Meeting new foes

As nervous as he was, Mark started to impress both his new teammates and the coach. This was mainly through his hard work and quick running.

Following the instructions of Bryce, the quarterback of the team, Mark was used as a receiver in multiple running plays. It certainly took him a bit of time to get used to everything but it was all working well.

Most of the other guys were also hyping him up quite a bit, excited that they had found someone who could actually move around the field with some proper agility and speed. However, not everyone were just as friendly. On a certain play, Mark found himself being blindsided, tackled down by someone. All he felt was the hard ground below him as he was slammed down on his side.

“Arghh shit...” he muttered, feeling like the world was on its side.

“Fucking weak! Stay down!” a voice from above suddenly said. Mark groggily turned to see a short but very stocky junior standing above him, taking off his helmet. He had long brown hair, a poor attempt of a mullet.

He spat down at the ground besides him before moving away. Mark was soon accompanied by Bryce who gave him a hand up.

“You alright bud?” he asked.

“Uhh yeah, guess so. What the hell is that guy’s problem though?” Mark asked Bryce.

Bryce took a look at the guy who knocked him down as he was now off the field, having a drink of water. “Oh that’s just Dixon, ignore him, he’s just looking to flex his muscles to the new kid.”

Mark nodded, taking off his helmet, “Guess I’ll just stay away from him then.”

“Besides that last one dude, you are killing it, you’ll be playing this Saturday, I’ll make sure of it,” Bryce told him, slapping him on the back.

The rest of training went well without a hitch. Since the team had such poor skills and athleticism, it helped Mark’s strengths very much stand out in front of his peers.