by Tiki Barber
“You were right, Ronde,” Tiki said as they opened the door and went inside.
“About what?”
“About good things coming in small packages.”
“Oh. That. Yeah, well…”
“You won us that game, Ronde. Without you we might be 1–3 right now.”
Ronde shrugged it off. “Yeah, I guess.” He went and took their dinners out of the oven. “Mac and cheese!” he said, breaking into a wide grin. It was their all-time favorite, and they got it about twice a week.
“Listen, I know I didn’t do that great today,”
“I didn’t say that,” Ronde pointed out.
“You didn’t have to,” Tiki said. “I know when I’m playing proud and when I’m not.”
“I guess it’s easier to say it than to do it,” Ronde said, turning the oven on to heat up their food.
“You got that right.” Tiki went to the fridge. “What’re you drinking?”
“We got grape juice?”
“Grape or orange, or else iced tea.”
“Grape.”
Tiki was just pouring out their drinks when Ronde said, “Hey, what was that about, after I ran back that kickoff for the TD?”
“What was what about?”
“You said ‘That’s it!’ or something like that.”
“Oh, yeah.” Tiki grinned. “You gave me the answer to the hardest question this week.”
“You mean for your column?”
“Actually, this one’s not going into the column, but I’ve been thinking on it all week.”
“What was it?”
“I can’t talk about it.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Sworn to secrecy.”
Ronde frowned. He didn’t like it when they had secrets from each other. Neither did Tiki, but in this case he couldn’t help it. Cootie had begged him not to tell anyone, especially Ronde.
“About that column of yours,” Ronde said, zoning in on Tiki as he checked the oven. “What’s up with it?”
“What do you mean, what’s up with it?” Tiki asked.
“How long are you gonna be doing it? I mean, I’ve got to be honest, your game is suffering, and your grades aren’t doing too good either.”
“I know it,” Tiki said. “Thing is, I like doing it. Kids look up to you, you know? They respect you for something besides being a good athlete.”
“People respect you for that anyway,” Ronde pointed out. Neither of them was touching their food. This conversation had suddenly turned deadly serious. “You get good grades, you’re a good friend, a good person, you’re funny—not as funny as me, but funny. Man, you’ve got a lot going for you. You don’t need to be a guidance counselor for free.”
Tiki sighed. “I hear what you’re saying,” he said. “But I promised Laura I’d do the column. It’s not that easy to back out. You know how she is, and I promised I would.”
“Talk to her, dude. I’m sure she’s an Eagles fan. She wouldn’t want us to go down in flames. Tell her it’s just too much for you. After all, it’s the truth, isn’t it?” He paused, waiting for Tiki to reply. “Isn’t it?” he repeated, staring his brother down.
“You’re right, man. I know you’re right,” Tiki admitted. “But I can’t back out just like that.”
“You’ve got to do it, and fast,” Ronde said. “Kids on the team are already grumbling about it behind your back.”
“Which kids?” Tiki demanded.
“Can’t tell,” Ronde said. “Sworn to secrecy.”
Tiki frowned. Ronde had him, and he knew it. “Tell you what,” Tiki said, “I’ll write one last column, and that’s it. I’ll beg off … for the rest of the football season. I’ll tell Laura I can start the column again after that.”
“There, you see? That’s a good solution!” Ronde said, breaking into a smile. “Man, you’re not as dumb as you look.”
“I’ll do it, on one condition,” Tiki said, breaking into a sly grin himself.
“Condition? What condition?”
“That you agree to write the column with me.” Tiki sat back and folded his hands on his chest. “There. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”
“Nuh-uh, no way!” Ronde said, pounding the table. “Who said you got to set conditions?”
“I say. Now, what do you say?”
“I say no. Didn’t you hear me the first time?”
“Okay, then,” Tiki said, grabbing his fork and spearing some mac and cheese with it. “I guess I’ll just keep writing the column, then.”
“Tiki, think of the team!”
“YOU think of the team,” Tiki said. “If you want us to win, just agree to write the column with me.”
“That’s blackmail!”
“Come on, Ronde,” Tiki said, softening. “You know you’re the one who always has the best advice for people. Remember Cody last week? I’m telling you, dude, you’re a natural!”
“I’m not that good at writing,” Ronde said, hesitating.
“I can help you get better at it,” Tiki offered. “Hey, I won the essay prize. What better writing coach could you want?”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t you want to be a better writer?”
“Tiki!”
“Don’t you want to help kids solve their problems?”
“Come on…”
“Don’t you want to have something else you’re good at, in case we don’t make the NFL someday?”
“Now, that’s going too far,” Ronde said. “We are making the NFL. Both of us. No doubts allowed.”
“Fine, fine. Just agree to do the column with me. Please? It’ll be fun. You’ll see. Twice as easy with two of us doing it, and twice as fun.” He held out his hand for Ronde to shake.
Ronde frowned. “You owe me for this, big-time,” he said, taking Tiki’s hand and sealing the deal with their private handshake.
“You won’t be sorry, Ronde,” Tiki said.
“I’m already sorry.”
“Now,” Tiki said, not listening anymore, “how am I going to answer this student …?”
Dear Cootie,
I’ve been thinking and thinking about your problem, and here’s my best advice: Just be yourself, and be proud of who you are. That’s what it all comes down to. Here’s what I mean.
My brother is smaller than I am, but he always says “Good things come in small packages.” Yesterday he made a big play in the game because he was so small. “They never saw me coming,” he told me afterward. And that made me think of you, Cootie.
Don’t let them see you coming. They’re expecting you to get upset, to cry, to run away when they bully you. Don’t give them what they’re expecting. Keep them off balance. Laugh at yourself along with them! Or say something they don’t understand, something that makes them scratch their heads and think, “What did he mean by that?”
Don’t get down in the gutter with them either. Show them you’re made of better stuff than that, and that you won’t sink to their level. Don’t talk trash about them behind their backs, because sooner or later they’ll find out and they’ll know you were upset by their bullying, which is just what they want. So don’t give it to them.
It’s not everyone who’s brave enough not to care what people think or say about them. It’s not everyone who’s brave enough to wear a full-body eagle suit and dance around in front of hundreds of people. It’s not everyone who’s brave enough to show their passion for their favorite team the way you do.
You’re brave, Cootie. So show them that. Show them all. Sooner or later they’ll feel ashamed for making fun of such a brave kid, and they’ll quit doing it. That’s my advice, for what it’s worth.
Play proud.
Your friend,
Tiki.
Tiki put the letter in an envelope, put Cootie’s name on the front of it, and tucked it into his book bag. There. That was one letter out of the way. Tiki turned to the other letters. “Okay, who’s next?” he said aloud, reaching for
the pile.
“What do you mean, your final column? You’re quitting?” Laura blinked at him rapidly in disbelief. “But it’s the most successful feature we’ve had in years! You can’t quit now!”
“Sorry,” Tiki told her. “My grades are suffering, the team is suffering, and I’m suffering. I never thought there’d be this many letters to answer.”
“Just answer one per week, and forget the rest!” Laura offered, sounding desperate.
“Nuh-uh,” said Tiki. “Those kids deserve an answer just as much. It’s not easy to reveal your problems to somebody in writing. I don’t want to leave them all hanging. But don’t worry. I’ll start the column again after football season, and I’ll have Ronde doing it with me.”
“Ronde?”
“You can call it ‘Dear Twins’ or something like that.”
“Hmmm. Not bad,” she said, cocking her head to one side and considering the idea from all angles. “Okay, that’s fine. But what about this week?”
“Here’s the letter to publish,” he said, handing it to her. “And here are the others, for the pickup box.” He gave her the other letters. The one for Cootie was still in his bag. He’d give it to Cootie later, at practice. He was always there, bringing water and sports drinks and towels to the players.
“Cool. Oh, and I’ll need a farewell letter,” she said. “I’m not going to be the one who has to explain this to the student body.”
“Got it,” said Tiki, giving it to her.
She opened the note and read it. “Dear Students, I want to thank you for your support these last few weeks. Unfortunately, I will be taking a break from this column, starting next week, until the end of football season. I’m sure you understand that I want to give all my attention to the team. It’s my last season here, and I want us to repeat as state champs. That plus schoolwork made doing the column and answering all your wonderful letters just too much for me to handle. However, when I come back, I’ll have help. My twin brother, Ronde, the best advice-giver in our family except for my mom, will be joining me and writing the answers alongside me. I hope you’ll support him the same way you have me. Thank you, and see you again in the spring semester. Your friend and adviser, Tiki Barber.”
She looked up and him. “Not bad,” she said, cracking a smile. “Who knew you could write?”
“Thanks, Laura,” he said, relieved. “Thanks for understanding. I know I promised you, but—”
“Oh, yeah, right,” she said. “Like I took that seriously. I knew you agreed just to get out of answering Suzie on the spot. You think I’m blind?”
“You knew that? And you still made me keep my promise?”
She shrugged and grinned at him. “Hey,” she said. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. The paper needed a boost, and I went out and got the biggest star in the school to work for us. Two points for me.” She gave him a quick punch in the shoulder. “See you around,” she said. “And come spring, I’ve got a commitment from both of you, right?”
“Right,” Tiki assured her, rubbing where she’d hit him. Man, that girl sure could throw a right hook!
The Jefferson game was a revelation. The Panthers had been a losing team last season, and this year was no different. Their offense was inexperienced, and their defense was weak. They had no answer for Tiki Barber—not this new Tiki, who was running with a focus and determination his fellow Eagles had never seen before.
By halftime he’d run for three touchdowns and more than a hundred yards. In the second half he was even better, scoring three more times, twice with runs of more than fifty yards. By the time the game was over (the outcome had been inevitable since the first quarter), the Eagles had a 54–14 victory and were looking like the juggernaut everyone thought they would be.
No more bumbling, fumbling first halves. No more furious, desperate second-half comebacks. This was a massacre of the first order, and Tiki was looking like the beast of the league, a player who could take the heart out of a defense.
“We’re gonna do it, Ronde,” he told his brother after the game. “We’re gonna go undefeated this year.”
“You guaranteeing it?”
“No, man. I’m not that stupid. It’s early yet. Anything could happen. Think of last year.”
Ronde nodded, and whistled. Last year had been a series of cliff-hangers, a roller-coaster ride filled with tension and flirting with disaster.
This year, now that they’d gotten over the hump, was looking like much smoother sailing.
“It does look good, doesn’t it?” Ronde agreed. As he said the word “does,” his voice cracked, as it had lately begun to do.
“Uh-oh,” said Tiki. “There you go.”
“There I go what?”
“Your voice cracked, dude.”
“Did not.”
“Did too. Hey, don’t fight it. Mine’s been cracking for months. It means you’re hitting your growth spurt!”
“It does?”
“Yeah, man. You’ll see. You’ll start growing like a bean stalk any day now.”
Ronde nodded, picturing it. “Yeah,” he said. “Maybe I should try to make it crack some more.”
Tiki shook his head. “Don’t bother. It’ll just happen,” he assured his twin. “You’ll see. Good things come to those who wait.”
“Hey!” Ronde said. “That’s another famous saying!”
“Is it?” Tiki said, grinning. “And here I thought I made it up.”
FOOTBALL TERMS
CUTBACK:
A running play where the ballcarrier runs in one direction and then suddenly changes direction to advance the ball past the line of scrimmage.
DRAW:
A play where the quarterback goes back as if to pass and then hands off to the running back.
DROP KICK:
A play where the kicker first drops the ball on the ground and then kicks it for an extra point or a punt.
END-AROUND:
A running play where the ballcarrier runs around the end of the defensive line for positive yardage.
HALFBACK OPTION PLAY:
A passing play where the quarterback hands off or laterals the ball to the halfback who throws the pass.
LATERAL PASS:
A pass where the quarterback or ballcarrier tosses the ball behind them to another runner who can then advance the ball.
OFF-TACKLE RUN:
A running play where the ballcarrier runs behind the tackle.
QUARTERBACK OPTION RUN:
A running play where the quarterback runs right or left with either the fullback or halfback following and then the quarterback has the option of continuing to run or making a lateral pass to the following back.
QUARTERBACK SNEAK:
A running play where the quarterback takes a step back as if to pass and then runs the ball up the middle.
REVERSE:
A pass play where the quarterback hands off the ball to a runner who is running around the end and then another ball handler comes around in the opposite direction and is handed the ball.
SAFETY BLITZ:
A play where one or more linebackers cross the line of scrimmage to tackle the quarterback.
SCREEN PASS:
A pass play where the defense rushes the quarterback and then the quarterback throws over the onrushing line to a back or receiver.
SLANT:
A pass play where the wide receiver runs his route diagonally across the field.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
TIKI BARBER grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, where he wore number 2 for the Cave Spring Eagles during junior high school. From 1997 through 2006 he wore number 21 as a running back for the New York Giants, where he holds every rushing record in team history, and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
RONDE BARBER wore number 5 for the Cave Spring Eagles. Today he is one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL and wears number 20 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ronde is a Super Bowl winner, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, and the first cornerback in the
history of the league to have at least twenty-five sacks and forty interceptions in a career.
TIKI and RONDE BARBER have collaborated on seven children’s books, By My Brother’s Side, the Christopher Award–winning Game Day, Teammates, Kickoff!, Go Long!, Wild Card, and most recently, Red Zone.
PAUL MANTELL is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
