Second Down - Chapter 27

Saturday we played L.D. Bell High School. I’d already played their freshman team in an away game early in the season, but this time we were playing at home, which meant we didn’t have to do the four and a half hour bus ride.

It had been my only win on the freshman team, and we repeated it again with a 21-7 win. Weirdly, that was also what we’d won by when I’d played them as a freshman. The only down part was that the hope I’d been holding onto that coach was changing his mind about letting me take more passes because we were focusing on it more in practice didn’t happen.

He gave me four real passes, which was two more than the last game, one in each quarter. I completed all four. None were monster passes, mostly in the twenty-yard range, but two converted into touchdowns, which was the first time on JV where the majority of the points on the board came from plays where I was passing, instead of running plays.

I could only hope that he saw I was having success, although I didn’t think he did. I think he saw it as their team wasn’t expecting long passes since we still hardly ever did it, so they kept our guys out of double coverage, making it easier to complete passes.

I liked to think I could have completed them still, but who knows. He had been a coach for longer than I’d been playing the game, at least in this life, so maybe he knew something I didn’t.

Not that I was going to stop pushing for more passes.

The other good thing about playing a home game was that it wasn’t that late when we all got to the Silver Spoon. This time I was sitting in a booth, with Melanie sitting on one side of me and Joe on the other, Mickey and two other JV cheerleaders, Hanna and Emily, sitting across from us. I think Joe was annoyed he had to sit next to me on the far inside of the booth while Mickey was sandwiched between the two girls.

I tried to feel bad for him, but I was flying high. Between winning the game and Melanie holding my hand under the table, I’d completely forgotten about the stuff with Josh and Mom the night before. Well, not forgotten, but it wasn’t bugging me as much as it had most of the day.

Neither had talked to me about the next morning and when I saw dad and tried to talk to him, he said just leave it alone and let him handle it. They didn’t take the lock off my room by the time I had to leave for the game, at least, so I guess he managed to talk mom down.

I was just happy to be with my friends. Joe was in mid-story, recounting his glory moments from the game, being as loud as humanly possible.

“…see me? Blam. Right through the line. That’s my tenth touchdown this season.”

“Because coach just loves shoving your big ass down the middle of the line,” Mickey said.

“Whatever,” Joe said, annoyed as all three girls laughed.

“Well, I thought Blake stole the show with those two touchdowns. Coach Holloway really should let you guys do more of those long passes.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Mickey said.

“Only cause it gets you the ball and a moment of glory,” Joe said.

“Well if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” I said.

“Jesus, the testosterone is getting thick over here. Maybe we should go and let the boys finish arguing,” Melanie said, half standing up.

“No, no, no,” I said, not letting go of her hand and pulling her back down. “We were just messing around. It’s the oldest rivalry, runners versus backfield.”

“Fine, but only cause you’re cute,” she said, which got an ‘ooohhh’ from Mickey and Joe. “Are you going to get a milkshake?”

“I don’t know. Still deciding.”

“Sorry, I think I misspoke. Order us a chocolate milkshake. I don’t want a whole one, so we can share.”

I shook my head and laughed, as she got up to let me out so I could go get it. I could hear Mickey making kissing noises as I walked away, and I flipped him off without turning around.

The diner was packed. Wheaton was a football town and the whole place lived for high school sports, so even the regulars were happy to have the team here, even though we weren’t varsity. Many had been to the game and would stop and ask kids about the season or giving suggestions.

It was a real town affair.

As I waited in line, I looked back at Melanie. We’d only been on the one date and had the one kiss, and that was yesterday, but already it felt like this was going somewhere. She’d been all over me the portions of the game and after where we had a chance to socialize, and she’d been glued by my side ever since we got to the diner.

It seemed impossible that this girl I’d been crazy over in my dream life I had. we weren’t official or anything, but I think we both felt the chemistry hard and knew where it was going.

I got back to the booth with the milkshake, which included the mixing container that had the extra and my soda, and slid back into the booth as Melanie got up to let me in.

“…going with to homecoming,” Emily was asking as I sat down.

I suddenly noticed that Hanna was a junior, same as Mickey, Melanie, and I were freshmen, and Joe and Emily were sophomores. That seemed like too much of a coincidence, especially since Melanie and I’d gone out on a date.

I smelled a rat and looked over at Melanie, who seemed to read my mind and rolled her eyes at me.

“What about you, fresh? I’m assuming you two are going since you’re a couple now.”

“We’re not a couple,” Melanie protested. “We’ve only been on the one date.”

“Still, it went well. What about it? Want to be my date to homecoming?”

Melanie took a long sip of our milkshake, making me wait.

“I suppose I could clear my schedule,” she said finally, squeezing my hand under the table.

“Way to put pressure on the rest of us,” Joe said.

Emily looked across the table at Joe expectantly. The silence stretched uncomfortably as Joe shifted in his seat, his usual bravado, at least with us guys on the field, evaporating. It also proved that this had been a setup all along to get Emily and Joe together.

“So, uh, Emily,” Joe started, stumbling over the words. “Would you maybe want to, I don’t know, go to homecoming? With me?”

“Very smooth,” I said, earning an elbow to the ribs.

Emily studied Joe for a long moment, during which I thought he might actually pass out.

“Sure,” she said finally. “Why not?”

“Really?” Joe’s voice cracked on the word.

He was actually surprised. Poor fool didn’t realize he’d just been set up. Not that it was such a terrible fate. Emily was pretty and seemed nice, although I didn’t know her well.

“And then there was one,” Mickey said, looking at Hanna. “Good thing we already figured this out, right?”

“Did we?” Hanna asked innocently. “I don’t remember agreeing to anything.”

Mickey’s face fell. “But I thought... I mean, we talked about...”

Hanna burst out laughing. “Your face! Of course we’re going together, you idiot.”

“When did this happen?” Joe asked.

“I’m honestly shocked. I’ve never seen someone with so little game. Hanna, did you hit your head or something?” I asked, grinning at Mickey.

“Shut up. Both of you.”

We burst out laughing.

“We started talking a few weeks ago,” Hanna confirmed. “And went out last weekend. It took forever to get him to realize I was trying to get him to ask me out. All he wants to talk about is football and some pass he caught two weeks ago.”

“It was a really good catch,” Mickey protested.

“It really was,” Joe agreed. “The way…”

“No,” Melanie cut him off. “We are not spending another hour discussing every play of the game. Some of us were actually there and saw it happen.”

“But don’t you want to hear about …” Mickey started.

“I will dump this milkshake on you,” Hanna threatened.

Hanna reached for the glass and Mickey quickly leaned back, hands raised in surrender.

“We’re all going to the homecoming game first, right?” Emily asked. “Did y’all wanna do something after? Dinner?”

“That could work,” Hanna said. “School dances are usually lame, so I really just want a few dances, get our pictures, and see them announce the homecoming court. We can go after that.”

The girls got down to planning our evening, which was going to apparently be the three of us, and I knew it was a setup. They’d maneuvered it so each ended up with the guy they wanted to take them to the dance, and seemed to already know they were all going together, well, with us in tow.

Emily was the oldest and clearly the leader, but I was impressed how Melanie didn’t just take a backseat even though she was the youngest of the three. She was vocal, made her opinions known, and wasn’t just a follower.

It was pretty attractive, actually.

“Still slinging wieners, Melanie?” Brandy said as she walked by our table, bringing our conversation to a halt. “Nice to see you dating down, Blake. Not that you were ever that high up to begin with.”

Melanie worked part-time at Superdog, a drive-in-style place that mostly did hotdogs as one of the car hops. Brandy’s dad was the local lawyer, which meant she had money and had a bad habit of looking down on people who didn’t. I guess ‘cause dad was a cop and we were kind of middle class, I got a pass from that usual snobbery.

At least while we were dating.

Pre-dream me didn’t really notice her attitude, but current me absolutely did. It actually turned my stomach a bit that I ever dated someone like that.

The dig clearly hit home, though, because Melanie’s hand tensed in mine for a second before her other hand gripped the edge of the table, and she started pushing herself out of the booth.

I didn’t let go of her hand, pulling her back down. “Don’t.”

“Did you hear what she just…”

“Yeah, I heard. Trust me, she’s not worth it.”

Brandy stopped a few feet past our table, turning back with a smirk. “What’s wrong, Blake? Don’t think the slut can fight her own battles.”

“I’ll show you whose a slut,” Melanie said, standing up again

“she’s not worth it,” I said, pulling her down a second time. “She’s just bitter I dumped her and is being a bitch. The best thing we can do with her is ignore her.”

“Coward,” Brandy spat. “You two deserve each other. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

I couldn’t help myself. “That’s true. But everyone else sure as hell does.”

Brandy’s face flushed red. For a second, I thought she might actually come back to the table, but instead, she spun on her heel and stormed toward the door, shouldering past a group of sophomores who were just walking in.

“What a bitch,” Hanna said, shaking her head.

“I don’t understand,” Melanie said. “We were friendly at the start of the year. She even helped me with some routines during pre-season practice.”

“Yeah, well, that was before you went out with me,” I said.

“So what? She was dating Mason like two seconds after you guys broke up.”

“More like during,” Joe muttered.

Mickey kicked him under the table.

“I should have hit her,” Melanie said, stabbing her straw into what remained of our shake. “Right in her stupid face.”

“While that would have been entertaining,” I said, “I’m glad you didn’t. But I like that you wanted to.”

“Of course I wanted to. No one talks to my...” She trailed off, blushing slightly.

“Your what?” Mickey teased.

“Shut up,” Melanie and I said in unison.

“They’re already finishing each other’s sentences,” Emily said. “How cute.”

“I think I preferred when we were talking about football,” Joe again.

“You would,” Hanna said. “But seriously, what’s her deal? I mean, she’s the one who cheated.”

“She’s probably jealous,” Emily said.

“Jealous of what?” Melanie asked.

“Well, look at you two. You’re clearly into each other. Meanwhile, Mason’s already eyeing Katie Johnson, like she’ll give him the time of day.”

“Wait, what?” Joe asked. “Since when?”

“Since Tuesday. Keep up.”

“How do you even know these things?” Mickey asked.

“Because unlike you boys, we actually pay attention,” Hanna said. “Speaking of paying attention, let’s discuss color schemes and what you boys are wearing to homecoming.”

***

Sunday was packed with homework and doing stuff at Eduardo’s house, but I managed to get it all done and was ready for school on Monday.

Honestly, now that JV was clicking and I wasn’t actually in practices with Elijah and his group anymore, school was really clicking on all cylinders. Ever since I’d moved to the JV table, they’d more or less started avoiding me. I hoped that meant that Elijah didn’t want to alienate the older players if he didn’t have to, although I knew there was an equal chance he was just waiting and plotting his next move.

Either way, I was going to enjoy it. Melanie had switched seats around and was sitting with me at lunch and, although I knew he hadn’t made a move yet, Eduardo was talking to Sarah more and it seemed like something there might be working. Although time would tell.

Until he did something, I’d just live my life and enjoy how well things were going.

“Blake!” Coach Holloway called from his office as I walked into the fieldhouse to get suited up for practice. “Come here a minute.”

I changed direction, weaving between the metal lockers, and again wondered what I’d done to get called in the moment I walked into the locker room. Of course, this wasn’t the first time he’d done that, and every other time it had been no big deal, but the eyes of every other player followed me as I headed toward him, making me self-conscious anyway.

Inside his office was another man wearing a Wheaton Athletics polo shirt and track pants. I knew he was a coach here at the school because I’d seen him once or twice, but I didn’t know who he was other than that he wasn’t part of the football program.

“Blake, glad you’re here. This is Coach Greer, head of our track program,” Coach Holloway said, gesturing to the other man.

Coach Greer extended his hand. His grip was firm but not crushing.

“Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise. Coach Holloway here’s been telling me about the goals you and he discussed.”

“He has?”

“We have,” Coach Holloway said. “When we discussed your goals, one of those had involved finding the resources and training to begin getting you ready to compete at a higher level of play. I’d mentioned that one of the things we could help with was improving your speed and footwork, and Coach Greer here was the resource I was thinking about.

“I caught your game on Saturday,” Coach Greer said, sitting on the edge of Coach Holloway’s desk. “I was particularly impressed by that ten-yard scramble you did in the third quarter. You nearly broke it wide open.”

“Yes, sir. Just couldn’t quite get past them.”

“But you were close. Your base speed is good, but I noticed areas we can improve. Your turns could be quicker, your agility needs work, and we can definitely boost your acceleration and top-end speed.”

I nodded, thinking about that safety who’d caught me. If I’d been a half-step faster...

“Yes, sir, I’d like the sound of that.”

“I’m not here to waste my time, so this isn’t something I normally do for players. But, Coach Holloway tells me you’re willing to put in the work. Says you’re not afraid of extra training.”

“I’m not.”

“Good, because I’ll hold you to that. If you want to get some movement by time for next season, I’m going to have to work the hell out of you. You might regret agreeing to this.”

“I won’t quit. I told Coach Holloway I was willing to do whatever it takes, and I meant it.”

Coach Greer studied me for a moment, like he was trying to decide how much I meant it. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, I know you’ve got football practice in the afternoons, so we’ll need to work around that.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out what he meant by work around that. I wasn’t going to be able to skip any of my classes and I still needed conditioning, which really only left one time slot. I just hoped it wasn’t too early.

“Starting next Monday, you’ll meet me an hour and a half before school starts. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

“That early?” I said, in spite of myself.

I tried to stop the words, knowing it would contradict what I’d just said.

“If you want to get this training, then yes. That early. The morning sessions separate the committed from the curious.”

I did the math quickly. If practice started at six-thirty, I’d need to be up by five forty-five at the latest. Maybe earlier.

“Blake?” Coach Greer prompted. “Does that schedule work for you?”

The thought of losing those hours of sleep made me want to groan, but I kept it off my face.

“Yes, sir. I can handle it.”

“You sure? I don’t want you committing and then leave me standing on the track all by myself.”

“I’m positive,” I said, meeting his eyes directly. “This is important to me.”

Coach Greer nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with my response. “Good. Then I’ll see you Monday morning, six-thirty sharp. Don’t be late - I start on time, with or without you.”

“Yes, sir, you will.”

Damn. There went my mornings.