Diner Girl

Chapter 5

Even though I was surrounded by darkness, I felt exposed like I was standing naked in front of a crowd. I faintly heard a man's voice, he was calling me by name. His voice grew with every call and it became frequent like he was afraid. I then too heard a woman crying, I blinked when I saw a woman's frame, she was curled in a ball lying on her knees saying my name over and over through her sobs. She was holding onto something as she cried, I wanted to move towards her when I was jerked back by the sirens of police cars.

For a moment, it felt as if someone was holding me by my arm pulling me away. Her shape slowly faded away, but her cries stayed in my mind. I could feel her pain, I could even sense her fear and heartbreak. I tried hitting the darkness trying to see if I can slap away the hand pulling me away. As I stared down at my hands, I noticed they were small like the hands of a four-year-old.

I was looking out a window, a car's window. It was driving away from where the crying woman was kneeled over. "Mommy?!"

"Mommy?" I opened my eyes with the word playing on my lips. It was still dark when I woke up and I suddenly felt suffocated. I threw the blankets off of me and sat up, I held my hand over my chest feeling like I want to throw up. "What is going on?" I asked myself. What the hell was that dream about? I got up from my bed and made my way over to the bathroom where I splashed my face with cold water. "It's just a dream." I kept on reminding myself.

I couldn't get myself to go back to bed. I looked at my desk where I left my books. There was no sense of returning to bed, I won't be able to fall asleep anyway. I made myself some coffee and decided to work through my assignments.

My body was tired by the time I reached my second class of the day. The energy drink I bought this morning was making its way from my body. I was seated at my desk before everyone else, I was going over my notes while the room filled in a space of a second. Xander made his way over, a smile on his face when he found me already seated. His smile dimmed when he probably saw the bags underneath my eyes. "You okay?" He asked while sitting down. "I'm fine, I just decided to stay up late last night that's all." He frowned.

"You have a private life aside from working at the Diner?" He meant it as a joke. "Haha very funny." I answered dryly.

"Duncan told me about your pass the other day." It didn't come to me as a surprise. They are on the same team and have been teammates since the first semester. "According to him, it was pretty awesome." He continued. I just pulled up my shoulders. I don't know what he wanted me to say. "And he tells me that you have never played American football in high school or middle school." I just nodded, not feeling in the mood. "How did you do it, Zoey?" He then asked.

"Did Duncan put you up to this?" I questioned narrowing my eyes. He looked taken back with my question. "Why would you think that?" He asked. "I don't know." I answered. "But, he didn't. He doesn't even know that we have classes together. I was just curious." He admitted. "Your pass just raised a few curious questions." He continued.

"Because it's me?" I asked. He frowned. "Passing a football with a perfect angle comes from your hips and drive off your arm." I told him. "And you know this, how?" He asked. "It's no rocket science. And in 2007, I was ten-years-old when I had my first face to face with Shane Martin. He was the king of kings in football he was considered to be one of the best Quarterbacks in the history of American football. My question as a kid to him was; What must one do to become the best? He answered me that it has everything to do with your hips and the drive of the ball when you pass it down to your receiver."

"You've met Shane Martin?" Xander looked surprised and jealous at the same time. "It was a lucky shot. He was making his way off the field when I ran into him. He handed me a signed copy of a poster of him and a falcon cap. I wore that cap until I couldn't anymore." Xander grinned. "He inspired me to play football even if it was just during breaks in primary school on a field where no one was scouting for players."

"So, you've always pretended to be a Quarterback when you played the game as a kid?" He asked. I nodded. "And it got you to pass a ball like that?" I pulled up my shoulders. "I'm a girl, and coaches don't scout girls." Xander shook his head in disbelief. "At a time it was like that, I can't even argue. But, times have changed Zoey."

"It's too late, Xander. That dream of me becoming a Quarterback faded along time ago. The league's scout players from College." Xander stayed quiet for a moment. "This is supposed to be a secret, but there is a rumour surfacing under all the College and Universities. Coach Shane Martin is not going to do his usual rounds of scouting for players. He is going to choose a team from a College and be with them for a season. There he will make his decision on players including his usual scouting for players from other Colleges and Universities to try-out for the Falcons." This was big news, more like exciting news. What would be the chance of him coming here?

Duncan's team was under the top 3 for years, every season they either take the trophy or our rivalry takes it. And according to the headmaster, 80% of our players make it to the big leagues.

"And there is news that the Falcon's Quarterback is retiring next fall." Xander mentioned. "Yeah, rumour has it their temporary replacement is not cutting it." Xander chuckled. "Coach Shane tries to look at the bright side and wants to give the guy a chance but, like you said he is just not cutting it."

"You guys must be pretty excited about the news." Xander nodded. "The guys are pretty nervous because everyone looks up to him."

Shane Martin was an inspiration to all future American football players. He was the one who always led his team to victory, either it was with a perfect pass covering long distances or when he found his feet and made a run for it, and scored a touchdown. He retired in the year 2012 but didn't quit the spotlight completely as one year later he was assigned as their new coach. He continued to lead them to victory and he just continued breaking world records and making history.

Coach Shane Martin wasn't just an inspiration but a legend as well.