by Paul Hoblin
Nobody would believe me if I said it out loud, least of all Jeff.
But let the record show: I, Scott “Scooter” Williams, didn’t want to visit Huntington College.
Because what was the point?
There was no way I was going to walk on to their football team. If you walk on, you don’t have a scholarship. And without a scholarship, I couldn’t afford to go to college.
The only reason I did go was to make my mom happy. She wanted me to attend college so badly that, frankly, she was in serious denial. She couldn’t bear to face the truth. We didn’t have the money.
Oh, and there’s another reason I went: to make Jeff happy.
Once again, I don’t expect anyone to believe me, but it’s true. Jeff was so excited by the visit and he really stood up for me. I couldn’t say no. Not when things were finally smoothing out between the two of us.
So that’s how I ended up riding with Jeff to Huntington College the next week.
“Thunder and Lightning, man,” he kept saying on the car ride. All of the sudden, he loved this nickname. “You and me, college bound. Maybe we’ll be roommates.”
I nodded.
No, we won’t, I thought.
As it turned out, I was right—but for the wrong reason.
Chapter 33
Jeff
That was the worst day of my life.
I just didn’t know it yet.
At the time, I thought it was the best day of my life.
Scooter and I arrived on campus and then asked a student how to find the athletics building. As we walked across the campus I couldn’t help but feeling like I already belonged. I wondered which dorm I would live in and could almost picture myself studying in the library. With each step I grew more comfortable on the campus.
When we got to the athletics building we approached the front desk.
“I’m Jeff Stoddard,” I said. “I think they’re expecting me. I mean, us,” I said, catching myself. “This is Scooter—Scott Williams. He was invited too.”
The guy at the front desk picked up a phone, punched in a number, and repeated our names.
“Take a seat,” he said. “They’ll be out to see you soon.”
Scooter and I sat down in a couple of rubbery chairs. He was doing that head-drooping thing he always does in social situations. “Chin up, dude,” I told him. “They asked you to come, remember? Show them you know you belong.”
A door opened and two guys walked out. They were maybe in their mid-thirties and introduced themselves as assistant coaches.
“How’d you like a tour of the facilities?” one of them asked.
“Sounds great,” I said. Both Scooter and I stood up.
“We’d like to just take you on the first leg of the tour, Jeff,” the other coach said. “Easier to talk that way. We’ll swing by and pick up Scooter in a few minutes.”
I saw Scooter’s head droop again.
“Hey,” I mouthed, punching his shoulder. “Chin up.”
Chapter 34
Scooter
I watched Jeff and the coaches walk away and I wondered, again, Why am I here?
I was just sitting down when the door opened again. It was the same door the coaches had come out of a few minutes ago.
An older man peered around the door.
“Scott Williams?” he said.
I was surprised he knew my name. I would have been surprised if anyone here knew my name. I’d never met any walk-ons before, but I doubted many of them were on a first-name basis before the school year even started.
“Could I have a word with you?” the man asked.
“I’m actually waiting for my buddy,” I mumbled.
I don’t think he could hear me because he said, “Eric said you were shy.”
Eric? Who was Eric?
Then I remembered: the scout.
“It’ll just take a few minutes, Scott,” he said. “They call you Scooter, right?”
Now he knew my nickname?
“You’ll be sitting back in that chair by the time Jeff gets back,” the man said. “That work for you?”
Chapter 35
Jeff
The coaches took me to the weight room. I thought maybe the team would be working out there, but it was empty.
Maybe that’s just something that happens in movies, I thought.
They asked me if there was anything else in particular I wanted to see.
“The stadium?” I said.
“Sure, kid,” one of them replied.
I was a little bummed that I had to ask. In the days leading up to this visit, I’d imagined walking through a tunnel into the stadium on my first game day. There would be cheerleaders. Jeff Stoddard would flash on the jumbotron. An announcer would introduce me over the loudspeaker, his voice echoing. Instead, we walked out onto the quiet field. Still, I felt at home there.
Chapter 36
Scooter
“Please sit down, Scooter,” the old man said.
I did, and watched him do the same.
We were in an office. A big office. The walls were covered in pennants and plaques.
“Do you know who I am?” the man asked.
I shook my head.
“My name’s Coach Grand. That’s not bragging. It’s my name.”
He winked at me. I wondered how many times he’d made that joke over the last few decades.
“I’m the head coach here at Huntington,” he said.
“What’s going on?” I blurted out. I was too confused and curious to keep my mouth shut any longer.
“I thought you were supposed to be shy,” Coach Grand said. “Maybe there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
I wasn’t sure whether this was a compliment or not. But I was sure he hadn’t answered my question.
“What am I doing here?” I asked.
He leaned back in his chair. “We’re looking for speed on offense, Scooter. Eric tells me you’ve got the potential to be quite the little scat back.”
“I can’t, Coach. I should have told someone before I got here, but I can’t afford to come here. It was really nice of Eric to put in a good word for me but—”
“You wouldn’t have to pay, Scooter,” Coach interrupted. “I’m talking about a scholarship.”
I’m not going to say I wasn’t excited. Of course I was. I was on the verge of literally jumping for joy. But I also didn’t understand.
“Why?” I asked.
He chuckled. “In all my years coaching, that’s the first time a player has ever responded to a scholarship offer by questioning my decision.”
“I just mean . . .” I forced myself to breathe, clear my head, get my thoughts straight. “Based on what? I barely even played last week.”
“Eric said you played enough to put on a dazzling display. He said you had the whole team chasing after you. He said you’ve got elite shiftiness and speed. And he’s not someone who throws words like that around. If he says you’re elite, I believe him.”
I wracked my brain trying to come up with more questions to ask. But I was too excited to think of any.
“I can’t wait to tell Jeff. He kept talking about how we could go to college together; we’ve got this nickname, Thunder and Lightning, it’s kind of stupid but—”
“Just to be clear,” Coach interrupted, “I’m offering you a scholarship, not Jeff.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I only have one scholarship left, Scooter, and if you want it, it has your name on it.”
“But Jeff was invited to visit, not me.”
“I wish Eric hadn’t handled it that way. I know it makes this awkward. But frankly, he wasn’t expecting to find someone like you—and in the last few minutes of the game, no less. He wasn’t sure how to get you here, what with your so-called shyness, and he knew he didn’t want to leave without making sure you’d be at our campus, one way or another. So he got Jeff to bring you along on his visit.”
I thought about Jeff touri
ng the facilities. I thought about how happy he must be.
“Thanks, but . . .” I took a deep breath and tried to wrap my head around what I was about to say. “Give the scholarship to Jeff. He’s earned it.”
“You don’t understand, Scooter. I’m not offering it to Jeff. Eric tells me he’s a truly solid high school ballplayer. Strong. Tough. Yes, solid’s the word. But I’m not looking for solid. I’m looking for fast. I’m looking for game-changing. I’m looking for you, Scooter.” Coach Grand swayed his head back and forth, as though he were weighing his options. “Or for someone like you, if you don’t accept my offer.”
He checked his watch. “We better get you back in that chair where I found you.” Standing up, he moved to the door and held it open for me. “I don’t expect you to decide today. But you do need to decide quickly. Eric and my other scouts are traveling all over the country, trying to find someone just like you.”
He ushered me out the door and began to close it.
“Coach?” I said. “What am I supposed to tell Jeff?”
“It’s up to you,” he said. “But if it were me? I wouldn’t tell him anything—at least not yet. Not if you still want a ride home.”
Chapter 37
Jeff
I should have known something was wrong. It was weird that the coaches kept looking at Scooter when they talked. At the time I just thought they were trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
He was definitely acting odd too. The drive home was four hours long, and he didn’t say one word the whole time.
The least he could have done was tell me what happened.
Instead I had to find out about it two days later from Coach Doublas.
Chapter 38
Scooter
I should have talked to Jeff about the scholarship. I know that.
I talked with my mom. She was so happy, she began sobbing.
I talked with Coach Douglas. He was surprised, of course, and angry at the way the situation was handled. But he was also impressed, I think. “Maybe you’re more than a raw talent,” he said. “If there’s one thing Huntington’s known for, it’s great running backs.”
I was going to ask both of them whether I should take the scholarship, but I didn’t need to. They assumed I was going to take it, which means for them it was a no-brainer. No one in their right mind would turn down free college, would they?
So a day after Jeff’s college visit (which turned out to be my college visit), I called Coach Grand and accepted his offer.
I know it was the right decision—the only logical decision, really.
But I still should have told Jeff before I made it.
Chapter 39
Jeff
After practice, the three of us were in Coach Douglas’s office again.
Coach wanted to switch up the strategy.
“River Valley’s defense is based on speed and blitzing,” he said. “Which is why I want to try running this week out of the I formation.”
“Coach?” I asked.
“A halfback.” He looked at me carefully. “And a fullback. Look, Stoddard, I know this isn’t the normal plan, but I really think it would help—just this week—if you were the lead blocker instead.”
“Sure, Coach,” I said.
“Really?”
“Sure,” I said again. “Whatever the team needs.”
It was easy to be a good teammate because, as far as I knew, I had a scholarship in the bag.
“In that case,” Coach said, “we can talk more about this tomorrow at practice. You’re dismissed.”
We both got up to leave, but Coach stopped me. “Actually, Stoddard, could you stick around for a second?”
I sat back down while Scooter left the room.
“I just want to say that I’m impressed, Stoddard.”
“Really, Coach, it’s nothing.”
“No—it’s definitely something. You must have been really disappointed when you found out Huntington sold you a bad bill of goods, but here you are—”
“What are you talking about, Coach?”
Coach squinted at me. “You mean, they didn’t tell you . . .” He rubbed his face, then slapped his desk. “This is ridiculous,” he grumbled.
“Coach?” I said again. “What are you talking about?”
By now I was getting scared.
“The scholarship, Stoddard.”
“What about it?”
“They gave it to Williams. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. They had no right to leave you high and dry like that.”
He kept talking, but I couldn’t hear him anymore.
My pulse was beating too loudly in my ears. I needed to get out of there.
I needed to get out of here. Coach’s office. The school. The town itself.
Chapter 40
Scooter
After the meeting in Coach’s office, I found my mom waiting for me in the parking lot. She was going to take me to dinner to celebrate the scholarship.
At least that was the plan.
The problem was, I didn’t feel like celebrating. Not after that meeting.
Either Jeff was being amazingly cool about losing his last shot at a scholarship, or he still thought he was getting the scholarship. That would explain why he was in such a good mood. The thought made me feel sick.
I tried to remind myself that it wasn’t like I’d stolen the scholarship. Coach Grand was clear that if I didn’t take scholarship, he’d give it to someone else. Someone not named Jeff Stoddard.
But I still felt guilty. If the scout had never seen me play, maybe he would have been more impressed with Jeff. Maybe he didn’t look fast enough because Eric was comparing him to me.
Mainly, I felt tired.
Tired of thinking about this scholarship and tired of football.
I definitely didn’t want to talk about them.
Or anything, for that matter.
“I don’t want to go to dinner, Mom.”
We were on the road by then. She asked me what I did want to do.
“Can you drop me off somewhere?”
***
Splash!
It turned out I wasn’t very good at skipping rocks. I was at Morgyn’s pond, but Morgyn wasn’t there. I crouched down and picked up another rock. Stepping into it, I chucked the stone toward the water.
Instead of skimming along its surface, it splooshed into the water and quickly sank.
I’d been here for at least twenty minutes, but I didn’t feel better like I’d hoped I would. It’s difficult to feel better when you stink at the thing you’re using as a distraction.
I crouched down again and reached for another rock.
“Try this one,” a voice said.
Morgyn was standing behind me. How long had she been there?
“Is it a good skipping rock?” I asked. “If it is, you should probably keep it. I don’t want to screw up your favorite thing too.”
I thought she was going to ask me what I was talking about, but she didn’t.
“It’s just one rock,” she said. “The only way you could screw up rock skipping for me is if you got rid of every rock and drained the pond.”
She held out the rock. I took it.
“The key to rock skipping,” she said, “is the release. If the rock spins out of your hand the right way, the water doesn’t even have to be calm. You should know whether the rock’s going to skip without even having to watch.”
Morgyn amazed me.
“Close your eyes,” she said.
I did.
I threw the rock and we both listened to it ping across the water.
Chapter 41
Jeff
I drove around for a while by myself. I wasn’t ready to see anyone yet—not even Morgyn.
I was close to her house though, turning onto one dirt road after another, probably too fast. Dirt billowed behind the car.
I lost control of the car briefly and came swerving to a stop.
My
heart pounded. I took a deep breath.
I was still a few blocks from Morgyn’s house, but I decided to get out of my car and walk.
The dust my tires had kicked up was still settling as I worked my way through the woods and behind the house.
I found them there, at the pond, skipping stones together.
It was getting dark, but they were still clearly visible. It wasn’t as though there was any question who the guy was. His tiny frame gave him away.
They were standing close to each other, taking turns.
One of them threw a stone and then they both leaned toward the pond, listening to sounds only they could hear—as if they shared some kind of secret.
I don’t know how long I stood there, exactly.
Long enough to decide their secret wasn’t safe with me.
Chapter 42
Scooter
When I got to school the next morning, it was clear that something was different. For the last few weeks I hadn’t been able to walk down the hall without getting a friendly clap on the shoulder. But today something was definitely wrong.
A few guys bumped into me. Most just steered clear of me.
I wondered if I was imagining things until the comments started.
“His scholarship, man?”
“His girlfriend?”
“Seriously. What’s the matter with you?”
These comments kept coming throughout the morning. It seemed pointless to defend myself. There was no way they’d believe me.
The only thing I could think to do was talk to the guy who was spreading the rumors.
***
“Jeff?” I said at lunch. “Can we talk?”
He was sitting with the rest of the team at one of the long tables in the cafeteria. He didn’t bother turning around.
“Oh. So now you want to talk?” he said.
“Look, Jeff—”
“The kid who never says anything suddenly has a lot he needs to say?”
“It’s not—”
“Not what I think?” Jeff interrupted. “Is that what you’re about to tell me? I think I took you on my college visit and you ended up with my scholarship. I think you’ve been hanging out with Morgyn behind my back. That’s what I think. Are you saying I’m wrong?”
