The Woods family filled their SUV. Chrissy, despite being squished in between her brothers in the backseat, was giddy throughout the drive to Seton Catholic Prep. The Titans would have to break through the Sentinels, today, and they'd have to do so without Jackson.
Jackson stared up at the ceiling of the car. Mom turned back in the passenger seat, her expression shifting to worry as she looked at Jackson. 'I bet it's going to be a good game,' she said.
'Reckon they'll win, Jack?' Dad said.
'I hope so,' Jackson mumbled.
'They'll win by a hundred points!' Chrissy exclaimed. 'Jackie's team is the best!'
Jackson sighed, his eyes not leaving the ceiling. Tommy glanced across. 'It's stupid that they wouldn't even let you suit up, even if you only sat on the bench… what happens if someone gets injured or ejected? You're ready! Why can't your coach see that?'
'I don't know.' Jackson turned away from the others, his gaze lowering to the window, staring out of it. He remembered what Coach Otsen had told him, the reasoning he had given for not taking Jackson off the Injured Reserve (IR)—the others didn't need the "distraction" from him sitting on the bench.
Mom tried blasting some music and singing along, and while Dad and Chrissy joined in, the boys weren't very responsive, even when their favourites came on. Chrissy even tried cheering up Jackson with some games of Spotto and I Spy, but neither worked.
Eventually, the field came into sight, and Dad found a parking spot. Getting out of the car and walking closer, they saw that three of the four stands surrounding the bright green field were already filling up with Sentinels supporters. Only one stand had been reserved for family members and fans of the Titans, thought it was currently less populated than any of the others.
The family found seats near the Titans' bench, just behind the varsity team. The bench itself was empty, and so was the Sentinels' across the field. The field was empty too; both sides had already gone to their locker rooms.
Jackson hunched down in his seat, staring at the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Tommy sat next to him, and Chrissy was on Jackson's other side, with their parents past her.
Dad didn't take his seat just yet, instead asking if anyone needed something to eat. Mom politely declined, and Chrissy excitedly asked for popcorn. Jackson didn't answer, his eyes not leaving the tunnel. Tommy shook his head. 'We're fine, Dad, thanks,' he said.
Jackson was in no mood to eat, he didn't think he could stomach it. He just wanted to be down there, inside the room with them. He wanted to be part of the team again.
Kenny double-checked the tightness of his laces. This was his chance, perhaps his final chance that year. Even if the team lost, if he could just prove he was worthy, if he could perform well enough, maybe he'd earn his way onto the varsity team.
It was going to be a hard task, the Sentinels looked like the most legitimate team they'd faced yet. They were big, bigger than just about everyone on the Titans. Maybe he was looking at the wrong team, surely they weren't the JV team, right?
Pete looked over. He looked around the room. It was too quiet, too tense. It was like they were preparing for a funeral—their own—rather than readying themselves for war. He stood on his bench.
'Hey! This might be our last shot, and it WILL be if you're already giving up. But I'm not going to let those pendejos walk all over me. I'm gonna go down fighting, IF we go down at all. Heh, even if we lose, I'm not about to give up and play like shit, I'm gonna prove that I deserve to be varsity, and that it's you putas holding me back.' He sneered.
He was booed and jeered, with some water thrown at him, but he laughed and so did the rest of the team. 'You can go! We don't need your sorry ass,' Vincent said.
'C'mon, Vince,' Owen said, nudging him. 'Think of how much nicer practice will be without the vest.'
Realisation washed over Vincent's face, and when it passed, determination remained. More laughter filled the room.
Rudy scoffed. 'If anyone's being held back, it's me. Even if I can't win because of you losers, I'm still going to prove I never should've been cut in the first place.'
Kenny glared across at him, but before he could retort, Coach Otsen's harsh voice cut through the noise of the locker room. 'Enough of that bullshit! I don't want to hear anything more about proving you're too good for this team. That's what you sound like, like you think you're too good to be sharing a field with the player next to you.'
Players mumbled as they looked at one another, then down at the floor.
'That's not true. You're all incredible, you all have talent, and you all have skill. Believe in yourselves. I don't want to hear any more shit about promoting to varsity, that's a goal of the self. You're not individuals on that field, you're a TEAM. I need you all worrying about the goals of the team, and the only goal the team has is to WIN.'
Agreement spread throughout the room. Coach Knight stood as still as a statue by the door, his eyes seemingly looking at no one AND everyone at the same time. Coach Carson paced back and forth behind Coach Otsen, her cold glare seeking out any doubters, anyone who was still thinking about benefiting themselves over the team.
Coach Vasquez punched the air. 'Maximum effort for maximum victory!'
The whole room turned to face him. Silence reigned as everyone stared, he grinned back at them all. Coach Otsen cracked a smile. 'If you play to your best, you can win, no one can stop you. If you commit, and play with maximum effort, like Coach Vasquez so eloquently put, if you play like a TEAM you're strong enough to win not just this game, but State. I believe that. It's time you boys started believing too.'
Lonnie slowly rose and lumbered to the door, reaching it in a few strides. He looked back, a smile just curling the edges of his lips. 'Let's show them what Titans are made of.'
The other boys hopped up from their benches, Owen followed Lonnie, rumbling after him, and Kenny hurried through the doors and out into the tunnel as well. The rest surged after them and thunder sounded throughout the tunnel, leaking out over the field and reaching the stands, as the Titans sprinted onto the field.
Jackson perked up when he spotted them. Maybe he was stressing over nothing, maybe he was being selfish, AGAIN. He just needed to trust Coach Otsen, trust his teammates. "They can win."
'They're fired up. Let's hope that translates onto the field,' Tommy said.
Dad returned with a small bucket of popcorn for Chrissy, and a corndog for himself. Like he always said, "You always have to check the opposing team's dogs".
When he was back in his seat, his voice led the cheers for the Titans as they rounded the field on their warm-up lap. The whole family cried for them, even Jackson added his voice, cheeks turning red at the ear-piercing shrieks coming from Mom and Chrissy.
The varsity team, led by Shane, cheered loudly too, and whilst their numbers were few, the Titans' fans managed to scream like they were a full arena.
Kenny looked over, and pointed up at Jackson. The two nodded at each other. Looking at Jackson, Kenny knew he had to win this game. He couldn't be selfish, he couldn't think about looking good and trying to earn a varsity spot. He had to win so Jackson could play in the next game.
'Hi, Kenny!' Chrissy waved wildly. Mom and Dad laughed, still cheering.
More players looked over, Jackson slumped down in his seat, sure that everyone was looking to see who that crazy family belonged to and why they were screaming like that.
The Titans settled into their warm-ups, and the cheering faded away, the field still abuzz with excitement. One side because they were anxious to see how their team could perform in this hostile environment, the majority because they were awaiting their team.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel once more. This time much more deliberate and forceful. The Sentinels marched towards the field, their hammering, unified footsteps booming across the field, silencing all other noise.
Two columns emerged from the dark tunnel. At the head, there were ten girls, dressed in striped skirts of red and gold, wearing flashy smiles, and carrying faux spears and shields. They marched onto the field with high knees, then stopped, and turned to one another. They thrust their spears into the air and formed arches.
The Sentinels emerged from the tunnel and the crowd erupted. Already the ground was shaking from the cheers and rumbling march. Jackson couldn't remember experiencing another similar at this level before. It was so different, not just in volume, but in the way they cheered, it wasn't like a usual crowd's hopeful cheers for success, more like a crowd welcoming heroes home.
One by one, the golden-coated Sentinels burst through the arches of spears and jogged to centrefield. There they stood at attention, and were slowly joined by their brothers-in-arms. They stared ahead, unfazed by the atmosphere around them.
Once the full team was aligned in three rows, they turned, all moving in unison as they faced the Titans. The cheerleaders hurried over in front of them, and knocked their spears against the ground. The fans rose from their seats.
The cheerleaders looked at one another and nodded. They tapped their spears against their shields, then shortly thrust their spears into the air again. In unison, the Sentinels—and even their fans—pumped their fists into the air, once, twice, thrice. They let out a war cry as they did so, and it burst out from speakers flanking every stand as well.
The Sentinels turned, and began to warm up in their half of the field, remaining perfectly disciplined as they went about their business.
The Titans watched them, always glancing over even as progressed through their own drills. Tommy noticed more than a few shoulders slump as the Titans witnessed the display of might from their opponents.
'Oh my, I've never seen anything like that before,' Mom said, chuckling.
'It's a good show, I'll give them that much, don't know if it'll help them win,' Dad said.
Chrissy pouted. 'Bunch of show-offs. Nobody likes a show-off.'
Tommy watched Jackson. Jackson said nothing. His eyes studied the Sentinels, and his mouth was set in a frown.
Eventually, it came time for the coin toss. Lonnie, Pete, and Kenny went out for the Titans, and they were met by three imposing Sentinels: Number zero, number ninety-nine, and number sixty-four.
All three of the sentinels sported the same haircut: a buzzcut shaved down to almost their scalp.
Number zero was tall, with broad shoulders and a square chin. His blue eyes had the kind of sparkle that would've been more in place on a model than a football star. He looked like he'd been plucked from a poster for the army.
Ninety-nine was the shortest of the bunch, but still a couple of inches taller than Kenny—he would've been eye-to-eye with Jackson—and he looked like Steve Rogers before the serum.
Number sixty-four was a big boy, but there wasn't much flab on his hefty frame. While the other Sentinels looked at the three Titans like they weren't a threat, all smiles and rainbows, sixty-four stared through Kenny, Pete, and Lonnie like they were already dead and he was trying to figure out where to hide the bodies.
Overall, the Sentinels' captains could've been brothers … even sixty-four, though he must've come from a different daddy to explain his darker skin.
Zero reached out to the Titans. Pete accepted the handshake, staring back at him impassively. 'Let's have a great game,' Zero said.
'We will, pendejo, we will.'
The head official stepped forward. 'Arcadia, you're the away team, you get to choose, heads or tails?'
Lonnie leaned over. 'Tails.'
The official tossed the coin into the air, and it landed on tails. Pete had to stop himself from blurting out his instinctual answer. Years of football had built up the habit of deferring first, but he remembered the message Coach Otsen had given them before they ventured out to centrefield.
'We need the ball first. We're strongest on offence with Rudy in the line-up, and we need to make a statement right away. Get the ball, score a touchdown, set the tone. DON'T defer.'
'We'll receive,' Pete said, turning away.
The Sentinels were unbothered. 'We'll kick north,' Rogers said.
After one more pep-talk, the Titans set up for the kick-off. Kenny and Rudy stood at the edge of the endzone awaiting the kick. They'd split the field into two sides, and depending on which side the ball was kicked to, chose who would return the kick.
More warcries thundered out of the speakers to countdown the kick-off. The Titans stood firm under the audio barrage. They were determined not to crack first.
Neither Rudy nor Kenny would get an opportunity at a return to start the game, as the kick resulted in a touchback. Rudy grunted with disinterest, but he didn't linger on the annoyance as the Titans' formation shifted to their offence, and they prepared for their first play of Regionals.