Chapter Two

Kelley walked past the coach’s office who gave him a solemn nod and opened the locker room doors where his team mates were cheering each other loudly, already celebrating a victory that he wasn’t sure were theirs.

“What do you say, Kelley? Are we going to the finals?” Marcus Holt was shorter than his six foot four inches with a limitless credit card and the title of an Elite. He was spoiled, rude and believed the world revolved around him and the rest of the Elites.

“I don’t think we should be too eager. Public’s got a good team. We’re half and half as things stand now.”

The public school in Yorkdare Bay had a great football team, an even greater coach than they had, and their players were tough. They played for honour, not for scouts, and the majority of the students there came from low and middle class families.

“I heard Mason James is injured, got his wrist broken in a street fight.”

Kelley quirked a brow and pulled the football jersey over his head. “That would be to our advantage. What about their defensive end? He could probably take down a pro baller and still play the rest of the game.”

Kirk barked out a laugh. "He's the biggest highscooler I've ever seen."

“He’s one tough bastard. Heard he’s been to juvie.”

“What does having been in juvie have to do with how he plays?” Kelley could only wonder where they heard all these wild stories.

“You get meaner in juvie. I heard he hasn’t smiled the whole year he’s been in Public.”

Marcus rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Which makes me wonder where the hell he came from. Nobody here even knows his name, he doesn't talk and I've never seen him in town."

Kelley laughed and moved to the middle of the locker rooms as Coach Henley strode inside with his assistant coach, Coach Heller. Their pep talk was about slaughtering the enemy, playing as if this game was the last one of their lives. It was sufficient to get their blood pumping.

The lights on the field were bright and the cheers from the stands broke through the haze Kelley’d been in. ‘Breathe, breathe,’ he told himself as he got back to his feet. The hit Kelley took had been a hard one. Mason James’s face came into view as he sneered at Kelley.

Kelley barely had time to hike the ball and step back when the giant broke through their line, pushing Kelley's teammates to the side and flattened him on the grass. Kelley was pretty confident he had a cracked rib. Breathing hurt but he had to keep breathing. They’d won no field but that didn’t matter now. The new line could see them get a touchdown and there was no way Kelley was getting off the field now.

“Make this one count, Alexander!” Kelley heard the coach and gave a slight nod as he bent his upper body forward to receive the ball.

Kirk wasn’t where he was supposed to be and the fake hand-off to Paul who had run past Kelley left him with the ball still in his hands. It took Kelley two seconds to start moving as he ran wide around his own defensemen and towards the touchdown line.

Kelley’s head hit the grass a millisecond after he scored the touchdown and the heavy weight on top of him lay still for about five seconds. He grunted and then he pushed himself off of Kelley. He turned on his back and breathed hard. His body felt bruised and his ribs ached, every breath hurt.

They were down twelve to ten and they needed this win, desperately needed it. A hand appeared in his line of vision and then a face, the face of the giant and someone Kelley didn’t know. “Nice run.” He was pulled up and the giant patted Kelley on the back as they went back to their respective teams. Kelley was mildly surprised that he could even walk.

“Who was that?” Kelley ignored the question from Johnson because he knew the giant’s position, not his name.

“You look in pain. You okay?” Marcus’s hand landed on Kelley’s shoulder and he shrugged it off.

“I’m fine.”

Needless to say, Kelley was taken down to the ground every single time he had the ball. Public demolished their defensive players and stormed at them like Kelley and his team held the key to their futures. It felt like war. Kelley’s body hurt and they lost fifteen to ten, the finals slipping away as the seconds ticked down on the scoreboard.

The mood in the locker room was a quiet kind of desolation. Their pride hurt, their bodies hurt even more but worse was the disappointing look in Coach Henley’s eyes. They had the best equipment, state of the art gyms at school, everything Public didn’t have and they still kicked their asses.

The drive to the cabin took about an hour and was located between Yorkdare Bay and Munro Bay, the next town over where the technical college was located. Norah and her two friends, Bethany and Marella, drove with Kelley and Marcus.

By the time they got to the cabin, or the log mansion that it really was, the party was in full swing. It seemed like half the school was there and loud cheers rang around as they entered through the front door.

By the third beer Kelley’s ribs didn’t hurt anymore and they were laughing at having lost their chance at going to the finals. Public was trash talked and they vowed that revenge would be theirs the next year and laughing at the thought of Mason James and his friends flipping burgers after school while they made money and lived the high life.

Kelley drank too much and he knew that he'd regret it the next day when the pain from his cracked ribs would flare up again in full force. He didnt care that night though and for a few minutes he wished he'd rather gone home than join his friends at the cabin. He was tired of the same parties over and over, the same people with the same mindset.

At some point during the night, Norah took Kelley upstairs to their room and the bed creaked loudly to the beat of the music. Kelley loved Norah and nothing she did could make him think any less of her. They had promised their lives to each other and their futures were planned together.

“I love you, Norah.” She lay with her head on his chest and his fingers stroked her hair.

They fell asleep with their limbs entwined. Kelley’s dreams were troubled as darkness enveloped him and the feeling of not knowing what was coming seemed to attack from the dark shadows in his sleep. He woke up with his heart beating a crescendo in his ribcage.

He couldn’t quite place the feeling but it felt faintly like loneliness, that he might be missing out on something, even though he had no idea what that something was. Norah was still asleep as he headed down the stairs and picked his way through bodies sleeping wherever there was space.

“You look like shit.” Hanson’s voice felt like a loudspeaker right inside Kelley’s head.

Kelley turned and saw Hanson sitting at the counter in the kitchen and he walked towards him. “I feel it, not that you look any better.”

Hanson laughed and handed Kelley a fresh cup of coffee. “I can’t believe it’s over.”

“You’re not talking about the game, are you?” Kelley looked questioningly at Hanson.

Hanson shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand over his close cropped hair. “My parents are getting a divorce.”

“Finally.”

Hanson huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, finally. I'm still pissed off, Kelley."

"Things will get better once the divorce is finalized, you know that."

“You know what’s the worst thing with this life we have? These people are all just feel good people. Are you a feel good person, Kelley?”