Chapter 1

Carmella Ramirez was born the daughter of Emily and Elian Ramirez. She had grown up as a tomboy, and had loved sports since she was a child.

Her father a coach at the college level, and avid football fan had taught her the ins and outs of the game. Pete Koshchek, her neighbor and long time friend, was already a center for their high school which Carmella would be a freshman at this year.

Getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a Pittsburg Steelers jersey with sneakers, she grabbed her backpack and a piece of toast. Pete had been busy with a summer job, so she hadn't seen a lot of him.

She had developed well physically over the summer, but she wasn't comfortable with the changes. Standing about 6'4, she was already set apart. The fact she had full breasts, did not help matters in her opinion. Wearing a sports bra underneath, helped to deal with that. She had learned to throw a football despite these new changes, so it wasn't that bad adjusting to them. Her mom, a much smaller woman, dropped her off at school with a warm smile. Emily Ramirez, a petite and lovely woman, had red hair and stood about 5'8 and had white skin. She had a deep blue eyes and a heart warming smile that seemed so infectious when you saw it. Carmella being of mixed origin had a color closer to that of her father's which was a light brown tan. Her father stood about 6'1, and had a large sturdy build to him. When they stood side by side one could see that Carmella also had her father's black hair and deep brown eyes.

Kissing her mom goodbye, she headed onto campus. Pete met her near the gate waving at her. Pete was taller than her and had a broader build. He was a white boy with stone gray eyes and brown hair.

Smiling he said, "Hi Carm what are you doing during lunch?"

Carmella shrugged saying, "I was just planning to eat at the lunch tables."

"You should come hang out with me. I could use the company. My girlfriend is acting all snippy and everything. I think we could both use a break from each other." Pete said.

"Please tell me you didn't ask her if it was that time of month again." Carmella replied give him an exasperated look.

"Give me a break, granted I can be thickheaded, but I don't make the same mistake twice." Pete answered.

"Well at least you learned something from the last time. I suppose it would be nice to know someone here my first day." Carmella said.

Flashing a smile Pete asked, "What's your last class before lunch?"

Looking at her class schedule Carmella said, "Mrs. Emitt for English."

Nodding Pete said, "I know where that is. I had her my first year. I'll meet you there."

They waved their goodbyes, and headed off to their classes before the bell rang. Pete met her as planned, and they headed to the practice field sitting down to eat. They were catching up with what had happened to each other over the summer, when a ball went past Carmella's head, just missing her. One of the guys had overthrown it when he had been talking to a friend, and had not been paying attention. Before Pete could stop her, Carmella furious and determined, picked the ball aimed and fired at the boy. The the boy never knew what hit him, as the ball smashed him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Pete winced at the impact.

"Damn Carm did you have to throw it so hard?" Pete asked, and then suddenly wished he hadn't said that.

Turning to him her eyes reflected her anger, and immediately Pete said, "Just kidding, my bad!"

He had seen her temper before, and wasn't looking forward to a black eye or bloody nose. They had been wrestling once when they were little, and he had pulled her hair without thinking about it, and had paid the price.

He had no illusions that Carmella might have lost her ability to throw a vicious right cross that had leveled him that day. They had made their apologizes afterwards, and he had made a note never to direct her temper at him again. That day on the practice field wasn't the time to change this habit since he was innocent of any wrongdoing, and he didn't want to share in the other boy's fate. Dave, a fellow student and player on his team, would just have to learn the lesson as he had. Seeing the other guy pick himself up and shake of the cobwebs he didn't envy him.

"As good as you throw you could almost be a quarterback." Pete said jokingly.

"And what if I wanted to be?" Carmella said defiantly.

"Come on Carm girls can't play football. You know that." Pete replied.

"Oh, really?" Carmella said storming off.

Without realizing it Pete had unknowingly lit the match; Carmella had been thinking about joining the team over the summer, and Pete's sexist comment had clinched it. For the rest of the year she practiced and hit the weights, waiting for her chance to prove to any of them, that she had what it took to play the game. Deciding not to practice for basketball that year, she focused most of her free time to prepare for next season football season.

When the time came, she tried out for the team with her mother's permission. Both of them knew her dad would be against it, but once she joined the team, both felt he might think differently. Emily believed in her daughter, and saw no reason for her not to pursue her dream.

Dressed in some P. E. gear, Carmella showed up for practice the first day, and proved that she could keep up with her team mates and then some. When it came to passing drills she hit dead on. Everyone thought she would quit when she actually got hit while in pads, but Carmella just got up and brushed herself off ready for more. During the final day of practice, some of the guys came up with a plan to get rid of her once and for all.

Setting up for a pass, Carmella hiked the ball as usual, backpedaling as she set up for a pass. Looking downfield for an open receiver, she did not see one of the offensive linemen step aside, letting a pass rusher in. The defensive end came in like a blur, blindsiding Carmella hard and taking her to the ground. She managed to hold onto the ball she went down for a sack, not losing the ball. When she got up this time she didn't brush herself off, she recognized the defensive end, and saw the smile between him and the o-lineman. In that moment Carmella knew exactly what had happened.

"So it's the old Olay trick huh? Well we'll just see about that!" Carmella said under her breath.

Hiking the ball again she backpedaled as before, when she saw the defensive end come free again towards her, she tucked the ball underneath her arm, and charged at him at full speed. For a moment he hesitated in shock, and that was all she needed. Aiming her facemask for his numbers she smashed into him. Caught flat footed, he had no forward momentum, and lost the battle, crashing backwards.

Leaping over his body like a hurdler, Carmella continued on rushing past the d-linemen, and juking the safety out of his shoes for a touchdown.

Jogging back she slapped the ball into the o-lineman's chest saying, "Next time you do something like that, I'll ask the coach to replace you for a second stringer who actually wants to play, get me?"

Nodding the player's eyes were downcast; he had been caught red handed. After that she earned the respect of her detractors, and they came together as a team. Like it or not, Carmella, a girl was now their starting quarterback for the J.V. team. Everyone who saw her play knew she should have made varsity, but politics dictated that it was all she should get right now.

When Ed heard about it, he was furious. Taking Carmella to the coach's office, he had her wait outside while he talked to the head coach.

"How did my daughter get on the team? I never signed a form!" Ed demanded.