Venus Vs Mars

Chapter 27

Massy's pregnancy scare and ending it with Odell was not something she looked forward to, or even dealing with. She had not only lost a good friend but ruined a great friendship with an amazing man. This made her realize she was focusing on the wrong things, her father's way of training immediately took over in her mind. This was why he was so strict and tough, to prevent things like this from happening, instead of laying next to Odell she should have been focused on working out and getting ready for camp, she was mentally kicking herself in the ass at forming a bond with him.

She took melatonin to make herself fall asleep faster and slid her headphones over her head, closing her eyes. She refused to stay up the whole plane ride to San Diego thinking about Odell. It wasn't the mindset she needed or wanted to be in when entering training camp.

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The Giants would be on their way to Miami Florida for week fourteen against the Dolphins. Monday night football would be pitting two of the top youngest Wide Receivers in the game against each other. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. Despite playing for different teams, this was a bromance that developed at a football camp in Alabama, only to later find themselves to be roommates and teammates at LSU. The two played side by side for three years.

This wasn't just a regular game for the two talented players, this game would mark history for the both of them, this would be the first game the two best friends play against one other since being drafted in the NFL in 2014.

College memories of sneaking into the indoor field at midnight to practice and out-do one another in one-handed catches, even overusing the jugs machine, a piece of equipment that would shootout footballs long distances at high speeds, until it broke... Literally. LSU receivers coach Adam Henry spoke highly about the two friends in a recent interview.

"They broke a Jugs machine, They would break into the indoor facility. On Friday nights, when everybody else was going out, hanging out, and at home. They were there catching footballs, and they broke the handle on the machine because they were on it so much."Coach Henry recalls he would yell at the two boys all day in practice for not using both their hands to catch the ball but eventually gave up in defeat after seeing their ability to make one-handed catches with ease.

Odell broke loose for a 84-yard touchdown as soon as he hit the field. With the game tied in the 4th quarter, Odell made his final catch, a diving grab on 3rd down in the end zone, that sealed the victory with less than two minutes on the clock putting the Giants up 31-24 which would eventually be the final score as the clock ran down. Braking their three-game losing streak tied them with the Redskins and Eagles to lead their division. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, this would be their last game, knocking them from qualifying for the playoffs.

"This was a must win game. There was no choice." Odell said about the win.

Though Odell missed a portion of the 3rd quarter due to cramping in both his calves, it didn't stop him from taking over the game upon his return.

''Obviously his performance is something we all expect,'' Landry said of his best friend. ''He's just continuing to do what he does. And I don't expect anything less of him."

A touching moment between the two friends seemed to lighten the mood when Odell and Jarvis embraced one another, eventually sighing and trading jerseys for the first time.

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Massy smiled to herself, the San Diego sun beaming down on her as she sat on the sidelines, taking a break, her shin guards, cleats, and shorts stained green from sliding across the field. She looked down at her phone watching the two men have a special moment that was captured on video and went viral. As hard as Massy tried to keep herself focused it was just no use. She had left him and their friendship on a very bad note and that seemed to leave a very bad taste in her mouth.

With the first week of training camp down, and starting of week 2, Massy seemed to impress the owner and coaches for Team USA, they expected her to be good, but not this good. They had seen footage of her playing in high school and college, but to actually see her in person was a completely different experience.

Head coach Jill Ellis, Captain Carli Lloyd and Co-Captain Becky Sauerbrunn stood on the sidelines watching Massy scrimmaging with the other three rookies, against 2nd year players, she easily called out orders and plays, the other girls quickly looking to her for guidance, she commanded attention not only from players but from bystanders as well. She had a natural ability to lead and with there being four rookies including herself, she seemed to stand out as the top player.

She was exciting to watch, entertaining, explosive, she was able to joke on the field but still be able to remain in a Captain like state of mind.

"I think we just found our new forward starter." Jill said in a very confident voice following Massy as she barked out another order.

"Think she can handle England, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan?" Carli asked as she squinted her eyes at the field blocking the sun.

Jill continued her focus on Massy. "She plays rough. She's a problem, and that's something you can't teach. You're either born with emotions or not, and she's got a lot of them." Jill said shaking her head.

That was the thing about sports, you had to have some type of emotions, you had to have passion. If loosing didn't frustrate you to the point of you busting your right knuckle on a Gatorade cooler from punching it, if a cheap shot from an opposing player didn't make you want to go after them that much harder on the second round, if not completing a play with seven seconds left on the clock didn't make you burrow your head in anger with yourself. Then you probably shouldn't be on the field.