THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 5

"You should've seen her Scotty! She was flirting like crazy!" Aimee laughed as Scott walked us to the change rooms to get ready for soccer training.

"Aimee, relax. It was harmless!" I sighed, and she shook her head and laughed.

"It's only harmless until she reports you for harassment," Scott chimed in.

"Shut up Scott, you weren't even there!" I laughed, and we bid him farewell as we walked into the girls change rooms.

Aimee and I got undressed and changed into our training gear. I looked at my body in the mirror, admiring the toned stomach and legs that I had worked so hard for.

"Are you done checking yourself out?" Aimee teased.

"Shut up," I snapped, pulling my soccer jersey over my head. Once I had finished putting my Nike shorts, shin pads, socks and soccer cleats on, Aimee and I walked out onto the field to join the rest of the team.

Mr Linder was already out there, setting up cones and balls in the centre of the field.

"Hey there girls, hows year 12 treating you so far?" he asked us as we walked up to him.

"Not too bad," Aimee replied.

"India, I heard you got a detention on the first day. How on earth did that happen?" he chuckled.

"Who told you?" I asked him.

"Mr Geoffrey mentioned it, he seemed to think it was a new record!" he laughed.

"Well maybe if Mr Cleary wasn't such an asshole, I wouldn't have ended up there!" I complained, and he just continued to laugh.

"I shouldn't endorse such behaviour, but I really have never liked that man," Mr Linder confessed, and Aimee and I burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Aimee and I joined the girls in warm up drills, kicking the ball back and forth between us and zig zagging between cones up and down the field. Miss Rose appeared while we were warming up, her attire changed from her casual outfit to exercise gear. She wore soccer shorts, a loose singlet top, shin pads and soccer boots. She looked hot, as per usual.

"Okay girls, line up in front of the net, I'll play defence, lets get a few kicks in before we go for a run," she yelled out to us, and we all jogged towards the goals.

I was fifth in line, and beginning to get nervous. So far no one had managed to get the ball past her, she was insanely good. I wanted to impress her, show her how good I was...but I was beginning to doubt myself.

"You're up Thorn!" Miss Rose called, "Show me what you've got."

She threw the ball to me and I trapped it cleanly under my foot. I smirked at her cheekily, and she returned it, standing with her legs apart and her knees bent, eyeing my every move. I kicked the ball in front of me and she quickly raced forward, but she was surprised when I got to the ball before her.

"Ah, you're a fast one aren't ya!" she said as she tried to attack the ball. I quickly moved it away from her, flicking it to the side and chasing after it. She was in front of me again, giving me more space to show off my skills. I quickly did an Advanced Rainbow flick and the ball sailed right over her head. I followed it behind her and booted it cleanly into the back of the net.

The girls on my team cheered, and Mr Linder could be heard chuckling from beside the goalpost.

"I told you you'd be impressed Ruby!" he told Miss Rose with a smile. Ruby. Ruby Rose. I liked it.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" she asked me, a look of awe on her face.

"Taught myself," I said with a shrug.

"Jesus Christ," she whispered.

"Don't let Mrs Rysteck hear you say that, she'll douse you in holy water and make you recite the bible word for word," I said teasingly.

"She sounds like a really fun person," she laughed.

"Oh, she's a riot!" I said sarcastically, and walked to the back of the line.

Once we finished training, Ruby sent us for a lap around the field as a cool down.

"Okay girls, one lap and then you're good to go!" she yelled, and we all took off running.

"She's good!" Aimee puffed as we jogged next to each other.

"Yeah, really good. I think we'll win it this year!" I said back, trying to regulate my breathing.

Long distance running has never been my forte, but I always managed to play a full game of soccer without needing a break. The fact that I was feeling puffed after half a lap was strange, but I tried not to let it phase me. Aimee and I continued running, keeping up with the rest of the group. With each step, I struggled more and more. It got to the point where I could no longer hide it, and my form started to fail.

"Inds, you okay?" Aimee asked me.

"I feel weird, I'll be fine though. Probably just dehydrated," I puffed out, and we finished the final stretch back to the corner of the field.

Aimee quickly ran to the sideline and grabbed my bottle, throwing it to me so I could drink it. I poured half the bottle in my mouth, pouring the rest over my head and letting it drip down my body. Even when I was feeling unwell, I still knew how to tease.

"India, you're really pale. Are you sure you're okay?" Aimee asked me quietly. She knew I wouldn't want to come across as weak and I appreciated her for it.

"I think so, maybe I'm getting a cold or something," I tried convincing her, although I wasn't sure of it myself.

"Alright, well let's go back to the change rooms. Maybe you'll feel better after a shower." she suggested, and I nodded and let her walk me off the field with the rest of the team, Miss Rose and Mr Linder.

We barely made it to the sideline before I stopped, my vision blurring. I leant forward, leaning my hands on my knees and began to try and breathe deeply.

"Aimee..." I said, grabbing her hand.

And then I fainted.