There was another reason my popularity had suffered tremendously in comparison to my brother's at school. My sexual orientation towards the same gender had never bothered my parents. However, in my religious catholic school, it turned quite a few heads. Most of those heads held a range of emotion from mild disapproval to blatant hostility. More than once, a harsh word and a shove had been thrown my way until my brother put an end to it. He'd held, and still held, enough sway on campus to prevent the majority of the class from even looking my way ever again. If it was even possible, I'd blended further into the shadows at that point in time.

I was currently wrapped in said invisible shadows as I watched the scene unfurl before my eyes. The soccer team parted like the red sea and my brother stepped through to assess this new boy. They exchanged words I couldn't hear from the distance. The tension between them however was apparent. It was the unavoidable clash of male ego as the two boys sized up one another. Suddenly the coach in front of me rose up to his feet and made his way on to the field. He spoke a few words as well and I saw my brother's eyes narrow on this new boy. It was an odd expression for him. He'd always been kind, even overly friendly to new kids in an effort to make them feel welcome. Yet, here he was looking at this kid like he wanted to put him 6 feet under.

This boy on the other hand only looked bored. His lips only tilted up into the tiniest of smirks when the coach told him to put on his cleats to prove his worth. It had been long since the soccer team had gotten its last recruit. This boy would have to prove to be outstanding to gain a position.

The players assembled and on the blow of the whistle, the game began. At first the boy did nothing. He made a few passes here and there but nothing spectacular. I could see the slight tension roll off my brother's shoulders as he came to the realization that this boy was no danger to his captaincy.

I noticed with disdain that they'd split off in such a way that my brother ended up with the best players on the team. This new boy played on the opposing end. He rarely ever got the ball and when he did, he had three people on his tail.

In the last 3 minutes of the short game, the new boy finally secured the ball. I could see his face clearly in that one moment. He had an almost maniacal grin on his face. It was so at odds with the serious expression he'd worn earlier. Faster than I'd ever anticipated, faster than I'd ever seen my brother run, the boy tore across the field. It was like watching the sport for the first time. He almost made it look effortless as he weaved through some of our team's best defenses. As he neared the goalpost, I could see the surety on his face. He knew he'd make that shot. I'd never seen that kind of certainty, devoid of nervousness on anyone's faces on this team. Not even my brother, who was currently slack-jawed in shock as the new boy took his shot. 

Another update! Let me know if you like it in the comments below and don't forget to vote as well. 

Until next week....

Love

-ASH