Free Fragments by M. R. Field Page B

on tap, so I wasn’t gonna lie, I took it. Now, it was biting me in the arse. 
     
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    Finally, by the end of the week, I had some ‘me’ time. Football training. We trained twice a week and played most Sunday afternoons. On Sunday, we had a bye, so we only had training. By the time this Thursday rolled around, I was ready to let off some steam with the boys. Robbie and I had been playing since we were youngsters, so the training sessions didn’t faze us. We thrived on Coach kicking the shit out of us. If it didn’t hurt, then you were just being a pussy. We trained after school on the oval that sat between the two school campuses. It made it easier for the juniors to train there too, as they often watched us when they’d finished. Us dickheads felt like legends while the juniors worshipped us.
                  By the time the end of the school day had finally arrived, I ran to the gym to change. It had been a few days since Bea last spoke to me. The stress of my dad constantly leering at me didn’t help either. They both held onto me like a vice. The thought of using footy training to blow off steam- I couldn’t break the smile from my face if I tried.  My movements quickened as I eagerly pulled my shorts on and threw my bag into my locker.  Robbie had already changed, along with the other guys—Sam, Ty, Jace, while other team mates strolled into the gym high fiving each other. I loved the pre-training vibe.  Even the stale stench of sweat that lingered in the air couldn’t dampen our spirits. I was ready for Coach.
    Ty squeezed Jace’s bicep as he walked to the exit.
    “Still a scrawny prick, aren’t you?” As he passed, Jace’s hand whipped out and flicked him quickly in the nuts. Ty clutched his nut sack and hunched over, wheezing and sucking in deep breaths.
    “I might be scrawny, but I’m fast. Who’s got the scrawny prick now? Not me, that’s for sure.”  Laughing, he swung open the door and left, leaving Ty to tend to his nut sack.
    “Mate.” Sam laughed. “You kinda did ask for that.” Tapping Ty on the shoulder, he whistled after Jace.
    “Piss off,” Ty wheezed. “I was only joking.”
    “Yeah, well you know he has small-man syndrome. Best to not fire the fucker up.” Robbie smirked; shaking his head and holding the door open for us. “Come on, you’ll be fine. Man up. Coach will bust more than your sack if you don’t hurry up and get out of here.” 
    I knew better than to give Jace any shit.  Any kid in the Army Reserves knew how to pack a punch, or at least, a flick.  Watching Jace and Ty was like watching David and Goliath. Ty was a gym nut like his twin, Sam. Today’s session was going to be interesting after that bit of foreplay.
    “Let’s fucking do this!” I pointed to the air, keen to get over to Coach.
    Jogging over to the others, I started swinging my arms across my chest, eager to get warmed up. I missed a few marks in our last game and Coach had drilled me for it. I didn’t want to let him down. He was a father-like figure to me, and I respected him. Jogging on the spot next to Robbie, I was determined to keep my mind clear. Today, I wanted to sweat it out. Bea ignoring me had thrown me off my game and I didn’t like it.
    We were the Mallees and our maroon Guernseys had a thick white V running down the front of them. We had also managed to pick up some local sponsorship, after winning the premiership three years running. It was epic being the town’s favourite.
    “Let’s get this bitch on, ladies! Hey, Coach!” I shouted, nodding over to him. The boys near me jumped from foot to foot in their spot jogging; eager to burst out into a proper run. I wasn’t the only one in the mood for blowing off steam.
    “Okay, fellas,” Coach started, “you know the drill. Let’s start stretching.” We stopped jogging as he proceeded to get