THE UNMARKED GEM; A Girl Nobody Desired

Chapter 37: Mason Vs. Sean

The Bridgetown High school two thousand capacity soccer stadium was filled to the brim. In Africa they hyperbolize it by saying there was nowhere to spit. It was roughly five minutes before the game and the fans were thrilled, singing on top of their lungs trying to instill morale in their players and also just show the competition on the opposite stand that they were not going to give them an easy time. Flying high were banners of their best players, as expected, MK was a familiar face among the Bridgetown fans and a face that had just come to light, Sean. Yeah, the same cheater and poor con guy that Tina alleged he was. Turns out he was not lying about greatness landing in Bridgetown and Mason ceasing to be the best player...that one was still a bargain they were yet to see him in action. But still you can always never judge a book by its cover.

The fans had done their part, now it was upon the players to remember their training drills and give their best. Hopefully with a tinge of luck...or rather proper planning they were going to win and keep the pride of their school. The players walked in through the tunnels being led by the officials, ear bursting cheers filled the stadia it was an emotional moment for those who were making their debuts and not used to such a big crowd. They lined up and first it was the Canon islands national anthem that played, then the hosts school anthem and finally the visitors. The competitors were allowed to shake hands a show of peace and unity. The captains were called by the center referee and a coin was tossed to pick sides, the two captains shook hands and exchanged the flags before they went to their respective teams, a final team prayer and morale boost was given. From that moment there was nothing the coaches standing side by side could do but hope the players were going to maintain discipline and professionalism, skills and creativity in their fluid passing and scoring goals. Every side was hoping for a win, and the tension in the air was bigger as it could get.

In the crowd, the girls were seated their faces glowing with pride and beauty of Bridgetown colors. None of them was an avid fan of soccer, they were just there as a show of solidarity.

"You knew he played soccer?"

"No, I'm not going to talk about that scumbag anymore can we change the topic please?"

"So, there is a history between the two" Ivy mocked taking a handful of popcorn in her hand.

"Bitter history that I don't want to talk about...why are you smiling Audrey?"

"What? Someone can’t smile anymore around here?"

"You're being cheeky and it's bad for you. Spill it" Tina grabbed her chin staring a whole through her.

"Okay, remove your hand on my chin"

"The game is about to start; you whores will have more than enough time to play games and ran around like little kids"

Like Ivy said the game had started at a very fast pace with both teams struggling to keep possession. The stars of both teams were marked hard, they had no room to breathe but still every touch they got left the fans on their feet hoping for some magic. So far, they groaned in disappointment as their stars couldn’t manage to get through the human equivalent of a Berlin wall made by the defense of both teams. Flicks were made, some mind-blowing PlayStation skills, cheers, jeers, everyone was on their feet as the game got so intense, fans singing on top of their lungs, the cheer leaders with their pom poms gave their best with sleek dance moves helping to entertain the fans. At last, it was a goal-less draw by the end of the first half.

"Is it over?"

"It's called halftime"

"Hmm, someone knows a lot about soccer" teased Ivy.

"She dated a soccer star..."

"It's common knowledge. Why do you keep bringing him up? For the record you can go ahead and say yes to him f**k the girl code"

"Hold up right there! What's going on here"

"Apparently Sean hit on her"

"What? Girl you're glowing"

"Bad friend" she gently hit Tina's shoulder, "He didn't hit on me he just said am cute which am not and he likes my personality"

"That's the exact definition of hitting on you" Ivy jumped in seemingly more elated at the new development, "I'm going for a refill you guys sit tight"

"Are you sure you know the way?"

"I've been in crowds bigger than this. Besides there is no one around with beautiful pigtails I can spot you a mile away"

"Aww, thank you. See, friends give compliments to each other" she turned to an absent-minded Audrey, her eyes had caught something in the crowd, a girl wearing a mason Klein jersey. She might have not been a soccer fan but she was sure there were not so many of them going around. Anyway, none of her business.

"When is the game starting again?"

"Soon" Tina checked her phone, "so, your distant cousin in the same school as you huh?"

"Yes, not a bad thing at least she will be driving me home"

"And what about me? You're just going to dump me for a shiny new toy?"

"No, am very grateful for everything you've done for me..."

"That's exactly what boys say before they break up with you"

"Listen!" She held her arms this time, Tina rolled her eyes, "You're my best friend and sometimes I feel like you do everything for me while I do nothing for you"

"Am not complaining. At least you're not using me as an emotional tampon, I like having you around too. Pure heart, beautiful..."words abandoned her and all of a sudden she looked sad, Audrey thought maybe she needed a hug and gave her one. Was she that worried about their friendship? Poor girl, she should have known that it was all guilt. Of what really?

"Hey, am not trying to push you away. Trust me, we're still friends I just don't want you getting home late and driving all those hours"

"Okay. But still, you can't trust her"

"I know. Trust no one but you"

"Not even me"

"What do you mean?"

"The game's about to start" She looked away to wipe that tear drop, whether they were tears of her heart or those we call crocodile tears it was hard to tell. On the bright side the second half of that entertaining game was upon them, the stadium was filling up again and the vibe was back, fans on their feet, Ivy joined the later with drinks and snacks the game was still level by the sixtieth minute, with half an hour to go it was all down to who wanted it more and the home side seemed to be getting frustrated a draw would be better but not without criticism, it was anyone's game yet they wanted it to be theirs. The cheerleaders just like everyone else in the stadium had their shoulders drooped, the only side with activity was the visitors’ side, singing their heads off and mocking their hosts. Well they should have known, playing with the humans was a demigod and at a time when his team needed salvation from looming embarrassment he stepped up with a calm mind-boggling finesse that had the visitors shotstopper and skipper picking the ball from the back of the net.

The stadium erupted, roles were changed and tables turned. Now the hosts had their vocal chords restored and they broke in praise and dance. His teammates swarmed on him at the corner flag of their opponents who all had their middle fingers in the air.

"We have a king in Bridgetown and his name is Mason Klein. What a finish from the young man. The future is bright!" The commentator showered his praise.

"It had to be him. You never know when he will unleash that killer instinct in him" said the equally elated sports analyst.

Ten minutes to go and the visitors were still looking for an equalizer. The hosts had their grip tight on the win, both teams suffering with fatigue, substitutions were made to try and reinforce the attack and defense and yet nothing changed. Even worse, Mason had set his mind on total annihilation of their enemies, a forward pass by the captain saw him running like a bullet and the captain stretched the remaining defender further to the wing dividing his attention, now he had a choice to mark the bullet or chase the speeding cheetah. At last he fell flat on his ass while trying to chase both and Mason in a selfless act chose to share the glory, he passed to the skipper moments after sending the goalkeeper on the ground too and the former didn't hesitate to put it at the back of the net. It was all over, for the likes of Audrey and Ivy attending their first match they fell in love with the greatest sport on earth and particularly the amazing player who had them on their feet controlling them like a bunch of puppets.

"Wow!"

"He is great"

"You're just finding that out right now. Everything Mason does is great, amazing, Fabulous, fantastic, oh how talented he is in all corners of life"

That was a moment of joy, and everyone celebrates differently others can even punch you in the face in the spirit of celebration, some like Tina end up opening up and Audrey was too happy to even listen to what she was confessing but Ivy wasn't, she didn't just hear what she said in the midst of a deafening celebration, she listened.

"What do you mean great at everything he does"

"I didn't say that"

"Well I just paraphrased it but am sure it's what you said"

"Girls, girls can we just enjoy the remaining few minutes of this amazing show of art and talent" Audrey ended the argument her eyes were still glued on game, Mason had the ball again and that spelled disaster for the visitors who couldn't take it anymore, the fans were leaving one after the other. Sean who had been denied a chance to shine couldn't let Mason shine even more than before so he chose to ran after him, Audrey knew Mason couldn't hear her but she still screamed a warning as Sean charged towards him, meanwhile with agility and speed of a wild cat he was enjoying passing through the opponents. He passed to the captain who passed back leaving two of the defenders running into each other, that was Sean's cue, he tackled Mason so hard and sent him flying on the grass. The whistle was blown and the players from both sides got in a brawl. What did he expect? Imagine walking into a home full of kids and attacking their mother? Mason wasn't getting up from that one, the doctors rushed in the field as the referee tried to separate the two sides. It's not all's well that ends well, sometimes bad things happen to good people. But was that tackle more painful than what he was doing to that poor soul on the stands who was almost breaking into tears? Oh sorry, it was the three of them.