𓈊 A Poppy By Any Other Name

Act XXII

This is a bit of a disclaimer than I've only ever played football as a child, and I've never been in robotics before, so if anything's incorrect, please let me know so I can improve the quality of this chapter. Thank you, lovelies <3

[P.S. - Reminder that when I say "football," I mean soccer /lh/cl/pos]

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Scott had football tryouts the next evening after school, and Jimmy had convinced Scott to bring him with so he could watch. The tryouts weren't until four, but Scott wanted to get there early to practice before it started.

"You carry your own ball around in there?" Jimmy asked from his spot on the bleachers as Scott pulled a football from his duffle after putting on his shin guards.

"Yep," Scott answered, standing up. "It's best to be prepared, and they don't usually bring any of the equipment out before fifteen minutes 'till."

Jimmy nodded. "That makes since. So, uh... what do you do at tryouts?"

Scott hopped from foot to foot like he was jogging in place as he spoke, "It depends on the coach. Some only do drills and one v. one's, some do only scrimmages and drills, some do all three, some only do one. I've seen some different things done at tryouts before as well, but those are usually what they do."

"Okay," Jimmy said slowly, nodding as if he understood more than a quarter of what Scott just said. "What position do you play?"

Scott shrugged. "I'm used to being cycled about," he said, "but usually midfielder. I used to frequent being keep, as well."

Jimmy blinked. "Uh... what?"

Laughing, Scott explained, "Midfielder is offense in the center of the field and keep is the goalie." He stopped hopping and began to stretch a bit. "I do play forward and defense from time to time, but midfield is my favorite to play. Keep's kind of boring, to be frank, but it is an important job, so..."

Nodding again, Jimmy leaned forward, bringing his feet up to rest on the row of seats in front of him and resting his elbows on his knees. "I don't really watch football that often, so I'm kind of interested in how tryouts look," he thought out loud.

Scott smiled, huffing a small chuckle. "It's not too interesting," he confessed, though Jimmy didn't really believe him. "Just a lot of running around and yelling."

Jimmy snorted. "Sounds like practically every sport."

"Fair enough." Scott smiled at Jimmy. "I should go warm up a bit before other people start getting here..."

"Alright. I'll be right here enjoying the view," Jimmy said with a wink. A strange expression crossed Scott's face, and while it concerned Jimmy, the latter found it indecipherable as Scott flashed an awkward smile and scurried off, dribbling the ball between his feet as he went.

Watching Scott run about the field had been an absolute treat to Jimmy. He got a wonderful view of the violetette before the tryouts started, and he adored every second of watching Scott run laps back and forth from end to end of the field, dribble the ball between his feet as he ran, and Jimmy especially enjoyed when Scott rejoiced in (either his team or himself) scoring during the scrimmage.

"I've got it," Scott shouted as he swiped the ball from one of the boys on the opposing team. This was one of Jimmy's favourite moments from watching the tryouts. Scott twirled around and started for the other side of the field.

"Nice tackle," replied someone from Scott's team, who was closer to the net than Scott was. "Pass it, I've got a clear shot."

Scott didn't seem to be listening. He was heading straight toward the other team's defenders, a concentrated glint in his eyes. There were two boys standing a few meters away from the goalie, perfectly blocking Scott's path to the net.