Chapter 10

Bill Skinner was feeling confidant. After four years of struggle he finally had a football team worthy of going to state, or possibly even further. He smiled to himself and relaxed, leaning back on the end of a table, not noticing the louder than usual babble of the students as they filed in. An observer would have noticed the separation of the students as they entered the bleachers of the sports hall, the members of the other school teams and their friends filled the banked seating from the bottom first and the rest of the student body filled the rearmost seats first leaving as much room as possible between the two groups. Sarah and company entered the hall as late as possible having spent the time talking to groups of people and disseminating the plan. Nearly everyone told about their idea agreed to give it a go and many were snickering as they entered.

Skinner took to the stage and approached the microphone stand. After getting everyone's attention he announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen ... Your Levant High School Band!"

The wind, brass and percussion sections of the School Band entered from the left playing an upbeat march and took up station to the right side of the hall. Cheers and whoops from the entire school, the loudest greeted them from the back of the hall where the friends of the Band members were seated.

Skinner raised his voice over the music, "Give these people a big cheer, the coaching staff of your Levant High Badgers!!"

The band kicked the tempo up and the crowd cheered the entry of the dozen students and faculty members who volunteered each year to be the coaching staff. Assistant coach and Shop department head Mr Hector relived Skinner on the mic. "Guys and Girls," he shouted, whipping the crowd up, "the brains behind our brawn ... the Badgers head coach ... Mr Randy Garman!!"

The Band picked up the tempo again, playing louder, the front rows of the crowd stood and went crazy, and finally Coach Garman entered the hall from the right. This was where the plan came into action.

They'd picked their targets carefully, only the offenders and those who supported them were to be targeted.

As a body the bulk of the student body sat down after their cheers for the junior staff. They sat in silence for a moment and then it started.

Polite gentle applause, the type you'd expect after a classical music recital. No shouts, no booing, just quiet applause. Taken unawares by the silent pause the coach paused on his walk, glanced at the crowd and then at Skinner who was looking at the back of the hall. He continued his walk as the jocks at the front redoubled their efforts, sounding like the minority they were. The applause finished suddenly as he reached the stage and held his hands up to silence the crowd. The band stopped suddenly but the jocks at the front were trying so hard to make up for the rest they didn't notice him and he had to call for them to quiet down before he could speak.

"This year ... this year ... this year will be our year," he shouted as he'd rehearsed in his mind expecting another round of cheers and whooping to take over. The jocks at the front were distracted, looking to the back of the hall to find out what was happening back there, they missed the cue and silence fell over the hall.

"Ahem..." the coach retrieved their attention and continued. "We've been building a winning team for a couple of years now and now we're ready ... ready to win the league." Again he paused waiting for cheers. The jocks were slow to start and sounded forlorn in the large hall as only fifty of them made half-hearted cheers whilst the rest were still looking over their shoulders at the silent majority. "Ready to win the playoffs..." Again only the jocks cheered, louder this time as they tried to make a hundred voices sound like four hundred. "Ready to go all the way to state!!!" He ploughed on regardless, not wanting the embarrassment to go on any further, "HERE THEY ARE ... YOUR LEVANT BADGERS!!!"

As rehearsed the Band played and the team entered wearing uniform shirts minus pads, jumping up and down, cheering the crowd and themselves. Again the bulk of the students applauded quietly and stayed seated, the applause died quickly, and, as if they'd picked up on it, the band quickly stopped playing. The cheering at the front died also died quickly as the jocks were again confused by the lack of noise. Several members of the team quickly realised something was wrong and stopped jumping and shouting, this spread quickly as the rest tagged on to the situation. Soon the only one left jumping was Andy Clark. Someone tapped him on the arm and he opened his eyes to see the rest of the hall was silently watching him.

Coach Garman came on the mic, "Everybody ... Your Badgers Captain, and your Badgers starting quarterback ... ANDY CLARKE!!!" Again the jocks tried to make up for the very quiet applause he received.

"Everybody ... Everybody please," he started, as if he'd rehearsed having to quieten a raucous crowd, the fact that almost all the cheering had finished immediately didn't seem to matter. He carried on as he'd practised, giving the speech he'd prepared. He introduced the offensive line, receivers and backs then the defensive line, backs and lastly the special team players. Each received a short polite round of applause from the majority of students, even those who hadn't heard about the plot earlier. The front of the crowd tried their best but by the time the kicker was introduced even the fittest of the cheerers were pausing for breath.

Andy finished his speech with a final boast, "THIS YEAR!!! THIS IS OUR YEAR!!! WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY!!! WWWOOOOHHHA!!! GO BADGERS!!!" He finished arms aloft, hands balled into fists screaming in to the microphone. The sports clique tried their best and rallied for one last round of cheers but they were knackered, out of breath and hoarse from their efforts and silence fell once more. Andy gave up and turning from the mic he was still audible, "what the fuc..." he petered out as he turned back on the crowd. A few announcements of game dates beginning that weekend and future rallies were announced to the subdued crowd and then they were released for the night.

As the students emptied into the halls and out to the waiting busses they were, if anything, louder and more animated than they'd been in the hall. Sarah, Mitch and Jason quietly slipped away and hugged each other. "I hope we haven't just opened Pandora's box," Jase opined.

"Well, if we have, I'm gonna let you two take the rap and keep quiet," Mitch replied smugly.

"What??" Jason blurted

"Mitch!!" Sarah gasped at the same time.

"Gottcah!!" Mitch Laughed, pointing at the shocked faces of the other two. "I wouldn't let that happen, things are getting too interesting," she beamed as the trio headed for the busses.

The ride home was quiet as the jocks were distracted discussing the events earlier in the hall. Jase and Sarah got off at Larson and started walking. "Hey!" Sarah realised, "You're walking the wrong way, your place is that way," she said pointing.

"I know that," Jason replied. "Can't a guy walk his girl home?"

"Sure," she responded. "But only if he's willing to follow her all the way up to her room and kiss her till she screams."

"Oh, he is. He really, really is," Jason smirked, picking up the pace.

On their arrival, Jenny told Sarah that she had a delivery. Her sea freight cases with the remainder of her belongings were stacked in the garage. With much grunting and heaving the two teens heaved the boxes up to Sarah's room and Sarah released the lid on the first. "Nope!" she stated and moved to the next case. "Ah!" she smiled lifting the lid, " This is more like it, here, give us a hand."