Part 1 - Pre 2/28, Chapter 1B
[Author's Notes] Managed to eke this out - Bratworse is currently at 1600 words I think. I'm listening to my iTunes as I'm trying to write at home with the TV on. Right now "Sister Suffragette" from Mary Poppins came on - I'm not sure I can write with Glynis John's quivering voice singing a song that gets stuck in my head quite easily. I might have to come up with a bunch of music that I can listen to while writing.[/Author's Notes]
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 had one of the balls and was heading at a fast clip towards the goals, surrounded by four Protectors. The other Raydar's Scorer also had a ball, rendering the Shooting Stars' offense moot. That scorer 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.
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 had one of the balls and was heading at a fast clip towards the goals, surrounded by four Protectors. The other Raydar's Scorer also had a ball, rendering the Shooting Stars' offense moot. That scorer 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.
posted by resigned idealist at 5:42 PM
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