Page 9 of Brick Wall

Sebastian

T he week has moved in a fast blur, and before I know it, I’m back pulling into that gravel parking lot. I only got lost once this time. Fine, twice.

And once again, Ryan is standing in that open parking lot with a giant wave and a smile. There are about a dozen cars, mostly smaller ones, and my oversized pickup stands out like a sore thumb.

It’s Sunday again, but tomorrow is the first official day of camp.

“Welcome to Camp Moore Fun!” Ryan excitedly says.

“Nobody calls it that, and I told you we are not changing the name to that,” Tristan grumpily says, following behind Ryan.

Tristan turns to me and shakes my hand. “Good to see you again.”

We move into the big brown building for more introductions of fellow coaches and other staff members.

It’s an uneventful morning of meetings and expectations for the week.

It was technically optional for me as a pro athlete.

I could have just shown up tomorrow ready to coach, but I didn’t want to miss pertinent information.

I’m a team player, which is why I’ll be staying at the camp this week as well.

I won’t really be on camp counselor duty, but I’ll be around for questions or emergencies if needed.

It also saved me the hour drive each way every day.

I don’t mind driving too much, but it’s easier to stay put and focus my energy on the camp for the week.

I also brought my laptop so I can work from here if there’s a good enough signal.

At the end of lunch, Ryan announces with glee that he has an amazing team builder planned, and he expects full participation.

My eyes wander over to the door, where I notice Annie for the first time today.

Her shiny brown hair is tied up in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a simple white tank top and a pair of athletic shorts that show off her tall, fine legs.

She turns around, and yep, it also shows her fine ass as well.

Shit. I need to stop staring at her. I don’t know what it is about this particular woman that makes me not want to look away.

Annie rolls her eyes at something Ryan says that I completely missed, but I’m assuming it has something to do with the impending team builder.

I totally missed the fact that Annie, Tristan, and Ryan are siblings.

Moore is a common last name, and I only heard Annie’s last name once in passing, so I never made the connection.

Now that I see them together, though, I can tell.

They are all extremely tall, Annie being the only sibling shorter than me and I’m six five.

“All right!” Ryan says to everyone with high energy. I’m so glad that the other Moore siblings are more laid-back. I don’t think I could handle three people that match Ryan’s energy. “Let’s meet on the sand in five minutes! We’ll divide into two teams.”

“Two teams for what?” I say cluelessly to the young guy next to me.

“Dodgeball,” he says, but there’s a silent duh in his words.

We all slowly make our way outside near the water. I see a line drawn in the sand to mark boundaries near the water and the big brown building. The dodgeball court is quite large, taking up most of the beach frontage.

“Okay, this is a friendly game of dodgeball,” Tristan says while looking over at his two siblings. “Ryan and I will be the captains and pick our teams.”

Without saying a word, both Ryan and Tristan silently start a game of rock, paper, scissors. Tristan wins, but it quickly goes into another round, and Ryan wins the next two. Ryan fist-bumps after his victory. “Sebastian, you’re my first member on Team Moore Wins.”

“What a dumb name,” Tristan mutters. I have to agree with him on that one, considering they share the same last name.

Tristan picks the guy that I met but couldn’t tell you his name or anything about him, minus that he’s probably an athlete or a former one.

“Annie!” Ryan says with glee, and Annie makes her way over to me and fist-bumps both of us in a team greeting. “We are going to have the best team!”

“You probably shouldn’t have picked the largest target first,” I mumble under my breath. Ryan was too busy picking his next victim, but based on the smirk on Annie’s face, she heard my comment .

I hate dodgeball. You throw balls at people to get them out. It’s stupid. I also never play for long because people tend to target the fat guys first.

“Play dodgeball often?” Annie says next to me as others are slowly joining our team.

“Hardly ever,” I admit. I rarely get myself into dodgeball situations. “I’ve never played in the sand before,” I add. I’ve only played dodgeball indoors, in a large gym or something similar. Beach dodgeball is a new one for me.

“It makes it harder. I think that’s why my brothers like it so much. Don’t move too quickly. It can trip you up.”

No problem there. I’d rather not move too quickly if I don’t have to. I could stay in the same spot all day.

“Thanks,” I manage to say back, with a hopeful smile, but I’m so dang nervous that I’m not sure I manage the friendly effect I was looking for.

Did I mention I hate dodgeball? Is this an optional team activity?

Our teams are now finalized, and we are getting gestured onto the makeshift court in the sand, but there’s a few people sitting in beach chairs off to the side. It’ll probably only be a couple more minutes until I’m out, and I can blissfully relax in one.

An older man I haven’t met yet, who looks like an older Tristan Moore, briefly goes over the rules. He then blows the whistle for us to begin, and balls start flying everywhere.

I didn’t realize I was still next to Annie until she leans forward near my ear so I can hear her through the excitement.

“Full warning: my brothers are extremely competitive.” Annie chucks two balls at the opposing team, getting two guys out simultaneously .

“Just your brothers?” I tease.

Annie is amazing. I’m just going to stay behind her for a minute because I’d rather not be the first person out on our team. Plus, she’s catching and blocking a lot of balls that come her way.

She’s fierce. I knew she was athletic since we played basketball that night at Quinn’s house, but I think I underestimated how athletic and versatile she really is. I can’t believe Ryan picked her second to me, the person cowardly hiding behind her, or attempting to, at least.

Before I know it, a ball grazes the top of my feet, and I’m out. I’m not the first person out, or even the second, so I’m satisfied with my mediocre dodgeball performance.

I quietly withdraw from the game, sit in the chair I was eyeing earlier, and watch Annie. I can’t keep my eyes off her. I don’t know why I’m so captivated by her and her dodgeball performance.

Unsurprisingly, Annie is the last player on Ryan’s team, and there are three players on Tristan’s team, including the man himself. Unfortunately, Annie doesn’t win the triple team against her, and she’s out. The game is finally over.

Tristan says some boastful words but also continues to share the game plan for tomorrow before dismissing us.

“Hey, losers need to pick up,” Tristan says as he throws something at Annie. Keys, maybe?

I look around, and I didn’t realize I was standing next to her again, but everyone from our team has deserted the area already. Smart bastards.

Annie shrugs, picks up a black crate, and starts throwing in the foam dodgeballs.

Tristan hands me a crate and pats me on the back with a “ see you tomorrow.”

Annie and I silently and quickly pick up the balls, although admittedly, she does most of the work. She’s fast.

“The storage for the dodgeballs and most of the sports equipment is over here in this red shed,” Annie says, pointing to a large shed toward the edge of the woods and parking lot.

She puts her key into the lock and opens the door, which makes a loud creaking sound upon opening. She grabs a red brick lying nearby to prop the door while we grab the five milk crates filled with dodgeballs. When we enter with the last two crates, Annie flips on the light.

The shed itself is a lot bigger than I expected. Many shelves and spaces are empty because a lot of equipment is currently in use or will be soon. It’s easy to see the empty spot on the shelf neatly labeled with a black label maker: “dodgeballs.”

We put the last two crates on the shelf, and before we turn around to leave, I hear a weird noise. Before I can react, I hear three distinct sounds.

Bang.

Screech.

Click.