The bus rang with cheesy rock music. Cory rolled his eyes at it and at the dirty jokes the team kept telling.
"You all right, man?" asked Ali, punching him playfully on the shoulder, hard enough to make even Cory wince.
"Yeah. It's gonna be a good long weekend. Free food, relaxation --"
The quarterback, "Rock" Dalton, was in the next seat up. He turned his bulky self around and grinned. "And maybe getting you two dweebs some girlfriends!"
Ali glared back at him. "We don't have to take that from you just cause you're captain."
"Let it go," Cory said. Rock was unstoppable on the field and not much less muscular than Ali the Wall, their immovable object. Cory was the little guy by comparison. Rock had never had to work hard to be a musclehead; he just had the genes. Cory and Ali had grown up together and started at State U last year, and both of them had needed to work out nearly every day to compete and earn their football scholarships.
Coach Williams stood up in the aisle and ignored the bus driver telling him to sit down. "Gentlemen! Your mission this weekend is team building! We will have fun and relax, but we will also come back ready for action in the fall semester. I want everyone keeping up with their exercise, eating right, and getting along. Understand?"
By long habit the whole team called out, "Sir! Yes sir!"
The Towering Ferns Resort lived up to its name, with tall plants all around. "Feels like we're in a jungle," Cory said. The two-level building complex was like an ancient temple.
Rock mumbled, "They better have a gym."
They filed off of the bus, Rock getting in front of everybody but Coach, and they hauled their gym bags and backpacks to the huge doors. A bellman was there, but the football team laughed off the offer of help.
The resort was meant for a diverse range of team building and group bonding, typically catering to business, church groups and other organizations. Luckily for the team, they also handled sports retreats and had a full gym and playing field.
It was shaping up to be a perfect weekend.