Stuck in a Rut.
By Rosalie Redd

Casey Church is a normal 13 year old girl, But in a world where there hasn’t been a girl born in over 100 years, Casey adjusts to her new life as a girl. Can Casey cope with everything that comes with being a girl, or will others conspire to ruin her life?

Chapter 38

I sat next to Janie, watching the teams warm up. I hugged her and asked a question. “Where’s Luna?”

Janie took a sip from her coke and looked towards the field. “She didn’t come. She said something about ‘Not understanding the point of sportsball’, but I think that the real reason is that her father might have tried to push her into athletics when she was a boy. I suspect she was beaten for failing at it.”, she said sadly.

I looked down at the field, watching DeShaun jogging between the yard lines. I was glad that my parents encouraged me to do whatever I wished to do, and didn’t pressure me into what they felt I should do. DeShaun had gone along with it, and still liked sports, but Luna shunned them. Two sides of a coin.

DeShaun looked up towards the stands, and I stood up and waved. Janie Did likewise, and Deshaun waved back. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the twins looking at me with disdain and downright hatred. Amy must particularly be angry. She was DeShaun’s rival coming up through grade school, and I’m sure she felt anger at the fact she was in the bleachers, while he was out there on the field.

Warm-ups concluded, and after the marching band played the national anthem, the team captains met at mid field for the traditional hand shake.

With the game about to start, I sidled up closer to Janie, and snuck some of her popcorn. DeShaun took the opening kick-off and got up to the 35 yard line. I cheered and snuggled a little closer to Janie, who snuggled back. We took out a small blanket and wrapped it around us. I kept an eye on the twins, who were several rows in front of us. I could see Amy’s glare at DeShaun, but at the same time, I noticed a tear was trickling down her cheek. It must be hard for her to watch. May was looking around, and she looked back and locked gazes with me. She gave me an evil glare, and rubbed her sister’s back, before whispering in her ear.

I watched as on their first possession, our team failed to get a first down, despite DeShaun having gotten open twice. With the fill-in linemen buckling, Brad had to scramble for his life. After the punt, the St. Michael-Albertville offense marched down the field and scored a touchdown, leaving us behind 7-0 early.

I watched the game, and kept an eye on the twins at the same time. Amy was still trying to cover up the tears, and every now and then May would turn and give me the evil eye, even going so far as to do the ‘finger slashing across the throat’ gesture. I frowned and got back to watching the drama on the field, instead of the drama in the stands.

DeShaun took the kick-off following the score, and thanks to some great blocking, he made it all the way down to the opponent’s 35 yard line before being caught. On first down the running back was caught for a 5 yard loss in the backfield. Things got worse when there was a bad snap, and Brad was sacked for a loss of 10 yards. On 3rd and 25, we caught a break, as the St.Michael-Albertville cornerback committed pass interference, holding DeShaun’s arm. With a new set of downs, We managed to get down into scoring range as Brad connected with a senior Tight-end and got the ball down to the 10 yard line.

I hollered and cheered, looking at DeShaun as he lined up outside. A little miss-direction weak side screen to the fullback looked like it was going to end in a loss of yardage, but a great block by DeShaun on the outside got us down to the 3 yard line. Brad ran a QB option play, faking the handoff, and following the blocking into the end zone. With the extra point, we managed to tie the game up. For the rest of the first quarter both teams went back and forth, neither team allowing a score. DeShaun caught 3 passes during that quarter, and ran up a total of 45 yards.

In between quarters, the cheerleaders did a tumbling act along the sidelines. I watched them, Surely I could do that, I was getting more comfortable with my new shape and new-found flexibility.
Janie had taken the opportunity of the quarter break to run down to the restrooms. I noticed a minute later that May had also vanished from the stands.

I watched as Janie came back up the aisles of the bleachers. She seemed no worse for wear. She quickly arrived and handed me a Dr. Pepper and some french fries. I put my arm around her, which got a glare from the newly returned May.

“Did May try anything?”, I asked. “I noticed that she got up and left soon after you did.”

Janie sipped her own drink through the straw she was fiddling with. “It wasn’t a big deal, she tried to scare me away from you and DeShaun, but backed off when I asked her how it’d look if she bullied the girl that Marcia had brutalized. I further inquired to her that it’d be unfortunate if anyone learned that she played a small part in that affair.” Janie chuckled and went back to her drink.

I looked down at the pair, May had her arm around Amy, who was still glaring angrily at DeShaun, all the while tears flowed down her face. If not for the creepy stalking and harassment, and physical and emotional abuse, I could … ALMOST feel sorry for her.

I cast my gaze back to the field, where the 2nd quarter was beginning. The opposing team had the ball at our 45 yard line. They hit on a big pass that brought them down to our 7. DeShaun was lined up at safety, covering their leading receiver. In a highly suspicious play, their receiver ran a crossing route, and DeShaun got pancaked by tight end, springing their player for the touchdown. With the extra point, they now lead 14-7.

Deshaun once again took the kick-off, but was downed at our 25 yard line. Brad dropped back to pass, but was hit hard, and dropped at the 9 yard line for a sack, and a huge loss. More importantly, He didn’t get up on his own. The paramedics on site looked him over, and he was walked off the field.

There was a round of applause for Brad, and DeShaun started to warm up his throwing arm. With Brad out, he was the back-up QB, and would have to go under center. With his first pass play, he was rushed, but managed to get the ball out on a screen to the fullback. There was some chippy tackling going on, and a flag for a late hit.

I watched, scared. Intellectually I knew that he would be okay, but emotionally I was a wreck. I thik Janie sensed this and gave me an extra-firm hug. I had played football before, not organized play, mind you. Still I knew what it was like to get hit and tackled. I watched the game nervously as DeShaun hung back in the pocket, dodging huge boys intent on squishing my cupcake. Wait… Did I just call him ‘my cupcake’…? Damn girliness.

DeShaun dodged and threw downfield for a long pass, which was hauled in at the 9 yard line. After a False start penalty and a run for no gain, Deshaun was forced to scramble for his life as a blitz required him to run. He was tackled at the 1 yard line, and Coach Grant opted to kick a field goal. With St. Michael-Albertville up 14-10, both teams held their ground until halftime.

At Halftime, I got up and ran to the bathroom. Damn it. If I were still a boy, I could be in and out quickly. But with peeing standing up no longer an option, I had to wait in the long line for the women’s room. * sigh*

After I finally got done, and had washed my hands, I headed out of the restroom, and back towards the stands. As I exited though, I felt a hard bump, and was knocked to the ground. Amy stood over me, her fists clenched tight.

I looked up at her. “What?”, I said defiantly.

She seethed and as I got back up, she drew back as though to hit me. That is until the bathroom door opened and a tall blonde woman walked in. I saw who it was, and did a double take.

“Is there a problem here, Miss Wilder?”, the teacher asked.

Sheepishly, Amy looked down at the floor. “No Coach, nothing wrong. Just bumped into this girl accidentally.”, she muttered.

I looked at Mom, and then looked at Amy Wilder. Hmmm.

Mom spoke up. “Okay Amy, the second half will be starting soon. You might want to get back to your seat. I will see you at practice on Monday.”

With that, Amy rushed off. Mom turned and gave me a gentle hug.

“What was that about Mom?”, I asked.

Mom replied.“Amy is on the volleyball team. I know she’s been hassling you and Janie, but I don’t think she’s made the connection between you and I. It might be best if you keep that secret, as she might be more cautious and stealthy with her attempts to cause you problems.”

I looked at Mom. It made sense. We might both have the same last name, but other than some superficial features, I don’t really look too much like her. Besides being a half a foot taller than me, there is the fact of her more Nordic looking features and hair color, whereas I gained Dad’s darker eyes and hair. And certainly, as you know… Mom is well… big in the chest, where I’m so not at all.

Heading back up to the stands, I sat down by Janie. “My Mom is here.”, I said casually.

Janie craned her head around, looking. “I don’t see her.”, Janie replied, as she put her arm back around me, under the blanket we were sharing.

“I think she’s over at the concession stand.”, I remarked.

“I didn’t see her there, but I really wasn’t looking”, Janie commented.

We turned out attention back to the field, as the opposing team took the kickoff for the second half. Going back and forth down the field, both defenses tightened up, and the third quarter was scoreless.
As the 3rd quarter ended, I glanced down at the Wilders. They had been watching the game intently, and ever since the run-in with Mom, they hadn’t so much as glanced back at Janie and I.

The score held through the fourth quarter, both teams playing stifling defense. With just over 2 minutes left, DeShaun intercepted a pass deep in our territory, and ran it back to the 50 yard line. Time was running out. Taking the ball in the shotgun formation, Deshaun pumped and threw a Hail Mary which was caught on a deflection by one of the senior receivers. With 35 seconds, the receiver stepped out of bounds at the 6 yard line.

Deshaun called a quick pass down to the two yard line, where the receiver was downed and Coach
Grant quickly took a time out with 4 seconds left on the clock. DeShaun took the snap and following his blockers, he dove across the goal line as time expired. Janie and I stood up and cheered like crazy.

The final score was Eden Prairie 16, St. Michael-Albertville 14.

Yay for sportsball! Any Questions, comments, concerns? let me know!