Chapter 1

It was the start of the high school football season at Central High School and Coach Johnson was looking over his initial roster of players.

He recognized a few of the names from the previous years – some of his best players were on it. Of course, he had lost some good ones as they graduated this spring and were now playing college ball or had moved on.

But he was still pretty pleased with what he had to work with this year. There were positions to fill, just like every year, but he had a good list of potential players that he could pick from. It looked like a promising year for the team.

Debra Lopez sat on the living room sofa waiting for her son Craig to come home from school. Craig was a sophomore this year and finally eligible to play football.

Debra and Craig had recently moved to Charlotte from Austin after the divorce to get a new start. And while Craig had looked forward to playing football with the kids he had grown up with, he also wanted to get past the bad memories and start a new life in a new place.

But life in Charlotte, North Carolina is far different from what he knew in Austin and he was finding it difficult to fit in at school.

Kids laughed at the way he dressed and the way he talked. They gave him names like shitkicker, Marlboro Man, and buckaroo. Craig had been popular at his former school and the sudden alienation he faced now had him extremely depressed and hating school.

Debra was concerned for her son. The divorce had not been a pleasant one. Tom, Debra’s now ex-husband, had been cheating on her with his flirtatious (and half his age) secretary and this hadn’t been the first time he had been caught with his hand in the wrong cookie jar!

He had promised twice before that each time would be the last, but he could never keep that promise. Finally, after affair number three, she’d had enough and filed for divorce.

That was two years ago. Debra tried to stay in the area because her father was close by for support. She did move out of the house they had bought together, though, and to a different part of town.

However, just months after, Debra’s father passed away, leaving her without the support she had depended on. Now Debra, a divorced thirty-six-year-old woman, and the sixteen-year-old Craig were having to start their lives over again in a strange place neither had ever been before. Debra was originally from Denver and Austin was all Craig ever knew. So Charlotte was alien to them both.

Debra landed a good job as a loan officer for a local bank and that, coupled with a good settlement thanks to a sharp lawyer, had set them up with few financial worries. Which was good – there were enough things to worry about without money being one of them!

“Hi honey, how was school today?”

“Awful, Mom. I got teased and picked on all day it seemed. I hate school and I hate Charlotte. Can’t we just go home? We could live in a different part of Texas even – how about San Antonio or Houston? Hell, I’d even settle for Dallas, although that place is huge! But at least in Texas, I won’t be laughed at for being a shitkicker!”

“I’m sorry, son. I know things have been rough for us lately. But things will get better, I just know they will. Remember, nothing good or bad lasts forever.”

“Maybe, but why does the bad stuff seem to last longer than the good stuff?”

“I don’t know, son ... I don’t know.”

To help smooth the day over for her son, Debra decided to order a couple of pizzas for dinner. Pizza was Craig’s all-time favorite food and she knew just how he liked it. When they came, mother and son sat down to dinner together.

“Here you go Craig, your favorite ... two large thick crust supreme pizzas with extra sausage!” Debra said smiling.

“Thanks, Mom, this almost makes up for the horrible day I had.”

“Almost?”

“Yeah. It’s just that I know tomorrow will be just as bad. And the day after that, too.”

Neither said anything more during dinner. After they had eaten and were sitting together watching TV, Debra was clicking through the channels looking for their favorite TV program. She came across a football game on one of the sports channels.

“Oh, that reminds me, one of the guys at my office was saying that football tryouts are coming up next week. Why don’t you try out? You used to play back in Austin and maybe that will help you fit in better. From the sounds of it, football is pretty big here.”

“I dunno, Mom ... it would probably be just another chance for the kids to laugh and make fun of me.”

“Oh, Craig, you were pretty good back in Austin, you were one of the top players in your school weren’t you? You got MVP one year!”

“Yeah, but I had a lot of help from my teammates, guys I could count on to back me up. Here...”

“Well, think about it. I think it would be good for you to get back into it. You won’t make many friends sitting at home watching TV with your old Mom!”

“I will, Mom. And you’re not old!”

“Thanks, sweetie.”

The next day at work Debra was thinking about Craig’s situation. She wanted to do something to help him but wasn’t sure what that could be. Then an idea hit her – maybe if the football coach made the first move Craig might be more willing to try out for the team. She figured if the coach asked him to play, Craig would give it a shot and if he did, he might get the bug to play again.

“Hello, Can you give me the extension for the football coach’s office, please?” Debra said, calling the main school office.

“I will connect you. Please hold on.”

The phone rang a couple of times before a male voice answered this time. “Hello, this is Coach Johnson.”

“Mr. Johnson, this is Debra Lopez, Craig Lopez’s mother. I would like to talk to you about my Craig joining your football team. You see, we just recently moved to Charlotte from Austin where he played football there. He’s really good too – he won MVP and his team won State last year.”

“I see. Well, we do have several positions left to fill. Tell you what, have him stop by my office and I will talk to him and see what we can do.”

“Actually, that’s kind of why I am calling. You see, we have had a tough go of it lately. His father and I have gotten divorced and it’s just been him and me for the last couple of years.

Then this past New Year’s my father – his grandfather – passed away. He was very close to his grandfather, the only real man he had to help him with his problems. After he passed away, we decided there were too many bad memories in Austin anymore so we moved here.

“He’s had trouble fitting in and that’s why I am hoping football will be his way into the crowd. But he is hesitant about asking, figuring it’s just another way for the kids to tease and harass him.

“I was kind of hoping that you would approach him and ask him to try out ... you know, like you heard he was good and you need him on your team sort of thing?”

“So you want me to play talent scout ... seek him out and ask him to play ball for us?”

“Yes, that’s right. I thought if you asked him, he would feel less like he was begging for a chance. You know how you feel when you apply for a job and are going to the interview to ask for a chance to show what you can do.

“He’s had enough disappointment and discouragement in the last few years to last a lifetime. It would sure build him up if the coach sought him out to play for the team.”

“I understand. All right, here’s what I can do. How about if I stopped by sometime after school and talked to him and you about his playing football with us.

“Let me call his past school, I can get his records from the office, and talk to the coach there so I have some background on him. Then I will come over and meet him and talk about the possibility of his playing for Central.”

“That would be wonderful Mr. Johnson. When do you think you could come by? I mean, I know there’s a point at which your roster has to be filled, plus I work and would want to be home when you came by.”

“Well let’s see, today is Tuesday, so give me a couple of days to reach the coach at his old school ... how about Friday – unless you have plans for that night?”

“Friday is fine. I get off work at 5:30 on Fridays so would 7:00 be all right with you?”

“Friday it is then. I will see you at 7:00.”

“I really appreciate this Mr. Johnson. And I’m sure Craig will be a good addition to your team.”

“Well, I will call and talk to his old coach and see what he has to say.”

Debra hung up, feeling very good about the conversation and the prospects for her son joining the team. Craig had been one of Coach Walker’s star players and he was sad to see him leave.

Coach Walker had helped him when they were going through the divorce. She was sure he would give Coach Johnson a good report and help him get on the team.

Debra didn’t mention anything to Craig for the next couple of days – she didn’t want him to get wind of what she was doing and make up some excuse not to be home when Coach Johnson came over.

Finally, Friday rolled around and Debra rushed home after work a fast as she could safely drive. From her office downtown, it took about twenty minutes to get home if there was no traffic. However, this was Friday afternoon and rush hour to boot, so it would take her longer to make the trip.

Who in the hell came up with the name “rush hour” for THIS? she thought as she tried to maneuver through the congested streets.

The slow pace was excruciating, but she kept her mind on what she was going home for. Tonight was the night when she hoped to get Craig into football again and with a little luck, that would be the key to helping him find a home at Central High School.

After an exasperating drive, she made it home at last, pulling into her driveway and parking in the garage. She raced into the house calling to see if Craig was home.

“Craig! Honey, I’m home! Are you here?”

But she got no answer. She went into the kitchen and that when she saw the note taped to the refrigerator door:

Mom,

I got a date with Julie tonight. We are going to the movies and then out to dinner. It was a last-minute thing, she called me only about twenty minutes ago. I don’t know when I’ll be home but it might be late. Hope you had a good day at work, and I’ll talk to you later or tomorrow if I get in and you’re already in bed.