Junior Year Box Set

My first thought was she needed to be turned over my knee, and then I needed to take a firm hand with her. It was like when Duke learned something bad, and I had to break him of it. I felt I needed to do the same with Jan. Someone had to set limits for her, someone she’d listen to. I wondered if I needed to talk to her parents. After all, I’d already tattled on one brat in the last twenty-four hours. The problem was I didn’t know her parents. Come to think of it, that in itself was kind of weird. I think I’d met almost everyone’s parents on the football team and cheerleading squad. I hadn’t remembered ever seeing her parents at any of the trips to Monical’s, football games, or other places.

Before I committed to anything, I needed advice. I’d call Uncle John. I was sure he’d dealt with crazy girls in his past. My phone rang, and it was Coach Hope asking where I was because they were almost ready to leave. I paid our check, and we hurried to the bus.

◊◊◊

I was the last one on the bus. Wolf had saved me a seat, but I needed to deal with my half brother. He was seated with another freshman, so I pointed at Phil’s seatmate.

“Go sit with Wolf.”

“You don’t have to listen to him. Leave me alone, David,” Phil said.

Phil’s friend didn’t move, so I reached over and pulled him out of the seat.

“Dawson!” Moose boomed.

“I got this, Coach,” I said.

Phil’s friend decided he would rather sit with Wolf than deal with me. I sat down next to Phil and saw the pure hatred on his face. It brought a grin to my face because I had a feeling that when my son grew up, I would see that very same expression at some point. I was sure he was mad because I’d told on him. What he didn’t realize was he was lucky I had.

“How’s your mom?” I goaded him.

His face turned bright red and he began to shake. I was about ready to defend myself when the tears started to stream down his face. Instinctively I reached for him and pulled him to my chest like I had done with Jan earlier. Someone peeked over the seat, and I gave them a look that promised death if they made a comment. Phil suddenly became aware of where he was and pushed me away. I just let him gather himself.

Everyone around us was nervous as to what would happen next. The team captain didn’t sit with the freshmen. They were all aware that Phil and I were related and we had roomed together. I started to think it had been a bad idea to confront him on the bus with all his friends within hearing distance.

“We’ll talk when we get home,” I said, then got up and went to sit with Wolf.

The freshman who had been sitting with my half brother saw me and almost fell out of his seat to go back and join Phil.

“What was that all about?” Wolf asked.

“Family drama,” I said.

Wolf just grunted. Thank God he wasn’t a girl, or I would have had to explain all the details.

A few minutes later, Coach Mason called me to the front of the bus so he could break down the game with me while Coaches Diamond and Hope listened in. Alan must have been busy last night to get all the plays loaded into our software. If I’d had an inflated opinion of myself after the game, Coach Mason pointed out all my flaws and brought me back down to being a mere mortal. He did it with practiced ease that had me focused on what mattered, not my ego. For as long as I played the game, there would always be more things for me to work on. Actually, the better I got, the more I realized I didn’t know.

One of the smartest things I’d ever done was realize that I needed coaching. Over the last year, I’d been exposed to a lot of excellent quarterbacks. While I could be as cocky as any of them, I was smart enough not to believe all the hype. I think something that sets me apart was I was confident enough in myself to realize I didn’t know everything. Most adults would laugh at that because it usually took life experience to make that connection. I’d seen other quarterbacks with all the swagger and self-confidence believe that they knew everything. My uncle had cured me of that misconception. If it weren’t for first, Bo Harrington and now, Coach Mason, I wouldn’t be nearly as good.

Therefore, when my coach wanted to work with me, I made time for him instead of goofing around with my teammates. I knew that it would pay off on game day.

◊◊◊

When we arrived back at the high school, I grabbed my gear and found Phil.

“Tell your mom that you’re going home with me.”

“Why?” he asked.

“We need to clear the air and come to an understanding we can both live with.”

Phil didn’t seem like he wanted to, but he left to tell his mom and came back. While he did that, I saw Jan look at me as Halle came up to me.

“Mom wants you to come over for dinner tonight.”

“Why, that brazen hussy. Sending her own daughter to ask me out,” I teased Halle.

“You’re such a ‘stupid boy’ sometimes. If you’re not careful, I’ll tell my mom that you have a crush on her,” Halle threatened.

“I hate to break it to you, but your mom knows that every boy has a crush on her.”

“So, are you coming to dinner or not?” she asked.