◊◊◊
When we got home, my dad met us, and Jim’s parents were there. Someone must have called them. Coach Zoon led us into the Lincoln Field House and into one of the coaches’ conference rooms.
“Where are your parents?” I asked Coach Zoon.
He just gave me a dirty look.
“Are you okay?” Dad asked.
“I just got my brain rattled. If it all goes well, I’ll be back playing next week,” I said, handing him my concussion protocol.
“Where’s Mom?” I asked.
“Did you really want her to be here?” Dad asked.
“Good call,” I said, and then Coach Hope entered the room.
“Before we get started, I have never had anything like this happen. I needed the bus ride back to come up with a plan that didn’t include me just removing you all from the football team. Luckily for you, I’ve had a chance to calm down. I think it’s best to first find out what actually happened. I want to start with Jim.”
“Last weekend we went to the University of Georgia on a recruiting visit. While I was gone, something happened to my girlfriend Piper. When I got back, I could tell something was wrong. She acted distant and didn’t want to talk about her weekend, so I asked around. I found out she’d gone to a party Saturday night. Everyone gave me vague answers when I asked what had occurred.
“I cornered one of my teammates on the bus ride to the game, and he told me Mike had done something. I called Piper and confronted her with it, and she admitted that Mike had put his hands on her and tried to get her to go out with him,” Jim said.
He was getting mad again. Jim’s dad reached over and grabbed his arm, and they stared at each other for a moment. Jim bowed his head.
“Coach, I’m sorry I lost it. All I could think of was what Mike had done to Mona. If he’d do that, what did he do with Piper? I didn’t get all the facts, I just reacted. If David hadn’t said something, and then when you came in, well, I might have done something terrible. Because of everything, Mike hurt his shoulder and David was knocked out. Whatever you decide, I won’t fight it.”
“I’m not going to draw this out. Tonight you served a one-game suspension. I want you to get yourself straightened out this weekend and come to practice with a new dedication. You have two strikes against you. Don’t get a third,” Coach Hope said.
“What about everyone else?” Jim asked.
“When Mike didn’t ride back on the bus with his teammates, he chose to no longer be on the team. I need to talk to David and Coach Zoon before making a decision on them. Now get out of here,” Coach Hope said.
When Jim and his parents had left, Coach Hope turned on us.
“God Dammit! What were you two thinking? Coach, you can NEVER leg-sweep a student! Good God, Man! If you did that in the Marines, I would’ve had you up on charges so fast your head would spin. You’re too well-trained to have to resort to something like that to stop him. We’re lucky he hasn’t threatened to sue the school or called the police. I can’t have you putting hands on football players.”
“Coach, can I say something?” I asked. “I didn’t really give him a choice. If he hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve gotten to Mike. Thinking back, the leg sweep was the only sure way to keep me from making a huge mistake. I brought this on myself. I want to thank Coach Zoon for not doing something worse, because he might have easily ended my football career if he’d taken my knee out. Ask my dad, he’ll tell you the best thing to do is to drop me on my head.
“Coach Zoon kept the situation from escalating, and I have no intention of doing anything formal. I was the one who put myself in harm’s way. I also knew that Coach Zoon has trained. This is all on me,” I concluded.
“You are sometimes the most mature immature person I know. If it weren’t for your speech before the game, I don’t think we would’ve won. But I can’t base my response on wins and losses.”
“Tony,” Coach Zoon said, “Mike confessed to going after Piper. That was what set David off. They had a history with a similar incident, and we gave Mike another chance. In my opinion, he failed that chance.”
Coach Hope suddenly looked very tired.
“David, go home and take care of yourself. I don’t want to see you at practice until you have a doctor’s clearance.”
Dad and I walked out of the field house.
“I’ll take care of your mother tonight. Go straight home and get some sleep,” Dad said.
“Sounds like a plan. Thank you for being there for me. I appreciate it,” I said, and hugged my dad.
◊◊◊ Saturday October 10
I woke up, and my head felt a lot better. Today I wasn’t allowed to do anything strenuous. If I didn’t have any symptoms, I would be able to at least go for a run tomorrow. Duke still needed his exercise, so I found his favorite tennis ball and threw it for him in the back yard. When he settled down, we went into the house where my parents were drinking coffee.
“Sit,” Mom ordered.
She checked the back of my head. There was a lump, but she seemed satisfied I would live. Mom then handed me the newspaper. I read the headline: ‘Lincoln’s QB Injured in Locker Room Altercation.’ Reading the article, it was lacking any details. The only real story it had was that I’d received a concussion and may not be able to play next week against Springfield.
“I wonder how they got this so fast,” I said.
My phone rang, and it was Brandon.
“What happened to you? Your phone has been going nuts from both recruiters and reporters. What do you want me to tell them?” he asked.
“Hang on,” I said and then turned my phone onto speaker so my parents could hear him. “Repeat what you just said.”
He did, and I looked at my parents.
“I’m not going to talk to anyone about this,” I said.
As of now, the press did not know Coach Zoon had taken me down. If it got out, he might have a problem.
“Refer them to Coach Hope for comment,” Dad said.
“You better call him first to warn him. He won’t want to be blindsided by this,” Mom advised Brandon.
Brandon hung up, and we talked about it some more. Then my dad made a comment that hit home.
“This kind of thing is going to come up again. Not you being knocked silly, but where you’ll have to deal with the press. I talked to your grandma and uncle, and they’re sure it’ll only get worse once the movie comes out. We taught you to get good advice. It might be time you get someone to help you with press-related matters. According to your grandma, your grandpa always believed the most valuable member of his staff was his press secretary. We talked about doing this in the past. Do you think it’s time we bite the bullet and hire someone before your movie opening?” Dad asked.
“Maybe you should ask Rita James what she thinks,” Mom said.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Halle’s number. I was shocked when my mom snatched it out of my hand. I think she just wanted an excuse to meet Rita. I could only shake my head when Mom invited herself and Dad over for lunch.
Mom handed me my phone back when it rang again. This time it was Beth Anderson. I was completely confused as to why she’d be calling me this early on a Saturday morning.
“What’s up, Buttercup?” I asked.
“Did you forget something?” Beth asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“You have the band fundraiser this afternoon. They called me and told me you never signed up,” Beth complained.
Beth had roped me into the Bachelor Auction they did each year. The only reason I did it last year was that Beth had set it up, and she still cared about the band. This year they’d never asked me to help out, so I’d forgotten about it.
“They never asked, and before you browbeat me, when and where?” I asked.
“High school auditorium at one. You’re the best, David,” she said, and then hung up on me.
Five minutes later, my phone buzzed; Lily had broadcast a message that I would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. I had to give Beth credit for managing the auction from Purdue.