Chapter 3

I was sat at the very top of the bleachers when Cat decided to show up. She had gone into the locker room to change into a vibrant red mini skirt, black leather boots and a black high top that exposed half of her toned stomach. It was her way of trying to distract the other team whilst at the same time bringing the attention of our rugby squad on to her. As she quick-walked across the pitch to the stands she was shaking attempting to wiggle her bottom in the direction of the team, hoping to get their attention-she didnt. I looked around the pitch wondering how long I would have to endure this torture but really I was looking for Adam. Since our meeting this afternoon, I hadnt been able to stop thinking about him, even though in reality it was 20 minutes since, but hey Im a sixteen year old girl. The way he had not stopped staring at me should have made me freaked out, but quite frankly, I was entranced. I couldnt stop looking at him either. I seen Cat tear up whilst looking at him and I wondered if that was the affect of his scar on her, but to me that scar just made him more handsome. And then as I fell to the floor he held my head so that I wouldnt injure myself causing him to fall also. Then when we were lead on the floor staring at each other with Mrs. Williams shouting, asking if we were both okay, I saw his thoughts on his face, like they had leaked from his eyes. He cared, for me. But as soon as I thought that his expression changed from love to fright. It was an odd thing and it confused me so, which was the main reason that I left the room so hastily.

Because although he looked like a god and seemed to care for me, the emotion I felt and I know he felt too, scared the bejesus out of me. Just as I finished my scan of the field Cat reached the top of the stands and plopped herself down on the seat next to mine. She seemed moody and angered so I decided that ignoring her was the best, turned out, not so much. oh hi lucie, didnt see you there. Are those new boots your wearing? OMG are they Jimmy Choos? theyre the most beautiful boots Ive ever seen and you know whilst you were walking across the pitch I swear the whole rugby squad was ogling you, your soo lucky! Cat you do know that A. those are not Jimmy Choos they are the fake version from Clarks and B. the rugby squad never batted an eyelid, so give yourself a break and shut-up. Its about to start and since your sooo interested in the game I suggest you watch instead of being Catty at me! I huffed loudly, just to emphasize the speech and felt her arms around me. I think Cat thinks that hugging someone will solve everything. awww, Im sorry Luce, its just my hormones are playing up and Ive just had to listen o a conversation between Sophie Reynolds and Marcia Taylor about weather and orange and a lemon are the same thing! I mean they quite obviously arent cause ones orange and ones yellow but apparently I tuned out of Cats little rant for just a minute, to give my mind a rest and also focus on the other rugby team that had just arrived. Cat stopped mid-sentence as she noticed the huge red bus too.

The stands quietened as the bus slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Rugby season was always a big event at our school because we had one of the best teams in the county, that didnt subtract from the amount of tension though. As the first member of the opposing team stepped off of the coach a huge cheer filled the air which brought my attention to my head, only to find that Mrs. Williams must have gave me some painkillers because my headache was no longer there. Reverting my focus back to the pitch i saw that the opposing team had now began to walk toward our team. I scanned our team once again and again failed to find Adam. Is he really on the school team? Or did he lie? But why would he lie? i then remembered that he had not answered my earlier question properly, why was he there earlier? A whistle distracted me from my train of thought and i noticed the ball being launched into the air. Cat was beside me screaming her head off in excitement as the ball was raced up the pitch by one of the team, then it was thrown to a second team member and so on. All i could see from the top of the stands was a blur of people running to and fro on the pitch whilst throwing a ball around. For me rugby was a stupid sport that for some reason fascinated the southwest of the united kingdom imparticularly. Sure I had to watch the rugby on the television every autumn with the family but so did every other person on this side of the country. The ball continued to be thrown backwards on the pitch further away from our goal whilst the crowd waited in bated breath. Soon though it would be carried back towards the goal just to be reversed once again.

I turned to Cat to ask her opinion on what happened earlier, after all the match was holding no interest for me. Cat? she wasnt too happy that I had interrupted her viewing, you could tell from her expression, but she answered me all the same. yeah, whats up? I paused wondering how to phrase my question. She turned to look at me with wondering eyes. umm, so what actually happened to me earlier? I had chickened out at the last moment, and now had to continue a totally different conversation. oh sweetie, you still dont know? Well, I heard from Tillie, who heard from Mackenzie, who heard from Sarah, who heard from Ben that you just collapsed in the middle of history class and fell off of your seat. Everyone thought it was really funny at first, just you being really clumsy but when you started having a fit, Mr. Bax-Pratt told Neil and Ben to take you down to Mrs. Williams and make sure you were okay, but when I got there Ben had bailed and left Neil to check on you. He wasnt looking overly excited about it so when Mrs. Williams seen you open your eye she told Neil he could go. And then wellyou were awake so you know the rest. I tried to sift through this new information that I didnt originally want but now had the weight of, imagining how bad history class was going to be on Thursday. Cat had returned her attention back to the game and started bouncing in her seat as the ball was rushed up field. I began rethinking how I could phrase what I wanted to ask Cat when a huge roar spurted from the crowd. I studied the field, looking for

the source of all the excitement, to find that the ball was being rushed back up the field. I didnt think anything of it at first, I just thought it would be caught and returned to the opposite side of the pitch. But instead of stopping at the 22 meter line it had breached the boundary and continued being carried toward the try line. At this point I stood up for no reason, after all I dont normally get excited over rugby, but this was different. I focused my eyes on the player trying to figure out from his speed and style of stride who it was. After all every member of the school rugby team had a unique style of stride. It was what gave them an advantage over other teams. Ben-who carried me from history class apparently-has a quick stride making it hard for him to slip or get tripped up. Harry-in my English class-has a loping stride making it easy to step over players who have tried and failed to tackle him. But this person had neither and both of these strides. This weirdly made him faster and steadier than his team mates. I couldnt identify who it was though. He flew over the try line and crashed into the floor, defiantly touching down the ball. However there was no cockiness about the try or the way he got up and walked towards his next position. The team was going crazy and kept slapping him on the back earning them a grin from him. Then at that moment, I recognized who it was. He was here.