Junior Year Box Set

“I would expect that the investigation portion of this case should wrap up either tomorrow or Thursday. We should know by Friday if the state’s attorney decides to move further on this. I would suggest we try to have an initial meeting with Pam and her family Friday after we find out where we stand on the criminal side,” Ms. Dixon said.

“On the PR side, we had the press conference, and from our research the room was split,” Frank said. “The local press is in your corner. They’ve gotten to know you and your family and believe your story. The national and regional media see blood in the water and are looking for something to jump out at them that they can tear into and run with.

“I fed them two things: the first is that David’s a good guy and not interested in a DNA test. The second part is how unfair the other side is being. We’re trying to show them that Mr. Fox is an opportunist and just out for recognition and a quick buck. Cal Bell is abusing his position as a lawyer and father to force his daughter into making unsubstantiated claims. He and Mr. Fox will try anything to tarnish David in their attempt at a scorched-earth attack.

“I made a point to direct the press to social media and have them see how unhappy the citizens are that their star football player won’t be able to play because of the restraining order Cal and Mr. Fox dreamed up,” Frank said.

“I hope you’re being careful not to get Pam caught in the crossfire. She is the mother of my child, after all,” I said.

“David, she’s already involved,” Mom reminded me.

“I understand,” I admitted. “It’s just hard for me to believe that Pam would do something like this. As far as Cal and Mr. Fox go, I’m about ready to get some payback. I have to keep telling myself that someday Pam and Cal will be in my life because of the baby, whether I want them to be or not.”

We bounced ideas around for another two hours, and when we started to repeat ourselves, we called it a night. What came out of it was we needed to wait and see.

We watched the early news, and my story was the lead. Detective Kitchens continued to be noncommittal. State’s Attorney Mason had made a brief statement that only confirmed there was an ongoing investigation. Then Mr. Fox made his first appearance. It was apparent the local press was out for blood, asking who it was who decided to put the restraining order on me. He hemmed and hawed about the safety of his client. I smiled when they exploded with indignation and wanted to know if he was single-handedly planning to cause us not to win another state championship.

Ms. Dixon and Frank Ingram were both puzzled by the focus on football. I just smiled and welcomed them to a small town, and described how we only had so much to do, and football was king. I predicted that Mr. Fox would be nervous come Friday.

◊◊◊

When I got home, I found my day wasn’t over. Mom had been by the school and talked to all my teachers. She had a stack of homework and reading assignments. Someone had opened my locker for her so she could get all my books. Mom had given them all my email address so they could send me updated requests. I hoped this wouldn’t go on long enough for that to be a problem.

My next task was to wade through all my phone, text, and email messages. I made a point to call Tim, Jim, and Tracy to give them updates. I also called Zoe, Halle, and Brook to let them know I missed them like crazy. Halle told me that her mom wanted to talk to me and invited me over for dinner on Thursday night.

My last call of the night was to Flee. He had left me a message that told me he had some big news.

“I got an offer!” Flee said, and I could almost see him doing a little ‘Snoopy Dance’ of joy.

“That’s great, who’s the lucky school?”

“Northwestern! Coach Patrick came to dinner and made the offer. He told me you said they should take me over Ben,” Flee said.

Ben Luck was a good quarterback, but I thought Flee had a higher ceiling and had told that to Coach Patrick. At the time, I didn’t think he believed me, but I had gone to camps with both of them and knew if someone gave Flee a chance, he’d work his butt off to prove he belonged. You weren’t invited to Elite 11 if you weren’t among the best, and even though Flee didn’t get one of the coveted slots, he had beaten out several hundred quarterbacks to get there.

This was the perfect way to end my day.

◊◊◊

Chapter 29 – The Trick is to Keep Breathing Wednesday October 28

I woke to my cell phone ringing. I looked at the clock, and it said 6:15 a.m.

“Hello,” I croaked.

“David, it’s Bo,” said Bo Harrington, my former quarterback coach and now assistant coach for Alabama.

“You know, calling this early won’t get me to commit to Alabama.”