Growing Pains

Chapter 17 - I was having a fever dream

I S A A C 

I had been running away from a freshman, a football in my hands, when Coach Sargent called me. This was my second time helping him with the football team. The first one had included a lot of ball-catching, water-bottle-filling, cone-distribution, and whistle-blowing. I had been bored out of my mind.

Today I had arrived early on accident, and found Gary, a fifteen-year-old kid who had apparently killed it in the tryouts, and was very confident he would not only make it in the team, but also make it as the main running back. I didn't know what a main running back was, but I had dared him for a one-on-one, and left him bent over himself, trying not to throw up, so I didn't think he was going to be a running anymore for a while.

Coach Sargent called me again, so I ran up to him before he could blow his whistle.

"What did you do to Gary?" he asked when I was close enough, frowning at the sight of the kid collapsing on the grass, a hand over his chest.

"I think he has asthma," I lied, scratching the back of my head.

"He doesn't," Coach said. "You're just really fast, which is why I wanted to talk to you actually. I'm sure you heard we lost a player with the whole vending machine disaster."

He waited for me to answer so I just nodded. I had heard about the vending machine disaster, yes, but nothing about a life lost.

"Right," Coach went on. "Jason was our best running back. He had some anger issues, nothing big, but he did –"

"He died?" I stopped him. I had to. I couldn't believe someone had died at school and I hadn't heard about it.

"What? No, he just broke his leg."

"Oh! Good!" I smiled, but Coach frowned, so I added, "That he's not dead, I mean."

"Right," he said. "Have you ever played football?"

I hadn't been sure where this was going at first, but I could guess, "In gym class, sure."

"Are you any good?"

I should have just said no, but I found myself shrugging. Coach looked at Gary, still stretched out on the grass, still breathing hard, and then back at me. I was sweating, but my breathing was fine.

"You're fast," Coach said. "We could use someone as fast as you."

"You're asking me to join the team?"

"You're very perceptive." He smiled.

"So I've been told." I had never been told this ever in my life.

"Look, the homecoming game is happening after all. Somehow Mr. Colton's ding-a-ling ultimatum worked and whoever took the car gave it back. It was in the parking lot this morning. No scratches, at least not any new ones. Now, I have no one on the team that can match Jason, and I'm not saying you can, just that we can definitely use someone as fast as you. What do you say?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "Football's not really my thing."

"Come on," Coach said. Behind him, the team walked out of the locker room wearing the school's colors. Coach went on, "You might just love it."

"Right, but do you actually think I could play the game this Friday cause I don't –"

"We still have a few days. I say we see how you do at practice and then decide," he said, throwing his arm around me. "I've spoken to Jacob. He'll show you how things work. You're gonna love it, you'll see."

I hadn't really agreed to anything, not yet, but the next thing I knew, he was pushing me towards Jacob and the others. I felt like I was having a fever dream.