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The Game by Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work revolves around friendly relationships between underaged characters. You have been warned.

"The best way to crush competition,

is to partner with it."

-Siddharth Joshi

Sports is one of those things that bring out the best in people. The joy of comradery and of going, or participating, in an event can be thrilling for many. Taking place in a team and feeling like your part of something bigger than yourself, is invigorating for most. Of course, there are those who take it too far, but those are far and between from the norm. Instead, we must learn to take enjoyment in the little things and try not to let it consume your being. It is in crossing that fine line that we define who we are and what makes us as people.

Shane Boder was your typical boy who normally lived in the Netherlands. His family was a nuclear one who was transient at best. His father was military, which meant his family was often on the go. Gerard was enlisted in the navy and was fairly high ranked, which wasn't really surprising for a man who had worked for the state for 20 years. However, recently he had been given a contract to work abroad in a foreign base near the northern US border.

When he informed his family of the change, they were none too happy. Shane and his sister Evalyn had grown used to their current school. Frankly, they were tired of moving so much, but recently it had been slower with the more diplomatically inclined policies of the Dutch government. However, this new contract was lucrative and promised the man a hefty pay increase. When he informed his wife, Caitlin, she was ecstatic and glad to move on with her life.

Caitlyn was sort of a freelance worker. She was rather keen into home design and her business had never really picked up since they moved so much. As such, she did a lot of projects, whenever an opportunity presented herself. But when her husband informed her of the move, she had no reservations. She had heard of America before, but one thing that interested her about it more than anything else was the prospect of landing a job with BG Studio. A friend had told her about it and it had been something she'd considered before but never had a chance to pursue.

Now she would have the opportunity to look into that interest, finding it rather ironic that she'd end up in the same place as some of her college bunk-mates who had moved stateside. However, the cubs, on the other hand, weren't so keen on the idea. The brother and his adopted sister had grown close over the years and were highly resistant to the idea. The family of rottweilers, and the adopted fox, had to come over this. Of course, each of them knew they had no say in the matter.

The day finally came and the entire family had finally submitted to prepare for the occasion. Their entire lives belongings in boxes. They were ready and no amount of complaining from Evalyn or Shane was going to change it. The father dropped off the boxes at the shipping company and informed his family they'd be living off their luggage for a while. It was time to leave and there was no looking back. As they head towards the airport, each of them couldn't help but feel sad to leave their old home behind.

The canine family went onto the airplane. Shane giving up the window seat to his sister and deciding to avoid any fuss about the issue. Besides all he wanted to do was play his 3DS the entire time. It was a several hour flights and he didn't want to think about being stuffed up for so long. Gerard was all dressed up in his white and dark blue uniform, his wife swooning over the man every chance she got. She had always been the sucker for men in uniforms and today was no different.

The flight was an 8-hour long one and due to the duration of the flight, many passengers had decided to sleep. The cubs were no different and eventually passed out from sheer boredom. When the plane arrived, many of the people on board were jostled and awoke. The Broder family was snoozing too and only Gerard was fully awake. He roused his family and reminded them he needed to be somewhere for a meeting to be briefed on the situation.

After exiting the plane, the family fetched their baggage. Outside a small private car was waiting for them. Gerard was to be taken to the base, while his family would be shown their new place. The military had already arranged lodging for them and promised the man it would be better than their place in the Netherlands. Once they dropped off the father, they were off to see their home. Caitlyn couldn't wait to see the place as it would be a way to flex her creative muscles.

When the driver pulled into the driveway, they could see the house was two stories. Already an improvement from their old home.

"Come on, kids. Let's check it out." The woman beckoned to her cubs.

Shane and his sister were pretty lethargic from all the traveling and slow to get out.

That all changed when they were inside. The home was massive and already pre-furnished. A huge bouquet of flowers had been arranged for the woman and a nice thank you for her husband when he returned home from work.

Caitlyn was a bit disappointed to find the place already decorated. But saw that there was still room for improvement. She began envisioning in her mind, some things she could do with the place. Shane and his sister were equally surprised. The boy went outside to find a makeshift half soccer field already arranged for him. A goal set up with striping along the sides of the lawn. It was a huge back yard, something he was totally not used to. He knew he would have to practice soccer again, maybe even join a team when he could.

Evalyn was just as surprised to find her own room already set up. A pink and frilly room with matching crinkled lace sheets. A huge collection of plush on her bed and much to her chagrin, finding a few posters of her favorite boy band, Mainstreet. Even though they weren't active anymore, she longed for the day they would reunite. Some other posters she didn't recognize but found some CD's underneath each of them, assuming they were for her to enjoy

Shane and his sister were sold immediately. Wasting no time in helping their mother get the stuff from the car and into the new home. All the boy wanted was to get outside to play, sooner rather than later. His bag wasn't the biggest one in the world and it only took him a short while to pack. The stuff that he had brought with him, only fitting in the first two drawers of the room that he decided would be his. Of course, it was the one that looked directly outside into the soccer field.

When he was done, he stashed the bad in his closet. Going back into his wardrobe and pulling out his favorite soccer kit, a red and white jersey with the number 6 with matching pants. He hadn't brought any cleats but he assumed his athletic shoes would work just as well. The cub realized he hadn't brought a ball with him and dismay began to replace his excitement.

"Need one of these?" His mother had a brand new ball that was given to her by the driver.

Shane leaned in and hugged his mother before rushing outdoors. "Thanks, Mom!"

"Don't get...Oh nevermind..." She knew it was pointless to ask him to stay clean.

The Rottweiler showed himself outside. Despite the change in time, he wasn't really tired. In fact, he was rather restless from sitting around all day.

It was a beautiful day out. The sun was shining and Shane could see there were very few clouds in the sky. Even better was the fact was there was a breeze stroking against his fur as the wind blew against him. He began kicking the ball around on the grass, pretending as if he was Kevin Strootman, his favorite player on the Dutch national team. Of course, since no one was around he just had to act like if the crowd was roaring and all for him.

"He shoots...he scores...and the Netherlands wins in extra time Hahhhhhhhhh!" Shane mimicked the best crowd sound he could come up with.

A voice came behind from an unknown voice the cub had never heard before. "Not bad. You should come to play with us so you're not alone."

"Huh?" Shane stopped playing with a confused look on his face, searching for the source of the voice.

It took him a moment to find the cause. Another boy it seemed, a white fox. The other cub walking towards him casually.

"Who are you?" The Rottweiler's Dutch accent wasn't thick enough to make him difficult to understand.

The vulpine cub walked closer and closer. "Ah, yes. My apologies. I am Pent and you are?"

"Shane." The dog extended his paw out in a gesture of greeting. "Do you live around here?"

Soon the white fox was within personal distance and shook the paw with his own. "Not, quite."

"Then...where do you live?" The puppy was a bit confused at the boy's response.

Shane was quite a bit taller than Pent and had looked down to meet his gaze with his own.

Pent scattered off waving his arm as if compelling the bigger boy to join him.

Shane's curiosity was getting the better of him and wasted no time in following the white fox boy. Pent continued to trek forward and eventually led into a large open field.

The rottweiler looked around. There were dozens of other cubs around, both boys and girls. No parents seemed to be about but many of the kids were just tossing around soccer balls. It was quite the gathering despite it seeming like an otherwise non-organized event. Shane couldn't believe how many kids there were around and was excited to see so many faces around him. His tail wagged happily as Pent came to a stop and his new friend eventually caught up.

Soon two larger cubs took the field. They seemed to be older from what Shane could tell, one male and one female. One by one they picked off the cubs into separate teams. Shane was worried he'd be picked last since no one knew who he was. But that wasn't the case and he was picked in the middle of the bunch. Pent was picked much closer to end of the lot since he was one of the smaller in the group. But when all was said and done, neither cared and were on opposite teams. It was time to play.

Both teams ended up with roughly 20 cubs on each side. The two captains worked on rules in the middle and decided on the normal 11 players on the field for each side. Shane was assigned his normal Midfielder position whereas his new friend was given defense, a position he had played in hockey. Once everything was figured out one of the older kids was assigned as a referee and each side was given ribbons to wrap around their arms and represent their teams.

Shane's team was given blue armbands while Pent's was given red. After that was settled, it was finally time to play the game. Each of the respective players got in their position and prepared themselves as the face-off was held at center field. The Central midfielders lurched forward and kicked the ball out as the red team snapped the ball away and started kicking the ball from cub to cub. Shane watched as they passed it around, seemingly toying with the other team. One of his teammates rushing forward to try to steal the ball.

Landing a leg tackle, the kid losing possession of the ball. This was Shane's chance as the lanky boy ran forward trying to get the ball. The rottweiler kicked it forward before making strides into enemy territory. Pent watched carefully as the taller boy weaved back and forth. The fox was a little bit nervous as he knew he wasn't the best at soccer. As Shane faked the last defender out, he made a beaming shot towards the goal. But the keeper was ready and threw the ball back into the field.

It went back towards midfield before another red player grabbed the ball and kicked it forward. One of the shortest girls on the whole field in fact, making rather easy snaps back and forth before passing the ball to a striker who was prepared to make a leaping kick towards the goal. Spinning forward the ball bulleted forth but fell short of the goal itself. The ref having to go and fetch the ball as it fell out into out of bounds territory.

The game went on like this for some time. It wasn't until the 20-minute mark when someone finally managed to score. A girl on the blue team managing a sniping shot that evaded the goalkeeper almost entirely. By half time the score was still 1-0 and the cubs all congregated for some socializing while drinking water.

"Enjoying the game, bud?" The white fox wiped his sweaty forehead with his paw.

"Yeah." Shane panted trying to catch his breath. "Thanks for inviting me.

Pent smiled warmly and took a swig of his drink. "No problem."

Eventually, the game returned to being played in full. The teams rotated players out so that they could all get a chance to play. Shane and Pent sat next to each other on the bench despite being on opposite teams. The rottweiler wanted to play again but didn't want to be selfish either. However, he soon got his chance when one of his teammates twisted their ankle. He felt bad but the cub seemed to walk it off as if were nothing. Still, it was sore so the boy decided to sit out the game just in case.

"Go get 'em, Shane." Pent cheered on his friend.

By this point, it had begun raining quite hard and even despite that the kids continued to play their game of soccer. Shane returned to his spot on the field, hoping to get another chance to score. He was getting more and more fatigued, trying to trudge through the now muddy field. All of a sudden, Shane tripped over himself and slipped face forward into a mud puddle. Some of the kids laughing but some others being more concerned for his well being. Pent rushed over to his side to make sure he was alright.

When the fox approached him, all Shane could do was laugh. The two captains congregated and decided the rest of the game would have to be postponed. Already one person had hurt themselves and several others had slipped and fallen. Instead, they decided they would have a makeshift pizza party at one of the team captain's houses, which was a short distance from the large open field. They gathered their stuff and the group made their way to the house.

It was the red captain's house. Her name was Veronica and her family was a quite wealthy pack of red pandas. When they arrived, Shane couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed with the size of the house. The group of kids waited outside as the girl's parents brought out boxes of pizza. Apparently she had already texted her parents about the issue and they had something delivered from nearby. No amount of rain was going to stop their fun.

Despite the rain, the group had their little picnic outside. The girl's parents were glad because they didn't want a bunch of cubs indoors, many of which they didn't know. The whole lot of them rather dirty and sweaty, even if some of the filth had washed off from the rain. Pent and Shane found each other in the group of kids. Both of them soaking wet at this point, Shane still giggling about his little wipeout on the field. No one mentioned who was winning or losing, they were simply enjoying the company of one another.

Eventually, the rain stopped and the cubs helped clean up. One by one they went home after the captains told them to meet on the field in a few days after it dried up. Pent led Shane back home since he knew his new friend had no idea where he was. Both boys glad they had made a new friend When they arrived back, Shane was surprised to find both his parents waiting for him.

"See ya later dude?" Shane was a bit nervous he had upset his parents.

Pent waved at his friend. "Yep cya in a few days."

The rottweiler returned to his parents who turned out not to be upset with him. Shane sharing his day with them. The two older dogs simply smiling, glad that their boy had made a friend. It seemed everything was going to be alright after all.