THE RUMOR MILL WAS going crazy, because Jeff and Sammie, Bill and Reese, and Tim and Mona were reported as going out; and Jim, Wolf and Cassidy all seemed to be dating. Alan found me between classes.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“What are you talking about?” I shot back.
“Don’t play games with me. Jeff’s dating a varsity cheerleader. In what universe is that even possible?”
“Hey, Jeff’s a great guy, and our friend. Don’t you think Sammie could have figured that out?” I asked indignantly.
He looked at me hard.
“You’re not telling me something. Don’t worry, I’ll find out,” he said and started to leave.
“Stop!” I ordered.
He came back when he saw I wasn’t playing around.
“You have a girlfriend, right? Let Jeff enjoy his new girlfriend. How he won her over is none of your business. Be a real friend, and let it go, Alan.”
His lips got tight, but he nodded once and then walked away.
DURING LUNCH, THE FOOTBALL team was called to the gym. There were several reporters there, so Coach Hope had to know who our first opponent was. We all quickly took our seats to get the news.
“I have two announcements to make. First, the All-Conference team has been announced. I’d like to congratulate Bill Callaway on making the first team.”
We all clapped for him. Bill was by far the best receiver in the conference, if not the entire state.
“Second team All-Conference is Lou Davis.”
Lou played cornerback and was one of only three seniors (including Bill). No one had expected Lou to make the All-Conference team, so there were some cheers mixed in.
“Next is the brackets for state ...” Coach Hope started.
“Hang on, that was all the players who made All-Conference?” Moose asked.
“I think you’re missing the point, Moose. We’re a TEAM! Teams don’t need individual accolades. This team is going to show them what playing together can do. We have an opportunity to make a statement this Wednesday,” Coach Hope said as he looked at me, Tim, Jim, Wolf, Jake and Ed in turn.
“Our opponent Wednesday is Beverly. I think the football gods have granted you a chance to show you deserve to be there.”
Tim stood up. “Coach is right. David, what would it cost to get t-shirts with ‘TEAM’ on the back instead of our names?”
“I could probably get them for five bucks each.”
“Everyone that wants one, give David some money.”
I was happy to see that if a guy didn’t have any money, someone helped him out. The coaches all gave me a five. I called Sandy Range. I told her what I needed. She asked me to email her everyone’s size. She would get the store I did the ad for to make them up and send them to the school so we’d have them for practice tonight. I was shocked when she said the cost would be $5 for each of them. Have I mentioned how much I loved Range Sports? I had Alan send her a spreadsheet with all our sizes. The little shit blackmailed me into buying him one, too.
AS WE CAME IN TO WATCH game film, Moose and Coach Diamond handed out our new shirts. They were navy blue sweatshirts with the Lincoln High Bulldog chewing a football on the front in orange. The word ‘STATE’ went down each sleeve and ‘TEAM’ was across the back where your name should have gone. It took us no time to all put our sweatshirts on.
You could see the pride everyone had. I would bet big money these would be worn every day until we won state. Coach Hope told us that our jerseys would have a ‘STATE’ patch added to the sleeves for the Beverly game.
We skipped looking at the Adamsville Prep film and went straight to Beverly’s game film. Coach Hope’s former assistant had taken over at Beverly as their head coach. He ran the same offense and defense as they did last year. With that realization, my eyes got big.
“Say it ain’t so,” I said.
“Yep, do you think you might be ready for this?” Coach Hope asked me.
Over the summer, I’d broken down the Beverly game at the Kentucky camp. Knowing what to look for was going to be a big advantage. We had a great chance in this game.
FOR MY ACTING CLASS, I brought a Crock-Pot of chili. I really enjoyed talking to everyone before class as we ate. Tonight, they wanted to talk to me about modeling.
“How did you get started modeling?” Terrance asked.
“It was just luck. My best friend went to a private school, and one of the girls there needed a date for her cousin’s engagement party. It was a fancy deal, so my date bought me a nice suit. We ended up on a gossip TV show that was covering the party. Someone saw me, and the rest is history,” I told them.
“Do any of us have a shot at making it big?” Cheryl asked.
“I hate to break it to you, but female models start young, and most are retired by the time they’re your age. Terrance might have a shot, as a guy. They tend to start older and are marketable much longer. The problem is that most of them don’t make what the women do.”
“For someone like me, what could I expect to make?” Debbie asked.
“I’d imagine with the right management, you could make two to ten grand a month without a problem,” I answered. “My only concern is I’m not sure if you’re cut out for it.”
That got everyone’s attention. I could see I needed to give them a demonstration.
“Terrance, take your shirt off,” I said.
“Well ... I ...” he stammered.
“Deb, Cheryl, take your shirts off.”
Deb blushed, but Cheryl did it without even thinking about it.
“Kate, take your shirt off.”
Our teacher looked at me for a moment, then she took it off.
“Okay, put them back on,” I said. “I wanted to make a point. As a model, you have to be able to take direction, and not be body-shy. If the shoot required it, I’d get naked without even thinking about it.”
“But that wasn’t a fair test. I didn’t know what you were asking for. I just thought you were being a perv,” Deb said.
“First, you know me better than that. But, fair enough. Everyone, strip down to your underwear, and we’ll do tonight’s scene like that. If you can honestly say you’re not uncomfortable, I’ll have my agent call you tomorrow,” I challenged.
“Are you going to strip?” Cheryl challenged.
I just took my clothes off and got ready for class. Kate made me stop before I lost my boxers. Terrance and Deb couldn’t do it. I was surprised that Cheryl and Kate joined me. At the break, Terrence was complaining.
“If I had a body like yours, I could do it,” he said.
“I call bullshit,” I said.
“I’m all skin and bones. I would never be able to model,” he grumbled.
“If I showed you how you could become an actor, a model, or anything you wanted, would you quit complaining and do what it takes?”
He seemed doubtful.
“Terrance, I’m not messing around. I may be in high school, but I’ll bet I’ve made more this month, without even working, than all of you combined. I’m not telling you that to boast. I’m telling you that so you can see that even a kid can do it.”
“Show me,” he said.
I went to the whiteboard.
“Terrance, tell me your goal.”
“To be a Broadway actor,” he said.
“For this example, I’m going to assume you all have the same goal,” I said.
“Broadway would be fine with me,” Deb agreed.
The other two nodded their agreement. I wrote ‘Broadway actor’ four times on the whiteboard with their names underneath. I had Kate get four pads of Post-It Notes. I had them stand under their name and write down everything they would have to do to get a job on Broadway, as an actor, and put each item on a sticky note and put it under their name. They stuck them onto the board. I left a spot for myself at the far end. After a half hour, I had them stop.