Chapter 17: I Think They Are

Monday October 17
I was sitting in precalculus, taking a quiz, when my phone chirped to let me know that I’d received a text. This was right after Ms. Lowden had given us a lecture about turning them off for the quiz. She glared in my direction. Apparently, this was the last time someone’s phone was going off during a quiz or test ... or there would be ‘consequences.’ I don’t know what came over me.

“Dare! She said to turn your phone off.”

Ms. Lowden made a big display of getting out of her chair and striding to Dare’s desk. He looked at me like I’d just told him there was no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. I felt bad ... really.

“Did you leave your phone on, young man?”

“Go ahead, tell her,” I said helpfully.

Okay, I was probably going to Hell for that one, but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t want to sit in detention after school today.

I didn’t count on Ms. Lowden being a detective. I figured I was home free because Dare wasn’t able to talk in class, especially to teachers.

“Give me your phone,” she ordered Dare.

He handed it over, and she saw it was turned off. Ms. Lowden turned to me and gave me a look that didn’t bode well for my chances of avoiding detention.

“Now yours, Mr. Dawson.”

“Why that little...” I began as I watched Dare bolt from my side and make a beeline to Brook.

Tim and Wolf were with me in line.

“What’s going on?” Tim asked.

“I got detention because Dare wouldn’t take one for the team. Now he’s telling Brook on me.”

Usually, with guys, that would have been enough of an explanation. The problem was they didn’t buy that Dare would do anything to me that would get me in trouble. When they pulled the details out of me, they were equal parts impressed that I would try to blame Dare and mortified that he hadn’t stood up for me. Maybe I embellished a little bit or glossed over a few details. What mattered was that my friends backed me up.

When we finally got our lunches and started towards the table, all the girls were giving us dirty looks. Tim and Wolf slowed down so that I somehow faced them by myself. I turned around, and the guys were busy tying their shoes. So much for having my back.

“Did Dare tell you how he got me detention?” I asked.

The girls all turned to him, and his head went down. I became a little worried when Cassidy stood up and gave me a look. Wolf and Tim decided to go eat at another table. Maybe they had a good plan.

“Hi,” I said with a big smile.

“Want to try again?” Cassidy asked.

I made a big show of thinking it over, but when she took a step towards me, I caved.

“I might have been partially responsible,” I admitted, and Cassidy took another step. “Okay, okay. I was a bully and tried to make it look like Dare did it.”

Cassidy took my lunch and set it on the table. I’m such a ‘stupid boy;’ I should have known what was coming next.

“I swear if you crack my ribs again...” I hissed as I went to my knees, “there isn’t much I can do about it.”

Cassidy looked at Brook, who nodded. Cassidy turned back and helped me up.

“You need to set a better example,” Brook announced.

I grumbled something under my breath.

“What did you say?” Cassidy asked.

“Yes, ma’am?” I asked.

“Good answer,” Cassidy said and then kissed my cheek.

Her boyfriend Don rolled his eyes. I mentally chastised him for not controlling his woman.

“You owe Dare an apology. He’s been a wreck all morning because you blamed him for your own misdeed,” Gina announced.

I saw a little smile touch Brook’s face. I think she’d taken lessons from my mom. I would bet next month’s allowance that she put Gina up to that because there was no way Dare had said anything to Gina about his state of mind. I gave Dare the stink eye and was surprised when he didn’t look away. What good was a socially awkward teen if he was starting to come out of his shell when he was around my girlfriend?

I figured my role in this drama needed to come to an end.

“Dare, I really am sorry for this morning. I just knew that if Ms. Lowden caught you, she’d give you a pass, and I didn’t want to have to go to detention. I’ll never do something like that again,” I said sincerely.

I then turned to my girlfriend.

“Just remember that I’m wise to your role in all this.”

“I’ll make it up to you later,” she promised.

I really did love that woman.

Before practice, Dad showed up with Duke so he could personally thank everyone for gathering signatures. Duke was more than happy to let everyone pet him and scratch his ears. Brook, Tim, and Wolf helped me collect and count the signatures. For football, the varsity had a disappointing 28, JV 57, and freshmen were in the lead with 68. Their total of 153 put us at 286 signatures. I’d hoped that we would be much closer to the 550 we needed.

Then we counted the results of the cheerleaders’ efforts. They’d gathered 189 signatures. We only had to collect 75 more over the next two days.

“If each of us gets one more signature, we’ll reach our goal,” Dad announced.

He then read off the football numbers.

“It looks like the freshmen have this in the bag. I didn’t want to say anything, but I plan on closing Our House and throwing a party for the winners,” I announced.

The varsity and JV glared at the younger guys. I bet they would get busy trying to catch them.

“The cheerleaders collected more signatures than all the guys combined,” Dad announced.

“It’s easier for girls,” Yuri complained.

The dummy was standing next to his girlfriend when he said it. He would never learn.

“We have three who did outstandingly. I want to recognize Destiny Crown, Zoe Pearson, and Jill Lacier. Only a couple of signatures separate the three of you. I hear that David plans to take the winner out on a date as a thank-you for your efforts,” Dad said.

I glanced over at Brook and watched as the whole unintended consequences thing sank in. I decided to take the high road and not remind her that I’d warned her this was a bad idea. This trio had to be her worst nightmare. She and Destiny were committed frenemies. Destiny wanted Brook’s job as head cheerleader and had as much as said that she planned to steal me away from Brook. I wasn’t worried about that happening because Brook and I were doing just fine.

Zoe and I had a past. She didn’t make it a secret that she wanted to be my girlfriend. I wondered how Johan would take it, now that they were going out. I hoped he realized I hadn’t done anything to encourage it. If she did win, I would make sure that he came on the date. I needed him to block for me during games.

Of the three of them, Jill was the biggest issue, for three reasons. One, she was my brother’s girlfriend. Jill and Phil seemed to be a good couple, even though she was hit on constantly. Two, in the past, Jill had let me know that when she was older, she would come after me. I know that had driven her sister April crazy when April and I were dating. Finally, I’d admitted to Brook that I thought Jill was someone I wouldn’t mind spending time with. I would bet that if she tried to get into any bar, they wouldn’t bat an eye. Jill didn’t look like a freshman. Besides being tall and having model looks, she might have the biggest, firmest breasts in school. She and Kate Upton were about the same size up top, and Jill was slimmer.

I was afraid that if Jill and I went out, I might not be a good boy. That would just invite a shit-storm of trouble. I wouldn’t blame Phil if he never talked to me again, and Brook ... I didn’t even want to go there. Besides Kate Upton coming and telling me she’d made a huge mistake with that baseball dork, Jill was the only girl I might be tempted to cheat on Brook with. From the look Brook gave me, she knew it too.

“Well, this just sucks,” Brook said when we were finally alone.

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I was hoping we were done with this part of it.”

“Don’t play dumb. What are we going to do about Destiny, Zoe, and Jill?”

I noticed she threw in the ‘we.’

“We could help you get enough signatures to win,” I suggested.

“I’ll never catch them. Plus, they’re out there right now working to get more,” Brook complained.

“Well, you’ll never win with that attitude.”

I sometimes forget that girls need to vent, and your only job was to listen, not poke holes in their logic.

I met Doc Grog before practice so that he could examine me.

“Did you take it easy this weekend?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Today, I want you to take two laps around the track. Take it easy. I want you to walk,” Doc Grog said.

“Just walk. Got it.”

“Then come back in, and the trainers will stretch you, put you into an ice bath, and then give you a massage.”

Dare was sent to watch me walk around the track. I made him walk with me.

“I want you to know that I realize that I was a jerk today.”

“It’s okay. Brook explained it to me,” Dare said.

“She did?” I asked.

“She said that I should take it as a compliment. It meant that you thought of me as one of the guys because you were willing to bust my chops. I guess I’m so used to people being mean that I took it wrong.”

“You know I would never really be mean to you. I might goof around, but I like you,” I said.

He stopped, and I turned around to see what was wrong.

“Do you mean that? You’re not just being nice to me because I’m different?”

“Let’s don’t go too far,” I teased, and then got serious. “Dare, if you’d just talk to people, your life would be so much better. They would get to know the real you.”

“That’s what my mom and Brook say.”

“Do you realize this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had?” I asked.

He just nodded and went quiet. I counted this as a win and didn’t push it.

After the first lap, I was about ready to drop. I kept going because I wanted to speed up the healing process and this was the first activity I’d been allowed to do since the accident. When I finished the second lap, I’d sweat through my shirt and was breathing as hard as if I’d just completed my usual run. I had Dare run inside and get my crutches.

Becky was totally evil. She refused to give me a pill before she stretched me out. Becky reasoned that she needed to gauge what caused pain and at what level. I told her everything caused pain and at level 11 on her ten-point scale. Becky offered to show me what would hurt more. I took her word for it.

After practice and my torture were done, Coach Mason wanted to meet with me.

“You look like shit.”

“Becky must hate men and decided to take it out on me today.”

“If I were you, I would sit out the rest of the season and get ready for college,” Coach Mason said, stunning me.

“But...”

“Just hear me out,” he said, holding up a hand. “A hip pointer or cracked ribs by themselves can put you out of action. The combination is not something to joke about.”

“Tell me about it,” I complained.

“You’re destined for bigger things. I worry that you’ll come back too soon and end up doing some permanent damage. You could mess up everything you’ve worked for, for what will frankly be a footnote to your career. No one is going to care if you won two or three state championships when you’re drafted in the NFL.”

He had a point. The schools on my recruiting list already knew what I could do. If I stepped back from what was right in front of me, my high school teammates and the commitments I’d made, it made sense to look long-range. I would have to think about what Coach Mason had just said.

I knew that college players had started to skip meaningless bowl games to protect themselves from injuries. Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith, a top-5 draft prospect, had tumbled to the second round after injuring his knee in the Fiesta Bowl. Instead of a contract in the $23-million range expected for a top-5 draftee, Smith received $4.4 million from the Dallas Cowboys. The worst part was that it took him more than a year to recover and make it onto the playing field.

“I’m not sure I can just walk away, for a lot of reasons. The one that comes to mind is that my team and I have worked hard to win state again. But if I don’t get better soon, I can see your point,” I admitted.

“Just think about it. I’m not advising you not to play again this year. I just want you to know that it’s an option and that I would support you if you decided to take care of your health first. Believe me when I tell you that at the higher levels, they will want you to play through it. I’ve seen too many young men’s dreams destroyed because the second injury was the career-ender,” Coach Mason shared.

“Do you think Trent can handle the job if I were to take a step back and didn’t play for the full six weeks?” I asked.

“Anything’s possible,” he said as a joke. “Trent looked better today. We’ve had to make some changes because he doesn’t have your arm strength. I’m confident we can beat Riverside this week and will have a good shot at beating St. Joe next week. Even with you back the week after that, though, I’m not sure we can beat Broadview Academy,” Coach Mason said, listing the games we would play before the state playoffs began.

Broadview Academy was similar to IMG Academy out of Florida. It was a boarding school based in Texas whose sole purpose was to get high-level athletes to college. Our matchup with Broadview was this year’s annual road game. Last year we played King High School at the Indianapolis Colts’ stadium on ESPN. This year we were traveling to St. Louis to play in The Dome, the former home of the St. Louis Rams, who’d left to play in LA. The game was being televised on ESPN again.

Coach Mason was probably right. We’d shocked everyone when we beat King. Broadview Academy would be ready for us. It was another David vs. Goliath situation, and people wanted to see if David would come out on top again. My competitive side wanted to play in that game.

If we took care of Riverside this Friday, we could lose the last two games and still win our conference. We would be tied with Washington if they won out, but we held the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Wednesday October 19
Before school, I was approached by a member of the band and reminded that this weekend was the annual Band Bachelor Auction. I explained I wouldn’t be able to attend, but they should contact Caryn about a donation. That seemed to get me off the hook.

After school, everyone met before practice to hand in their signatures and find out who the winners were. It was funny to watch Brook get more and more agitated with each passing day. Cassidy told me that Destiny had been in Brook’s ear, telling her that she was going to win. Destiny had hinted at what she planned to do on our date. For once it wasn’t me with the problem child. I hadn’t mentioned that Cassidy had kept me up to date on the ongoing feud.

When I came into the field house, I saw my dad and grandma were already there to check the signatures. Brook found me and grabbed my hand. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I think she simply needed to make it known that we were a couple. I was sure that Zoe and Jill were well aware of my dating status. I wasn’t worried about them.

Brook stiffened when Destiny came in. She had a stack of signature forms to hand in. Brook had gotten serious about ‘winning’ the date and collected a lot in the past two days. Last night, I, her loyal boyfriend, had gone with her to the mall to get signatures. We were smart and brought Duke. At first, some of the mall people had hassled us, but I had Duke’s paperwork that showed he was trained as a therapy dog. It didn’t hurt that the mall security gal was a Lincoln High football fan.

Brook was irritated that all I had to do was smile at people and they would stop to talk to me. I tried to explain that in a small town you tended to know just about everyone. I wasn’t sure that she should be able to count all the ones I got signed, but it was explained to me that I was wrong. I tried to point out that I needed signatures to help the varsity catch the freshmen. Brook told me she would help pay for the party and we could invite everyone who helped gather signatures. That ended my argument.

When my grandma and dad had finished checking the last of the signatures, Grandma left to file them with the election officials. Dad got everyone’s attention.

“On behalf of our candidate Duke, I want to thank you for your help. I know that David offered some incentives for those who collected the most signatures. If I remember correctly, the freshmen had the lead as of Monday. I know that the varsity and JV squads put up a valiant effort, but unfortunately weren’t able to catch them.”

The freshmen made fools of themselves. I would need to sit them down and explain the proper decorum. Dad held up his hands to calm them down.

“Brook Davis talked to David and suggested that since you all did such an outstanding job, she would kick in to take you all to dinner, and that includes your parents. The dinner will be held election night at Our House,” Dad announced.

I could see the cheerleaders didn’t look happy. Dad saw it, too.

“Sorry, that includes the cheerleaders, too.”

Cute pouts turned into cuter happy smiles.

Duke’s election bid was starting to get expensive. It was good that I could get a discount since I was one of the owners.

“When David was little, I dropped him on his head,” Dad publicized. “I think that explains why even with a girlfriend, he offered to take the cheerleader who got the most signatures on a date. The winner is ... Destiny Crown!”

I suddenly worried Brook might break some of my fingers, she gripped my hand so hard.

“Did we get enough signatures?” Tim asked.

Dad looked embarrassed that he hadn’t led with that.

“Yes. We have 687. More than enough.”

Destiny must have had a death wish because she came bounding up to set our date. It was my turn to squeeze Brook’s hand. I wanted to make sure I had a good hold in case Brook decided she was willing to take a suspension for fighting. I had a bad feeling I would somehow end up in the middle of the whole mess and get suspended with her.

I noticed that no one had left to get ready for practice. I think the others knew these two girls were frenemies. I gave everyone a look, and Tim and Wolf ushered them out. I glared at Dare who had pulled out his phone to video all the action.

“Congratulations, and thank you for all the work you put into gathering the signatures. Why don’t you think about what you want to do and we can talk about it later,” I said, and then cut off Destiny before she could say anything. “Let’s not ruin our date with any comments now.”

She caught herself before she pissed me off by saying something to wind up my girlfriend. Destiny wasn’t stupid. She stood a little straighter to indicate she intended to take the high road and then nodded.

“We’ll talk ... when you’re alone,” Destiny offered.

I decided not to tempt fate and pulled Brook with me as I hobbled to go get ready for my daily walk.

“That went well,” I commented.

Brook said something I’m not allowed to repeat.

Doc Grog was waiting for me when I came into the locker room.

“How’re you feeling?”

“It still hurts, but I can tell I’m getting better,” I qualified.

“Okay, let’s check you out.”

He poked and prodded me until I was almost in tears. I might have fibbed a little bit about how much better it felt. He gave me a wan smile.

“I’m sorry, but it’ll take more time to heal. I wish there were something I could do to speed it up. I’m afraid all I can do is help you with the pain, but right now that would be a mistake. That pain is warning you that you need to take it easy. I think we need to stop your walking and stretching until next week. I’m afraid that it’s slowing down your recovery.”

“I need to play the following week,” I reminded him.

“You don’t need to do anything. You want to play, I understand that. I’m afraid you might need a full six weeks before you can get back onto the football field if you don’t want to risk permanent damage.”

“You’re killing me, Doc.”

“I’ll make you a deal. If you follow my treatment plan, I promise to get you on the field as soon as I think you can safely do so. You might still be in pain, but I can help you with that if we have to. The main thing we need is to get your ribs healed. Right now, if you were hit just right, they could rebreak and do serious damage. The ribcage protects body parts that you actually need to live,” he said with a pointed and penetrating look.

He held that look, and I knew it was in my best interest to cave—for now.

“Okay, okay ... I get it.”

“I’ll see you again Monday,” he said and left me to contemplate my injuries.

If he was serious about six weeks, then we were so dead. We would have to survive the first two games in the state playoffs without any contribution from me. If we got a bad draw, we could easily be done.

The promise of Doc helping with the pain made me decide that I would follow his plan and take it easy until he saw me again on Monday.

If I wasn’t able to contribute on the field, I would have to find other ways to support my teammates. While they practiced, I spent time in the film room and broke down Riverside, this week’s opponent. Coach Hope had been smart and had trained Coaches Stevens and Stork on how to load film into our software. It had lessened the impact when Alan had left.

Riverside had been an easy win the last two years. I remembered thinking last year that it felt like we were in a game with our JV team. I was sure our team was confident that we would win easily. That, in and of itself, had me worried, because Riverside was well aware of how we beat them. This year they would be gunning for us because they could go after Trent, my replacement.

I watched the film we had on Riverside’s individual plays on both offense and defense and made notes as to the keys I could identify that would help us know what they planned to do. One big tell for their offense was that their offensive linemen had different stances for the pass and run plays. For runs, they would square up their feet in anticipation of firing off the ball. When it was time to pass, they appeared to be back on their heels and dropped their outside foot to help them move back into pass protection faster. I was sure that Tim could use that information to help get our defense in the position to defend.

I simply shook my head at Riverside’s offensive playbook. They’d run four running plays and two passing plays all year. I was sure our freshmen had three times that number of plays they could call. The only reason I could think of as to why Riverside had limited themselves to such a small palette of plays was their coach must have felt that if they ran them with precision, they could gain yardage.

I decided that I wasn’t going to learn anything more watching individual plays and decided to go old-school and watch the games from beginning to end at high speed. After watching the third game, I found something interesting.

By now practice was over, and I spotted Dare and told him to go get the coaches.

“What did Doc Grog say?” Coach Hope asked when he came into the conference room.

“He was all doom and gloom and wants me to get well before I play. I’ll see him again Monday, and I’m hoping he has better news.”

“When can you play?” Coach Mason asked.

“He hinted it might be the full six weeks.”

The coaches all looked at each other, worried.

“I’ll be back sooner, I promise.”

That didn’t seem to help, so I changed the subject.