AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wrinkled my nose. "If you call playing a game a job."
"I do," he said firmly. "They work hard, train hard, play hard, and entertain people. The job is just as legitimate as any other." He gave me a long look before he added, "Much more useful than a social media influencer."
"Ouch." I pretended to be offended. Wait, I was offended, a little bit anyway. "I know it's not brain surgery…"
"No, it's not. But I never expected you to be a brain surgeon."
"But you hoped?" I challenged him to deny it.
"You never know when you might need a brain surgeon in the family," he pointed out. "Or a mechanic for that matter."
I laughed. "Can you imagine me as a mechanic?"
"No. No I can't." He smiled. "One speck of dirt on your hands and you'd be out the door."
"I'm not that fragile," I argued. I suspected if I was, Ollie wouldn't have given me the time of day.
"No, you're not," Dad agreed. "No daughter of mine would be. If you were…" He looked down at the table. "I don't think you would have survived being my kid and stayed normal."
"That's the second time you've admitted you're not perfect in only a couple of minutes," I said. "But who says I'm normal?"
CHAPTER 9
OLLIE
I grunted as my face slammed into the turf. I pushed myself back up and turned around.
Pinky Innocenti stood a few metres from me, facing away. I was almost certain he tripped me, but unless someone else saw I had no proof. Even if I had proof, what would I do about it? Probably nothing. It wasn’t worth starting trouble over.
I uncurled my hands and focused on the training session. Pinky must have decided I was responsible for the confetti in his shoes. That was the only explanation for why he'd trip me in the first place. If the coach saw, he'd be lucky to get a spot on the bench during the Down Under Bowl.
"Come on," Coach shouted. "I've seen sloths that work harder than you guys."
I heard Bam snort a laugh.
"I bet he's never seen a sloth in his life," the running back said. "Much less one that worked harder than we do."
I grinned. It faded when I caught Pinky glaring at me. What was the guy's problem anyway? Even if I had pulled the prank on him, it was only confetti.
I suspected it was Chase who put it there. If Bam had done it, it would have been glitter. Now that would warrant being pissed off. Glitter would never come out completely.
I made a mental note to pull that prank on Bam once the season was over. Just thinking about the expression on his face made me smile.
"What?" Pinky snapped.
I realised I was still looking in his direction. I shrugged. "Nothing."
"Then focus on your fucking training. Unless you want us to lose." He narrowed his eyes at me through his helmet.
"What is your problem?" Bam asked him. He looked about ready to punch Pinky in the dick.
Pinky addressed me. "You live with your mum, and let your friends fight for you. Is there anything you do for yourself?"
"You're cruising for a bruising, asshole," Bam growled.
"Leave it alone, Bam," I told him. "We all need to focus right now."
"Yes, you do." From the expression on Coach’s face, he at least heard some of the conversation. "Maybe you guys need to run a few more laps of the field. Because if your heads aren't in it, you don't deserve to win it."
