Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2006 21:20:45 -0700 (PDT) From: No Name <liberateme03@yahoo.com> Subject: Rivals - Preview Disclaimer - I do not know Justin from NSYNC, or for that matter anyone from NSYNC, nor do I know Wade Robinson. This story is entirely fictional, don't take any of it seriously, but I do hope that you enjoy. Feedback is welcome at liberateme03@yahoo.com I like the good and the bad, I'm thick skinned so that bad is good critiquing, and the good, well, let's be honest....who doesn't like to hear good things about the stuff they do. Hope you enjoy.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Justin sulked off to the locker room, a dismal ending to an other wise stellar season. The guys filed in behind him, one after another, faces filled with dispair, disappointment and sorrow. The final game before states, the game that would have made them regional champs, and they lost, worst of all, a loss to Ridge Stone High, their rivals, the mood couldn't have been more grim. It wasn't a regular after game locker room, home turf and they couldn't hear the loud shouting of fans, or the ruckus of honking horns of victory. Instead, they rushed through the motions, no showers kicked in, those would be done in solace at homes, alone to mope and think over every mistake that was made. It was inevitable, each player would think of the mistakes they made as an individual, blames themselves. In a day or two blame would start to go towards someone else, the ref, a bad play, but at this stage, it was all about self disgust. Justin's own thoughts were mixed. He was disappointed, but he couldn't blame himself, he didn't play for a single minute. Backup quarterbacks didn't get much game time in a final like this one, not when it could've been the star quarterbacks last game, turns out that it was. Often Justin played wide receiver too, just to get some field time, but his ankle had been bothering him, and the coach thought it would be best to get it 100%....for next year. The car ride home was quiet, Justin's parents knew not to say much, nothing would change his mood. He was going to be a junior next year, the starting quarterback, that was excitement, but this loss, that was a monumental disappointment. As the car stopped Justin sulked out of it, similar to his sulk to the locker room. He made his way inside, a house empty of emotion, his parents filed in after him, oddly still silent, not sure what to say when something so serious to a teenager was transpiring. Justin made his way to his bedroom and then into his bathroom. He unclothed, and stepped into the shower, the hot water soothing his sad body, letting the despair wash off as he rushed about getting clean. He killed the water and stepped out, dried off briefly and through on a pair of boxers, enough to sleep in. When he pulled the cover up to his neck, he did one last thing, reached to his bedside and turned his cell phone off, he didn't want to get any calls tonight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wade leapt off the field in excitement, fans crowding around him, his teammates bouncing off the same excitement. His final touchdown pass had put Ridge Stone High to a win, he was heading to State, a winning season record, a win over the rivals, and on top of that, a chance to impress the scouts before he was even a senior in high school. The car ride back to Ridge Stone was loud and obnoxious. The short fifteen minute drive took fourty five minutes, classmates driving slow, honking, exchanging high fives, danger games of people hopping from car to car as they traveled down the main street. Wade just laughed, big smiles as his friends drove on, they'd hit up somebody's house to shower and then an obligatory party would be in order. He'd be the star of the party, talk it up, brag, everyone would wanna know what it felt like. His smile grew big as he thought of it, a win he hadn't been sure of had just happened, and he couldn't have been riding a higher cloud.