The day was only halfway through and I'd already had a headache since first period.

    High noon had set in with the sun glowering down on my face where I sat by the classroom window. After listening to my biology teacher torturously drag on about our upcoming assessments and the planned syllabus, she assigned us work sheets that we had to complete in groups. The problem? I despised working in groups.

    Things wouldn't be so bad if Scott and Trent were in this class. Right then, I envied their shared I.T class across campus. Group work wouldn't be so frustrating if I had at least one of my friends here. Being forced to work with people who didn't care about their work or plagiarised the answers was a waste of my time.

     "So, Connor," Declan, a neutral friend of mine, leaned across his desk in my direction. "Friday night. Party at yours? I got a cousin who can hook us up." He made a smoking gesture, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

    Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I flicked my pen in rhythm against my notebook. My right knee bounced under the table. "Doubt it, man. I'm lucky I'm even allowed people near the fish tank after our last win."

    Declan burst out laughing at the reference. "I remember that! That was an epic prank!"

    "Not for my mum's prized Royal Blue." I muttered under my breath. Turning away, I put my head down. "Declan, I really want to finish this sheet, okay?"

    "Connor," came a soprano drawl from my left, followed by the smack of gum. I turned to see Holly perched cross-legged on a table-top surrounded by her group of friends. A pen dangled loosely between her fingers as she absentmindedly glanced over the worksheet before her. "What'd you get for question three?"

    Sighing, I explained to her the process of working out the equation, barely resisting the urge to roll my eyes and inform the brunette that she should be up to the last page by now and not the first.

    Class ended thirty-five minutes later. I hightailed out the door, grateful for being saved by the bell just as Declan began to get on to the topic of weekend plans again.

    It wasn't that I had no interest in spending time with my friends; it was their utter disregard for anything that wasn't body shots, beer pong or vacant back bedrooms with dim lighting. Half the guys in Biology class were on the team and if they flunked their school work, Coach would suspend them. I wouldn't have my senior championship and last chance to beat Dakota stolen from me by something as trivial as osmosis processes or cell reproduction.

    Sunshine reflected off the metal tables as I made my way outside. The warm weather had students piling into the courtyard to bask in the sun for the lunch hour. I happily abandoned the resounding slam of locker doors and shoes squeaking on tiles for the fresh air of late summer.

    My friends were already seated at our usual table when I arrived. Trent laughed when he saw my expression. "Okay, what happened? You look like you're about to kill somebody."

    "Sick of dealing with idiots." I tossed my bag on the ground and slumped down onto the bench, putting my head down on the table. "Why even bother taking the subject if you have no interest in it?"

    "Curiosity?" Trent offered.

    "Totalitarianism?" Scott spoke up.

    I raised my head and glared at the pair of them. "I hate you both."

    Scott patted my back mockingly. "And yet, it's always you running to us for advice."

    "You literally asked me last week if dressing up as a lizard gorilla mutant for your sister's third birthday was a good idea!"

    "And what did you tell me then?"

    "I told you that's genetic abuse by humans on behalf of reptiles and mammals alike."

    "And still, I went out and bought green face paint two nights ago. My costume arrives in the mail sometime this week."

    I stared gobsmacked at Scott, demanding, "How are you a real person?"

    The brunette leaned back on his seat and grinned, flipping his shades down over his eyes. "It's a gift. Not something that can be taught."

    "I think," Trent cut in, "what Scott means to say is that you're fortunate enough to have discovered your passions in high school and have opportunities available to you to pursue them. Not everyone gets that at our age."

    "Oh please," I scoffed. "This isn't some political regime. The school aren't chaining teenagers to their desks and demanding they take an interest in something. It's free for all."

    "Maybe, but you've known who you are since you were a kid. Soccer is your world. Next to that you're still a straight-A student and the most popular guy in our school. People want to see you succeed."

    "You know I don't care about that." I dismissed, not unkindly. "This popularity thing is overrated. So I like soccer. Big deal. So I'm good at math and science. That's just hard work paying off."

    "We're not saying you don't work hard." Trent said gently. "You've proven time and time again how dedicated you are just by captaining this team. We're just saying that not everyone understands who they are when they're young the way you do. Taking classes they end up having no interest in is part of figuring that out."

    I groaned, shoulders slumping forward on the table. The sun was hot on my back. Soccer practice was going to be a heated mess this afternoon. "Why do you always have to be so smart?"

    "Comes with the whole 'best friend' gig." Trent winked.

    "Yeah," Scott interjected from the other side of the table. "Besides, if they flunk out, maybe you can tutor them. A little one-on-one action, you know what I mean?" He leaned in close and wiggled his eyebrows at me.

    I laughed and shoved his face away. "You're despicable."

    The rest of lunch passed by with easy conversation. There was a brief moment of discussing the season and watching Scott try to fit an entire hot dog in his mouth without chewing – bun and all – before the bell rang.

    "We still on for practice after school?" Trent asked as we stood from the table.

    I scowled, picking small chunks of hot dog out of my hair. "Yes. Don't be late. We've got a lot of work to do."

    "Hey, don't tell me. Tell Mr. Fifteen Minutes Late To Everything over there."

    "Rude." Scott muttered on my right. "Just because you get up at the ass crack of dawn."

    We collected our books from our lockers. "See you guys later." I said as I slung my bag over my shoulder. Scott and Trent waved and I turned down the opposite end of the hall toward my last class for the day.

***

    We pushed ourselves hard at practice that afternoon. Summertime heat had the team wearing out earlier than usual but I kept us going. Caulfield was our next school to beat on the roster.

    Caulfield High wasn't on our level in terms of skills or teamwork, but we still had to beat them to advance to the next round. Especially after losing to Ridgemount last week.

    We soldiered on through drills, practicing manoeuvres and drenching ourselves with water bottles when the sweat began to cling to our bodies.

    Practice ended at six p.m. and the team took to the locker room to shower. Most people were filing out the door by the time I'd finished helping Coach pack up the field and left to change out.

    As I stood under the shower spray, I thought about what Dakota had said the other night at his house.

    He was right about one thing. I had been trying to draw information out of him about Ridgemount's practices. Even if he'd been smart enough to see through my lies, it didn't change the fact that they obviously had a tactic that was working for them better than ours. I had to find out what it was if we were going to take the championship this year.

    I would stick a fork in my eye before ever admitting out loud that Dakota was a good soccer player, but I also couldn't deny it. His defence was solid and the guy was a wall of muscle ploughing across the field. As Captain – and a general piece of shit – he knew what he was doing and how to manipulate others.

    Dakota was clever, but so was I.

    My late shower had me leaving the locker room last. Turning in the direction of the student carpark, I'd only taken two steps when my name was called from behind.

    Coach stood in the doorway of his office when I turned back, watching after me. He waved me over. "I'd like to chat with you for a minute."

    I backtracked down the hall and came to a stop before him. "Everything alright, Coach?"

    "Please."

    He stepped into his office before beckoning me inside. Coming to a stop in front of his desk, he leaned back against it with a stack of papers in hand, beginning to flip through them with ease.

    I took the moment of silence to observe Coach's office. The walls were painted a deep blue with gold décor to match our school colours. Folders were scattered across the wooden desk with papers falling out of them. Random pieces of sport equipment were placed throughout the room with a small number of trophies stacked on top of a large filing cabinet. The stench of rubber and deodorant had long since embedded itself into the walls of the room.

    "Have a seat, Connor." Coach said and gestured to the single chair positioned in front of his desk.

    I sat down, attempting to squash the rising apprehension in the back of my mind.

    Coach appeared to read my mind because he explained gently, "You're not in trouble. I only wish to speak about something."

    He waited for me to say something. When I remained quiet, he nodded. "I couldn't help but notice our last game against Ridgemount things got pretty heated between you and their team Captain. What's his name again...David? Derek?"

    "Dakota." I cut in instantly.

    Coach raised an eyebrow.

    I blushed and settled back down in my seat, clearing my throat awkwardly. "So, um, what about him?"

    "Right, Dakota." He nodded. "Yes, I remember now. I'll be honest here, Connor. It appeared as if you two were trying to score a foul against the other."

    I shrugged. "We, uh... we've known each other for a long time. We don't exactly get on that well."

    "I've noticed." Coach replied blatantly. "I've done my best to overlook this tension between you two over the years because I thought it was something that would sort itself out. Nothing more than a little spirited competition, you know? But you've been Captain for over a year and nothing has changed so now I need to step in. Connor, what were you thinking?"

    My head snapped up. "What?"

    Coach crossed his arms. "I can't have members of my team, especially our Captain nonetheless, playing dirty with other schools. That's not our standard. You know that. Agreeing to uphold the values of Northshore was something you agreed to when you were granted your captaincy."

    I rocketed forward on my seat. "Hang on, I wasn't the one playing dirty. That was Dakota!"

    "That may be but you were retaliating. The team is starting to follow your lead and it's affecting gameplay on the field. We didn't make nearly half as many attempts to score on goal last game as we should have."

    "Have you seen the size of their defenders? They don't win from our lack of trying!"

    "Connor," Coach said gently and my argument lost its heat. I collapsed back against the chair. "I'm not asking you to lose your fighting spirit. It's what made you Captain in the first place. I'm asking you to reconsider how you implement it on the field. There will always be other schools with strategies different to ours but you must consider how your actions lead the team. If you get antsy, they will too. Scouts are only months out from beginning to attend games and they'll recognise that in an instant. You're still wanting to play professionally, aren't you?"

    I sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

    "Right, well," Coach responded, "then we need to do everything possible to make our team the greatest in the district. Ridgemount is our only real contender and we need to be a united front with your dignified leadership if we're going to beat them this year. So, I'm asking, can you reign it back with their Captain?"

    The answer took longer than it should've but eventually I nodded. "I can."

    He nodded. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow then."

    I rose to leave. When I was nearly out the door, Coach called my name and I turned around again.

    Coach smiled. "I know senior year amplifies everything a tenfold, but I'd hate for a few silly boy troubles to get in the way of you winning your final championship. You've worked hard ever since you joined this team. You deserve it."

    I frowned but let it go. "Thanks, Coach. I'll keep that in mind."