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More from Sam Gwosdz
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Not the best title, but enjoy!
Sunday, February 10
The Full House, Las Vegas, NV
The Minutemen were tired and just a mite frustrated, and they just dressed and showered in relative silence. Requests for towels and “we’ll get San Jose on Tuesday,” were just about the only things that were said.
Ain Iannizzi (cougar, SF, WIL) leaned against the row of lockers fully dressed, a scowl on his face. There was no question he was pissed.
“Take a chill pill, amigo. We got beat, that’s the end of it,” Teo Masalia (black panther, SG, WIL) advised as he came in from the shower to get dressed. Iannizzi didn’t say a word, only gazing towards the door to the ladies’ portion of the locker room.
“I know what you’re thinking, Ain. Don’t do it,” Teo warned. Again, no words from the cougar.
Vera La Tiérra (red vixen, PG, WIL) was the first to come out of the ladies’ locker room, Eleanor Rigby (deer, PG, WIL) following close behind.
Ain watched Vera as she passed by him on the way to the front benches.
“Some strategy you had out there, ‘captain’,” he said. The brown-haired vixen stopped and turned around, her gray eyes showing irritation
“¿Cómo? ¿Qué dijiste?” she said. Ain walked over to get closer to her, anger evident in his hazel eyes.
“You heard what I said. Eighteen misses. Eighteen f***ing misses.”
Vera growled loudly and that got the attention of the other members of the team from the other side of the room.
“Jou’re the one counting my misses, Ain. Kikovic blocked five of my shots alone,” she hissed. It was true; the veteran porcupine center controlled the paint all night. Ain growled and got closer to her face.
“If you’d have passed two of those f***ing bricks to me or your boyfriend, we would have won this game,” he snarled, pointing over to Leonard Mack (Fox, PF, WIL); that got the fox’s attention. Vera’s ears flattened a little, but her teeth bared further.
“Are jou saying it’s my fault?!”
“Hey, knock it off, Ain! Vera was trying her best, we all were!” Mack snapped. Ain bristled at the taller fox, not intimidated.
“You stay out of this, Mack!” he hissed, then jabbing a finger at Vera. “How isn’t it your fault? There isn’t anyone else in here in charge of distributing the ball as the all oh-so-f***ing-mighty point guard, now is there?!”
“Maybe jou should have gotten open more instead of being covered so well by Aurelias (lion, SF, LVG) and Leaf (sable, SF, LVG)!” she shot back.
The taller cougar stared at the vixen for a second, then shoved her high on the chest, making her stumble back into Otto Okkonen (Dragon, F/C, WIL), who managed to right her. La Tiérra snarled and shoved Iannizzi back, sending him lightly hitting into the lockers with a dull thud. With a yowl, Iannizzi was ready to get back into the fray, but he felt himself being held back by Nick Nwabudike (Elephant, C, WIL).
“This isn’t your fight, Nick! Get the hell off!” Ain demanded.
“Ain, stop. There’s no point to this!” Nick said, trying to reason with the cougar.
Vera yowled as her arms were held back and she was pulled back by a well-meaning Mack.
“Let me go, Lennie!” she demanded.
“Vera, just stop! It’s not worth it!” the big fox said.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!” a voice shouted out. The commotion immediately died down and the players found an angry Morgan Roosevelt (raccoon, HC, WIL) looking back at them.
“Iannizzi. Office. Now,” he said gruffly.
The cougar followed Roosevelt into the office and slammed the door behind him, taking a seat quickly in front of one of the desks.
“You saw the same things I did, Coach,” Iannizzi said.
“What I saw isn’t relevant here, Ain. Haven’t I made this clear to you already? Several times?”
Iannizzi just stared at Roosevelt. The raccoon looked back at him with his brown eyes.
“You’re coming off the bench on Thursday against Alaska, got that?”
“Psssh, fine with me. Just tell Vera not to miss so many damn shots and maybe we’ll actually win.”
“That’s enough!” Roosevelt said loudly, standing up and propping his paws on the desk.
The young cougar shut up for once.
“Iannizzi, listen to me. All that I ever ask out of anyone on this team is to trust in teammates. We have enough problems as it is with everyone wanting to knock off the champion. We don’t need more.”
“I know that, Coach.”
“Then show me. Now come on, we’ve got to get the discussions going before the media kills us.”
* * *
Monday, February 11
Arabia Hotel and Casino, 12:30 A.M.
Jarrod Frola (Cat, SF, WIL) and Wiley Twaddle (Woodchuck, SG, WIL) strolled through the Arabia Hotel casino, taking in the scenery. The dimly lit casino was alive with talk and slot machine sound effects, the beeps, blips and tunes signifying victory and defeat. Just down the row were the gaming tables, with poker, blackjack, roulette and craps. Several furs cheered as the shooter rolled a seven at the craps table.
“Well, look who it is. Parlez! And the Big W!” said a voice from the blackjack tables. Jarrod glanced over and noticed Wescot Yobia (bearcat, PF, LVG) standing in the aisle.
“Hey, Wescot!”
Frola grinned, greeting his old college buddy and teammate with a bro handshake and hug. Yobia leaned down and extended the bro handshake with Wiley as well.
“Congratulations on the win tonight!” the cat said brightly.
Yobia grinned back. “Heh, thanks. I did see through all the din that Iannizzi dude was giving the stink eye to Vera. What’s up with that?”
“Uh... it’s a long story,” Jarrod said, not wanting to explain. He felt bad about that, but Yobia shrugged his shoulders.
“Fair enough. You guys want to go a round at blackjack?”
“Sure!” Wiley said. “Feel lucky?”
Yobia spied a otter cocktail waitress dressed in a skimpy harem costume to fit the theme of the hotel and nodded.
“Oh yeah.”
She walked over to them as they seated themselves at the table.
“Can I get you gentlemen anything?” she asked brightly.
“Sure, get me a glass of champagne now and your phone number later,” he purred, slyly winking.
* * *
The pot between the three was $300. The lynx dealer had a Jack showing. Wiley asked for a card with his six and eight, and his eyes widened when he was dealt the nine of spades. Twenty-three.
“Ah, Jesus H. Jones...” he said in mock annoyance, getting a snicker from Jarrod and Wescot.
Jarrod had a six showing and his card was revealed with a flip of the wrist.
Seven of clubs. Thirteen.
Jarrod tapped the table with his paw, signaling for a card. On it came:
Eight of hearts.
“Twenty-one!”
“Nice!” Wiley said, clapping Frola on the back.
Frola grinned and snapped his finger in celebration.
Wescot saw his card to go with his Queen of hearts and grinned himself. Nine of clubs. Nineteen.
“Stay right there, my man,” he said.
“All right,” the dealer announced, flipping over his face down card with his ten.
Wescot moaned as the King of clubs mocked him when revealed.
“Aw, come ON... well congrats, Jarrod; you got my money without a loan,” he joked, then drinking the rest of his champange he got from the cocktail waitress.
Jarrod nodded as he took the chips. “That was a great game. I’ll go cash these in,” he said, going to a cashier station briefly. The orange tabby got the cash, in six fifties, then walked over to an older wolfess just sitting down at a slot machine. By her silvery hair and graying muzzle, she looked to be about sixty.
“Pardon me, ma’am, but do you need some money to start you off?” he asked politely. The wolfess looked up at him and smiled.
“Aren’t you Jarrod Frola, the basketball player?” she asked, recognizing his kitty face. Jarrod grinned broadly. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he teased. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Erma Stapleton.”
“Glad to meet you, Erma. Here, have some more fun tonight.”
He handed her the two fifties.
Erma gasped in surprise as he did that. “But, Mr. Frola, I can’t accept this.”
“Call me Jarrod, and it’s my pleasure. Here’s something else...”
Frola took out a hard plastic sleeve from his pocket. It protected a signed basketball card of him in action with the Minutemen.
“Proof that you met me,” he said, giving it to her. Erma smiled wider as she accepted the card.
“Well, bless your heart, I don’t know how I can thank you.”
“Just have fun tonight, and catch my bud Yobia at the Wildcard games.”
“I’ll be sure to do that on TV,” Erma assured him. “You have a good night, Jarrod, and thank you so much again. I hope you help the Minutemen win some more.”
“I hope so too, ma’am. Good night!” he said. With a smile and a wave, he left to rejoin his friends. Wescot had a look of mock disgust on his face.”
“You gave my $100 to some lady,” he teased. Jarrod grinned. “Better you didn’t just give it to the casino,” he said, getting a chuckle from Wiley.
“Now how about we hit the buffet? I’ve got the munches!”
“I hear that!” Yobia said brightly. Wiley thrust his arm forward, pointing to a staircase leading downstairs.
“To the Sultan’s Buffet!” he said heroically. Yobia shook his head.
“You always had a terrible acting voice.”
“Hey, I got a C in that drama class!”
The three friends shared a laugh as they went to enjoy the late-night eats at the restaurant.
Teo Masalia, Nick Nwabudike, Eleanor Rigby ©
GlenSkunk
Leonard Mack, Eleanor Rigby ©
BuckHopper
Vera La Tiérra, Ain Iannizzi ©
JTigerclaw
Otto Okkonen ©
Nasuella
Jarrod Frola, Wiley Twaddle ©
Christaphorac
Wescot Yobia ©
Darren_Zeraus
Morgan Roosevelt ©
Sam Gwosdz
Sunday, February 10
The Full House, Las Vegas, NV
The Minutemen were tired and just a mite frustrated, and they just dressed and showered in relative silence. Requests for towels and “we’ll get San Jose on Tuesday,” were just about the only things that were said.
Ain Iannizzi (cougar, SF, WIL) leaned against the row of lockers fully dressed, a scowl on his face. There was no question he was pissed.
“Take a chill pill, amigo. We got beat, that’s the end of it,” Teo Masalia (black panther, SG, WIL) advised as he came in from the shower to get dressed. Iannizzi didn’t say a word, only gazing towards the door to the ladies’ portion of the locker room.
“I know what you’re thinking, Ain. Don’t do it,” Teo warned. Again, no words from the cougar.
Vera La Tiérra (red vixen, PG, WIL) was the first to come out of the ladies’ locker room, Eleanor Rigby (deer, PG, WIL) following close behind.
Ain watched Vera as she passed by him on the way to the front benches.
“Some strategy you had out there, ‘captain’,” he said. The brown-haired vixen stopped and turned around, her gray eyes showing irritation
“¿Cómo? ¿Qué dijiste?” she said. Ain walked over to get closer to her, anger evident in his hazel eyes.
“You heard what I said. Eighteen misses. Eighteen f***ing misses.”
Vera growled loudly and that got the attention of the other members of the team from the other side of the room.
“Jou’re the one counting my misses, Ain. Kikovic blocked five of my shots alone,” she hissed. It was true; the veteran porcupine center controlled the paint all night. Ain growled and got closer to her face.
“If you’d have passed two of those f***ing bricks to me or your boyfriend, we would have won this game,” he snarled, pointing over to Leonard Mack (Fox, PF, WIL); that got the fox’s attention. Vera’s ears flattened a little, but her teeth bared further.
“Are jou saying it’s my fault?!”
“Hey, knock it off, Ain! Vera was trying her best, we all were!” Mack snapped. Ain bristled at the taller fox, not intimidated.
“You stay out of this, Mack!” he hissed, then jabbing a finger at Vera. “How isn’t it your fault? There isn’t anyone else in here in charge of distributing the ball as the all oh-so-f***ing-mighty point guard, now is there?!”
“Maybe jou should have gotten open more instead of being covered so well by Aurelias (lion, SF, LVG) and Leaf (sable, SF, LVG)!” she shot back.
The taller cougar stared at the vixen for a second, then shoved her high on the chest, making her stumble back into Otto Okkonen (Dragon, F/C, WIL), who managed to right her. La Tiérra snarled and shoved Iannizzi back, sending him lightly hitting into the lockers with a dull thud. With a yowl, Iannizzi was ready to get back into the fray, but he felt himself being held back by Nick Nwabudike (Elephant, C, WIL).
“This isn’t your fight, Nick! Get the hell off!” Ain demanded.
“Ain, stop. There’s no point to this!” Nick said, trying to reason with the cougar.
Vera yowled as her arms were held back and she was pulled back by a well-meaning Mack.
“Let me go, Lennie!” she demanded.
“Vera, just stop! It’s not worth it!” the big fox said.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!” a voice shouted out. The commotion immediately died down and the players found an angry Morgan Roosevelt (raccoon, HC, WIL) looking back at them.
“Iannizzi. Office. Now,” he said gruffly.
The cougar followed Roosevelt into the office and slammed the door behind him, taking a seat quickly in front of one of the desks.
“You saw the same things I did, Coach,” Iannizzi said.
“What I saw isn’t relevant here, Ain. Haven’t I made this clear to you already? Several times?”
Iannizzi just stared at Roosevelt. The raccoon looked back at him with his brown eyes.
“You’re coming off the bench on Thursday against Alaska, got that?”
“Psssh, fine with me. Just tell Vera not to miss so many damn shots and maybe we’ll actually win.”
“That’s enough!” Roosevelt said loudly, standing up and propping his paws on the desk.
The young cougar shut up for once.
“Iannizzi, listen to me. All that I ever ask out of anyone on this team is to trust in teammates. We have enough problems as it is with everyone wanting to knock off the champion. We don’t need more.”
“I know that, Coach.”
“Then show me. Now come on, we’ve got to get the discussions going before the media kills us.”
* * *
Monday, February 11
Arabia Hotel and Casino, 12:30 A.M.
Jarrod Frola (Cat, SF, WIL) and Wiley Twaddle (Woodchuck, SG, WIL) strolled through the Arabia Hotel casino, taking in the scenery. The dimly lit casino was alive with talk and slot machine sound effects, the beeps, blips and tunes signifying victory and defeat. Just down the row were the gaming tables, with poker, blackjack, roulette and craps. Several furs cheered as the shooter rolled a seven at the craps table.
“Well, look who it is. Parlez! And the Big W!” said a voice from the blackjack tables. Jarrod glanced over and noticed Wescot Yobia (bearcat, PF, LVG) standing in the aisle.
“Hey, Wescot!”
Frola grinned, greeting his old college buddy and teammate with a bro handshake and hug. Yobia leaned down and extended the bro handshake with Wiley as well.
“Congratulations on the win tonight!” the cat said brightly.
Yobia grinned back. “Heh, thanks. I did see through all the din that Iannizzi dude was giving the stink eye to Vera. What’s up with that?”
“Uh... it’s a long story,” Jarrod said, not wanting to explain. He felt bad about that, but Yobia shrugged his shoulders.
“Fair enough. You guys want to go a round at blackjack?”
“Sure!” Wiley said. “Feel lucky?”
Yobia spied a otter cocktail waitress dressed in a skimpy harem costume to fit the theme of the hotel and nodded.
“Oh yeah.”
She walked over to them as they seated themselves at the table.
“Can I get you gentlemen anything?” she asked brightly.
“Sure, get me a glass of champagne now and your phone number later,” he purred, slyly winking.
* * *
The pot between the three was $300. The lynx dealer had a Jack showing. Wiley asked for a card with his six and eight, and his eyes widened when he was dealt the nine of spades. Twenty-three.
“Ah, Jesus H. Jones...” he said in mock annoyance, getting a snicker from Jarrod and Wescot.
Jarrod had a six showing and his card was revealed with a flip of the wrist.
Seven of clubs. Thirteen.
Jarrod tapped the table with his paw, signaling for a card. On it came:
Eight of hearts.
“Twenty-one!”
“Nice!” Wiley said, clapping Frola on the back.
Frola grinned and snapped his finger in celebration.
Wescot saw his card to go with his Queen of hearts and grinned himself. Nine of clubs. Nineteen.
“Stay right there, my man,” he said.
“All right,” the dealer announced, flipping over his face down card with his ten.
Wescot moaned as the King of clubs mocked him when revealed.
“Aw, come ON... well congrats, Jarrod; you got my money without a loan,” he joked, then drinking the rest of his champange he got from the cocktail waitress.
Jarrod nodded as he took the chips. “That was a great game. I’ll go cash these in,” he said, going to a cashier station briefly. The orange tabby got the cash, in six fifties, then walked over to an older wolfess just sitting down at a slot machine. By her silvery hair and graying muzzle, she looked to be about sixty.
“Pardon me, ma’am, but do you need some money to start you off?” he asked politely. The wolfess looked up at him and smiled.
“Aren’t you Jarrod Frola, the basketball player?” she asked, recognizing his kitty face. Jarrod grinned broadly. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” he teased. “What’s your name, ma’am?”
“Erma Stapleton.”
“Glad to meet you, Erma. Here, have some more fun tonight.”
He handed her the two fifties.
Erma gasped in surprise as he did that. “But, Mr. Frola, I can’t accept this.”
“Call me Jarrod, and it’s my pleasure. Here’s something else...”
Frola took out a hard plastic sleeve from his pocket. It protected a signed basketball card of him in action with the Minutemen.
“Proof that you met me,” he said, giving it to her. Erma smiled wider as she accepted the card.
“Well, bless your heart, I don’t know how I can thank you.”
“Just have fun tonight, and catch my bud Yobia at the Wildcard games.”
“I’ll be sure to do that on TV,” Erma assured him. “You have a good night, Jarrod, and thank you so much again. I hope you help the Minutemen win some more.”
“I hope so too, ma’am. Good night!” he said. With a smile and a wave, he left to rejoin his friends. Wescot had a look of mock disgust on his face.”
“You gave my $100 to some lady,” he teased. Jarrod grinned. “Better you didn’t just give it to the casino,” he said, getting a chuckle from Wiley.
“Now how about we hit the buffet? I’ve got the munches!”
“I hear that!” Yobia said brightly. Wiley thrust his arm forward, pointing to a staircase leading downstairs.
“To the Sultan’s Buffet!” he said heroically. Yobia shook his head.
“You always had a terrible acting voice.”
“Hey, I got a C in that drama class!”
The three friends shared a laugh as they went to enjoy the late-night eats at the restaurant.
Teo Masalia, Nick Nwabudike, Eleanor Rigby ©
GlenSkunkLeonard Mack, Eleanor Rigby ©
BuckHopperVera La Tiérra, Ain Iannizzi ©
JTigerclawOtto Okkonen ©
NasuellaJarrod Frola, Wiley Twaddle ©
ChristaphoracWescot Yobia ©
Darren_ZerausMorgan Roosevelt ©
Sam Gwosdz
Category Story / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 428 x 515px
File Size 44.2 kB
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