jaded, shouldn't look so coldly detached. Max shouldn't ever look like that. Never.
"Get her to the ER," Max ordered, her voice hard and abrasively commanding. "Ella obviously needs help here!"
Anne jumped instantly into action, helping Ella to curl into a sitting position, then wobble unsteadily to her feet. Max stood up brusquely, starting to follow as our coach led Ella towards the parking lot. "Max," I murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulder.
Max glared at me, her eyes dark and unreadable as she shoved my hand away. "Come on Fang," she snapped. "We're wasting time."
I dropped my hand in shock, staring as Max sped up her already swift pace and hurried ahead of me. Anne murmured something about starting the car, and Max took Anne's place supporting Ella as the coach started running towards a dark blue Suburban.
Something was desperately wrong with Max. She was never so closed off, never so angry or cold. It appeared that it only took her sister's pain to shred Max's control and rationalizing beyond recognition.
A small hand touched my arm, and I half-turned to see Nudge hurrying along beside me. Her dark eyes were wide and fearful as she stared up at me wordlessly. "Ella will be fine," I murmured, already knowing the unasked question Nudge was nursing. "She's going to get help."
"Can I come with you guys to the ER?" Nudge whispered, gripping tightly onto my arm. "Please? I can't bear to stay here and not know what's happening. Ella is one of my best friends, and I deserve to stay and be with her-"
"You don't need to convince me," I interjected gently, stopping Nudge's rant before she could get too deeply entrenched in her worried babbling. "Ask Anne."
And that was how we ended up in the Emergency Room for the second day running. I swear the receptionist's eyebrows rocketed into the stratosphere when she saw us again, the four disheveled, sweaty soccer players toting yet another pale girl clutching her arm. As Ella disappeared through the door to the doctor's rooms with a nurse, Anne started talking quietly to the receptionist, leaving Max, Nudge and I to flop down into the waiting room chairs and. . . wait.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Nudge announced, standing up from her chair. Max and I nodded silently, and Nudge disappeared off to the bathroom, exactly like Ella and Max had yesterday. Ella and Nudge had switched places, and Anne was here instead of Dr. M, but other than that the scenes were practically identical.
I was getting a serious case of deja vu here, and it was really messing with my head.
Max sat in her stony silence, mask still in place and looking extremely cold and aloof. I watched her quietly, wondering what I could possibly say to bring back the real Max, the one who wouldn't hesitate to tell me what was making her so closed off. "Max?" I finally said, not exactly sure of what I would follow up with.
Max turned her head and stared at me blankly, nodding once to acknowledge she had heard me. There was a tense tightness in the muscle of her neck and the clench of her jaw that made me want to wash all of that mask away. The words spilled from my mouth before I could think, and I simply murmured, "Ella is strong."
Max's jaw twitched slightly. Then, before I could process it properly, Max's face crumpled into a strange desolation, and she flung her arms around my neck. Her face buried into my shoulder, and I instinctively circled my arms around her as she silently tried to pull herself together. "I know she's strong," Max whispered, her voice strangled, small and choking. "But I can't see her like that. I can't see anyone I care about like that. Never again."
I opened my mouth to ask what was happening, what she meant by that, when we were interrupted by the return of Nudge from the bathroom. She surveyed us quietly, looking from Max's overly bright eyes to my confused expression. Max slowly pulled away from me, struggling to pull up that cold mask again. It didn't completely resurface, but the suppressed tears in her eyes disappeared.
"Umm," Nudge broke the silence, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Well, this definitely might not be the best time, but I just wanted to let you guys know that Dylan asked me out after school and I said yes. So yeah, we're kinda dating now."
Max and I sat in silence, staring as Nudge began to blush. Then, Max found her voice.
"What the hell Nudge?" she demanded, her voice both strangled and disbelieving at the same time. 'Why- how-" Max struggled for words, then settled back on a familiar, "What the hell?"
I could already tell this probably wasn't going to end well.
Sorry for the delay here, but I was struggling with self discipline and flailing inspiration for awhile. I had a strange urge to play Pokemon Black again. . . so I did. XD And school has been crap. I had five tests on Friday! Five!
So yeah. Review please? I'll love you forever! =)
~TMI~