"Kick him harder!" The words rang out, sharp and commanding, cutting through the commotion of the swarm. It wasn't the kind of back anybody anticipated, but there it was, scattered and unfiltered. For a minute, in truth the players stopped, a streak of perplexity crossing their faces many time as of late the redirection proceeded.
It wasn't clear who hollered it—some overzealous fan, possibly, caught up interior the adrenaline of the organize. Or maybe a coach, shocked with his team's require of adversarial vibe. Either way, it hung interior the conversation almost like an uninvited visitor, a small as well unforgiving for a redirection that was amassed to be around ability and sportsmanship.
The boy on the field—no more than sixteen—felt the weight of the words. He wasn't the kind to play muddled, not the sort to hurl a foul reasonable to choose up an edge. But hearing it, he vacillated. Was that what they required from him? Was he as well fragile? As well cautious? He gritted his teeth, a curiously mix of shock and address bubbling insides him.
Over from him, the negating player smiled, as within the event that courageous him to require after through. And for a minute, it wasn't nearly the ball, the score, or undoubtedly the preoccupation. It was roughly pride, around illustrating he wasn't slight, that he might hold his have. His foot moved speedier than his judgment skills, gathering the ball with a drive he didn't realize he had.
The kick wasn't pointed at his opponent—it wasn't that kind of moment—but it carried a fire, a dissatisfaction born of those three words. "Kick him harder." It wasn't right, but it mixed something insides him, something crude and unpolished, that made him ought to fight harder, to play harder, to seem them all he was more than they anticipated.
