Memories

LXXXVI

NATURAL

'You gotta be so cold
To make it in this world
Yeah, you're a natural'

⥎
⥐

"Go Kevin! Go Riko!" Nathalia called from the sidelines. They couldn't hear her, but the young girl smiled brightly with her two front teeth missing. The two people who were like brothers to her played together in harmony. Kevin left handed and Riko right. Thalia thought it only fair that she was both left and right handed, to keep up with the two strikers.

They won, and on a rare occasion, Tetsuji took the whole team - and Nathalia - to get ice cream after the game. Nathalia skipped ahead with Riko and Kevin, and the rest of the team - who seemed to believe they were lower than the two boys because they weren't as good - stayed behind, talking in hushed whispers. Nathalia didn't care. She talked about everything and anything, even if nobody was listening.

"Oh, and then Kevin came in and was like, bah!" Nathalia gestured swinging a racquet. "And Riko went yah!" she swung it the other way. Then Nathalia began laughing uncontrollably and Kevin smiled, while Riko's face stayed impassive.

"Yes, Nathalila," Riko said. "We were there. We were the ones playing. We do not need a recount of what happened." Nathalia's smile fell and she stayed quiet.

"Riko," Kevin said. Tears were threatening to fall out of Nathalia's eyes, but she kept them in. She was used to doing that by now. Her whole life had been full of staying quiet and keeping in tears. "Don't be so hard on her. She's excited. Let her be excited."

Riko huffed but didn't say anything. Kevin winked and smiled at Nathalia and she smiled at him before launching into another topic that excited her at the time. Dolls. Finger painting. Those new exy gloves she wanted for her birthday. And Kevin listened. Because Kevin was always good, and didn't have patches of goodness like Riko did. Because Kevin was kind, and caring, and always there. Because Kevin was Kevin.

⥎
⥐

Kevin fought aggressively on the court, alongside the rest of the Foxes, who also seemed aggravated. For different reasons, Thalia assumed, but they were playing better than she'd ever seen them before, and that was a good thing. Thalia smiled from the sidelines.

The score was eight-six at seventeen minutes, and Reacher snapped. He punched Kevin after he scored a goal, and Thalia was on her feet. She stayed at the bench, but watched angrily as the teams got involved before the referees could. Reacher was sent off with a red card and Kevin and Matt got yellows. Thalia sank into her seat with her jaw clenched.

"They didn't start it. They shouldn't have been carded." Thalia said.

"That may be so," Renee said from Thalia's side. "But they were involved. It may not be fair, but it's the rules." Thalia huffed and stayed quiet. Kevin scored on the foul, and she smiled a little, but it didn't seem to relieve the tension between the teams on the court.

The Ravens turned on the backliners and Andrew, then, instead of Kevin. Aaron and Matt were pushed around hard and got tripped up, but they pushed back just as hard. It wouldn't be long before one of them snapped, but Allison seemed to be yelling insults at the Ravens for now. Renee chuckled from beside Thalia and she looked over to her.

"You really like her, don't you?" Thalia asked, a smile on her face. Renee didn't look to Thalia, but nodded and hummed in agreement. Thalia could see why. Allison was fierce on and off the court, and didn't take anyone's shit. She was a force to be reckoned with, and wasn't the rich daddy's girl everyone thought she was. Allison had picked up the techniques and footwork Thalia had taught her quite quickly, and had them down pretty well. She could hold her own.

When Jenkins got around Aaron, she fired to rebound close to the goal. Andrew went for it, but so did Williams, even though it was clear Andrew would get there first. Thalia could see what was going to happen even before it did, and she widened her eyes and opened her mouth to yell, even though Andrew wouldn't have heard.

Williams crashed into Andrew and pushed him against the wall. The lines fired up red at the weight, and the crowd was silent. Stunned. Fouling a goalkeeper was one of the worst offenses in the game, and Andrew didn't like to be touched. Andrew pushed Williams off him and stumbled away from the wall.

Thalia saw Neil move out of the corner of her eye and she turned her attention to him. He was striding quickly across the court and dropped his stick as he walked to Williams and shoved him in between his shoulder blades. Williams hit his knees, despite Jenkins' best efforts to keep him upright.

Matt made his way quickly to Neil to stop him from shoving Williams again, and Neil was let off with a warning. Thalia sighed. He couldn't afford to get carded, even with her and Nicky and Dan on the sidelines ready to play - and Renee by extension, if she was needed - everyone was tired, and the Ravens could send on anyone they needed to replace, at any time. The Ravens were rec carded, and Tetsuji switched out Williams and two others for Riko and two new players.

As Riko stepped onto the court, Thalia was reminded with how much she wanted to beat him at his own game. That was the whole point of playing tonight. To show Riko she was better than him.

Thalia noticed Andrew, Matt and Neil having a conversation near the goal and narrowed her eyes, even though there was no way she could make out what they were saying. When Matt limped off, - followed by Aaron - and spoke to coach, Wymack was angry, but then calmed down when Matt said something about it being Andrew's idea.

"Thalia, Dan, you're on." Thalia stood and looked to the captain in confusion before turning her attention to Wymack. "Dan, striker. Thalia, dealer. Dan, you're switching with Neil. He's switching with Matt. Thalia, you're switching with Allison. Apparently Andrew thinks it will be better to have Neil in the backliner position and Thalia as a dealer." Wymack threw his hands up before sighing. "Hell if I know why."

"Speed," Thalia said. They'd known all night that there wasn't enough speed on the backliner position tonight, and switching Neil for Matt was bound to make things easier. "And Riko trained Neil as a backliner at Evermore, just like he trained me as a dealer. It will work." Thalia looked to Andrew through the glass and nodded, before turning back to Wmyack. "It has to."

Wymack grumbled and sent the girls on. Thalia jogged to Allison and told her that they were switching. "Go sit with Renee. You've earned it." Allison said nothing and jogged off. With Dan at one side of her, and Kevin at the other, Thalia took a deep breath and didn't feel suffocated when the referees closed and locked the doors.