Part 1 - Pre 2/28, Chapter 1
[Author's Notes] I will be posting the entirety of the chapter and putting the links up in the sidebar so that readers can them in sequence, instead of reading the chapter all broken up like the posts are.[/Author's Notes]
"Damn! It's the end of the 4th Quint and people are leaving already?" Corey stood next to his father, Drew West as both looked onto the playing field that disguised a massacre going on. The Raydars were ahead by a score of 75 to 8, and scores of fans were leaving the stadium, in hopes of beating the traffic home.
"What do you expect? The Raydars aren't just the best in the league, but the best equipped with the newest techonologies. Now, if they were playing some good ol' fashioned neighborhood Zing, then I seriously doubt the score would be so lop-sided." Drew sighed. He could see his son's frustration since it was basically his son's job as Acting Liaison to the Fans to ensure the fans stay throughout the five Quints and use their money on Raydars related knick-knacks and food.
A slap on his back swatted the reverie right out of his thoughts. Drew turned around slowly, knowing that the deliberateness of his actions would give hesitation to any fans who assumed a familiarity that wasn't there. Unfortunately, the slapper didn't hesitate; she burst out laughing at his intimidation attempts.
"Andrew West, are you trying to intimidate little ol' me?" The grin on Stace's face was so infectious that Drew caught it immediately.
Even from a distance, the three of them stood out. Drew was a huge bulk of a man; true, he no longer had the physique he had when he was an all-star Center Defender for the Raydars for 14 years, but he wasn't far from it. Truth be told, he was just a bit proud over the fact that it's been 25 years since he's retired from Pro Zingball but nothing about his body gave away the fact that he was close to entering his seventh decade, having just passed his 60th birthday. He stood at a tall 6' 8" and weighed an even 315 pounds, and most of his bulk remained muscles instead of turning into fat.
Both of his offsprings took after their mother, and it was apparent with Corey standing next to Drew. Corey was shorter than Drew by a good six inches, and lankier by a good hundred pounds. Drew knew that his son had always tried to follow in his footsteps, even trying out for the Raydars at one point, but Corey just wasn't fast enough to be a Scorer, large and strong enough to be a Defender, nor sturdy enough to be a Protector. Therefore, when the Raydars organization, out of deference to Drew, offered an insider's job to Corey, Corey jumped on the chance. And to everyone's amazement including Corey himself, Corey was actually good at interacting with both the professionals (the team AND the organization) and the fans.
Stace was another hard-to-miss person. With her shock-white hair that's cropped short, her sturdy and strong form stood between Drew and Corey holding her own. Stace had been a fan of the Raydars ever since she was a little girl fifty something years prior, and had gotten season tickets as soon as she started making her own money. At this particular seat, she had watched the Raydars implode right before Andrew West joined the team, and cheered as Drew and his teammates brought glory and honor back to the Raydars for 14 years. After Drew retired and received his lifelong season tickets to the games as a thank you gift, he found himself seated next to Stace, who wasted no time in telling him exactly what she thought of every player. To his eternal amazement, he realized that very little got past Stace; she had been right about his particular weakness and he wished he had known her before he had retired.
Drew had tried for the first 10 years of his retirement to get Stace a job as a coach, but the discrimination he faced made him understand his daughter, Raqi (Raquel), a lot more and her decision to stay out of semi-professional Zingball. Of his two offsprings, Raqi was the one who got his athletic ability and grace.
A roar from the audience caused the three of them glance towards the playing field. One of the Raydars' Scorers, #33 had one of the balls and was heading at a fast clip towards the goals, surrounded by four Protectors. The other Raydar's Scorer, #26 also had a ball, rendering the Shooting Stars' offense moot. #26 was also surrounded by four Protectors. Drew took a closer look.
Ah, the Raydars were showing off now, hence the roar of approval from the remaining fans. Since the opposing team's offense has been rendered useless, as well as the Raydar's defense, the Raydar's offensive team was having a blast on the field, passing the two balls back and forth between the two Scorers, using the walls to do a two to three-way bank pass. Hoots and whistles would follow the trajectory arc of each ball, resulting in a weird round robin echo around the huge stadium.
With the rise of the noise around them, Drew made a face at Stace, displaying his displeasure. These types of celebrations in concert with the Raydars' showing off just proved ever more to Drew that his team no longer existed; what was left was this mockery of its former self. Yet his son reveled along with the fans, seeing their celebration as vindication of his efforts as Acting Liaison to the Fans.
Stace folded her arms and tapped her foot, drumming her fingers on her upper arm. "Where is that nephew of mine?"
A little crushed, Corey turned to Stace and to Drew's wincing eyes, seemed to whine at her, "Aww, Stace, you're not leaving before the game ends, are ya?"
Stace harrumphed. "As if Jimmie would ever let us leave before the last firework is set in the parking lot."
Drew smiled at her; Stace liked to act as if it was all because of her nephew Jimmie that they had to stay for all the parking lot revelries after a game but he knew better. He'd seen her drink guys thrice her size under the car. Corey brightened up just as someone nearby screamed out "HELP!"
All three snapped their heads toward the voice. "It's Mrs. Hongjin!" Stace cried out.
Sure enough, Mrs. Hongjin was the one who had apparently screamed, for she was waving her hands frantically. She saw that the three had heard her and yelled out, "Jiasing, heart attack!" Corey lept and scrambled over the half emptied seats to get to her as he barked an order over his shoulder at his father: "Call Raqi!"
Drew had his handheld out already and before Corey reached Mr. Hongjin, Drew had Raqi on the other end. "Raqi. Heart attack, 15 rows from my seat." A click was the answer he got.
He saw that Stace was making her way over to help out and he too, went but using a less vertically challenged route. Ignoring requests for autographs, he soon got to the fallen man and saw that Corey had started CPR already. Stace was steadying Mrs. Hongjin so Drew took crowd control. Muscling some onlookers with a little sweep of his massive arms, he moved the crowd back all the while apologizing with "Sorry, gotta do this."
By the time he had widened a large arc of the circle, Raqi and her EMT partner Franklin showed up with defibrillator in hand and stretcher in tow. The pride with which he was watching his daughter work must've been apparent because soon, he felt a dig in his ribs. Of course it was Stace, who gave a quick nod over at Corey. Drew saw the look of disappointment on his son's face and he wanted to take everything that had happened in the past four minutes back.
Drew had tried all Corey's life to make Corey know and understand that Drew loved and respected him but he could neither disguise his feelings for his daughter nor could he assuage Corey's hurt. Despite the guilt he felt, he couldn't help but admire the fluidity with which his daughter approached all tasks. Even mistakes she made, a stumble here, a drop there, would turn gracefully into an interpretation of a pirouette or arabesque. The world, compared with his daughter, waddled and stumbled through life. He had seen people just stop in the middle of walking and watch her work for minutes, speechless.
His poor son could only envy his agile sister. Through hard work, he had molded himself into a decent Zingball player - just not major league level and barely minor league. He had played for the Merlions for two years before both the organization and he decided it was mutually beneficial for him to discontinue his contribution to the team. At least that was what both said publically.
After Raqi and Franklin stabilized Mr. Hongjin, they got him on the stretcher. Pausing before Drew, Raqi asked, "Dad, could you help clear the way for us?"
"With pleasure." Without even moving his hand, just by walking through the crowd, they parted before his towering form. His sheer bulk intimidated them. He could hear Raqi behind him whispering, "I see you, Dad, you're puffing yourself up to make yourself seem bigger. I know that trick. You used to scare off my boyfriends with that trick."
Grinning with his voice but not his face, Drew whispered back, "You'd rather have more business? You know I'd hurt these fragile ones."
A poke in his back just made Drew happier.
*****
"Whoowee, did you just see that shot? That ball must've ricocheted off a helmet, a back guard, two walls before Raydars #33 scooped up the ball. The helmet belonged to Shooting Star's #86 and the back? Well, let's just say, the Shooting Stars will soon run out of official Defenders if they keep not avoiding the ricochets. Yes! They just managed to get him off the field despite the deliberateness of the Raydars playing around their medical team. And oh no, the Raydars Shooters are already lining ther replacement #91 up for shots. The Raydars seem content to leave the score at 75 to 8, and what's that I spot? The Shooting Stars are just being toyed with, folks.
Wait... waitaminnit... what's this? YES! #77 of the Shooting Stars has managed to knock one of the balls back into the neutral zone and #56 of the Shooting Stars has picked it up. He's trying to quickly reach the Shooting Star's zone, to prevent any of the offensive Raydars from further pursuit - Ah no!
#56 is down folks. A Raydar Protector came out of nowhere and walloped #56 across his stomach. I didn't even get to see which one it was, he disappeared into the pack so fast. Yup, #33 has the ball again.
One last bit of news before we go to a commercial break... we just received word that the fan who had collapsed at the beginning of the 5th Quint has been stabilized and is on his way to the hospital, thanks to the quick and efficient work of the West family. And before we take the three minute break between 5a and 5b, we want to remind you that Raydars gear are available at a store within 500 yards of you. If not, we will mail you merchandise and pay for the shipping ourselves! This is Nik Bloom, stay tuned for some important messages from our sponsors."
"Damn! It's the end of the 4th Quint and people are leaving already?" Corey stood next to his father, Drew West as both looked onto the playing field that disguised a massacre going on. The Raydars were ahead by a score of 75 to 8, and scores of fans were leaving the stadium, in hopes of beating the traffic home.
"What do you expect? The Raydars aren't just the best in the league, but the best equipped with the newest techonologies. Now, if they were playing some good ol' fashioned neighborhood Zing, then I seriously doubt the score would be so lop-sided." Drew sighed. He could see his son's frustration since it was basically his son's job as Acting Liaison to the Fans to ensure the fans stay throughout the five Quints and use their money on Raydars related knick-knacks and food.
A slap on his back swatted the reverie right out of his thoughts. Drew turned around slowly, knowing that the deliberateness of his actions would give hesitation to any fans who assumed a familiarity that wasn't there. Unfortunately, the slapper didn't hesitate; she burst out laughing at his intimidation attempts.
"Andrew West, are you trying to intimidate little ol' me?" The grin on Stace's face was so infectious that Drew caught it immediately.
Even from a distance, the three of them stood out. Drew was a huge bulk of a man; true, he no longer had the physique he had when he was an all-star Center Defender for the Raydars for 14 years, but he wasn't far from it. Truth be told, he was just a bit proud over the fact that it's been 25 years since he's retired from Pro Zingball but nothing about his body gave away the fact that he was close to entering his seventh decade, having just passed his 60th birthday. He stood at a tall 6' 8" and weighed an even 315 pounds, and most of his bulk remained muscles instead of turning into fat.
Both of his offsprings took after their mother, and it was apparent with Corey standing next to Drew. Corey was shorter than Drew by a good six inches, and lankier by a good hundred pounds. Drew knew that his son had always tried to follow in his footsteps, even trying out for the Raydars at one point, but Corey just wasn't fast enough to be a Scorer, large and strong enough to be a Defender, nor sturdy enough to be a Protector. Therefore, when the Raydars organization, out of deference to Drew, offered an insider's job to Corey, Corey jumped on the chance. And to everyone's amazement including Corey himself, Corey was actually good at interacting with both the professionals (the team AND the organization) and the fans.
Stace was another hard-to-miss person. With her shock-white hair that's cropped short, her sturdy and strong form stood between Drew and Corey holding her own. Stace had been a fan of the Raydars ever since she was a little girl fifty something years prior, and had gotten season tickets as soon as she started making her own money. At this particular seat, she had watched the Raydars implode right before Andrew West joined the team, and cheered as Drew and his teammates brought glory and honor back to the Raydars for 14 years. After Drew retired and received his lifelong season tickets to the games as a thank you gift, he found himself seated next to Stace, who wasted no time in telling him exactly what she thought of every player. To his eternal amazement, he realized that very little got past Stace; she had been right about his particular weakness and he wished he had known her before he had retired.
Drew had tried for the first 10 years of his retirement to get Stace a job as a coach, but the discrimination he faced made him understand his daughter, Raqi (Raquel), a lot more and her decision to stay out of semi-professional Zingball. Of his two offsprings, Raqi was the one who got his athletic ability and grace.
A roar from the audience caused the three of them glance towards the playing field. One of the Raydars' Scorers, #33 had one of the balls and was heading at a fast clip towards the goals, surrounded by four Protectors. The other Raydar's Scorer, #26 also had a ball, rendering the Shooting Stars' offense moot. #26 was also surrounded by four Protectors. Drew took a closer look.
Ah, the Raydars were showing off now, hence the roar of approval from the remaining fans. Since the opposing team's offense has been rendered useless, as well as the Raydar's defense, the Raydar's offensive team was having a blast on the field, passing the two balls back and forth between the two Scorers, using the walls to do a two to three-way bank pass. Hoots and whistles would follow the trajectory arc of each ball, resulting in a weird round robin echo around the huge stadium.
With the rise of the noise around them, Drew made a face at Stace, displaying his displeasure. These types of celebrations in concert with the Raydars' showing off just proved ever more to Drew that his team no longer existed; what was left was this mockery of its former self. Yet his son reveled along with the fans, seeing their celebration as vindication of his efforts as Acting Liaison to the Fans.
Stace folded her arms and tapped her foot, drumming her fingers on her upper arm. "Where is that nephew of mine?"
A little crushed, Corey turned to Stace and to Drew's wincing eyes, seemed to whine at her, "Aww, Stace, you're not leaving before the game ends, are ya?"
Stace harrumphed. "As if Jimmie would ever let us leave before the last firework is set in the parking lot."
Drew smiled at her; Stace liked to act as if it was all because of her nephew Jimmie that they had to stay for all the parking lot revelries after a game but he knew better. He'd seen her drink guys thrice her size under the car. Corey brightened up just as someone nearby screamed out "HELP!"
All three snapped their heads toward the voice. "It's Mrs. Hongjin!" Stace cried out.
Sure enough, Mrs. Hongjin was the one who had apparently screamed, for she was waving her hands frantically. She saw that the three had heard her and yelled out, "Jiasing, heart attack!" Corey lept and scrambled over the half emptied seats to get to her as he barked an order over his shoulder at his father: "Call Raqi!"
Drew had his handheld out already and before Corey reached Mr. Hongjin, Drew had Raqi on the other end. "Raqi. Heart attack, 15 rows from my seat." A click was the answer he got.
He saw that Stace was making her way over to help out and he too, went but using a less vertically challenged route. Ignoring requests for autographs, he soon got to the fallen man and saw that Corey had started CPR already. Stace was steadying Mrs. Hongjin so Drew took crowd control. Muscling some onlookers with a little sweep of his massive arms, he moved the crowd back all the while apologizing with "Sorry, gotta do this."
By the time he had widened a large arc of the circle, Raqi and her EMT partner Franklin showed up with defibrillator in hand and stretcher in tow. The pride with which he was watching his daughter work must've been apparent because soon, he felt a dig in his ribs. Of course it was Stace, who gave a quick nod over at Corey. Drew saw the look of disappointment on his son's face and he wanted to take everything that had happened in the past four minutes back.
Drew had tried all Corey's life to make Corey know and understand that Drew loved and respected him but he could neither disguise his feelings for his daughter nor could he assuage Corey's hurt. Despite the guilt he felt, he couldn't help but admire the fluidity with which his daughter approached all tasks. Even mistakes she made, a stumble here, a drop there, would turn gracefully into an interpretation of a pirouette or arabesque. The world, compared with his daughter, waddled and stumbled through life. He had seen people just stop in the middle of walking and watch her work for minutes, speechless.
His poor son could only envy his agile sister. Through hard work, he had molded himself into a decent Zingball player - just not major league level and barely minor league. He had played for the Merlions for two years before both the organization and he decided it was mutually beneficial for him to discontinue his contribution to the team. At least that was what both said publically.
After Raqi and Franklin stabilized Mr. Hongjin, they got him on the stretcher. Pausing before Drew, Raqi asked, "Dad, could you help clear the way for us?"
"With pleasure." Without even moving his hand, just by walking through the crowd, they parted before his towering form. His sheer bulk intimidated them. He could hear Raqi behind him whispering, "I see you, Dad, you're puffing yourself up to make yourself seem bigger. I know that trick. You used to scare off my boyfriends with that trick."
Grinning with his voice but not his face, Drew whispered back, "You'd rather have more business? You know I'd hurt these fragile ones."
A poke in his back just made Drew happier.
"Whoowee, did you just see that shot? That ball must've ricocheted off a helmet, a back guard, two walls before Raydars #33 scooped up the ball. The helmet belonged to Shooting Star's #86 and the back? Well, let's just say, the Shooting Stars will soon run out of official Defenders if they keep not avoiding the ricochets. Yes! They just managed to get him off the field despite the deliberateness of the Raydars playing around their medical team. And oh no, the Raydars Shooters are already lining ther replacement #91 up for shots. The Raydars seem content to leave the score at 75 to 8, and what's that I spot? The Shooting Stars are just being toyed with, folks.
Wait... waitaminnit... what's this? YES! #77 of the Shooting Stars has managed to knock one of the balls back into the neutral zone and #56 of the Shooting Stars has picked it up. He's trying to quickly reach the Shooting Star's zone, to prevent any of the offensive Raydars from further pursuit - Ah no!
#56 is down folks. A Raydar Protector came out of nowhere and walloped #56 across his stomach. I didn't even get to see which one it was, he disappeared into the pack so fast. Yup, #33 has the ball again.
One last bit of news before we go to a commercial break... we just received word that the fan who had collapsed at the beginning of the 5th Quint has been stabilized and is on his way to the hospital, thanks to the quick and efficient work of the West family. And before we take the three minute break between 5a and 5b, we want to remind you that Raydars gear are available at a store within 500 yards of you. If not, we will mail you merchandise and pay for the shipping ourselves! This is Nik Bloom, stay tuned for some important messages from our sponsors."
posted by resigned idealist at 8:13 PM
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