Second Down
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 39
The last week of school before break flew by. I had a bunch of tests to get ready for, and not just the regular end-of-semester tests everyone had to take. I guess Vice Principal Ford had been paying more attention to my extra work than I realized, because she’d arranged for all of the teachers who had me on plans to get on level to give me an additional test to see where I was to determine if I was doing the work to justify the teachers going to the effort.
While I appreciated that the school was really taking my request seriously, and were doing so much to help me, I did not love having double the tests of everyone else in school.
Thankfully, Li stepped in and helped me study. I’d had to cancel on helping out at Eduardo’s on the weekend so we could fit the studying in. I also think Melanie was a little annoyed that I’d spent all weekend studying with Li, even after I’d explained why I was doing it.
She didn’t say anything directly, and we didn’t have another blowout, but I could tell she wasn’t happy. I tried spending time with her each day and we went out Saturday night, but I really needed the help studying, and Li was really good at keeping me focused and on task.
By Friday, the last day of school before winter break, I was ready to just be done with it. My brain felt like it had melted. I think the teachers all knew that, because all of the tests were done the day before and today was essentially a goof-off day.
Well, except for conditioning. The coaches never let us skip that.
I got to my locker and started pulling out my gym clothes when Coach Holloway stuck his head through the door and said, “Sims, come here. I need to talk to you.”
Oddly, it wasn’t the normal “SIMS!” that I got. If anything, it was in a conversational tone.
To be honest, it kind of freaked me out. Coaches yelling at me I could deal with. When they got quiet and nice, I got suspicious. Not that there should be anything for him to be mad at me about. I’d been at all of the sevens practices and I thought I was doing really well at it. We were fielding two teams, and who was going to be on which team hadn’t been decided yet, but I managed to beat Ben Harlan’s team, even though he had mostly upperclassmen and I had some of my JV guys along with Miguel and Hunter, who was way, way less of a dick without Elijah around.
Elijah was apparently trying out for the baseball team, so he wouldn’t be around for sevens, thank God. Mason and Jake were also not participating, although I didn’t really know why and Aiden hadn’t been paired up to play with me yet.
Which was good, because he was still a dick, even without Elijah around.
I dropped into the seat across from Coach without him asking. I guess he’d called me into his office enough that I was starting to get comfortable, although the frown he gave me when I did caused me to make a mental note to maybe not do that again.
“How’re you doing, Blake?” he asked, again, way too casually.
“Good, Coach. Ready for winter break, that’s for sure.”
“I imagine. You had a hell of a season on JV.”
“Thanks,” I said, a little confused by the non sequitur and wondering where this was going.
“How’d you feel about the transition to JV? From your perspective, how has it been?”
“Good, I think. I’ll admit, it was a little challenging at first, but the last few games of the season I felt really comfortable and I thought it went well.”
Of course, what really mattered was if he thought so, too.
“I agree. You’ve adapted well to the new playbook and I think you have a bright future here, as long as you keep some of that enthusiasm on the field reined in.”
I knew he was referring to all the scrambling and the demands for more passing. I would have liked to argue that everything I’d done had worked out, but arguing with coaches rarely ended well for me.
“I’ll try.”
“Good, because we’ve got a bit of a situation on our hands. Ben Harlan is moving to Dallas.”
I tried to look as surprised as I could. This had happened in my dream life, too, Ben leaving, making me the youngest starting QB in Wheaton history. In that life, I’d gone up to Varsity as Jorden’s backup and he’d crashed and burned early in the season, so I was a little ahead of schedule, but Ben leaving was always going to happen.
“What does that mean for the team?”
“With Kenneth Ward graduating and Ben leaving, we’ve suddenly got an open spot for varsity quarterback,” Coach said, watching me closely. “You’re the most obvious choice to step up.”
“I’m ready, Coach,” I said, trying to sound nervous and excited.
Coach held up a hand. “Now, hold on, Blake. This isn’t a done deal. Moving you to varsity would mean Jorden Kinsell becomes varsity backup, and Gabriel Neiva takes over as JV starter. It makes sense on paper, but I’ve got some concerns.”
I hadn’t gotten this speech the first time through, but then I’d only been the backup and, at the time, Jorden was a senior. Adding me had been a reaction, not a plan.
I just hoped that didn’t make things change. Coach hadn’t had time to consider the ramifications of putting a sophomore in as their starter after two huge losses in the dream life. Now that he had, I hoped he didn’t second guess himself.
“Starting a sophomore on varsity is a big deal, Blake. The jump from JV to varsity is significant. We’re talking about bigger, faster, more experienced opponents. You did well on JV, but that was only for half a season, and let’s be honest, some of those teams weren’t exactly powerhouses.”
“I know it’ll be tough, Coach, but I’m ready for the challenge. I’ve been working hard, and I know I can step up.”
“It’s not just about physical ability, Blake. To succeed at the varsity level, you’ll need to develop your arm strength, improve the mental part of your game the most. I’m talking about your pocket awareness, being able to make faster decisions, and really honing your ability to read defenses. It’s a whole different ballgame.”
“I understand, Coach. I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot. You know I’m doing seven-on-seven, and I think that will help me improve over the spring, and I’m going to continue training with Coach Greer. Also, it has been a while since we talked about it, but I’ve been looking into additional coaching. I’ve talked to my dad and I think we’ve worked out a way to pay for it. We’re hoping to get started in February or March, once we find the right coach.”
“Really? That’s good to hear. It shows you’re taking this seriously.”
“I am taking this seriously, Coach. I know it’s a big step, but I really believe I can do this. I’m not just talking about playing varsity; I think I can lead this team to state.”
We’d only made it to the semifinals in the dream life, but I hadn’t been putting in serious work then. Plus, I didn’t know everything I knew now, having already done it all once before. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but I really believed we could do it.
Assuming Coach didn’t revert back to his all-running playbook.
Coach Holloway’s eyebrows shot up, and for a moment, I worried he’d think I was just blowing smoke, but then he chuckled. “I like the confidence, Sims.”
“So I’m the new starter on varsity?”
“Nothing’s official yet,” Coach said firmly. “We’ll evaluate your progress through the spring. If you do everything you just laid out and show the improvement we’re looking for, then we’ll talk about making it official.”
“I’ll be ready, Coach,” I promised, and then remembered something else. “Oh, did Coach Greer talk to you about the track team?”
“He did mention it, yeah. What are you thinking about that?”
“I’m not sure. Football is my priority, and I told him that. He said he could work around my schedule, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
Coach leaned back in his chair, considering. “Well, you’ll certainly have a full plate if you do seven-on-seven, private coaching, and track. I talked to him and I think, just scheduling-wise, we can work around your school and seven-on-seven commitments at least. It’ll be up to you for everything else.”
“But should I do it?”
“I can’t make the decision for you. I can say the speed training has definitely helped your game, and I think running track could further improve your speed. But it’s up to you to decide if your schedule can handle it all.”
I could only nod. Damn. It would have been easier if he had just said yes or no!
Walking through Eduardo’s living room, I realized I might have made a mistake. Things had started off really well after we got everything set up, with a bunch of guys from the team showing up along with a bunch of the cheerleaders.
Sarah had come to help set up, so that part made sense and I’d invited guys from the team. Except the flow of new arrivals never stopped. By the time Miguel’s older brother dropped off a keg, more than sixty kids had shown up. The entire football team was here, and not just JV, but the varsity and the freshman teams, too, along with both JV and varsity cheer squads and even a bunch of kids I didn’t know.
The house was a wall of kids drinking and dancing; so many that they were spilling out and filling both the backyard and the front yard.
Any hope Eduardo might have had of keeping this small and manageable had gone out the window.
I couldn’t help feeling bad. I told him I’d talk to Melanie and Sarah and make sure we kept this under control, and clearly we’d done a bad job of it.
I found Eduardo in the kitchen looking like a cornered animal.
“Hey, man,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder. “How’re you holding up?”
“This is insane. There’s way more people than we planned for.”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that, but don’t worry. I’ve already talked to Mickey, Joe, and some of the other guys on the team. They’ve all agreed to help clean up afterward. We’ll get this place back to normal so your parents won’t know what hit it.”
“I’m not sure that will save it. All the kids out in the yard...”
“Yeah. Well, as long as no one breaks anything and we don’t have big trouble, it should be okay.”
“What if someone calls the cops?”
“Then we’ll,” I started to say, before a commotion at the front door caught my attention.
My stomach dropped as I saw Elijah and Mason swagger in. Worse, Elijah was already visibly drunk and very loud.
“What a dump! Who lives in this shithole?”
I felt Eduardo stiffen beside me. Elijah had the normal sneer on his face, which turned into a mean grin as his gaze landed on me and Eduardo, and he started pushing his way through the crowd.
“Well, well,” Elijah slurred as he reached us. “If it isn’t the big man and his new pet.”
I stepped forward, putting myself between Elijah and Eduardo.
“Not tonight, Elijah. Just turn around and leave.”
“Or what, Sims? You gonna make me?”
This wasn’t school or practice. I didn’t have to control myself to keep from getting kicked off the team or suspended, which meant I wasn’t going to back down from him.
It was damn near time for Elijah to learn he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was.
“Yeah, if I have to.”
Elijah’s grin grew bigger, as if he’d been waiting for this moment. He started to take a step toward me, his fists balling up, and then froze in place as Andre and Joe materialized on either side of me. Several other players closed ranks behind him, forming a wall between Elijah and the rest of the party and making it clear he and Mason were surrounded.
“Can’t fight on your own, chicken shit? Gotta have your little fan club stand up for you?”
I opened my mouth to point out he had Mason right beside him, and we both knew that he wasn’t going to stay out of it once I started to pound on him, when Kenneth showed up.
“Everything alright over here?”
“Just having a chat with the coach’s new golden boy. Can you believe it, after you leave, they’re putting him on varsity? Makes you wonder how long he spent on his knees in the coach’s office to get that deal.”
“Actually, Coach asked me who should be starting QB after I leave. I was the one who recommended Blake. I even hear Coach is thinking about making him team captain.”
It was nice to hear Kenneth had suggested me, but we both knew Coach Holloway wasn’t the sort to make decisions based on what other people suggested. Although, the captain thing was news to me.
I kept a straight face, though, not wanting to give Elijah the satisfaction of seeing my surprise.