“Why don’t you sign out one of the project rooms in the library? They have a signup sheet and any student can use them,” Tracy suggested.
“See? No problem,” I smiled.
I found other things had changed now that I wasn’t playing football. In PE, I was no longer in the strength and conditioning program. Being suspended from athletics meant I had to go back to my original PE class. That meant I had to finish the semester in swimming. I liked to swim and it fit my exercise program, so it wasn’t the end of the world.
AT NOON, WE WERE SET up in the auditorium. Kendal had gotten the word out that I would announce my commitment today. I was a little nervous because last night’s emergency school-board meeting had been nothing short of explosive. While the meeting was ostensibly for finding replacements for Coaches Lambert and Engels, everyone wanted to place blame for not winning State.
Unfortunately for the coaching staff, they were at the meeting, and I wasn’t. The crowd turned on the ones they could see. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed. Both Coaches Lambert and Engels officially gave their notice, and announced their plans to leave at the end of the semester.
I thought my announcement was going to be a little awkward since I’d been suspended from athletics.
At 12:15, Tracy went on stage to start the press conference.
“Good afternoon. Today we only have David Dawson; Coach Lambert declined our invitation. David will make a brief statement and then he has an announcement. At that time, we’ll open it up to questions. The order of the questions has been set by lottery. If anyone violates the order, we’ll end the press conference. Play nice, ladies and gentlemen. David.”
We were all wore ‘Double D’ sweatshirts to hide which school I would commit to.
“Today I was saddened to hear that Coach Lambert and Engels have decided to move on to bigger and better opportunities. Coach Lambert and his staff did a lot to turn around this program. They showed me support and trust by giving me the opportunity to lead this powerhouse organization within one weekend of playing in the State Championship game.
“On a lighter note, I signed with Ford Models and will work with Range Sports to be the face of their Youth Sports line.”
Behind me, the photo with my shirt open came up. Everyone laughed. I turned to see what they saw.
“It’s hard work to look that good. Now for the reason you’re all here. On Monday, I was talking to Kevin Goode, and he said how relieved he was to get his recruiting over with. He inspired me to go ahead and make a commitment.”
I stood up and Kendal, Tracy and Lily flanked me. I smiled at them.
“Ladies.”
As one, we all pulled our Double D sweatshirts off and revealed our State jerseys. I could see the reporters were in shock.
“Coach Beck was very persuasive. They did everything right and aboveboard. It doesn’t hurt that three of my best friends, Kevin Goode, ‘Magic’ Mike Wade, and Luke Herndon, will be attending this fall. A little bird told me that Kevin and Luke made first team All-State. Magic is rumored to have received honorable mention. That’s a great achievement, considering he didn’t play a full year at his position.
“I was disappointed to see there weren’t more All-Conference players making the All-State team. I felt our conference was one of the best in the state, and many of those players deserved more recognition,” I finished. “Tracy, let’s open this up.”
Tracy came back up and sat down beside me. I smiled at her and squeezed her hand.
“I will call your name and what organization you’re with,” she said. “You may then ask your question. Let’s begin with Paul George with ESPN.”
It’s funny how the national guys were picked first. ESPN regularly broadcasted top prospect announcements as to where they would be attending college.
“Is it true that Coach Lambert blamed you for the loss Saturday and that led to him resigning?”
I held up my hand.
“I’m going to stop this here. I consider Coach Lambert a close friend. I had nothing to do with his decision to move on. I was upset when I heard that he and Coach Engels won’t be back to guide us to a State Championship next year.”
Tracy read the next guy’s name and which network he was with.
“I see the quarterback from Eastside didn’t make the All-State team, yet you’re named to the second team even though you didn’t make the All-Conference team.”
I laughed.
“I think there was a question in there somewhere.”
The other reporters laughed. I had found you can tease a reporter, but don’t make them look bad.
“The surfer dude from Eastside, Mark something. I can never remember his name,” I said, as I scratched my head.
They all laughed at that.
“He’s a much better quarterback than I am.”
They were rolling now.
“No, seriously; just ask him.”
I waited until the reporters stopped laughing. I acted confused, which made them laugh even more. When they calmed down, I turned back to the reporter.
“Sorry, what was your question?”
He didn’t miss a beat.
“What do you really think of the surfer dude?”
“Man, don’t get me started on him. Did you know that he beat us the first game we played?”
He was willing to play my straight man.
“But you came in and nearly beat them with only a half of play.”
“That’s not how he tells it.”
That one fell a little flat.
“Sorry, Surfer Dude, I was just having a little fun. He roasted me pretty good in his last presser. I’m sure that when he finally gets an offer, he’ll have a similar turnout for the JC that accepts him.”
Tracy scowled at me.
“Uh oh, that might have crossed the line. What’s that old-style offense he plays?”
“I think they play the West Coast Offense,” my straight man supplied.
“That’s right. I heard that went out of style, like the wishbone. Does anyone actually run that offense nowadays? I know that one of the academy teams runs the wishbone. Do any of the cool teams run the old-style West Coast anymore?”
Tracy whacked me on the back of the head.
“That’s my signal to get this back on track.”
I was a little sad when the press conference ended. I received a text from Clare Thomas at Ford with a big smiley face. Coach Beck sent me one welcoming me aboard. Tami’s text said ‘OMG.’ Jennie sent me one asking me to come up for Thanksgiving. Mark was strangely quiet.
I actually made SportsCenter. They posted the best parts of the press conference on their website. They also had a link to my Ford page.
When I walked off stage, Kendal almost molested me. Luckily, Tracy was there to break it up. Lily just rolled her eyes.
Chapter 15 – Girls Confuse Me
Wednesday November 27
TRACY AND I HAD OUR first fight. It was because I was going out with Beth the night before Thanksgiving. For the past five years, Greg had always taken Beth out. I don’t know what started the tradition, but it was our family’s reminder that they would like to be joined more tightly than just friends are. Mrs. Anderson and my mom decided we couldn’t possibly plan a romantic date, so it was planned for us.
Once Tracy got over being mad, she changed tactics. She got it in her head that I needed to sleep with Beth. I was supposed to do such a good job that she would be jealous of what Tracy had. I couldn’t figure out women. I didn’t know if it was me that attracted the crazy ones or not, but Tracy had me tied up in knots as I tried to figure out if this was some kind of test.
Tuesday night, Mrs. A, Mom, and Tracy picked out my wardrobe. I was surprised when they didn’t go with the suit. They decided on a fitted black t-shirt made out of some kind of silky, stretchy material. It was almost like not wearing a shirt because it showed every bump, ridge and ripple. They also chose a pair of slacks I wasn’t fond of because it felt like they were riding up my butt. The women all agreed it made my derrière look nice.