Chapter Text
The sound of crashing waves woke him up. As far as alarms went it wasn’t horrible but it did make going to the beach less pleasant. He groaned as he laid on his bed, trying to summon the willpower to get up. It was his phone buzzing with a text from Luka that finally got him up.
Luka: Where are you?
Martin: I went back and took a shower. He figured telling Luka about the nap wasn’t a good choice.
Luka: Long shower. It was that type of shower wasn’t it? ;) Martin I have stuff to do, you know.
Martin: I’ll be there soon. I promise.
Luka: You better.
Luckily since it was after school hours he didn’t need to change back into his uniform. He pulled on a dark sweatshirt and grabbed his bag. A brisk walk back over to the school helped to banish any last cobwebs of sleep from his mind. The hybrid room containing both desks and a white board as well as the shop machines smelled of grease and sawdust. Martin saw that there were three people currently there, the robotics club meeting had finished almost an hour ago.
“There he is!” Luka called as he walked in. The smug grin on his face didn’t help with Martin’s mood. He saw Tim playing with his beloved phone while another guy watched. His short hair was covered by a baseball cap and it looked ridiculous with their uniform. Martin wondered just how he was able to sneak that cap in. The authorities were adamant about their uniform not being tarnished.
“This is Oskar,” Luka waved in the strange boy’s direction. “He’s in the class a year below us.”
“Hi.” Oskar acknowledged him with a small nod before scooting closer to Tim. It looked like the two of them were very close. Maybe even dating close, it was hard for him to tell.
Luka had his signature insufferable grin on his face as Martin pulled out his math textbook. “Go slowly today, it’s been sorta rough and my brain is fried.” It hurt his pride to admit so but that was better than being tormented later.
“Alright.” Normally Luka would throw in a teasing comment but it seemed like he sensed just how sour Martin’s mood was.
They worked through their math homework for the next hour. It would be more accurate to say that Luka guided Martin through his math homework; Luka was the only one who actually understood what their teacher wanted them to do. They finally finished and Martin was sure his brain was melting in his head. Nothing made sense anymore and he wasn’t sure he could string together a coherent sentence.
“See you tomorrow!” Luka’s generally positive attitude was nice after their grueling study hour.
“See ya,” he replied as he walked out of the room. It was late enough that dinner would be starting and he hurried over to his dorm. Going to sleep on an empty stomach, which would be what happened if he was too late, was unacceptable generally, especially the day before a match.
The next day his classes seemed to take even longer than yesterday to pass. Luckily for lunch all the players sat together and discussed their strategies for the game. Larsson led them through many theoretical exercises Martin was sure the coach told him to do. He liked being able to focus on the exercises and being surrounded by his teammates. They spent so much time together and he had to admit he liked them all at least a little bit.
Finally, finally it was time for the last class of the day. He walked quickly to the boy’s locker room, unable to contain his excitement. Game days weren’t just great because he got to play, he also got to skip his last class. Not having to listen to Marcin butcher German was always a plus.
“Hey Martin,” he heard a voice call out and turned around to see Jonas. The flax blonde Dane looked about as excited as Martin felt.
“Are you ready to crush them?” Martin asked Jonas after they did their secret high five greeting.
“Into dust! Last one to make it to the field for warmups owes the other one a cup of coffee. The good stuff too, not the stuff from Starbucks.” Jonas gave him a sly grin as he broke out into a run, which mind you, was definitely against the rules. It looked like Jonas would get his eighth cup of coffee from him, Martin had no idea how he could change into his uniform so quickly.
Their coach put them through a series of warmups. Nothing too intense and Martin enjoyed brief and silly scrim he played against his teammates. He was chosen to be the other team captain and it was a good experience to lead Jonas, Emil and Gabriel against Martin Larsson’s team. No one was really trying too hard, saving their energy for the real match yet to come. More thought and effort was put into heckling the other team than footwork.
Martin was trying to get into a position to pass the ball to Emil but Larsson was very much in his way. It irked him that the Swede was so good, he had a future as a pro if he wanted to take it, not to mention he was good looking. If there was anyone on the field that could compete with Finn for the ladies attention it was him. It wasn’t long before he was mentally cursing himself for going on his internal tirade as Larsson managed to get the ball from him. He couldn’t let himself get distracted during the actual game.
“Time’s up!” His coach called and they all stopped. “Get some water and meet me in five minutes.” Martin noticed that the other school’s team had arrived as well as some fans of theirs. Their maroon uniform looked good, he had to admit. Gabriel tried to keep the atmosphere jovial while they took their water break but he wasn’t successful. The team they were facing today was one of the better teams and they needed to win. Making the playoffs as a top seed was a must in all of their minds.
“Alright boys,” their coach called, “circle ‘round.” Martin joined his teammates dutifully. “Those posh boys won’t know what hit them when they feel our wrath. We’ve all prepared hard and worked hard. You guys can do this. You’re fantastic players. Don’t lose your heads if things go wrong and remember, Martin Larsson is a fantastic captain. Follow his lead and calls and you’ll have them running back to their mothers, crying like babies. Alright?”
“Yes coach,” came their cry. It was time and Martin’s heart pounded in his ears. He walked out onto the field with his teammates, taking his place near the half-way line on the right side. Larsson was to his left, a determined look in his eyes as he considered their opponents. He noticed Martin’s gaze and gave him a soft smile of encouragement before turning back to the ref. The team captains were called up and a coin was tossed to determine which side was starting with the ball in their possession. The other team won and Martin took a deep breath. They could do this, they would win.