Nodelyn Johnson

"I swear to God, Donavan, you better remember this. You owe me!" Terry bellowed. He turned back and forth in frustration to the sound of his heavy breaths. Terry paused, turned back around, raised his arm in fury. "And me expect to be paid!"

I shook my grinning head while Vannessa tried to calm Terry down. Donavan stood behind Terry with a nervous shake of his legs. We were at the entrance of the pit. The low raising growl of the crowd was infectious.

Terry was wearing the stylishly black jersey of the team, because one player decided to not come, so they asked Terry to sign up to avoid disqualification.

Leon came to Donavan, whispering in his ear and they both left together. Terry looked in space, saying, "I swear, can't believe this—"

Vannessa said, "Don't worry about Donavan. Just do this and you guys can win."

Terry sighed then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This was not how I planned to spend my evening." He flashed his arms, shaking the tape around his wrist. "I don't even know how to play."

My eyes flicked over his short, but stocky body that lifted the jersey's material against the straps of his skin hugging pants. Last time I saw him he was a skinny man, but, boy, have times changed. Terry may not know the sport, but he definitely looked built for it.

I said, "With your strong body, that shouldn't be a problem."

Terry looked at me with his unwavering dark brown eyes. A smile appeared over his round, full jaw. "Thanks, ah… Nodelyn." The smile was brief, for Terry looked down and tried to tucking in the back of his jersey. "Yeah. See you guys after the game."

Vanessa said, "Sure."

I replied, "Yeah man."

Terry walked down the tunnel, and we went back outside. We decided to buy some food, because I might as well try to enjoy myself even though I know I wasn't going to.

The warm streak pummeled me. Sweat peeled off my brow as my legs carried me forward. I needed rest to cut off this growing exhaustion. We walked in between the curving passageway leading out to the parking lot. The stores were bustling with many adults and students, while the big food court consisted of tables dotted with couples, rowdy groups of students or loners probably trying to get Wi-Fi.

Vanessa and I walked with Phillips gripping my left hand, for my right hand held buttered corn. Whether I was going to finish it in the stadium was anyone’s guess. It was not a bad thing coming here. The place was magnificent, awe-inspiring.

The fun arcade captured Phillip’s wild side, for he rampaged through there, but I pulled him. Now we were going to see how the boys were doing, for I never seen them play. Neither did I want to. Sports were boring.

“You have your ticket?” Vanessa asked.

“Yeah.” I checked in my handbag. “Should be…” I found them. “Yeah, got it.”

“Good, I nuh have no uniform to get in free,” she said.

Vanessa wore a brown crop top that flowed loosely over her bosom and spun in swirls around her revealed navel. This complemented her jeans and brown slippers well enough.

Three thousand was not expensive when you would have watched two to three matches, plus got concessions at the many restaurants here. Seemed like value for money in a way, but I still would not have paid that. I was trying to save money, not spend money. We got those tickets free for being with the team.

“They are smart though to let the students walk in free. A student’s them will become the next football players at the end of the day, so if they can get them to like the sport then that loss was worth it,” I said.

Vanessa rubbed her chin. “Hey, you make a good point. I never thought of it that way.”

I almost laughed. “Yeah, but you look young you could have fooled the attendants at the booth if you slid on your uniform.”

She scowled, but it flattened back to her natural beauty and I had to admit, she was beautiful. “You gwan like say me old? I am just twenty. What ‘bout you?” she asked.

I said with a wave of my hand, “Twenty nine, me ancient.” Vanessa snickered. “Which school you used to go?”

“It was a technical school back in St. Elizabeth. I do not live in Berry Hill, I live in Hallondare.”

“Houses on the cliff?”

“Yeah, but I do not live near the cliff, I live round the mountain front. There so, I only come to Berry Hill to see my cousin. I took a customer service course some months ago in Manchester, but I swore that was as far as I would go from home. Never been on this side of the island since me link up with the Arden brothers.”

Terry Arden, to think I would have seen him here. “Yeah, Terry a drive van, boy, me know, me feel like he would be better suited to the work whe him used to do.”

Vanessa seemed surprised. “Which work that?”

A tingling had me almost fidgeting. “He used to be into window building, even fix up part of my aunt’s house. Not sure why he left it.” I scratched the side of my head. A sigh escaped my lips as I mentally placed taking out these braids on my to-do list,.

“Him probably tired of that I guess, him kind of seem like he is pissed at everything more time when I see him,” she said, with a roll of her eyes.

I snickered. Who would have thought Malt would have gotten Terry to wear those clothes. “Wha, you should have seen his face when they asked him.”

We snickered as we reached the large entrances. Vanessa said, “A good thing Leon talk to him. Otherwise the trip woulda waste. But he was dissing Donavan hard.”

I kissed my teeth and said, “Donavan deserve it. How you fi have a team and not have enough players? I do not know how him manage this.”

“Him need to recruit more people. Can’t run so.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Agreed.”

We reached inside and I felt a shiver over me as the warm air inside this dome had me hitching my breath. Phillip pulled on my arm.

“Me hungry,” he said, looking away.

I cut my eyes and sneered. “You just eat, wait till we go inside.”

Phillip bounced about with a frustrated tantrum. I had only enough patience to grab him and forcibly drag him whimpering into the stadium.

The sound was infectious and my ears rang with the power of it all. My nose picked up popcorn and I felt like that was something I should have gotten as well. I pushed that out of my mind and focused on sweat that coated me like the jackets those players wore.

Sweat, it was so grimy and I hated it. It would have been nice if they had a huge super fan just blowing into the stands or is that wishful thinking? I prayed to God, clouds came to say hi to us.

We walked down the pathway looking for a seat in the crowd. Vanessa stopped, for her eyes rooted on the screen board. I asked, “What’s up?”

She flexed her lips back and forth as if hesitating to offer the words. It came out anyway. “They're losing, badly.”

I looked at the board. Under the name Assassins was fourteen points, beside it was forty two points and above that higher number were the Savalamanders. Our team were the Assassins. They were losing alright. “So they need like Twenty Eight touchdowns to win? That will—” I said to myself.

Loud laughter caught my attention, by the time I looked at Vanessa she was laughing. Vaness grabbed my shoulder said, “I will teach you the sport, come.”

Did I say something wrong?

We went down the pathway. Vanessa’s name was being called. We stopped and looked around vainly. “Mommy, mommy, look, look.” Phillip pointed.

There was this dark muscular man waving at us. Vanessa sighed.

I asked, “You know him?”

“Alwayne, he is a football player,” she said with a flat grimace.

This was interesting. “Ehhh? You nuh want to go over there?” I asked.

“Him a look me, hard. Not that I mind, but me not interested in him like that.” Vanessa shrugged. “Whatever, he can give us the recap.”

I would have asked why, because he seemed like a handsome man, but I let the curiosity died where it birthed.

We went over and sat down beside who Vanessa introduced as Alwayne and Oxler. Both were big and muscular and their clothes struggled to fit them without showing their beastly features.

They definitely looked the part. The same could not have been said for the Assassins. I was not going to lie almost all of them looked like wind could have blown them over.

There was another man beside the two players and he was writing down stuff and keeping a focused eye on the game.

Vanessa asked, “What are you two doing here? You nuh gwan back to Port Antonio?”

Alwayne grinned while Oxler showed no reaction. “We were still in town. So we decided to come to the game to check out our friends.”

My eyes floated on the man writing at a fiery speed next to them. “Friends, you mean competition,” I said.

Oxler had not looked at me when he replied, “Smart girl.”

“Thank you,” I said noting that he did not deny they were possibly spying on my brother’s team. Maybe they were daring us to figure them out.

I took out the fries and handed it to Phillip. The smell of apple mixed with lavender reached my nose, where was that smell coming from? I relaxed to its tender assault. So much so, I had not recognized Alwayne waved his arm at me. My eyes shot open and I turned to him. “You know I am starting to get jealous of the Assassins. How they have so much good looking woman?” he asked. His eyes drew me in and left me in its swell.

I averted my eyes from his luscious gaze. Vanessa straightened. “St. Elizabeth got it locked like that,” Vanessa said with a flirty wag of her head.

Alwayne rubbed his chin and perused her in good measure. “Is that so, I should visit the parish one of these days.”

“Crocodile might bite you.” I smirked.

A smirk grew on his face as his eyebrows went up. “What if I want you to bite me?”

I blushed and shot him a disgusted look, but my heart raced as his eyes dug into mine. He held his palm up. “I am good tasting candy.”

The sweat had dried off me since I sat there, but it started to leak out back onto my skin. My body’s desire to protect me from any heat source I was near was the bane of my existence. Alwayne was a furnace that needed to be quenched, yet it was not going to be me.

He was not going to assume he had me on the edge either. I clenched my jaw and forced out a reply, “I hate candy.”

Alwayne shrugged and looked away. He gave up, good. Still, the subject matter needed to be changed least he tried again. My eyes watched the confusing mashing of bodies. “Where is Irwin?”

“Last person to your right,” Oxler said.

We turned our heads to see a long man that resembled my brother pushing his arms in the direction of a player that caught the ball and ran pass him for a sleek jog to the end of the field.

Vanessa and Alwayne groaned in unison. I looked between them and wondered what happened then I heard the announcer, “Touchdown, Savalamaaaaander!”

Vanessa asked, “What the hell was that? At least try to tackle him or something?”

Alwayne sighed. “Ah, Irwin is not in the game today. He did not even move. Man.”

I asked, “What is he supposed to do?”

Alwayne said, “Oh, he is playing as a safety, a free safety to be exact. He is the player that is the final line of defense against a touchdown. If he fails, as you can see, a touch down will be scored.”

Oxler smirked. “This the guy you had so much hope in?”

Alwayne breathed out. “Still do.”

Oxler kissed his teeth and said, “No hope with a useless player like him. Lazy, worthless, which bush they take him up from?”

My arm shivered as I tried to look forward. Something pumped hard through my veins and it had me losing feeling all over my face.

Oxler continued, “No wonder him so ugly. Man blind, can’t even see a go route…at least he cannot see his face.” Oxler laughed and my fingers pulled along my thighs in fury.

I turned towards that arrogant man. “Oy, shut up. Irwin is a good player, who is you? You think you any better?”

Vanessa held back the arm I only then realized was heading towards Oxler’s face. I had not even known I was leaning forward.

Alwayne’s back gripped the chair as Oxler and me traded still gazes.

Oxler said, “If you are his girlfriend you should be ashamed of yourself.”

“I am his sister, idiot!” I shouted.

“That make it worse, you worthless by blood.”

I blurted out. “Why you—“ Alwayne came up between us and pushed my arms back from striking at Oxler who wavered his eyes away from me with disdain. Calm as the deep river, he never reacted as if I was a threat.

He wants a threat? Then he was going to get one!

“Easy, forgive him, a so him stay. Him talk how him feel. I apologize for him, okay?” Alwayne laid his hand on his chest and nodded. “Forgive him, he is just a critic. Ain’t that right, buddy?”

Oxler had not answered. That smell of apple, yes, it was Alwayne alright. It permeated off him and stroke my nose, so I shuddered. I waved Alwayne’s hand away and settled back in my chair. Sniffling, I kept my gaze on the game I had no interest in more than the man I wanted to hit over the head with my slippers.

Granted, Irwin was lazy, an idiot and just an all around a bad person, but I was the only one allowed to say that.

The tension was heavy when the silence set in.

Alwayne made jokes here and there to try and cut the tension. It was pointless. I was not in the mood for jokes. Vanessa commented on a player being injured.

I saw Arden getting up. He stepped out on the field and it was clearly him. He was the shortest man there. Then Oxler had to said it, “I know the Assassins are desperate, but they could not find someone—taller? They only need another clone of the useless one.”

I got up and pulled Phillips with me. He tried slipping his hand back, but I gripped it firm. “Vanessa we are going to sit somewhere else.”

Alwayne was like, “Wait!”

I turned to him. “Listen, it is not you. I just do not want to listen to your frie—“

“Talk the truth,” Oxler cut in.

I ignored that and turned with Vanessa in tow.

Come on Irwin, win and show this fool up!