Fragments by M. R. Field Page A

high fiving each other.
    “The rest of you boys split up; let’s have a scratch match. Losers have to run five laps. Let’s go!”
    I jogged to the perimeter of the oval and began my hard slog. As I got closer to where Stacey was, her eyes lit up as she started laughing. So much for pitying my laps.
    “Oh poor baby! You got in trouble! That’s hilarious!” She giggled alongside her friends. Her phone was in her hand, and she texted someone.
    “I’ll see you after you’re done, baby, and make you feel better.” Fuck that. No matter what distraction she gave me, I was not spending time with her now. The boys were already going to rip into me about this for weeks. Dammit.
    After training, we headed to the gym to shower and get organised for next week. Coach gave us a quick pep talk about the team we were facing in a week’s time, while reminding us to wash our Guernseys. I showered quickly, eager to get out of here. The boys gave me flat-out shit about my arse while we showered, and I wanted to go before I pushed someone’s face into a wall. Once I dressed, I saluted the boys with my middle finger and headed out.
    I didn’t make it far out of the door before Coach called out to me. I hung my head, ready for his lecture. Before he started, I couldn’t help but mutter, “I’m so sorry, Coach. I really didn’t know she would be here. She’s a pain in the arse. It won’t happen again.” I adjusted my duffle bag on my right shoulder and looked up at him.
    He sighed heavily. “Reynolds, I’m not here to lecture you. I just wanted to see if everything was all right. Your overexcitement made you look ready to start a war out there today. You okay?”
    I looked up, shocked that he had noticed.
    “Yeah, I’m fine—just a few personal issues. I was just eager to burn off some steam. But I’ll be sorting them out soon. Next week, you won’t even notice at the match. So, it’ll be fine. Um, thanks for asking.”
    He patted my shoulder and headed towards his car.
    Stacey was fast approaching me as I headed in the direction of the late bus.
    “Baby, I missed you!” she squealed, jumping into my arms. I held her hips for a moment before pushing her down and away from me.
    “Not now, Stace. I’m not in the mood,” I barked, stomping away. 
    “Oh baby, I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I was just, like, so excited to see you out there. You looked so hot!” She giggled. That giggle! How had I not noticed it before? I kept walking to the bus stop, but she followed me.
    “Why are you even here? I didn’t ask you to come. It’s just for the boys and me.”
    She laughed and smacked my shoulder, saying, “I wanted to see you, dummy. I didn’t realise you had some dumb bromance thing happening.” She gripped my forearm, stopping me in my tracks.
    “Aren’t you glad to see me?” She frowned. “I thought you‘d be happy that I made the effort to care about your interests.”
    I sighed and look at her. Her forehead wrinkled as she stared back at me.
    “Look,” I said gently, rubbing her face. “It was nice of you, but sometimes I just need me time. It’s nothing against you; it’s just me. I have things I need to do by myself.” She stiffened at my touch and glared at me.
    “What do you mean, you need ‘me time’?” she said, using her fingers to emphasise her words. “I thought we were building something. We should be hanging out more often.”
    Her eyes squinted as she glared at me.
    “Oh, my God! You’re talking about spending time with that bitch Trice, aren’t you?” she screeched. 
    I stood back, frowning at her. Where in the hell did that come from?
    “Trice is my friend , Stacey, but that’s not what I mean. Football training is my time . But now that you reminded me, I’m catching up with Trice on Sunday. I need to talk to her about something, so I won’t be around until after footy, because I’ll be seeing her just before.” 
    Stacey huffed at me, unimpressed.
    “I