Episode 16 - Weekend Warriors
The weekend had arrived. The boi's planned their parties and the grrls got ready for their Saturday sports; hockey and soccer being among their favorites.
The grrls of 181 had their own soccer team, the Carlisle Cats, and they prepared for their home game against long time foes, the Falcons. Midge was demoted to water grrl and orange cutter, giving her stitched head a few weeks off. Jez, captain and goalie, dragged Jules kicking and screaming from her bed and told her to load up her car with the equipment. Lee grumbled all the way to the car carrying her sports bag.
Chloe walked past Sara's apartment and noticed her peeking through the curtains. She knocked on her door and just as she was about to give up on it opening, Sara appeared. Chloe put on her best non-threatening smile,
'Good morning. I thought I'd ask if you wanted to come along and watch the game.'
'What game?' Sara asked tentatively.
'We've got a women's soccer team and it should be a good game today. Do you play?' Sara thought of her days as captain of the local hockey team and shook her head.
'Well,' Chloe continued, 'you're welcome to get a lift with me if you like. Most of the grrls hang back at the club rooms afterwards for a session and watch the footy but I usually come home straight after.'
Sara considered this for a moment. She was bored and desperately lonely. It would do her good to get out and maybe make a few friends. Surely there would be some straight grrls there. She agreed and excused herself while she got a jacket and her purse. Chloe grinned smugly and waited for her in the car.
On the drive, Chloe chatted about the team and how they were on top of the ladder, with the Falcons a close second. Sara sat silently, her hand on the door latch ready for a hasty departure in case Chloe tried to get too chummy. Eventually she relaxed, and started talking about her own sports career back in her home town. She had won many trophies for the local hockey and netball team and like in most small towns, sport was her social life.
They got to the sports ground and all the grrls rallied in the carpark. Jules was still wiping the crud out of her eyes and put her head on Lee's shoulder to grab a few seconds sleep. Lee shoved her off.
They went into the change rooms, got their rub downs and frail bits strapped. Jez, the oldest in the team, looked like a walking mummy. Every joint was swathed in strapping tape. Jules went to sleep on the massage table. A few of the grrls dragged her into the showers and put her under the icy cold water.
Chloe paraded around the change rooms naked, not putting on her uniform until the last moment. Midge told her she had a pimple on her arse. Chloe ran to a mirror and positioned herself to check. There was nothing there. She glared at Midge who was chuckling evilly.
The weekend warriors strode out onto the pitch and faced off to their respective opponents. The ref blew his whistle and they went into battle. There was a fair bit of nudging and stepping on toes before the whistle blew and the spectators knew it was going to be a bitchy game from the start.
Chloe, as usual, was the target of some unfair and overly enthusiastic tackles. She had slept with most of the opposition's grrlfriends at some stage. She recieved a few penalty kicks for her troubles but failed to convert them to goals.
Sara watched her running up and down the pitch and again marvelled at how athletic she was. Midge came and sat beside her. She immediately got defensive.
'How's life treating you, Sara? Settled in yet?' she asked amiably.
'Fine.' Sara replied curtly. She saw Midge's hurt expresion and felt like a bit of a shit heal. 'Yes, I've settled, thanks. How's your head?'
Midge brightened a bit and showed her the stitches proudly.
'Get them taken out on Friday. It's a bugger trying to shower.' Midge complained. Sara replied that she imagined it would be.
The oppostion's striker had sent a booming kick into the back of their net. Jez hadn't even seen it coming. Midge went into a tirade of abuse, telling her to retire if she was going blind as well as crippled. Jez gave her the finger.
Five minutes before the half time break, Jules copped the ball in her mouth in mid yawn, causing her teeth to rattle. Miraculously, it ricochetted into their goal. The score was 1 - 1. Midge ran out on to the ground and held a wet cloth to Jules' face and led her off while she held her arms above her head in victory.
At half time the score was unchanged. They sucked on their oranges and tended to the stopper marks in their legs while Jez gave them her usual pep talk. Jules' lip had swelled badly yet she returned to the field after the break regardless.
With ten minutes to go, the Falcons went into top gear and scored another goal. Their defence got more aggressive and fur started to fly. Lee threw a punch at their striker who had been elbowing her all day. The ref red-carded her. Lee stormed off, shrieking abuse, while the Falcons' supporters gave her heaps as she ran up the race to the locker rooms. She turned and charged back at them, arms swinging.
A melee ensued and both teams ran into the crowd. The ref tried to break it up and copped a shin guard across his head for his troubles. He crawled out from under the player's legs and decided he'd let them kill each other.
Sara tried to get out from the midst of the riot but was too slow. Someone got her in a headlock and was nearly choking her. Midge came to her rescue, pulling off the attacker and gave her a pounding.
Jules balanced herself on the back of a bench, thumped her chest like Tarzan. She let out a roar and threw herself into the pack, taking down a few of her own team mates with her.
Chloe held her arms around her head screaming,
'Not the face! Not the face!' so someone punched her in the six pack instead, knocking the wind out of her. She lay on the ground gasping for air like a fish out of water.
Jez picked up the opposition's smallest player and started swinging her around like a rag doll, taking out a few Falcons. Her weapon screamed in protest.
The whole while, the instigator of the brawl, Lee, was lying unconcious under their feet. Suddenly, her body was contorted by spasms and she began frothing at the mouth. Midge saw her convulsing and screamed for everyone to break it up. They all looked down horrified at Lee writhing on the ground.
to be continued... |
