by Bruce Ingram
Luke was so kind to come over and clean out the chicken coop, and I felt just like a queen waiting for her chariot to depart when it was time to go to Luke’s grandfather’s house. Of course, Luke couldn’t sit in the front with me, but he jokingly said that he was looking forward to me chauffeuring him around. I was a little nervous driving a strange vehicle, especially a Ford pickup, but Luke’s granddaddy was so helpful to me that I relaxed really soon.
For lunch, Luke fixed me grilled venison tenderloin from a deer he killed last year, and he also cooked some baked potatoes and asparagus to go with it. His granddaddy said he had to do some things outside so he left us alone at the table together, which was so romantic. I know what Luke’s granddaddy was doing and that was kind of him to let Luke and me be together by ourselves and talk. I gave Luke the biggest kiss after lunch and told him how lucky I was to be with him, and then he kissed me too. He said he was the lucky one.
“No more romancing for now,” he said then. “Let’s go kill a deer.” Of course, I don’t own any camo clothes, but earlier Luke told me to dress with a black top and a black or brown hat and said that would be all I would need. When his granddaddy dropped us off at Elly’s, Luke started spraying me all over with some kind of pine smelling scent and I asked him what on earth that was for. He said it was so the deer would be smelling the pine scent instead of a human odor—that deer have this amazing sense of smell, far better than that of human’s. Who knew that, right?
The first two hours we were in the blind nothing at all happened, and Luke kept saying we couldn’t talk at all, except in low whispers. But around 5:00 or so, this doe came into Elly’s backyard, and all of a sudden this change came over Luke. He tensed up, eased his crossbow onto his knee, and stared intently at that deer. When it got to within about 20 yards of us, Luke raised the bow, clicked off something (later he called it a “safety”) and shot. I saw the arrow hit the deer and it ran back toward the woods and had barely made it inside when it fell to the ground and didn’t move. Luke pumped his fist and shouted, “Got her, meat for the winter.”
We went out to the dead deer, and Luke said we would start “field dressing” her, which meant taking out all the inside organs I found out later. After a while, it seemed like Luke wasn’t going to save those organs, and I asked if I could bring them home for my family to eat. I’ve seen Poppa butcher animals before and save the heart, tongue, liver, and kidneys for Mama to cook. I figured that Mama would be really happy for me to bring home some free food. He said sure, and he saved all those organs for me and cleaned them up, too. I don’t think Elly’s mom was too thrilled about me borrowing a cooler from her and putting the organs and ice in it, but she was nice about letting me do it anyway.
Not long after that, Luke’s granddaddy picked him up, and Luke kissed me goodbye. And Elly and I went into her house for us to make a late dinner. It was really a great day.
Looking at People Differently
Chapter Twenty-Five: Luke
I didn’t want to go play cornerback at football practice as my extra credit project for phys. ed. But I also didn’t want to do a stupid paper or Powerpoint or something for that project for Mr. Miley. I’m really trying to make better grades this year, partly because I want to, but also because Mia keeps telling me to. And I do want to make her happy and proud of me.
I’m up to 150 pounds and I’m now 5’9” and that’s not going to cut it for the football team. I thought about backing out of going, but then Ms. Hawk heard about my going to practice and she said that would be a great idea for a sidebar or a short feature for Yearbook, a “What Football Practice Is Like” type piece she said and she assigned me to go do that and for Elly to go take pictures. Ms. Hawk said she would drive both Elly and me home after practice.
Once I realized I had to go to the practice for both Yearbook and Phys. Ed. 10, I decided that I didn’t want to embarrass myself. The way Miley set things up (he’s the defensive backs coach) was that I was going to try to cover Marcus one on one during passing practice drills - no contact, no tackling were the rules since I wouldn’t be wearing pads. He said there was no way I would get hurt like that.
I told my best friend Allen about all that, and he said I had better call his brother Russell, who’s been a football coach, and knows how things work. Russell told me that even though I had outrun Marcus in phys. ed. that I would have real trouble sticking with him on the field because Marcus had football instincts from all his years playing and I didn’t. But what I had going for me, Russell said, was Caleb “and his scatter arm” and the likelihood that he and Marcus would want to humiliate me out on the field.
“They’ll want to make you look bad the first two plays or so by throwing the deep ball,” said Russell. “That’ll flop because of Caleb’s wild throws, Coach Dell will yell at him, and then send in a play for a slant or something like that. That’s when you’ll have a chance for an interception.”
Sure enough, that’s pretty much what happened. The first time Caleb passed, I followed Marcus deep and I was stride for stride with him and the ball sailed way over both our heads. The next time, Caleb tried to throw a deep ball with a little air under it, and I tipped the pass away from Marcus, and, boy, did Coach Dell yell at Caleb. On the third pass, I followed Marcus across the middle, keeping my eyes on his eyes the whole time like Russell had said to do. After Marcus made his cut, I looked around for the ball and intercepted it and started running.
The next thing I knew, somebody, it was that junior Jonathan I’m almost sure, hit me from behind and then that jerk Caleb hit me from the side, and I was down on the ground in absolute agony. Then somebody’s cleats scraped across part of my back and left leg. My head was spinning and I looked down at my leg and my sweat pants were torn and there was blood everywhere. Yeah, so much for the no contact, nobody’s getting hurt statement, right, Miley?
I rolled over and sat up and Marcus’ brother Joshua was screaming at Caleb and Jonathan, “That was a cheap shot,” and he cursed at both of them and Caleb and Jonathan hit him and then Marcus jumped into the middle of it and he hit Jonathan and everybody was yelling and screaming and cursing and Dell, Miley, and the other coaches were trying to break everybody up. I don’t know what happened next. But I’ve got to say that I was surprised—and glad—that Marcus and his brother stood up for me. The next time I get a chance, I’m going to thank Marcus. I never would have thought he would have stood up for me like that.
Ms. Hawk and Elly came running over and helped me up, and Ms. Hawk said she would drive me to a doctor, and I told her that I would be fine. Granddaddy has said over and over his insurance is no good, and I knew we couldn’t afford a trip to the doctor. Then Elly said to drop us off at her house, and she’d fix me up, so that’s where we went.
When we got to Elly’s house, nobody was at home, and I mean it was absolutely surreal. I’m lying face down on her living room sofa with a blanket under me, and my sweatshirt was off and my left pants leg was rolled up, and she was cleaning my wounds and spraying stuff and her parents walked in with her two brothers. Her dad let out a couple choice curse words and wanted to know what was going on and her mom ran into the hall and came back with more ointments and stuff. Finally the two of them finished bandaging me up and everybody except me went off into the kitchen.
I could hear loud voices going on in there, so I got up and decided I had better go apologize for being there. I didn’t want Elly to get into trouble for being nice to me and I got to the door and heard Elly’s dad say that, “We shouldn’t have left that poor white trash along in our living room, he’ll probably steal something.”
I got really angry at that. I’m not trash. This year for the first time in my life, I’ve realized that I can be something. I know I’m not like my father. But I kept my temper under control. I’ve learned to do that from all those years when Dad would get into a rage against me. I knocked on the door and they said come in. And I said very politely, “Thank you for helping me, I’ll be go
ing home now.”
I wanted to thank Elly, she was so nice to me. But if I had done that, it probably would just have made her dad madder at her. He offered to take me home, but I said I would walk. I didn’t want to be in the same car with him. My leg hurt all the way home, but it was better than being in the same car with that man.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Elly
Lately, I’ve had to do some serious thinking about people that I thought I knew. When Ms. Hawk told Luke and me to go to football practice on Tuesday for a Yearbook story and photos, I had mixed emotions. I mean, I used to date Paul, I am dating Jonathan, I want to date Caleb, and the guy I have all these mixed up feelings for—Luke—and they were all going to be there. Talk about worlds colliding.
I don’t know anything about football, but Luke sure didn’t look like he should be out there practicing—all the guys were bigger than he was. I was trying to take pictures of him running after Marcus. Coach Dell had told him to cover Marcus. What’s that mean anyway, cover with what? Anyway, they had been running around for a while and Luke caught this ball then Jonathan and Caleb came up behind Luke and knocked him down, and Caleb, it sure looked like he deliberately stepped on Luke’s back and leg. I kept taking pictures, but then I stopped because Ms. Hawk was probably not going to want me to run photos of football players fighting each other. It was just crazy out there, Luke on the ground in pain, Marcus and his brother Joshua fighting Jonathan and Caleb. Why did Jonathan and Caleb do that to Luke—that can’t be right? That’s probably why Marcus and his brother got so mad.
When Ms. Hawk dropped Luke and me off at my house for me to patch up Luke, I got all these strange feelings when I was putting ointment and bandages on Luke. He kept apologizing to me for being there, and thanking me at the same time, and I was touching his back and his leg, and he was so sweet to me. And I had all these feelings for him, like I sometimes get.
I would never, ever flirt with Luke and try to steal him from Mia. She’s really my best friend now, and I talk with her at lunch and after school more than anybody now. But, still… Luke, the more I’m around him and the way he’s changed from being with Mia…
I didn’t like it when Dad called Luke trash; he is not, maybe his dad is, but he’s not. Dad is always talking about Caleb and what a great guy he is and how his family is so good, but Luke would never have snuck up from behind somebody and deliberately try to hurt them like Caleb and Jonathan did. I love my dad so much, but that was ugly the way he talked about Luke. Should I talk to Mom about the way Dad acted, should I ask her if she feels the same way about Luke? I can’t believe that she does.
I wasn’t happy with Jonathan, either, and the way he acted. The next day, I saw him during lunch and asked why he had come up behind Luke like that and hit him, and he told me that he was angry that Luke and me had come to practice together. I told him that was just stupid, that I was the photo editor for Yearbook and Ms. Hawk had told me to cover practice and she was there, too. “I wasn’t ‘with Luke,’ I was doing what a teacher had told me to go do,” was what I said.
Right then and there, I thought about breaking up with Jonathan, but I don’t like to do things the spur of the moment, I like to think about things before going off and doing something I might regret later. Jonathan could see that I was angry when I said all that, and he started apologizing and said he would take me out to a nice restaurant Saturday night to make up. I said I would go, but I don’t feel good about myself for saying that. Maybe it would be a mistake to keep dating Jonathan.
Maybe I should get over my stupid obsession with Caleb, too. But he is so good looking, and honest to goodness, I think he has been flirting with me lately. I’ve lost some more weight, and I only have five more pounds to go and Caleb several times has told me how good I look and that I have nice legs—he’s really been turning on the charm. But he never noticed me when I was overweight; he hardly would even talk to me when I would try to flirt with him. And there’s like this mean side to him that’s very disturbing. The way he hit Luke and stomped on him from behind, the things he says in World History II class, I don’t think I feel that way about things. I don’t think Caleb likes the fact that Hispanics and Asians are at our school, except he didn’t mind dating that Asian girl Amber that transferred here at the start of school. But she dumped him, I wonder why? Did she see the same things in him that I do now?
I’ve got to do some serious thinking. Maybe I need to look at people differently.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Marcus
I never would have thought I would have gotten into a fight to protect Joshua, after all the ragging he has done on me. Joshua and I have had our issues since I started high school, but yesterday when Caleb and Jonathan took swings at him at football practice, I couldn’t let that slide. I mean, he’s my brother. I never thought Caleb and I would get into a fight, either, but that’s just what happened.
I guess Caleb was mad that Luke had intercepted his pass. I get that, but Luke didn’t make Caleb throw the ball wild. Caleb and Jonathan shouldn’t have come up behind Luke and cheap shotted him. When Joshua shoved Caleb off Luke, he should never have hit my brother. Then Jonathan piled on Joshua, and I just snapped. The four of us were fighting and cussing, then the coaches and players were trying to break us up. It was just chaos—all because Coach Miley got this bright idea that Luke should try out for cornerback.
Actually, it wasn’t such a bad idea. I mean, the kid has got some serious speed. After the fight was over, Joshua went over to Luke and thanked him for being there and asked him to consider trying out next year, that “We could use somebody with your speed.” A couple days later before English class, I told Luke the same thing, that I was impressed with his speed. I had never even talked much, if at all, to Luke before. But he’s an all right guy. He told me he really appreciated my sticking up for him at football practice when the fight was going on, but football just isn’t his sport. I respect that, but we still could have used him next year.
It’s no secret that this season is down the tubes. Because of the way Caleb and Jonathan acted at practice, Coach Dell suspended both of them for this Friday’s game. We’re 3 and 5 with two games left, and we’re not going to any playoffs this year. That means fewer chances for college coaches to see me play. The playoffs are the best time to show your stuff for the recruiters because there are more of them around for those games than any other time. Of course, part of the reason we’re not going to playoffs was my fault for being suspended the first two games. That’s on me.
Really the only good thing to come out of the fight was how Joshua has been treating me ever since it happened. You know what he said when we were driving home from practice? “I’ve never been more proud of you. Thank you for sticking up for me. You’re not a whiny kid anymore, you’re becoming a man.” Ever since the fight, he’s been treating me more as an equal. When we got home that night, he even told Mom and Dad what happened and praised me in front of them. Dad said he did not approve of us fighting, but this one time it was justified. That it was right for Joshua to take up for Luke when he was lying on the ground, and that it was right for me to take up for my brother when he was cheap shotted. “You’ve always got to try to do the right thing in life,” said Dad.
Mom chimed in and said she agreed with Dad, and she was proud of us both. So it was a real huggy-squeezy moment at our house the other night. It’s never a bad thing when your parents are happy with you.
Except for the football season being the pits, life’s not so bad this year. My grades are a lot better this year, I’m actually enjoying some of my classes, especially World History II. Mr. Wayne is a really good teacher, and the stuff we’ve been studying has been pretty interesting. The bubonic plague in Europe, all those wars over religion, the settling of America… that’s pretty interesting stuff if you think about it. Before this year, I never would have thought about it. I just would have crammed the night before the test and then forgot everything I had learned by the next day.
Maybe I should major in history in college. That would be interesting. I mean I probably won’t ever use the stuff anyway, since I’m going to be a pro football player. But I have to major in something, so it might as well be something that I’m interested in. Of course, when I’m through playing professional football, I won’t need any money since I’ll be set for life, financially. So it’s not like I would ever teach or do something like that.
Oh, one more thing, Kylee told me she was proud of me too about the fight thing. She said she has seen a big change in me this year and likes what she sees. She said she was proud to be my girlfriend and was really glad that we had gotten back together. So in spite of all the crap that went on this week, all things considered I had a pretty good week. When you’ve got your parents, your brother, and your girlfriend praising you, you’re doing all right.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mia
I have to say that Elly is my best friend among all my girlfriends, but I still don’t understand some things about her. Like when I spent that recent Saturday night at her house. She is so obsessed over her appearance and clothes and makeup and stuff like that—it’s almost as if she is neurotic about it. When I got there, she said she wanted to show me some new outfits her mom had bought for her since she had been on a diet. I can tell that she has lost weight, and I told her that and that she looks pretty. But I also said that I thought she looked pretty when she was heavier, and I meant that sincerely.
