by Mettey, Tim
“See you guys later at football practice!”
When I got back to class there were only a couple of people sitting in their seats. I guess everyone knew Coach Hoff was notoriously late getting back to class after lunch. Some people were eating at their desks, while others lounged in their seats, talking to each other. I sat down and got out my grammar book to do the assignment that Mrs. Wolfe had given us during third period.
I glanced up to see her, my angel, walk into the class. I looked down, afraid I would be caught staring. She had two friends with her. They all sat down right behind me. Her friends were talking about shopping at the mall and what they wanted to do over the weekend. It was painful to listen to them. They sounded like two chipmunks carrying on a conversation. But when she spoke, her voice was different. It wasn’t like a chipmunk; it was more like an instrument, a harp. She didn’t speak as much as her friends. I didn’t think it was humanly possible to talk as much as they did. She talked in short sentences only to get her point across, not like the other two who just wanted to hear themselves talk. Her voice was soothing. I drifted off, totally relaxed listening to her.
Her voice lingered in my head like clouds on a cool autumn day. I had never heard anything that made me feel the way she did. Her voice affected me the same way seeing her did. I felt at peace. For a minute, I forgot all about the earthquake drill and Oliver.
“Okay, class, sorry I’m late. Let’s get down to it.” Coach Hoff walked into class with a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Geometry went quickly. I tried to pay attention to Coach Hoff, but it was useless knowing she was right behind me. The bell rang and the class emptied. I turned to see if she was still in the classroom, but she was gone.
The rest of the day went as fast as the morning. Football practice was shortened. It was raining so hard that we stopped about halfway through, and Coach Miller made us watch tapes of our season opener opponent. I was able to avoid Oliver the whole practice. Eric was not as lucky as I was because Coach Hoff was still upset over their tie and had JV practice the entire time out in the pouring rain. Eric didn’t talk much on the ride home, probably upset that I was so dry.
He dropped me off at the top of my driveway. I ran down the driveway, avoiding the big puddles. Cora was waiting for me at the door with a big plate of chocolate chip cookies.
“So how was your first day?” she asked.
“It was okay.” I took a cookie off the glass platter, dropping my football bag and book bag on the floor.
“What happened?” Cora asked, shutting the door and looking concerned.
“We had an earthquake drill.”
“Oh, Nicholas, I’m so sorry.” She put the plate of cookies down on the small table next to the coat closet. “I didn’t think they would do that here. If I had known, I would have let you skip today for sure. I am sorry you had to relive that day.” Cora gave me a big hug, holding on to me tightly.
When Cora stepped back, I looked at her. “Cora, it’s okay. Really, I’ll be fine.”
“So how was the rest of your day?”
“You know Oliver Rails from football?”
“You mean that bully?”
“Yes. He’s in my geometry class.”
“Did he cause you any trouble?”
“Well, he started to cause some trouble, but . . . it worked itself out.”
“Well, that’s good. So you don’t think he will cause you any more trouble?”
“No, I think everything will be fine.”
She was giving me the “I’ll go switch your class” face.
“Cora, seriously, everything is fine.”
I grabbed my bags, dropped them off in my room, and then headed to the kitchen. Cora was cooking one of her gourmet meals that took hours to make. She had on a light-blue apron that had no spills on it, of course. She had the table set with some rolls in the middle. I grabbed one from the basket and sat down. They were warm and smelled like honey. I put some butter on it and took a bite. The roll melted in my mouth.
“Cora, these rolls are incredible.”
“I’m glad you like them; it’s a new recipe.” She carried over a covered platter to the table and set it down. “Nicholas, I know you haven’t had a good day, but there’s no easy way to say this: you have to quit the football team.”
“What? Are you kidding? We have already been through this. Why?” I demanded.
“You are drawing too much attention to yourself. We have done well so far over the past five years, but we can’t afford to slip up now.”
“At least let me finish the season, and then I will never play football again!”
“No, by the time you are done, you will have set a bunch of school records, and a tenth grader doing it will draw even more attention. Plus, colleges will start scouting you and digging into your past.”
“But I need to go to college.”
“Not on a football scholarship. You don’t need a scholarship; you need to fly under the radar. You know this.”
“That was just a scrimmage. Please, just let me play in the first couple of games, and if I am drawing too much attention, I will stop playing.”
Cora stood in silence.
“Remember, it was just a scrimmage, and the other team was not that good,” I said, hoping to persuade her.
Cora took off her apron. She laid it on the counter and leaned against it. “Okay, it’s a deal. I will let you play, but remember—”
“I know. I’ll quit.”
ELLE
CHAPTER TEN
The next morning was unusually cold for late August. The rain had coated the grass and all of the leaves. The sun was beginning to rise, making the grass and leaves look like they were covered with tiny diamonds. I was already sitting outside on the porch, waiting for Cora.
I wasn’t able to sleep at all because of the deal I had made with Cora. Why would I make that deal with her? The only reason I was playing varsity was because of how well I was doing. If I was going to stay on the team, I would have to become an average player and that would be a one-way ticket back to the JV team or, worse, the bench. I have sacrificed so much over the years, and what has she given up? Absolutely nothing. Well, maybe some shopping sprees at the mall, but as soon as I go to college, she will have her old life back again, just as she left it.
The cold morning and my Tic Tacs were helping calm my sick stomach. I had already eaten a pack overnight and was well into my second. I was glad Cora wasn’t up yet, partly because I didn’t want to hear her say that she was sorry for the deal she was forcing me to make, but mainly because I didn’t want to smell her coffee.
My first three classes flew by just like my first day. I was invisible to almost everyone in my classes and in the hall. The guys on the JV football team were the only ones who paid any attention to me. I was like a hero to them. Every chance they had to talk to me, they would. I guess they thought if they talked to me that somehow they would be part of varsity too. But as much as the JV players talked to me, the varsity guys wanted nothing to do with me. I was sure Oliver had something to do with it.
I was hoping that the two girls in biology would either leave me alone or be sick. But there they were, and they had somehow positioned themselves to the left and right of my assigned seat. How did they get Mrs. Bellhorn to switch their seats? It was bad enough when they were two rows behind me. Now it was going to be torture. I still had no idea what their names were, and to be honest, I didn’t care.
When I got to my desk, I smiled at them, pretending to look in my bag for some elusive pen or folder. They both said, “Hi,” and that was it. They didn’t speak to me throughout the whole class, which was a relief because I was pretty nervous about seeing my angel in my next class. I had a serious case of the butterflies.
The bell rang. The two girls said in unison, “Nicholas, we’ll see you tomorrow,” and they both walked out together, ponytails bouncing back and forth.
I walked slowly down the hall, l
ooking to see if Oliver was around. Luckily enough, he wasn’t. I walked into class with my head down just in case he was already seated. I sat quickly, and my sudden movement sent an intoxicating breeze into the air. It was perfume from somewhere. There were faint hints of vanilla, mint and some other tropical fruit or sweet flower that I had never smelled before. It was heavenly. If I could swim in it, I would leap from my desk.
“Hi.”
She was talking to me! I turned around in my seat.
“My name is Elle.”
Her name was just as beautiful as she was. How could someone be this incredible? Maybe it was my hormones making me feel this way. Hormones or not, I loved the feeling.
“You’re Nicholas, right?”
I couldn’t speak, so I smiled. She was even more beautiful close up. Her flawless skin looked as smooth as rose petals. I couldn’t believe that the same girl I had admired from afar was now sitting behind me and talking to me. I wanted to reach out and brush her cheek with the back of my hand to feel how soft her skin must be. Her eyes were hypnotic. I was instantly and hopelessly under her spell.
“So how do you like Winsor?” she asked.
I realized that I was just staring at her. “Oh, I like it all right.”
“So where did you move from?”
“I moved from a small town in upstate Ohio,” I replied.
“Did you like it there? . . . Well?” she said.
“Well, I’m not sure.” The words stumbled clumsily out of my mouth.
“What are you not sure about?” she asked. “You either liked it or you didn’t!” A half-crooked smile that could melt an iceberg appeared on her face.
Coach Hoff walked in. I turned back around quickly, happy to be saved from her question. Such a simple question, so why couldn’t I answer it?
She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “You can let me know your answer later.”
All of the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. Coach Hoff started talking about some project we were going to work on over the quarter. My mind was still numb from Elle. She had me all flustered. I thought I was prepared for absolutely everything, but the way I was feeling now was something Cora had never prepared me for. I was lost.
“Okay, class, see you after lunch.” Coach Hoff was the first one out the door. I got up with everyone else in the class and walked down the hall with them. Elle brushed by me, and the smell of her perfume sent electricity through me. I had to walk slower to put more distance between us.
I replayed the way she said her name and smiled over and over in my head. I found myself in the lunch line, oblivious to everything around me.
“Do you want fries with that?”
I cleared my vision. Standing in front of me was a woman the size of a tree, wearing a large white lab coat.
“Kid, do you want fries or not?”
“Uh, yes,” I answered. I could hear Cora’s voice warning, Pay attention to what you are doing at all times.
I paid the cashier and walked down one of the long aisles in the middle of the lunchroom. I found an empty table near the back of the room. I was pretty confident that Oliver would not be back here because most of the kids surrounding me had their books out and were studying. I was sure this was not where the cool kids sat.
I started to eat the salad that I had gotten by accident with my fries. I glanced up to see Elle walking toward me with a small group of people. What was I going to do? I couldn’t get up and run—that would definitely be too weird. Okay, I would just have to play it cool. What did I know about playing anything cool? I was more like the people around me.
“Everyone, this is Nicholas.” Elle was standing with her two girlfriends from class and a boy that I had never seen before. “Can we sit with you?” Elle asked. Before I could answer, she sat down. Her friends all sat down like sheep following their shepherd.
“So, Nicholas, this is Jennifer and Julie.” If she had not introduced them, I would have sworn they were both different versions of Malibu Barbie. They had perfect tans, blonde hair, and designer clothes. “And this is John.”
“Hey! What’s up, dude?” John said, reaching across the table to shake my hand. I offered my hand, and instead of a handshake, he slapped it.
“So you are the tenth grader that made varsity?” John asked.
“Well, I—”
“Sweet, dude!”
John reminded me of a surfer from California with his blond hair and beach attire.
“John’s my boyfriend and captain of the water polo team,” Jennifer or Julie said.
“So that’s how I am labeled now? ‘Boyfriend’?”
“Oh, Johnny!” she said, and both the Barbie twins giggled.
“So what brings you to Winsor?” he asked.
“Well, my mom got transferred here.”
“Cool,” John said.
It was odd because Elle didn’t fit in with these people. Elle’s beauty was different. It was the type that would inspire great works of art or cause someone to go to war. Not any of this fashion model stuff. She was inspirational.
The entire lunchroom was staring at our table. Worst of all, they were staring at me. People walked by the table, making sure to say hello to Elle, and she would always respond with “Hello,” or “How are you?” Who was this girl? Why did everyone want to talk to her, and why was she here with me? I had to get up to escape this. It was way too much attention.
I got up. “Nice to meet you all,” I said leaving the table. I looked back at Elle and she caught me. She gave me a small smile and waved. I almost walked into a concrete column. I dumped the garbage off my tray and walked back to class.
HENRY J. THEASING
CHAPTER ELEVEN
For the next three days, I ate my lunch down one of the long hallways in the art area. I was pretty sure Oliver didn’t know where it was, and Elle was never around when I went back there to eat, so it was a safe place for now. Elle didn’t try to talk to me in class, and Oliver left me alone the rest of the week.
On Friday, I was wearing my green tie that Cora had set out for me to wear like the other varsity players. Coach Miller made varsity wear ties for home games. Coach Hoff was finishing the last problem on the chalkboard. The bell rang.
“Okay, class! See you tonight at the game,” he said.
“Hey, Nicholas, good luck tonight.” Elle was at the side of my desk. I looked up to see her blinding smile. This was the first time I had really looked at her since I ran away from her and her friends at the lunch table.
“Thank you,” I said. “Are you going?”
“Well, of course. I think I have been to every game since I was a baby.”
“Okay, great. Then I will see you there.”
“I’ll be in the bottom row in the student section. If you see me, wave, but make sure Coach Miller doesn’t catch you,” she said with a mischievous wink.
“Okay, great!” I repeated with my voice cracking in the middle of great.
Game time came quickly. I sat in the back of the varsity locker room listening to music. I now had a locker in the back. My name hung over my locker on a gold plate. I sat staring at it, unsure if this would be my last day sitting in here with the team.
The team still didn’t accept me, but now they at least didn’t try to kick me out, and that was good enough for me. Everyone was dressed for the game when Coach Miller and the rest of the coaching staff walked in. He called to us to come over and take a knee.
Everyone bowed their heads, including the coaches. No one made a sound. After a few minutes, Coach Miller said a loud, “Amen.”
We stood up and Coach Miller continued, “Now listen up, team. Everyone knows how important it is to put this game out of their reach early. They are a wounded animal, and they are begging for us to put them out of their misery. We need to punish them when they have the ball, and when it’s our turn, we need to score.” Coach Miller paused. “Do you know what time it is?”
The team responded in a
thunderous, unified voice, “It’s game time!”
We followed the coaches down the hall and out the doors. There was a sea of cars separating us from the stadium. Grills and tents were littered around the parking lot. People were tailgating before a high school football game—unbelievable. There was a green and gold bus with the Winsor Cougar painted on it. Cougar flags were flying everywhere.
We went around the outside of the parking lot toward the stadium. It was glowing a bright, warm yellow. It was alive. Above the glow, towering over the stadium was a lit sign that read “Henry J. Theasing Stadium.” I was surprised that I had never noticed it before because it seemed impossible to miss. Maybe I noticed now because it was lit up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. You could see that sign from everywhere, even if you were driving on the nearby interstate. Whoever he was, Henry J. Theasing must have been pretty important or have given a lot of money to the school.
We began to jog toward the stadium, but instead of going toward the front gate, we ran toward a door in the side of the stadium. It was just a plain green door. It looked more like a storage closet than an entrance. When I got up to the door, I saw stairs that led down. I funneled into the narrow passage with the rest of the team. All along the wall were names painted in green and gold lettering. At the bottom I saw my name freshly painted in gold, Nicholas Keller. My chest swelled with pride. I knew my dad would have been proud.
The dimly lit corridor widened. I could see a light up ahead in the tunnel. It was like what I have pictured will happen when I die. The coaches stopped and moved to the side. A booming voice roared in front of us from where the light was.
“And now for your Winsor Cougars!”
I ran with the team up a ramp toward the light and through a banner. It was amazing how the lights blinded me coming out of the tunnel. The roar of the crowd was deafening. The 10,000-seat stadium was packed mostly with people dressed in green and gold. We ran over to our sideline to cheers of the crowd. It was incredible that this many people would attend a high school game. It was like we were gladiators in Rome about to fight for Caesar. Our band was in the end zone playing the Winsor fight song, and the cheerleaders were performing routines to get the crowd into even more of a frenzy.
