ORIGINAL FICTION: child of summer, introduction, pt 2
Piece: Original fiction; child of summer
Rating: G
Summary: An introduction to our boys.
A/N: I'm finding a story about an eight year old girl and a couple of young boys. Introduction to the girl is here.
Concrit: Please! I would love it.
Lucas Wright knows how to make new friends. With a dad in the military, he’s moved so much he doesn’t have much of a choice.
He finds out wherever they play a sport-soccer or baseball, usually-and settles for being the last one picked for the team that day, everyone eying him warily. But he’s good at sports, has never met anyone who could run faster than him, and the next day, he gets picked first.
His brother never learned how to make friends by himself; he just waits until everyone loves Lucas and then they’re his friends by default.
Lucas doesn’t mind too much. Danny’s almost four years younger than him, but with their dad gone so often, Lucas is more protective than the typical ten year old.
--
They move to Kansas in the middle of the summer. It’s hot, a wet hot they’re not used to. Lucas feels like he’s drowning in the humidity.
Drowning or not, he finds the soccer game their second day in town, Danny tagging along beside him.
“Can we play too?” Lucas asks by way of introduction.
Everyone looks at them, then to a blonde-haired girl, sun-freckles over her nose. She shrugs.
“That makes it six-on-six,” she says. “I’ll take the kid.”
Danny beams and lopes over to her side. “I’m Danny.”
“Thia.” She shakes his hand, which Danny laughs at. He thought only grown-ups did that. “You play offense or defense?”
“Both. Either. Offense is better.”
“’Kay. Danny and Greg on offense. Me and Jimmy on d. Kurt, you’re in the net?”
They all nod and head onto the field. Some kid on Lucas’s team tells him to play forward. No one asks his name.
--
It takes Lucas a while to get his bearings, but he finally gets his foot on the ball, and he’s off. Past one, two other kids and it’s only the girl and the goalie in front of him. He fakes left, goes right, and suddenly doesn’t have the ball anymore.
Thia’s dribbling slowly up the field, yelling directions at her team. She lofts the ball right in front of the goal and Danny gets his head on it, puts it through the two shoes masquerading as goalposts.
Lucas runs back for the kick off. Maybe making friends is going to be harder than he thought.
--
Eventually, he figures out that the girl can beat him at footwork, but once he gets the ball past her, he can outrun her. He scores three times before a bell rings in the distance.
“That’s my mom!” someone on his team yells. “See you tomorrow!”
He heads down the street. Many of the players immediately follow suit, goodbyes shouted over their shoulders. Lucas takes a moment to catch his breath, watches their backs disappearing as Danny shows up at his side.
“Time for dinner?” he asks.
Lucas shrugs. “Nice goal.”
“Oh, it was all Thia,” Danny says. He turns to the girl still dancing with the ball behind them. “Hey, Thia, that was a great pass.”
She dribbles over to them and ruffles Danny’s hair. “Great header, kid.”
Danny beams. Lucas rolls his eyes. Figures Danny would be in love with a girl by the second day.
“So, what’s your name?” Thia turns to him.
“Lucas,” he says.
She shakes his hand, too, and Danny giggles a little, but Lucas and Thia don’t break eye contact.
“You’re fast.”
“You’re good with your feet.”
They consider each other a moment longer while Danny rocks on the balls of his feet. He finally can’t be quiet any longer, “Can we play tomorrow?”
“I’m not gonna be around, but sure.”
“Where are you going to be?”
Danny’s so eager. Lucas finds it incredibly annoying, wonders if Thia does, too. Except she smiles at his brother and rubs his hair again.
“Up there,” she looks at the sky and Danny’s eyes get wide. “Grandpa’s got a plane.”
Lucas sighs. As though Danny weren’t already enthralled. And indeed, his eyes light up and he can’t take them off of Thia’s face, tilted to the sun. It glints off her hair, off of each individual eyelash, and Lucas realizes that, for once, he might agree with his little brother’s taste in girls.
Rating: G
Summary: An introduction to our boys.
A/N: I'm finding a story about an eight year old girl and a couple of young boys. Introduction to the girl is here.
Concrit: Please! I would love it.
Lucas Wright knows how to make new friends. With a dad in the military, he’s moved so much he doesn’t have much of a choice.
He finds out wherever they play a sport-soccer or baseball, usually-and settles for being the last one picked for the team that day, everyone eying him warily. But he’s good at sports, has never met anyone who could run faster than him, and the next day, he gets picked first.
His brother never learned how to make friends by himself; he just waits until everyone loves Lucas and then they’re his friends by default.
Lucas doesn’t mind too much. Danny’s almost four years younger than him, but with their dad gone so often, Lucas is more protective than the typical ten year old.
--
They move to Kansas in the middle of the summer. It’s hot, a wet hot they’re not used to. Lucas feels like he’s drowning in the humidity.
Drowning or not, he finds the soccer game their second day in town, Danny tagging along beside him.
“Can we play too?” Lucas asks by way of introduction.
Everyone looks at them, then to a blonde-haired girl, sun-freckles over her nose. She shrugs.
“That makes it six-on-six,” she says. “I’ll take the kid.”
Danny beams and lopes over to her side. “I’m Danny.”
“Thia.” She shakes his hand, which Danny laughs at. He thought only grown-ups did that. “You play offense or defense?”
“Both. Either. Offense is better.”
“’Kay. Danny and Greg on offense. Me and Jimmy on d. Kurt, you’re in the net?”
They all nod and head onto the field. Some kid on Lucas’s team tells him to play forward. No one asks his name.
--
It takes Lucas a while to get his bearings, but he finally gets his foot on the ball, and he’s off. Past one, two other kids and it’s only the girl and the goalie in front of him. He fakes left, goes right, and suddenly doesn’t have the ball anymore.
Thia’s dribbling slowly up the field, yelling directions at her team. She lofts the ball right in front of the goal and Danny gets his head on it, puts it through the two shoes masquerading as goalposts.
Lucas runs back for the kick off. Maybe making friends is going to be harder than he thought.
--
Eventually, he figures out that the girl can beat him at footwork, but once he gets the ball past her, he can outrun her. He scores three times before a bell rings in the distance.
“That’s my mom!” someone on his team yells. “See you tomorrow!”
He heads down the street. Many of the players immediately follow suit, goodbyes shouted over their shoulders. Lucas takes a moment to catch his breath, watches their backs disappearing as Danny shows up at his side.
“Time for dinner?” he asks.
Lucas shrugs. “Nice goal.”
“Oh, it was all Thia,” Danny says. He turns to the girl still dancing with the ball behind them. “Hey, Thia, that was a great pass.”
She dribbles over to them and ruffles Danny’s hair. “Great header, kid.”
Danny beams. Lucas rolls his eyes. Figures Danny would be in love with a girl by the second day.
“So, what’s your name?” Thia turns to him.
“Lucas,” he says.
She shakes his hand, too, and Danny giggles a little, but Lucas and Thia don’t break eye contact.
“You’re fast.”
“You’re good with your feet.”
They consider each other a moment longer while Danny rocks on the balls of his feet. He finally can’t be quiet any longer, “Can we play tomorrow?”
“I’m not gonna be around, but sure.”
“Where are you going to be?”
Danny’s so eager. Lucas finds it incredibly annoying, wonders if Thia does, too. Except she smiles at his brother and rubs his hair again.
“Up there,” she looks at the sky and Danny’s eyes get wide. “Grandpa’s got a plane.”
Lucas sighs. As though Danny weren’t already enthralled. And indeed, his eyes light up and he can’t take them off of Thia’s face, tilted to the sun. It glints off her hair, off of each individual eyelash, and Lucas realizes that, for once, he might agree with his little brother’s taste in girls.