Chapter 51

As soon as Tami and I got to school, three basketball players grabbed me and started carrying me around the halls. Mike, Luke, and Robbie were getting similar treatment. And it didn't stop when the bell rang. Not that the teachers tried.

We'd had an assembly scheduled for second period, but with most of the student body roaming the halls chanting, clapping and stomping, Mr. Reed moved it up. I was carried triumphantly into the gym.

Mr. Reed caught my eye and tilted his head to the lectern that had already been setup in front of the bleachers. I nodded with a grin. The basketball guys set me down. I decided that I could get used to treatment like this. Maybe I could get the wood shop to build me one of those chairs that Roman lords used to ride around in. Of course, I'd use basketball players instead of slaves for propulsion. I walked over to the lectern while teachers tried to get everybody else settled into the bleachers.

I switched on the microphone. "I think somebody forgot to tell you." I paused as the last few stragglers found seats. "We lost." There was a stunned silence for a second, then somebody laughed. Then everybody laughed. "Again," I added.

I looked around the bleachers when they finally quieted. "Varsity, get your butts down here!" The team started working their way out of the bleachers and forming a line behind me. I glanced at the side of the gym. Mr. Butz was standing next to Mr. Reed, and from the look on his face, didn't appreciate my choice of words. It's not like I said, 'Get your butz down here.'

I smiled. "J.V., what are you waiting for?" I spotted some junior varsity players. They looked confused but gradually got the idea and came down and joined the varsity. "Freshmen, what, you need an invitation?" Looking surprised, members of the freshmen team moved quicker than the J.V.

"And cheerleaders. We need cheerleaders." The varsity cheerleaders started down out of the bleachers. Knowing how my mind works, Paula signaled the J.V. and freshmen squads to come down, too. By the time everyone was standing behind me, it was a pretty good sized mob.

"These are all the people to blame for us losing," I shouted, not being able to hide my grin.

Somebody in the stands booed, and a couple more joined in. I held up my hands, and they quieted. "Actually, I'm pretty proud of our loss. For the second year in a row, we're the second best team in the state." Scattered applause. "To some of you, that may not mean much, but it means a lot to me.

"Last year, Pasco beat us. Barely. This year, they didn't even make the playoffs."

"Go Rebels!" someone yelled.

"This year, the Tigers beat us..."

"Barely!" half a dozen voices yelled from the bleachers.

"But last year, they got put down in the first round of playoffs. But the Rebels made it all the way to the championship two years, and we're going to do it again next year!"

"Rebels!" a lone voice called out, then the whole bleacher was chanting, "Re-bels, Re-bels, Re-bels!" As they stomped and clapped, I wondered if the bleachers could take it.

"There are a lot of people down here with me," I said when it finally quieted. "That's because it takes a lot of people to go all the way to the championships three years in a row."

I looked back. "Freshmen, take a couple of steps forward." When they had, I continued. "This is your freshmen football team. They were seven and one this year, one of the best records the freshmen have ever had. Because they were so good, the J.V. played harder, 'cause nobody wanted to lose their spot to some snot-nosed freshman." I grinned at the group and waved them toward the bleachers.

One ran over to the microphone. "And we're not going to the championships three years in a row, we're going five!" Tanner Boyd the freshmen captain yelled, then sucker punched me softly and joined his team back in the bleachers.

"J.V.," I said over my shoulder, and they moved forward in a mass. "This is your Junior varsity squad. Six and two for the year, a pretty good record. There's a lot of talent in this group. They played hard, and they made us on the varsity play harder to keep our spots."

The J.V. players formed a circle and started chanting, "J.V., J.V., J.V.," about a dozen times, finishing with a loud "Rebels!" and jogging back to the bleachers. I grinned at their backs.

"You may think this is all political correctness, but in sports, knowing there's someone good behind you makes you push that extra little bit. Luke Hastings, who the smart money says will be all-state, worked a little bit harder knowing that Jack Hild on the second string and Brian Donaldson on the J.V. wanted his spot." Okay, truthfully, Luke probably didn't even know who they were, but he should. "Mike Reed pushed a little harder knowing that Monster Girl and I both wanted his, but we had to work that much harder 'cause Jason Greene from the J.V. wants to show us all up. The freshmen and the J.V. are as much a part of our season as we are."