Junior Year Box Set

I watched on the tape as he acted like an earthmover while he disrupted opposing offenses. One poor guy ran the trap against him and actually bounced off. Seriously. An offensive tackle pulled and got up to full speed, planted a solid block into this kid’s side, and bounced backward. Central’s nose tackle was a big rubber ball.

Our secret weapon was Johan. Our farm boy was the strongest center this kid had ever faced. If Johan were able to block him one-on-one, we could unleash Bryan and Brock on their middle linebackers. That assignment might be more daunting because they were used to blocking defensive tackles who were lined up right in front of them. Linebackers typically position themselves three to five yards off the ball. Coach Stevens would have his work cut out for him this week, teaching them to take angles to get onto their assignments.

Coach Mason had suggested that we split out our slotbacks further to force their outside linebackers out farther. If his plan succeeded, it would allow our interior linemen a chance to go five-on-five with the three down defensive linemen and two middle linebackers. Coach Mason felt that Ty could read where there was a hole, and we could pick up yardage with the interior run game. The goal was to feed them a steady diet of Ty, and that would start to pull the safeties up and/or the outside linebackers in. Either way would open up our play-action pass game. It would all hinge on me making the right reads at the line. It would be a busy week watching film for me to be ready.

Something else we would work on was motion. If the outside linebackers were in man coverage, then we would run them across the formation and create an unbalanced defense. If not, we could flood a zone and run a little flare to Ty as a delayed-screen-like action. On the other hand, we could go to the weak side with our two-man option game.

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When I was finished at the dojo, I dropped off Brook and Cassidy. Then I drove on to Tracy’s house, where Tom answered the door. This was awkward.

“Daddy, let David in,” Tracy said as she came up behind him.

“Sorry, come on in,” Tom said as he extended his hand.

I shook it and gave him a weak smile. Word on the street—okay, Tyler told me—was that AT Modeling had terminated their contract with Tom’s firm. It wouldn’t take long for people to start to figure out that Rigby, Thompson and Associates no longer represented me. It would also not take a genius to figure out why. Of course, I’d have to be very careful not to say anything. I expect Tom recognized the warning signs. Our town was small enough that there weren’t many secrets.

My biggest concern was that Kendal might end up out of a job. I’d talked to both Ford and AT Modeling about offering her work if she were to be let go. I would be fine with her as my modeling agent. Of course, she would have to move to either Chicago or New York. I suspect she would rather live in a big city than here anyway when she was young and single.

When I walked in, I smelled something wonderful. I followed Tracy to the kitchen, where her mom was cooking.

“David, come help me finish dinner,” Mary called.

Pam was sitting at the kitchen table.

“Come on. Once he gets in the kitchen with my mother, he’s useless,” Tracy told Pam.

The two of them left so that Mary could show off. She had decided to go with an Italian theme tonight. For starters, she’d made a pumpkin and barley soup and a wild mushroom bruschetta. For the main course, Tracy’s mom had made chicken with forty cloves of garlic and potatoes with truffles. The garlic roasted with the chicken and became soft, and you spread it over hot French bread. For dessert, she’d made a chestnut and chocolate pudding.

I was so happy after I ate that I let Tracy and Pam drag me to the mall to shop for maternity clothes. I thought Pam was going to cry when she saw the selection. There were a lot of outfits with big bows on them. I guess they thought those would hide a big butt or tummy. My California surfer chick was having none of it. She did pick up some stretchy pants and said she would buy the rest later.

Of course, being a guy, I had to fix this. I called Adrienne.

“Hey, stranger,” she answered.

“You need to talk to Tyler. She has people who answer the phone for her now.”

“I know, right? She’s becoming a big-time modeling executive. I have to schedule an appointment just to get her to go to lunch with me,” Adrienne complained.

“I have my own issues. Pam needs maternity clothes that don’t make her look like she’s frumpy or old. Do you know anyone who might help me out?” I asked.

“I might. Put her on the phone,” Adrienne ordered.

I turned to Pam.

“Here. Adrienne wants to talk to you,” I said.

She looked mortified.

“The Adrienne?” she asked.

“Yes, the Adrienne. She’s going to hook you up with clothes.”

Pam snatched the phone out of my hand. I walked away because there was a lot of laughing, and I had a feeling it was at my expense. Tracy found me looking at bras that had clips on the bra strap.