Perspective

Cameron's Perspective

Cameron’s P.O.V:

          It took all I had not to run up and strangle him.

          The sun was lower in the sky, which was now more of a pale blue. Out on the field, I felt a cool breeze through my jersey. It was refreshing, but not at all comforting. Watching Jamie score goal after goal was frustrating. Seeing the admiration in my coach’s eyes was frustrating. Hearing my teammates’ cries of amazement was frustrating. It was all frustrating, and I was sick of it.

          I was ready to snap my stick in half. My plan to befriend Jamie so I could convince him not to join the team had clearly failed. It was because of Cora, too. I knew it. The moment she mentioned she went to the games, he seemed a hundred times more interested. I hated feeling like I was competing for my own girlfriend. But that was when I had to remember, she was my girlfriend. At least Cora was one thing Jamie wouldn’t steal from me. It was clear he’d taken my spot as co-captain. He might’ve even managed to snag Landon’s captain spot except Landon’s Dad helped fund the team, so the coach liked him too much. I was now out of a job. I still had my midfielder spot though.

          The coach called for a break and I headed over to the side of the net, where I’d left my water bottle. The rest of the team huddled around, splashing water on their faces and chugging it in quick gulps. I noticed Jamie grin as Landon complimented his lacrosse skills.

          “We’re definitely going to win the championships now thanks to you,” Landon was saying, his voice full of excitement.

          “Yeah!” Ian Curtis cried, equally ecstatic. “We didn’t have a chance before, but now…”

          They went on like that, and I tried to block it out, drinking my water in silence. Forget about me being friends with Jamie. That was not going to happen. He had enough fans to get by without any friendship from me. I was beginning to believe the guy had been sent here personally to ruin my life.

          What was with him volunteering to go back early with Cora at lunch? He didn’t need that much time to find his class. It was a really small school, not hard to get lost or confused. He was honestly trying to steal my girlfriend. Like who does that?

          I noticed him coming towards me, and all I could think was how much I hated him. 

          “Thanks for telling me when the practice was,” Jamie was saying. “It's cool.”

          I didn’t feel like saying anything, so I simply grunted. Jamie looked kind of confused.

          “Is something wrong, man? You haven’t said a word all practice.”

          I seethed with anger. “Yeah, something’s wrong. You stole my spot as co-captain.”

          Jamie seemed taken aback, his blue eyes wide. “I can tell the coach no. I mean, I don’t really care.”

          It was nice of him to say that, I guess. But it wouldn’t work. “No, the team would be unhappy and not get why I still have the spot. You’re better than all of us. You deserve it. It just sucks for me, that’s all.”

          “Sorry, Cameron. At least you still have a midfielder spot, right?” He said, trying to make me feel better.

          I shrugged as I put the cap back on my water bottle. “I guess.” I tried to play it cool, but all I could think about was shoving Jamie into a bus bound for Toronto so he could go home. Better yet, a bus bound for somewhere farther, like Albuquerque.

          The coach blew the whistle, and I jogged back out onto the field. It was the last half of the practice so that meant we were done doing drills and could play a scrimmage.

          “Odd numbers against even!” The coach commanded, and we split ourselves into two teams. I was on the even team since I was number eighteen, and I had Landon on my team. The other team had Jamie and Henry, though. It was a good bet that the team I was on was going to lose.

          We took our places on the field, with Landon at centre. I played right wing, while Ian took the left. The coach blew the whistle again, signaling the face-off. Jamie immediately took possession of the ball, charging up the field. He threw a quick pass to another member of his team, Jordan Mitchell, who fumbled a bit with the catch. I raced forward, prepared to quickly grab the ball, but Jordan managed to steady himself. Jamie had already situated himself by the goal at this point, and Jordan quickly passed it back to him. Jamie ran quickly to the other side of the goal, fazing him out, and then tossed the ball into the net.

          I groaned as we prepared for another faceoff.