“See if you’re saying that come the end of practice on Monday.”
Kevin and Mona went to get their ice cream.
“Was that story true? Did you really put Kevin on his butt?” Tracy asked.
“Yeah, but the way I remember it, he hit me so hard my helmet flew off.”
She looked at me with a new respect.
“I had no idea you were so tough.”
“Have you seen my Superman video?”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t real, was it?”
“I’m afraid so.”
She gave me a big kiss. I noticed that after Kevin and I’d talked, most of my ice cream was gone. I looked at her and she smiled.
“I let Mona eat it while you two were yapping.”
Oh well, at least she left me some of it. We went back to Tracy’s to get my results. Thank God, they were negative. I was now a firm believer in wearing a condom.
Sunday September 22
AFTER MY SUNDAY RUN, I went to church, and Pastor Dan met Mom and me in the lobby after the service.
“David, do you have a minute?”
“Sure, Pastor Dan, what can I do for you?”
“Would you be willing to be a youth counselor for the Christmas vacation ski trip?”
My mom stepped in.
“When is it? How long? And how much will it cost?”
“The group will be gone from December twenty-ninth till January second. The counselor’s trip is free. They only pay for the odd snack or drink they get on their own.”
I had a question.
“What would I need to do?”
“You’d be responsible for a cabin. There should be four to six in each cabin. Your job is to be a good example and just make sure nothing terrible happens.”
I looked a little skeptical, so Pastor Dan jumped back in.
“Look, the kids asked for you. They see you as a role model and I’ve watched you with them. You talk to them as equals, and you don’t bully them around.”
“He’ll do it,” Mom said.
I looked at her suspiciously and thought about rejecting the offer out of hand, but I didn’t have the funds to go skiing on my own. I looked at Pastor Dan and nodded my agreement. I smiled, because I was going skiing!
SUNDAY AFTERNOON COACH Lambert worked with the scout team to walk them through Eastside’s offense. It was normally just seven or eight players, the skill positions and the center. I was instructed to get there early. I was surprised to see Magic there with Bill Callaway.
“Hey, guys, where’s Coach?”
Magic took charge.
“Coach wanted you to work on your passing and, since Bill’s our top receiving backup, I wanted him to get a little work too. Let’s hit the field and just throw the ball around and see what kind of arm you have.”
I stopped on the sideline and put on my cleats. I noticed Bill had top-end cleats. They weren’t what we were issued by the school. I knew Bill was a junior. Unfortunately, he wasn’t all that big for a receiver. He was five-eleven and 160 pounds. Coach Lambert liked his receivers bigger because he used them to block. The two guys who started were both over six feet and 200 pounds. The one thing Bill had over them was speed. He was the fastest guy we had on the offensive side of the ball.
Magic had us spend ten minutes just tossing the ball back and forth as he coached me on my technique. Once he felt my arm was loose, he got us started.
“Bill, I want you to go down ten yards and do a buttonhook.”
Bill flew down the field, I let the ball fly, and he made a hard cutback to find the ball right in his chest. The ball bounced off him and Bill dropped it.
“Hey man, you’re making me look bad,” I teased him.
Bill grinned at me.
“Dang, you ripped that one. I wasn’t ready for it. Let’s do it again.”
Bill lined up and took off. When he hit ten yards, he cut, and the ball was there. This time, though, he had his hands up, caught it away from his chest, and then tucked it. He tossed it back.
“Okay, I think you have some skills,” I said, which got a big grin on Bill’s face.
Magic turned out to be a good coach. Bill and I worked on a variety of pass routes and I started to be confident in my ability to make the throws. Bill made me look good, because he had tremendous hands. All I had to do was get it close. After about forty-five minutes, the rest of the players showed up. When everyone was there, Magic pulled us all together.
“Okay, Coach can’t make it today. However, we have a personal stake in this game. The opposing linebacker is my cousin. He’s been talking smack since they beat us last year. I will not lose this game.”
We all nodded our agreement.
“They run a West Coast-style offense and they lost their first game. Then they changed quarterbacks. Some California kid took over and they’re a different team with him at quarterback. They need to knock us off to tie us in the conference standings. If both of us win out, they’ll get the automatic berth in the state playoffs due to head-to-head play. I need you guys to push our defense. This is the only game they’ll play against this style of offense, so your job is to kick ass in practice. And I hear one of you has upped the ante.”
He looked at me and I fessed up.
“I bet Kevin we would score four times before the defense even touched me.”
Bill offered his lofty opinion.
“Dude, you’re a dumbass.”
Magic looked at me.
“Okay, big shot, how are we going to score four times before Kevin gets his hands on you?”
I grinned and gave them my plan. After I laid it all out, they all just shook their heads. Tomorrow’s practice would be interesting.
WHEN I GOT HOME FROM practice, I sent a text to Tami to jump onto video chat. I turned on my tablet and she was waiting for me.
“Hey, I need your help.”
She looked bored.
“Okay, go to your closet and I’ll help you pick out your clothes for tomorrow.”
I scowled at her.
“That’s not what I need help with. Well, yes it is, but I need your help with something else.”
I quickly told her my plan for tomorrow’s practice. She got an evil grin. This was right up her alley.
“Okay, David. I have to get busy. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Hang on.”
I got up and went to my closet. She just laughed and selected my clothes for the next day.
Monday September 23
ON MONDAY WHEN I GOT to school, there was a buzz. Word had gotten out about my bet with Kevin. I made it until lunch before Kevin tracked me down.
“What the hell are you doing to me?”
I played dumb.
“What are you talking about?”
He seemed agitated.
“You’ve been telling everyone about our bet!”
“Oh, that. I wanted to make sure everyone got to see you go down today,” I said, and gave him my best cocky look.
Our friends at the lunch table couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke out laughing. Kevin got red and stormed out of the lunchroom.
“Dawson, you’re a dead man walking!” Kevin yelled back when he reached the door.
“Do you think we went too far?” Magic asked.
“Nah, he’ll get over it. I just need to get him out of his comfort zone for four scores. If he’s on his game, I’m dead.”
WHEN WE GOT TO PRACTICE, Coach Lambert talked to us before we hit the field.
“This week’s game is a big one. We’re facing the best team we’ll see before the playoffs. What makes these guys dangerous is their speed. They’re fast on both sides of the ball. That’s normally our strength, but I have to say I think they may be faster than we are, so we’re going to have to be disciplined in our roles. You all know your assignments. If you do them, we’ll be fine.”
Coach looked at his clipboard.
“Now the scout team has been offered the challenge of running Eastside’s offense, and apparently there’s been a little bet made. The offense must score four times before the defense touches the quarterback. I have to hand it to you, Dawson, you got a set on you. Best of luck today.”