Chapter 11: The Game

“If you want her, just say so.”

Jonathan teased as soon as they entered their car. The rest snorted, more openly now.

Mark quietly starts the engine and drives them to the field where the match will occur. This year, Columbia University is the host of this rugby union and so they had the home-field advantage. But it didn’t matter. They will win regardless of advantage.

“She’s interesting,” was all Kael could say. “Don’t you think so?”

“Sure, man. Whatever you say.”

Kael looked out the window, the boys noisy and rowdy behind him as he sat on the shotgun. His fingers mindlessly fiddle with his lips.

“She’s hiding something. I am almost sure of it.” Mark suddenly blurts out after a few minutes.

“How so?”

“It’s my first time meeting her, so I don’t know for sure. But she’s too composed and too controlled. She’s careful and tries hard to look… normal.” He glances at Kael at a stoplight. “So, sure, she is interesting.”

Mark is the observant type. He’s quiet, but know he’s always watching. If Kael’s a lion, Mark is his owl—sometimes, his crow, as he lingers over those nearing their death. Their killer? The hunting lion.

They were a deadly pair; and whatever Mark’s saying now, Kael knew better than to disregard it.

“Now that Mark said something, I guess I better should too,” Ty spoke up. “I smelled something in her. She didn’t smell like a human—she smelled a little like us.”

Kael’s eyes shot to the rearview mirror to look at Ty at the back. Ty was the hound, the tracker. His sense of scent was stronger and more distinct than the others, and his suspicions were almost always spot on. Silence now engulfed the car.

“I see,” was all Kael said.

—

It was a little past 4 PM, and the game was about to start. But as Kael looked around the crowd, he couldn’t find even a strand of her hair. He tightly clutched his mouthpiece, surveying the crowd once more.

There was no sight of her.

His shoulders dropped as he joined the field.

—

“Kael!” His teammates shouted at him.

Kael faltered. And in that short moment of hesitation, the enemy team saw a window of opportunity. They tackled Kael to the ground, successfully stealing the ball. Kael could only curse once he realized he didn’t have the ball in his clutches anymore.

His teammates worriedly glanced at him before chasing the ball. The crowd erupts in confused murmurs, probably wondering why the star player’s fumbling the game.

Once the first half ended and they ran off to their respective sides, the coach was ready to give him an earful.

“Are you injured?” their Coach greeted, sarcastically.

Kael looked away.

Even he didn’t know what was wrong with him.

Coach scowled when he didn’t answer. “In the head, probably?”

“Coach, I think he’s just distracted,” Mark intervened. “I’ll talk to him.”

He let himself be pulled away by Mark, but his eyes traveled across the crowd once again. He knew who he was searching for, and he had a feeling his performance had a connection to her absence.

“Dude, I know you’re waiting for her. But it’s already past halftime. If she were to show up, she would already be here.” Mark shook his shoulders once, catching his eyes. “Focus on the game, Kael.”

“I know.”

“But you’re not fully with us.”

“I—” He paused when he caught her scent. Like a wolf that found his prey, his eyes immediately searched for her. He stepped forward, passing Mark with his hand on his shoulder. “She’s here.”

And there she was.

Even when in the middle of the crowd, she still stands out. She was tall, beautiful, and very awkwardly out of place. She looked charming. She warily looked around, and even though no one noticed her, she still looked conscious of them. When she felt an intense gaze on her, she looked around and found him.

He could not control the smirk that appeared on his face, but it did not seem to charm her like it usually does. She instead furrowed her brows at him.

Chuckling, Kael felt an impulse to show off.

He downed a whole bottle of water and found his helmet. The entire team watched him in anticipation as he grinned mischievously.

“Let’s win.”

Mark scoffed, hiding his smile, as he watched the team Captain’s attitude completely flip 180 degrees after seeing Anna.

—

Like a little boy showing off to his parents in a playful match, he exerted extra effort in his play and carried the game. His smirk never left his face. Nor did the ball ever leave his hands.

He scored successive goals, actively mobilizing the team and sending out signals. The NYU Rugby team’s play suddenly shifted and the entire crowd went wild. By the end of the latter half of the game, the cheers were nonstop as their team ruthlessly ran through the enemy’s defense.

Their forwards were nothing to him. He pushed them off like flies, his mind intent on scoring the final points they needed.

As soon as Jonathan, his tight-head prop, passed the ball to him, he was already almost at the enemy’s try zone. Seeing the enemy’s forwards planning to tackle him, he fearlessly ducks and reaches the zone before they could get to him.

The crowd screams their lungs out. They cheer for NYU, they cheer for the rugby team, and they cheer for its captain.

“And that’s a try, ladies and gentlemen! Congratulations NYU for making it to the finals!”