Walliver
Two Thousand Club
It was a good night.
Excitement thrummed through the bus, a violent yet pleasant pulse of laughter and screeching. Everyone was happy, enjoying themselves. And they had plenty of reason to be so. They’d won an impossible game, and they deserved to celebrate. But Oliver only watched. He settled into the back of the bus, observing his teammates as the slow roar of excitement grew and grew before it was silenced.
“Alright team! I know we did well tonight, but that’s no reason to get cocky. We still have a championship record to maintain. So, you can pat yourselves on the back for tonight, but tomorrow-“
Oliver heard the sound of screeching tires before he felt the impact. Glass shattering, various thumping noise. He pitched hard into the seat in front of him, feeling something crack. His head smacked into the window next to him, and everything went black.
He had no idea of the passage of time before he woke up again. His mouth tasted coppery and his chest ached terribly. Something was wrong. Oliver blinked once, twice, three times before he started to get up. The bus was in ruins, and- his teammates. “Guys? Roll call, come on…” he blinked again, keeping a hand on one of the bus seats.
—•—•—•—•—•—
It was going to be a good night.
Quinn laughed along with her teammates, whooping loudly and cracking jokes. First game of the season, and everyone had high hopes- with good reason, since their record the previous season was impressive. Even better, Quinn was starting first line! She had no reason to feel down- other than the fact that, for the first time since she had joined the team, her dad wasn’t going to make it to the game.
“Alright ladies, attention! We’ve got a big game tonight, a good first impression to make! We don’t have to win, but, y’know, it’s always nice! So, girls, have a good game out-“
Quinn knew that the metallic screech wasn’t Mr. Perkins hitting the brakes. She slammed into the side of the bus, her entire side lighting up in pain. She could have sworn she screamed, but she didn’t quite know. All she knew was she was awake for the whole thing.
Only seconds after the bus stopped moving, Quinn was getting to her feet. She could barely feel her arm, and her leg- well, she didn’t really want to think about that. But she could still move, so she did. “Coach? Coach, come on, get up.” she shook the woman’s shoulder, hearing her groan. Quinn sighed, relieved. “Hey, Coach. We gotta get up. Gotta get out of the bus.” she urged the coach to get up, to help the team up like she had done before.
“We gotta…get up…”
Excitement thrummed through the bus, a violent yet pleasant pulse of laughter and screeching. Everyone was happy, enjoying themselves. And they had plenty of reason to be so. They’d won an impossible game, and they deserved to celebrate. But Oliver only watched. He settled into the back of the bus, observing his teammates as the slow roar of excitement grew and grew before it was silenced.
“Alright team! I know we did well tonight, but that’s no reason to get cocky. We still have a championship record to maintain. So, you can pat yourselves on the back for tonight, but tomorrow-“
Oliver heard the sound of screeching tires before he felt the impact. Glass shattering, various thumping noise. He pitched hard into the seat in front of him, feeling something crack. His head smacked into the window next to him, and everything went black.
He had no idea of the passage of time before he woke up again. His mouth tasted coppery and his chest ached terribly. Something was wrong. Oliver blinked once, twice, three times before he started to get up. The bus was in ruins, and- his teammates. “Guys? Roll call, come on…” he blinked again, keeping a hand on one of the bus seats.
—•—•—•—•—•—
It was going to be a good night.
Quinn laughed along with her teammates, whooping loudly and cracking jokes. First game of the season, and everyone had high hopes- with good reason, since their record the previous season was impressive. Even better, Quinn was starting first line! She had no reason to feel down- other than the fact that, for the first time since she had joined the team, her dad wasn’t going to make it to the game.
“Alright ladies, attention! We’ve got a big game tonight, a good first impression to make! We don’t have to win, but, y’know, it’s always nice! So, girls, have a good game out-“
Quinn knew that the metallic screech wasn’t Mr. Perkins hitting the brakes. She slammed into the side of the bus, her entire side lighting up in pain. She could have sworn she screamed, but she didn’t quite know. All she knew was she was awake for the whole thing.
Only seconds after the bus stopped moving, Quinn was getting to her feet. She could barely feel her arm, and her leg- well, she didn’t really want to think about that. But she could still move, so she did. “Coach? Coach, come on, get up.” she shook the woman’s shoulder, hearing her groan. Quinn sighed, relieved. “Hey, Coach. We gotta get up. Gotta get out of the bus.” she urged the coach to get up, to help the team up like she had done before.
“We gotta…get up…”