As soon as the ball sailed through the uprights, Nick found himself at the bottom of a pile of Titans, the crowd’s roar a distant sensation like the crashing of waves as his teammates’ cheers smashed together.
‘Wooo!’ Jasmine jumped up again, though her celebrating stopped abruptly as she turned to Jackson and Tommy. ‘They won right?’
The brothers laughed and confirmed the Titans had in fact won and her cheering resumed with renewed vigour.
Eventually, the stadium calmed down, though the excitement still lingered in the air as the two teams below respectfully shook hands.
As the Titans filed off the field and into their locker room, they were still whooping and hollering, their voices fading into the distance.
‘Oh my god! That was the best!’ Jasmine shouted. ‘Is every game of theirs like that?’
‘Hah, not every game is that close or exciting, but it’s really good, right?’ Jackson said.
‘Hahah right? Geez, now I’m upset I missed out the other week. If only I’d come earlier. Huh, and now I’m wondering what I missed out on last week.’
‘Uhh, well, it wasn’t as happy for us, that’s one thing,’ Jackson said before explaining what happened with the Titans’ games last weekend.
‘Damn… at least they tried their best? But it must be so devastating to come so close yet be crushed by the last obstacle like that …’ Jasmine watched as some of the Spartans were beginning to crawl out of their locker room.
She imagined the Titans having the same defeated and downtrodden posture and expressions last week. ‘But I bet that makes today’s win even sweeter at least.’
‘It would,’ Tommy said, ‘but, for people who are so competitive, nothing can wash out that bitter taste of defeat, except beating the team who put it there in the first place.’
‘That makes sense … so this is just a bit of temporary relief until they can get their real revenge.’
Jackson frowned as he looked out across the field. “That’s right,” he thought, “the only way to get rid of that sickening feeling is to overcome the thing that made you feel like that in the first place.” His mind drifted to HIM.
‘Speaking of taste, who’s hungry?’ Tommy asked.
‘Mm, I wouldn’t mind getting something to eat,’ Jasmine said.
‘Perfect. Jackson, you and Jasmine can go and grab some food for everyone.’ Tommy held out some cash.
‘Oh uh, yeah, of course.’ Jackson took it and got out of his seat.
‘You sure you don’t want just me to get it?’ Jasmine said.
‘No no, it’s okay, I’ll come with you.’
Tommy looked over as the Titans were coming out of their locker room, Nick holding the game ball in front of himself, staring at it like it was an alien.
‘You better get something for Kenny too, I’m sure he’ll be hungry after that.’ Tommy stood, waving at Kenny.
As Jasmine and Jackson went down to the hotdog stand, Tommy followed Kenny over to his parents to check in with them and make sure it was okay for him to drive Kenny home later. As they passed each other Kenny called out to Jasmine and Jackson, telling them to get him some french fries.
As Jasmine and Jackson stood together in line she nudged him gently and smiled at him.
Jackson blushed, confused for a second. ‘Wh-What?’
‘I bet they would’ve won last week if you were playing.’
Jackson looked away quickly. ‘I’m not sure about that… I mean, i-it’s a team game, one person doesn’t have THAT much of an impact on the outcome.’
‘I think you’re selling yourself short.’
‘You haven’t even seen me play or train.’
She laughed. ‘Yeah, but I’ve heard how Kenny and the others talk, especially your brother, he thinks you’re really good, and he seems like a pretty smart guy, so I trust them… or are you calling them liars, huh?’ She nudged him again.
He blushed more, rubbing his arm, and she giggled.
Soon they returned to their seats, Kenny and Tommy already back. Kenny had his french fries, whilst Jasmine had a chilli dog, Tommy had a hot dog with the lot, and Jackson had a rather simple hot dog topped with just ketchup and mustard.
‘You played great, Kenny!’ Jasmine beamed as she sat down again.
‘Hm? Oh, yeah, thanks. Though I was pretty useless until the end.’
‘Ahh don’t be like that, there’s more to it than just touchdowns, and you guys played great defensively anyway,’ Tommy said.
‘Thanks,’ Kenny said before popping another fry into his mouth.
‘They never would’ve gotten that touchdown without you, and you’re the one who recovered the onside kick,’ Jackson said. ‘Yeah, Nick was the one who kicked through almost all the points, but, they wouldn’t have won without you either.’
‘I know, I know. I just, it shouldn’t have taken me so long to get involved.’
‘Hahaha, always wanting to do better.’ Tommy thumped Kenny on the back. ‘You’re definitely going places with that mindset, don’t worry about that, Kenny.’
“Not soon enough,” Kenny thought. He felt as if he was stuck in limbo. He knew he was good when it came to the level of competition he was currently playing at, yet he wasn’t good enough to move up, and he had no idea how to bridge that gap. At least he didn’t have any specific ideas. For now, he’d just have to keep working hard and hope for the best.
The group settled into their seats as the varsity game would soon get underway. The Titans came onto the field to a raucous reception and Shane wore a broad smile.
‘It’s always good when the JV team has such an inspiring performance. The crowd’s already fired up, you can feel their cheers stoking your fire, can’t you?’ He turned to his teammates. ‘After being shown something so incredible, and having our juniors fight their hearts out like that, how can we let them down? There’s no way we can play poorly after something like that, we NEED to play our best now. Let’s go out there and win.’
Further back in the herd, Wesley sighed. ‘It’s only like this ‘cause they almost lost. They never should’ve been in a position where a comeback was necessary.’
‘What was that?’ Shane looked over.
Wesley flashed a disingenuous smile. ‘Nothing. Just saying that we should go out there and be a shining example for our juniors.’
Shane smiled, content with that answer; he saw no reason to distrust or second-guess his teammate.
The Titans finished their lap around the field, and after winning the coin toss, the game soon began.
Coach Otsen thought it was best to capitalise on the energy surrounding the field right away, so the Titans would receive the opening kickoff and send their offence out first.
His decision and intuition proved to be correct as the Titans scored a touchdown on their opening drive, the crowd becoming electric once more as it looked like the hometown heroes would continue their winning ways.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
After that first drive, however, the game slowed down considerably and aside from a Titans field goal, there wasn’t another score for the rest of the first half.
The crowd was still happy, though a lot less excited as the teams went into the major break with the score reading 10–0.
While the Titans’ defence was firing on all cylinders, their offence—namely Wesley—was struggling.
‘Geez, we’re winning, but I feel like we could be winning by more, right? Or is that just me? Jasmine said during the break.
‘No, you’re right, the Titans could definitely be up by more, but … there isn’t really any other way of putting it, the QB is having a bad game, he’s missed a few passes he should’ve made, and because of that, they’ve lost out on more than a few points,’ Tommy said.
‘Hmph, not like his Receivers are giving him much help, outside of Shane, of course.’ Kenny said with a frown. Watching this game made it seem like Grant wasn’t even trying. His performance here versus when he and Kenny had their one-on-one was like night and day … which only meant Kenny couldn’t possibly be close to the level of a varsity defender. It was infuriating, to say the least.
‘These kind of games happen,’ Jackson said. ‘I’m sure Coach Otsen will iron out the problems, and they’re still winning for now, so that’s the important thing.’
‘Yeah, but it’s still frustrating, god, I can’t imagine how it must feel to be a player during this kind of thing,’ Jasmine said.
In the Titans’ locker room, Coach Knight stood before Wesley who was looking away nonchalantly.
Coach Knight only said: ‘Are you okay?’
Wesley shrugged, still not looking up at him. ‘Yeah, I feel fine.’
Coach Knight nodded and then walked away without saying anything else.
Coach Otsen cleared his throat as he stood in the middle of the room. ‘Defence, perfect, I can’t ask for anything more than what you’ve been doing, keep it up.’
A few players around the room quietly congratulated each other and exchanged fist bumps.
Coach Otsen’s eyes scanned the room, then fell on Wesley. ‘Wesley. Do you have anything to say for yourself?’
Wesley sat up as all eyes turned to him. ‘Well, I don’t know, I’ve got one passing touchdown and the other QB doesn’t have any. I think we’re doing fine.’ (Shane was the recipient of this touchdown.)
‘Really? Don’t see any problems with your performance?’
‘Nope.’
‘Interesting. Well, if that’s the case—if you can’t even see what you’re doing wrong—then you might as well sit out the rest of this game, Oscar, you’ll be playing in the second half.’
Oscar seemed as shocked as anyone. But Wesley wasn’t exactly shocked, outraged would fit better. ‘WHAT?!’ He burst to his feet.
‘Is something the matter?’ Coach Otsen said calmly.
‘Hell yeah it is, ain’t no fucking way he’s playing over me.’ He angrily pointed a finger at Oscar who was now wishing he had never been dragged into this situation.
Coach Otsen stepped forward, looking down at Wesley sternly. ‘Then are you going to cut the shit and start playing properly?’
‘I am playing properly. Shit, I can’t have a bad game once in a while? It’s not like I’m trying to fuck up.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with having a bad game, everyone’s entitled to that. But, I’m entitled to bench you if you’re having a bad game.’
‘What? It’s not even that bad! I have a touchdown, we’re WINNING, and I haven’t even thrown an interception.’
‘You’re LUCKY you haven’t thrown a pick yet. But while you might not have turned the ball over on paper, the sacks you’ve taken have ruined some drives tonight and even pushed us out of field goal range on one occasion. If you keep having such poor decision-making, and accuracy, I’ll have no choice but to give Oscar a chance to command this offence. Do you have a problem with that?’
Wesley wilted, looking away. ‘… No.’
‘No, what?’
‘No sir.’
‘Good.’ Coach Otsen turned towards the rest of the team. ‘Get out there and play some football you can all be proud of.’
As the teams emerged from their respective locker rooms, and play resumed with the beginning of the second half, Tommy turned to Jasmine. ‘Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, but, do you need us to drop you off tonight?’
‘Oh, well, I don’t want to be a burden on you guys, you’ve already gotta take Kenny home, right?’
‘It’s no problem. It’d be easier for us to do it than having your folks or whoever come out here just to pick you up.’
‘You sure?’
‘Positive.’ Tommy smiled, whilst Jackson stayed quiet.
‘Well, I can check with my parents, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
‘Great.’ Tommy’s smile remained as Jasmine got confirmation that it’d be okay for them to drop her home.
As the second half of the game played out, Coach Otsen’s warning seemed to have been enough of a wake-up call. Wesley was no longer making the same mistakes, however, there wasn’t a great change in the Titans’ offensive production, as the Spartans’ defence had managed to tighten up.
On the other side of the ball, the Titans were still just as dominant and continued their shutout of the Spartans for the rest of the game.
Meanwhile, the Titans managed two more touchdowns of their own, another passing touchdown—caught again by Shane—and a rushing touchdown which was run in by Wesley.
The result was an unsurprising victory for the Titans with a final score of 24–0, and though the stadium was once again filled with the crowd’s joyous cheers, they never once neared the volume of the celebration for the JV team’s victory.
As the Titans left the field, Mickey groaned, rubbing at his shoulder. ‘Another day, another 150 yards without any touchdowns to show for it.’ He glanced at Wesley.
‘Don’t look at me. They were all over your ass,’ Wesley said in reference to the play that resulted in his rushing touchdown, which was a Read Option involving him and Mickey. ‘Probably because you had so many yards already.’
‘Uh-huh, sure.’ Mickey dropped the topic there, though they both knew there was no world where Wesley would’ve ever given up that touchdown.
As the spectators all slowly made their way out of the stands, Jasmine smiled wide and walked with a pep in her step. ‘That one wasn’t even close. Does that team ever lose?’
‘Nah,’ said all three guys at the same time.
‘Hm, doesn’t it ever get boring then?’
The guys laughed though Tommy stopped first and cleared his throat. ‘Just because they usually win, doesn’t mean the games aren’t close sometimes. But, no, a winner never gets tired of winning. Not real winners anyway.’
Jasmine nodded, following the others to Tommy’s car. As Jackson got into the front seat, he noticed Tommy staring at him. ‘What?’
Tommy glanced back to Jasmine as she buckled up in the back seat, Kenny on the opposite side. ‘Nothing, nothing.’
As Tommy started up the car and connected his phone to the aux, a grin spread across Jasmine’s face. Her head already bobbing along to the metal music blaring out of the speakers.
‘Hahah, you really are into this stuff, huh? Never met a girl that’s a bigger metalhead than me. Sorry I don’t have a better sound system though, I’m trying to save up for some proper speakers.’
‘Don’t you need a job to be saving up?’
Tommy glared across at Jackson and Jasmine laughed openly while Kenny held back his snickers.
‘You’re one to talk,’ Tommy said.
‘I’m too young, I can’t get a job yet even if I wanted.’
‘Nuh-uh, you can work when you’re fourteen.’
‘Uhh… but my leg.’ Jackson held up his crutches to further emphasise his point.
‘Uh-huh, so you’ll get one as soon as that’s healed?’
‘Uhhh…’ Jackson looked away and the others behind him laughed more.
‘What about you guys?’ Tommy turned to face the back seat.
‘This past summer I had a job working retail,’ Jasmine said.
‘I help out at my parents’ store if that counts,’ Kenny said.
‘Hm, good on you both. You’re already more experienced than the both of us, though I guess we’ve had too much football on the brain to think about a job.’ They pulled out of the car park and drove in the direction of Kenny’s house first.
They dropped him off, saying their goodbyes and that they’d see him again at school, then Jasmine moved over to the middle seat and gave directions to her place.
They spent the drive vibing to Tommy’s favourite songs, then they soon arrived at Jasmine’s home, pulling into the long, gravel drive of a simple, decent-sized one-storey home with a large garage and an expansive yard, the garden full of flowers ranging from roses and lilies to lavender and daisies.
‘Thanks again, guys. I’ll see you at school, Jackson.’ Jasmine slid out.
Tommy looked at Jackson and then gestured to Jasmine, his eyes moving about wildly, his head nodding frantically.
‘Okay, okay.’ Jackson hurried out as well. ‘Uh, Jasmine, wait up. I’ll uh, walk you to your door.’
Jasmine stopped, already halfway there, though, with a smile, she walked back to Jackson’s side. ‘Alright.’
They walked (and hobbled) together in silence aside from the crunch of the pebbles under their feet and crutches. With each step, Jackson felt as if his tongue was getting heavier and fatter inside his mouth.
When they reached the door they stopped, and Jasmine expectantly turned to Jackson. Jackson gulped and after a few more moments of silence, he spoke.
‘Uh, J-Jasmine? I have something I need to tell you.’
‘Yes?’ She couldn’t contain her smile, her excitement evident in her bright eyes.
Jackson wasn’t sure what she was expecting at that moment, but he knew it absolutely wasn’t what he was about to say. With a heavy heart, he told her the truth about his “accident” and how he broke his leg.
Throughout his story, Jasmine stayed silent; her face slowly dropped further and further. By the end of it, she was looking at the ground.
‘So uh, yeah, that’s why I’ve been seeing Ms Cotton at school.’ Jackson rubbed the back of his head.
‘Oh. … I see. … Thank you for telling me, Jackson. Goodnight.’
‘Good—’ the door slammed in his face. ‘—night…’
Jackson didn’t know what reaction he had been expecting from her, but it wasn’t that. He returned to the car with the unshakable, dreadful feeling that he’d just done something terrible.