VIRAGO

hiraeth

hiraeth (n.) - a homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that never was

"Come on boys! I've seen girls work harder!" Coach Wallace yelled as they went through their small sided scrimmage, and they all knew he was talking about their newest addition to the team. Samantha had been proving her worth all week, outshining against the guys and keeping up physically and mentally. He could tell that she was just one of the guys, and they all treated her as such when they were talking and giving one another shit. He liked the fire she possessed, for she was eager to keep playing. After another fifteen minutes of scrimmaging, he decided to blow the whistle and calling it quits, no one able to get past her to score. "Alright bring it in!" He shouted, and they all seemed to drag towards the sideline. It was their last practice of the week and it was probably the hottest day thus far. His players all sprawled out on the field, drinking water and breathing hard. "Good practice today you guys, and the entire week at that. You guys have been working over the off season, I can tell. I'm gonna let you guys go early, I'll see you guys on Monday."

"Thank you Coach!" One of the guys shouted as if he were praising their Lord and Savior, and a laugh floated in the air from the rest of the team.

"Oh! One more thing before you all leave!" He announced before they all got up and moving. He went over to his bag and pulled out a set of jerseys, a pair of shorts, and soccer socks. "I know almost all of you have your uniforms already, but I think I missed one." He said, handing Samantha her uniform.

"I'm in?" She asked with a big smile.

"Hell yeah you're in. You've been working your ass off all week and I can - we can all see how good you are. Welcome to the Pirates." He responded as she took it in her hands, and she grinned. They all hooted and hollered, now able to officially welcome her to the team.

"Thanks for this opportunity. I won't let you guys down." She said with a smile as she packed up her stuff. She was excited - she had not been on an all guys team since she was ten, and that was because it was co-ed. She got all her stuff packed up and she switched into her Birkenstocks, taking her hair down and racking her fingers through it as she walked towards her car.

"Hey Sam, wait up!" She heard one of the guys shout, and she turned around to see it was their captain, Nash Adams, running toward her.

"What's up?" She asked as she threw her soccer bag in the backseat with her new uniform.

"We're all heading over to the beach to celebrate the end of the first week, aka hell week. Would you wanna join us?" He asked her, and she smiled, shrugging.

"Sure, why not." She agreed, accepting the invitation. "I just gotta head home and change and I'll meet you guys there?"

"Sounds like a plan." He answered as he backed away and went over to his own car. She smiled as she got into her own car, glad the guys were treating her as their teammate rather than shutting her out like she thought they would. She went ahead and made the six and a half minute drive back home, parking her car and quickly heading upstairs to change into a bikini and grab some other things for the beach. She had slowly been able to unpack her room, and she was almost done. She was hoping to finish it up that weekend.

Ten minutes later she pulled into the parking lot, and she had just caught the guys starting to walk towards the right of the boardwalk, where the sandy side of the beach was. They waited for her and they all set up camp in the middle of the beach. There were not a lot of people for a hot Friday afternoon, but they were sure there would be more over the weekend.

"Okay, I'm gonna say it. Everyone's tanlines are horrible." Mark said as they all got undressed and down into their swimsuits. They all took a look at one another, and they just bursted out laughing.