Junior Year Box Set

They showed us lined up on our own 3 yard line and our fake play. I watched myself take off running when King figured out I still had the ball.

I cringed when I saw myself run around in my end zone while carrying the ball with only one hand. Coach Mason would rip me a new one when he saw that. He’d shown me video of what happened when you didn’t take care of the ball. Then he showed me video of how it should be done. NFL quarterback Carson Palmer always had two hands on the ball. Defenses knew that turnovers won games. Our goal on offense was to end every possession with a kick, be it an extra point, field goal, or punt. You didn’t want to turn the ball over in your own end zone, and there I was running around with only one hand on the ball. I winced when I realized how easy it would have been to punch the ball free from my grip.

I smiled when Roc picked his skinny butt up off the turf and took off down the field. At least I did do a few things right. I watched myself square my shoulders and get my feet pointed towards where I needed to throw the ball. Little things like that set me apart from other quarterbacks. I uncorked a humdinger of a pass. It wasn’t one of those that hung in the air forever and gave the defense a chance to bat it down; it covered over fifty yards in a hurry. I was impressed with Roc as he fought off the safety, stuck his big hand up, and caught the ball one-handed, even as the defensive pass-interference flag flew. The impressive part was it was his left hand.

‘The receiver, Rockefeller Pearson, is only a freshman. Lincoln High’s Dawson and Pearson hooked up for four scores and won a tight game going away, once they got rolling.’

Roc hated it when someone called him Rockefeller. I turned off the TV, checked out, and put my bags under the bus. I had some time before we left, so I planned to go to the little diner I’d visited the day before for breakfast.

“Hang on,” a female voice called behind me.

I turned around and saw Jan.

“Come on. I’ll buy you breakfast,” I said.

She caught up with me, and we walked the four blocks without saying a word. We found an empty booth that looked out over the street. The server brought us menus and took our drink orders.

“You must think I’m crazy for how I acted last night,” Jan said.

“I can tell you’re not happy. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I just wanted to tell you I was sorry for last night. I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said. We fell into an uneasy silence as we looked over the menu.

After the server took our order, I decided to break the silence. I decided that our relationship couldn’t get any worse than it already was.

“What happened to you in middle school?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I get the feeling something changed. You were the girl that all the other girls wanted to be. You were popular, funny, and smart. Then you suddenly started doing drugs, drinking, and having sex with almost everyone. I get the feeling that something significant changed.”

Jan looked out the window.

“I guess I just wanted to have fun,” she said. “If I remember correctly, you used to have fun too.”

“I guess I did,” I admitted. “My concern is you’re starting to get out of hand. I have no problem with most of what you do. What I do have a problem with is the drugs. I really have an issue with you taking them around my teammates. The last thing we need is to have to deal with that as a team.”

“I realize you don’t like it, but I don’t really want to stop,” Jan admitted.

“I’ve put up with you up to this point, but after last night, it has to stop. You’d been getting high before you came to my room last night. You threw yourself at me and then fell apart when I protected you. Maybe I need to get involved in your life before you do something you can’t undo.”

“And you’re so perfect that you think you can help me? What makes you believe that I have anything wrong with me?” Jan asked.

Then she continued with her rant.

“You sanctimonious jerk! I suppose you think you need to add to your little harem and I can be the charity case. Screw you. I’m just fine, and don’t need Mr. Perfect to tell me how to run my life,” she said and then burst into tears.

I slid out from my side of the booth, sat down next to her, and reached for her. But she pushed me away. I grabbed her and pulled her to my chest. Of course, the server decided to bring us our food at that moment. She gave me a dirty look and left. I simply held Jan as she cried it out. As I watched my breakfast get cold, I wondered what I’d gotten myself into. The last thing I needed was to deal with something like this right now. For whatever reason, Jan had come to me, so I felt some obligation to help her.