The Fumble Of A Quarterback

Chapter 9: They Are Sharks

Look out for the <>!

I walked into the stadium with my head held low Monday morning, hoping that no one would remember my tears shed on Friday night. The events from that night still swam around my mind like a fish in a glass jar, not allowed to leave.

The actions of Everett were unforgettable. Why Everett was so mean to me? He was the one that convinced me to come. I thought he wanted me to be there, but I came to the realization that it was because he just wanted to show the team he was better than even the coach's daughter. Everett was like a mountain, standing taller than everyone else and no one would be as tall as him, ever. He probably enjoyed seeing me cry and told everyone I cried like a child.

"You're as quiet as a sinner in church Nojo, what's up?" dad asked as he unlocked his office, breaking me from my thoughts.

I shook my head as I forced a smile his way. He would not know about what happened on Friday. I would never tell him. This was just another thing that dad would stress about and he had enough on his plate. Everett needed to be delt with, but carefully. He was the best person on the team, everyone knew that if they wanted to make it to the rose bowl, they needed Everett. Telling dad about Everett wouldn't solve anything, it would just make everything more complicated. "Nothing."

"Ok, fine then, don't tell your old man. What do I know about the world, anyhow?"

I frowned at him. "It's not like that, it's just, I'm not feeling great. Period stuff."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh, say no more. I can have you file my paperwork today. You can stay here in the office all day long if you want."

I smiled. I always knew period conversations would get him to be quiet, but I never thought it would get me off the field too. "That would be great," I said as I walked into the office behind him.

Dad went behind his desk and pulled out a stack of papers that looked to be over a foot thick. He laid them out, causing them to fall on the desk with a soft thump. "Can you look through this and circle all the dates and toss any duplicates?"

I nodded as I took a seat in a chair. "I can do that."

He smiled. "Great. Well, I'll see you later or come to me if you finish this."

"Will do," I stated, although I hoped he would come to be before I had to find him.

He nodded then gave one last look around the room, then left without another word.

In the silence of the nearly empty office, I worked on the stack of papers that were old and faded. They were practices and game plans from passing coaches, and I wondered where he got them from.

Sorting through files made my eyes heavy and what felt like forever later, I finally finished.  Feeling accomplished, I looked at the time on my phone and saw it only took me two hours complete. But dad would not be back for another hour or so. I sighed in frustration, knowing I would have to find him and brave showing my face.

Quietly, I slipped out of dad's office and walked down the hall, listening to every sound, hoping I would hear the team before they appeared. The halls were quiet, which allowed me to push forward deeper into the building, to where dad most likely was. Before long, I found myself looking through a crack in the doors, watching dad talk to the team about drills as they stood on the field.

No one noticed as I stared at them. Instead, they all looked intently at dad as he moved his feet around in a ballet like manner. It made me remember a time when I did ballet and dad took lessons with me. He said he enjoyed it, but I think he was just trying to do something together to connect. I hadn't done ballet in years, but the way he moved his feet made me wonder if he still kept up on what he learned.