Page 19 of Big Rucking Disaster

I grinned when Yardley approached. “These are my mates.”

Jason pointed to himself. “I use the term. As you can tell from my accent, I’m not from around here.”

“And where are you from?” Louella managed to herd the kids into a semicircle, with her on one end and Yardley on the other—closest to me.

“England. Liverpool, in particular. So, everyone asks me why I don’t play football. Oh, soccer.”

A few of us laughed.

Some of the kids appeared confused.

“To be difficult, the rest of the world calls soccer football while North Americans call it soccer and refer to football as football.” Yardley frowned. “Well, football with all the gear and the brown-leather ball.”

“That’s a little nuts.” Kenji grinned. “Which is why I love rugby.”

Jason pumped his fist. “Awesome.”

“Let’s go around the circle and introduce ourselves. If you have a position, share it. No worries if you don’t, okay?” Yardley surveyed the group.

I eyed him.I wonder what position he plays?Which sounded way dirtier in my head than I intended it to be.

About half the students had favorite positions and the others didn’t. Quickly, I could see we had a good mix of body sizes, strengths, and potential vulnerabilities. I was also thrilled Greta had brought two friends from another school—Sophie and Hope.

Francine took us through stretches to get started.

Makwa kept an eye on Louella, and she seemed to be keeping an eye on him. Her wedding ring seemed to have disappeared since last Monday, but that didn’t mean anything—she might not normally wear it to school. Still, the two were worth keeping an eye on.

As was Yardley. In deference to the warm March day, most of the teens wore shorts and T-shirts. As a surprise, I’d brought twenty Orcas jerseys. Yardley knew, as he’d helped me figure out sizes. Bringing a couple of extras just in case felt like a good idea.

“Now, you’re warmed up, Roger’s going to take you through some basic skills you’re going to need.” Francine grinned. “Pay attention. He might not be the captain, but he’s got the most experience. When he tells you to do something, you’d better listen.”

“Coach always overrides Roger, though.” I grinned. “Coach Lawrence is a beast if he’s mad at you.”

“Coach Morrison’s the best.” Tatum, who wasn’t even that much into rugby, had shown up. Helped us put together a team, so I was grateful.

“You’re already getting an A.” Louella grinned. “But a little sucking up never hurt.”

“On that note, we’re going to go through different ways of passing. Remember, it’s always to the side.” Roger nabbed a couple of balls.

“But we’re going to practice scrum, right?” Kolson, Yardley’s nephew held up his hand. “That’s where I’m weakest.”

“We can absolutely practice scrum.” Roger eyed his teammates. “While Johnnie runs you through the plays, I’ll divvy us up into teams. No roughhousing though, okay? This is just for fun.”

Kolson didn’t look thrilled, but Kenji slapped him on the back. “We can get together and practice, okay?”

Yardley appeared startled at first, likely because the boys were from different high schools and clearly different social strata. Kolson’s cleats were easily five times the cost of Kenji’s shoes.

“That would be great. I want to make the Orcas when I graduate.” Kolson eyed me.

“Entirely possible. Let’s see what you’ve got.” I tipped my chin toward Roger.

“Since I’m older, I’ll be on the team by then.” Kenji beamed.

Three hours later, I didn’t have any doubts. Damn kid was amazing. Every single pass he made, he nailed. Same with the kicks.

Kolson was hot on his heels, though. Greta, Sophie, and Hope were all clearly talented, and I was left in no doubt why they were on a local team.

Some of the other kids struggled a bit. More than a few fumbled balls. Some confusion as to what to do when they caught one.

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