Chapter 4

I looked around the locker room, taking a second to study each player. I looked longer at Luke Hastings. I had to admit he was good. Damn good. I'd bet big bucks that Coach Branson would be up here scouting him sometime this year. But I didn't think he was that much better than Casey Williams, the kid from Seattle who was the Washington all-state halfback last year. I wasn't sure he was better at all.

I made up my mind and printed two names on the slip of paper on my knee.

ROBBIE TATE

MARK RUSSELL

I folded it and waited while the rest of the team voted.

Robbie was sitting next to me during this team meeting before our last practice of the week.

Coach Vickers waited until everyone was done writing, then picked up a helmet and walked around the locker room so everyone could drop their slips in. Then he walked to the P.E. office to start counting.

"Okay you gorillas, listen up," Parker said loudly. A lot of coaches could call their players gorillas, or apes, or ladies and build esprit-de-corps; Parker just made it sound condescending.

"I've worked you hard and it shows." Of course. Without Parker, none of us would have thought of working hard.

"Monday, school starts and we'll have a seven A.M. practice for running drills and conditioning, then an after-school practice in full pads." Two-a-days. How did he ever come up with a concept like that?

"A week from today is our first game at Richland. If you keep working hard and listening to me, to your coaches, they haven't got a prayer." I thought you couldn't pray in school anyway.

"After Coach Vickers finishes counting the votes, you can hit the field." I know I was inspired.

"I've finished," Vickers said, coming out of the office, holding a clipboard. "In a landslide, your two-thousand-and-five team captains are..." he paused for dramatic effect, "Robbie Tate and Tony Sims."

'I can't believe it, ' I thought as the locker room erupted in cheers and a dozen hands pounded me on the back. I thought they might make one captain a junior and everybody loved Robbie, but two juniors?

"That isn't right," Parker said.

"I counted them twice, Charlie."

"No, we can't have a couple of juniors as team captains. SIT DOWN!" he yelled. When the team had all found their way back to their benches he continued. "We aren't going to have a couple of juniors as your captains. So your team captains are going to be Luke Hastings and Mike Reed."

Ever heard the phrase, the room got deathly quiet? Now I knew what that meant. I stood. "So what the team wants means nothing?"

"Sit down."

"You didn't answer my question," I said, staying on my feet.