Expectations of New Recuits

The sound of trampled grass and heavy footsteps, the only sound within a two mile radius of the football field, and it came from Julio Santiago, or on the field, Coach Santiago. The scrawny hunter took steps slowed and droned towards a set of wooden benches. "Ayudame, Dios..." He hissed between soft breaths. God, did he hate mornings, if anything, he would be home right now flipping flapjacks for his little girl. "Reyna..." The hunter cocked his head down slowly and mouthed the name with a small smile cracking on his face. His head rose as he took a deep whiff of fresh cut grass and wet paint. Well...Surely today wouldn't lag on for THAT long....

Bitter cold hands fumbled through his hoodie pockets and pulled a bulk flip phone out. '7:30' The phone read in bright white letters. "Shit, Thirty minutes 'till first set of recruits come by..." The infected scratched whatever beard he had and scooped a football up by his side. With the ball tucked under one hand, he began to pace back and forth, waiting anxiously for the 'fresh meat' to arrive.

Five minutes passed by. Fifteen. Twenty-Five, Nothing. Not one student even bothered to show early. Julio sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "No boy, no girl, no assistant, no nothing." The hunter growled. With his thumb, he flipped his phone open to read the time, '8:01.' Late. Perfect shitty kind of way to start your new job. Come early, set up tackle dummies, fix cones up, supply water bottles, everything a good coach was suppose to do, and yet not one student came. The hunter sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, rubbing a small metal object in the left. He wrapped his claw gently around the metal chain and pulled a silver whistle out, brand new and all. The infected sighed and placed the small scrap of metal around his neck. Perhaps he could be slightly lenient with the kids....Just once. He took the thought into consideration and sat hunch-back on a wooden bench. The only real challenge for him would be the patience for his students.

It was 8:10 AM when Frida got to the front of the school. Man it was great to be at school early! Usually there would be lots of kids at the last few minutes before the bell would ring. However if you got to school early there was barely anyone there, so you could have all the time until then. "Ah yes! Early again! Legs, you never let me down." Frida said out loud while walking through the inside of the schools yard. Frida was one athletic person. Being a Jockey and all, her legs were much stronger than some other infected. She's taken a lot of sports in the past, Soccer, Track, and most importantly Gymnastics. Probably the most fun sport there is.

Frida wandered through the slightly empty courtyard. There were only a few students here and there, but not anyone to talk to in particular. "Hmm maybe I could jog around the field a little, I've got plenty of time." The jockey walked towards the Gym straight to the girls locker room. "Let's see....Ah! Here it is!" Frida said excitedly finding her locker, # 107, there was so many of them it was hard to tell which one was which. She changed into her grey and black Gym clothes and stepped outside heading towards the football field/track yard.

A small gust of wind blew across auburn hair, "FFF--its SO cold," Frida complained. It was still December and no matter what weather it was Frida still had to wear the grey T-shirt and black shorts for Gym. I guess she couldn't necessarily complain since that was the Gym dress code. Finally reaching the track yard, the female Jockey decided to do a few stretches to warm up first. Some arm stretches, sit-ups, a few push-ups---NOW IT WAS ON!

Getting into position on the first lane, the Jockey readied herself. A few seconds later, Frida started sprinting down the lane, the cold air hitting against her face. It actually felt refreshing for once. 3 laps later, Frida was finally exhausted. She sat on the grass on the football field and gulped down the water she had left in her own water bottle. She glanced at the clock which was at the top of the school building...8:20 A.M. "Wow that's not bad at all," Frida thought smirking to herself. She then noticed the school was filling up with kids and she decided it was about time to go back and clean up.

Though when she was getting up she noticed someone on one of the wooden benches to the side. "...Who's that?" Frida thought with a 'curious' frown on her face. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at the figure. Slim posture, dark hoodie, duct tape...Hunter definitely. Frida had never seen this hunter before though, but when she looked again her frown turned into an 'excited' smile.

"Is that a whistle?" She thought with glee when she noticed the whistle around the others next. "This guy must be a new coach!" She whispered excitedly to herself. She liked it when there were new coaches, that means there were new challenges to try.

Getting to her feet with water bottle in hand, Frida jogged to the hunter sitting on the bench. "WHOA Frida! Clam down, don't want to go off to a bad start..." She thought slowing her pace down. Soon she got to the Hunter and stood on the side of the bench. She didn't think he noticed her, she just decided to say 'Hi' so that it wasn't rude to not say 'Hi.'

"Um...Hey there Coach." Frida said with a small grin on her face and gave a little wave to see if the male hunter would notice her then.

The coach jerked his head up quickly to see a young female jockey in his presence, sporting a pair of gym clothes damp with sweat. An athlete of a student perhaps? Perfect recruit. Rough built, strong legs, the perfect wide receiver. The hunter roughly cleared his throat and straightened his posture almost instantly, hoping he hadn't given the student the image that he was a slacker of a coach. "Y tu quien eres?... I mean- well... Hi there, chica... Ey, Are you, trying for football?..." The hunter's voice trailed off. He'd start off with a simple, harmless question, nothing major to show the annoyance that had built up inside of him. "Because, if you are.... Your about the only one who's bothered to show up." He grumbled irritably, while rubbing the smooth metal of the whistle on his neck.

Girl, boy, late, early, rude, kind, at this point he just wanted SOME student to join his team, anybody! It wasn't much to ask, really... The hunter stood up and stretched, all at once gazing at the tackle dummies and obstacles he'd put up for nothing. "If you're not, then I'd suggest you leave, chica. You ain't got much time 'till the first bell rings." The infected flipped his phone up and read the time, '8:25'. "Unless.... Your first period is here?.... Si?..." The hunter quickly began to shuffle and search through the grass, in search of a clipboard. After a minute or two of fumbling on his hands and knees, he'd managed to find a dull wood clipboard. Paper through paper, he'd searched his lists for his first period chart. The coach quickly skipped to conclusion and assumed this jockey was one of his students. Julio hadn't bothered to even let her finish a whole sentence, he was simply eager to meet his possibly first student. "Got it...." The infected stood up from the grass. "And you're name would be?..." He looked up at the jockey, brushed several flecks of grass from his knees and chest, and waited eagerly for her response.

The young Jockey was surprised and overcome with a lot of joy when the older Hunter spoke the first words that came out of his mouth. "...Oh my GOD he speaks SPANISH?!" Frida thought. Inside her head her conscious was giggling with joy. She liked it when others knew or spoke Spanish. Even though Frida wasn't raised in any Spanish country or wasn't related to it what-so-ever, she learned the language a while ago back in grade school thinking it would come in handy later. Which miraculously it did.

Frida's mind soon focused back on the subject at hand, she heard the Hunter say something about, Football? Oh! He must be the new Football coach the staff was talking about! He also mentioned something about... joining Football? Frida did remember she played Flag Football back in 6th grade, she was pretty good at it. However joining a real school Football team put Frida in a state of thought. Wasn't Football a boys-only sport after all? Then again having a really athletic girl on the team could count as a big surprise to others.

"Hehe a girl on a Football team? Now that is pretty funny," Frida thought and gave a small chuckle. Frida then shot and "approved" smile at the coach, "Sure, I'd love to join in." Then the Hunter mentioned that she was the only one that bothered to showed up and Frida then switched to a "disapproved" frown.

"What? No one else? How could no one show up for a opportunity like this? There are plenty of athletic people rather than myself on this campus...I can't imagine anyone NOT joining," Frida mumbled the last bit of her sentence. It was true though. There were lots of other athletes in the school, why would they not join in? OH...right....they're probably lazy. The Jockey huffed at that thought, 'LAZY ATHLETES?'...Yeah you don't really see that everyday. Frida then glanced over at the equipment set out on the grassy field. Tackle dummies and obstacles...MAN it WAS like back in grade school. They used to go all out making it seem like Flag Football was real Football. They had the same equipment and everything. Ah memories.

The older Hunter then mentioned something about first period...wait a second Frida's first period was Gym. How could she forget her first subject? That must've been rather dumb of her."Oh yeah, uh, my first period is here," She said rubbing the back of her neck. Frida suddenly remembered last week that her Gym teacher said she could have one day off the next week because she was doing so exceedingly well in class. Good thing she check in with her teacher this morning. She let out a small sigh with relief. Frida then looked at the coach who seemed too be looking for something. All of a sudden the school bell sounded the warning bell for students to get to class. The Jockey glanced back to the clock on the building...'8:29', one minute until school began. Good thing she didn't have to worry.

The coach then asked her for her name and Frida turned and gave a "happy" smile towards the Hunter. "My name is Frida, Frida Von Otten, Mucho Gusto," she said greeting him in a more festive way and stuck out her hand to give him a proper greeting. Right after saying her name the school bell rang and school had just begun.

"Igualmente, Frida... Frida Von Otten, huh? Beautiful name right there, chica... Always liked the name." The hunter mumbled in a greeting voice that was still audible. The infected took his new recruit's hand and shook it firmly. After the quick greeting he began to scribble down a couple things, checked marks here and there, and- "Done." The coach chuckled. Now that the schedule had been checked, they could skip down to business.

The beginning bell had rung and the hunter let a smug smile creep on his face. "Now to the real stuff, huh? By chance, did you have a position that you'd be planning to go for? 'Cause, heh, I'd think you'd make the perfect wide receiver." He said in a praising tone. It was true, everything about the jockey screamed athlete. Not one thought in his mind even dared to think she wouldn't be the perfect football player. It actually scared him. Sure, he had been proud and confident with all of his students but not THIS confident. It scared him to think otherwise, or to underestimate Frida. It hadn't been even ten minutes yet, he already started doubting her.

No, He had to prove negativity wrong. "Alright..." Julio coughed gruffly, "Lets start with something simple...Like, umm..." His eye trailed off to the side of the benches- there sat his brand new football. Perfect. "Some basic catching and throwing?" His voice sounded unsure. Fuck. He sounded clueless. His let free of a raspy cough before continuing on, "Alright, back up some and I'll toss it over... Simple stuff." His hand gripped the football at hand and back himself up a good ten feet. The coach saw his student move back, and he was sure she was prepared. His grip on the rigid surface of the ball tightened, and his palms begin to sweat. 'Damn it, why am I so nervous over one student? We're just throwing a football back and forth, it's not like it's the first game...' He thought silently to himself. Julio scowled at himself. Perhaps his expectations were too high on her, and he didn't want to be disappointed. He exhaled a breath that had been tightening in his ribcage and sent the football flying, along with his high expectations.

After the bell rang,the greeting was done, and the attendance was finished, Frida followed her now new Football coach to the field to start some real training.The Jockey was excited, "WOO! A new sport to try out! This is Great!," said her happy thoughts. The coach asked if she had a particular position she wanted to try out for. He suggested something about being the wide receiver for the team. Frida's mind shot back to grade school, in Flag Football position names weren't really necessary, but students have mentioned her as a ' wide receiver ' a couple of times. Frida assumed that was the person who was to catch the ball and was the fastest one to get it to the goal. Yup that definitely fit the position well.

"Oh yeah I've played the position a few times back in grade school, hehe I guess it's because I was probably one of the fastest kids in class," Frida chuckled with a "cheesy" smile while rubbing her neck. She sometimes hated saying she was technically "better" than others. She didn't want to sound like she was bragging or anything.The Jockey focused on the next thing the coach decided to do first...catching and throwing. That sounded like a good task to start with, after all it's been a good couple of years since Frida even touched a Football.

"Sure! Let's do it!" Frida said clapping her hands together. Then she started walking back a couple of feet until both her and the coach were at a good throwing distance. The Jockey readied herself, putting her clawed hands on her knees and giving a slightly nod saying 'she was ready'. It took a couple of seconds until the coach was ready. The cold December breeze blew against Frida's face again making her squint because of the stinging sensation. She then saw the coach throw the ball, very quick and pretty high.

Frida's eyes were focused only on the ball watching it quickly zoom towards her direction. Any second now.......and..... with a successful small Jockey leap, she caught the oval ball in her hands.The Jockey's feet were planted on the ground again. She observed the ball now that it was in her hands. Pumped full of air, the new 'ball' smell, the clean appearance, definitely one cool Football. Handling the Football also made Frida remember grade school again. "Ahh, memories." Frida mumbled to herself, smiling.

She then readied her arm and position for the pass back to the Hunter. "Back at ya coach!" she said and with a swift arm motion the ball swirled in a perfect formation back to the coach.

To see Frida catch the ball with such swift movement and agility, and to throw it back in perfect formation had left Julio in awe. It actually caught him quite off guard. She had shouted something at him but, he wasn't sure what.. The oval ball had cut through the air so perfectly. Inches away from him. Reaching him with every second. Then- BAM! He'd been hit square in the face. A stinging sensation began pulsed on the bridge of his nose. She had a great throw, a hard one at that. He let loose a yelp of pain before brushing the impact spot with the tip of his boney knuckles. The infected finally thought through what his student told him- She'd gave him a heads up. His head fell in embarrassment as a low growl emitted from his raspy throat. "Sólo se centran, sonso...." The hunter grumbled to himself under his breath.

By now the jolt of pain had faded away. He cocked his head up and chuckled nervously. "My apologies, Frida. It seems you've eh- caught me off guard." The infected said in embarrassment while lightly touching the spot where he had been hit. 'I shouldn't have underestimated her.' He thought to himself in silence. A cool rush of December winds brushed against his curly hair, causing his to shiver some. He pulled his hood up over his head and walked his way towards the tackle dummies, motioning for Frida to follow behind.

He gradually began to pick up his pace, God knows how much longer they had until the second period bell had rung. "The next... desafio for you is tackle dummies. Now, I know wide receivers aren't usually the ones to being doin' heavy duty kind of things, but if I were to ever have you switch positions for a game, I'd rather be safe than sorry, no?" He stopped directly in front of the smallest tackle dummy. It was about the same size as Frida and the condition it was in screamed 'worn out.' "For now, we'll start with this one, and if you can tackle it like no big deal, we'll move to the next one. Now. When I whistle, you tackle, alright?" He turned around and looked her in the eyes in a assuring way. His fingers wrapped around the whistle on his neck, and his focus shifted to the tackle dummies. "Give me the word when you're ready and I'll blow the whistle, chica." Julio said while jamming the scrap of metal in his mouth.