From Chapter 2:
I felt sleep finally come to claim me. As it did, one question occupied my mind. What did the future have in store for us? What else could possibly happen to us, good or bad, and how would we deal with these events? My mind reeled at all the possibilities and continued to pore over them until my eyelids, heavy with slumber, drew to a close and I could think no more.
Chapter 3
Turns out, for the next couple of months, nothing happened.
Well... mostly nothing.
Certainly, in terms of the looming showdowns I was expecting, the rest of 2012 offered up very little to report in terms of resolutions.
Much to my surprise.
I spoke with Jamie on Saturday, the day after the worst and heaviest defeat both of us have ever experienced at any level of our footballing lives. It gnawed at both of us like a raw toothache. I did have the solace of the night's spectacular ending with Erin, and in the course of our conversation Jamie told me Cindy generously did much the same for him. We both counted ourselves lucky to have girlfriends who loved us enough to give of themselves so selflessly in one of our darkest hours.
Which, of course, is a fancy way of saying thank god they were there to fuck our brains out.
Anyway, after some discussion and soul searching, we decided we'd visit Coach on Monday morning, declare ourselves in violation of the terms of the "offer" he gave that allowed us to play hooky the day after Halloween, and submit to a gruelling session of running stairs.
Why? Who knows? Maybe we were both gluttons for punishment.
Coach looked shocked to see us when we showed up at his office that morning but he certainly got into the spirit of things in a hurry.
"Well, what the hell are you waiting for?! Move it!" he barked.
About halfway through the run I debated my sanity and cursed my guilty conscience. I'm sure Jamie felt the same way. When Coach finally, mercifully, called time on our run, I spent several minutes doubled over at the waist and gasping for air. Even Jamie, who was the healthiest and fittest guy I've ever known, was exhausted, laid flat on his back and staring blankly up at the sky.
Later that day, at the weekly film session conducted after classes were done for the day, Coach took a moment to tell the rest of the team what Jamie and I did, praising us for our sacrifice and dedication to the team ideals. I squirmed in my seat. I kind of wished he hadn't done that, because it was awkward as hell to receive such accolades when I felt I didn't really do all that much to deserve them. The rest of the team stared at Jamie and I the whole time, only adding to the discomfort. I'm sure they wondered what the hell was wrong with us. I know I was certainly wondering the same thing. I looked at Jamie and read his expression, and I knew he was having similar feelings. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the sour, jealous look on Billy's face, and all of a sudden I didn't feel quite so bad.
As Coach had said, we were still in the playoffs, and we still had a chance to make it a special season. Ultimately, however, it was not to be.
We responded well at first and won our first playoff game; it wasn't a complete rout but we were never in danger. Problem was, our earlier loss to our rivals dropped us in the standings enough that it meant our second game was against the perennial powerhouse football program in our state. Sure we probably would have had to play them at some point anyway, but the way it worked meant the matchup came to soon for us to be really ready for it. We still put up a great fight, but they just had too much for us, and we lost by a late touchdown. The fact that they eventually rolled to another state title and that we had given them their toughest test along the way made for small consolation.
Billy, the dumb prick, hardly looked angry, upset, or even sad in any way. If the loss bothered him at all he got over it awfully quickly. He boasted that he had several coaches and scouts from big time college programs recruiting him, and he was glad to be done with us because we were holding him back from the true stardom he felt he deserved. I was so enraged I nearly took a swing at him, but my friends held me back and tried to calm me down.
"Don't do it, Gare," Jamie pleaded. "He ain't worth it."
Billy just laughed. "Your day is coming, Garrett!" he taunted. "I ain't forgotten about you!" He turned and walked out before I could say anything else.
We hardly saw him from then until after Christmas as he dove headfirst into the whole big-football-factory recruiting process... talking with coaches, campus visits where, according to the rumours he was spreading with glee, he got wined and dined by college presidents and pretty co-eds alike... the whole deal.
He was an asshole, but very talented so he could get away with it. Life just isn't fair sometimes.
It hit me hard soon after that near-altercation that it was the last high school football game I would ever play. Same went for all my friends -- our quarterback Josh, fellow receivers Torrey, Brandon and Ricky, and of course running back and my best friend Jamie. We were all seniors, so for us that game was the end of the line. The six of us gathered for our own after-party, along with our girlfriends.
It was very gratifying to have Erin there with me. I felt her support that night would be invaluable and I wanted her to be there no matter what. She had long since been accepted by the guys, and she and Cindy hit it off well, but I wondered how the other girls would react. Josh's girlfriend lived in his neighbourhood but went to a different school, so I didn't know her at all, and while I was acquainted with the girls Torrey, Brandon and Ricky had recently started dating I really didn't know them well enough before that night to get a sense of what they would be like around Erin.
Thankfully those three weren't part of the clique that included Vanessa, the other cheerleaders besides Cindy, and the other "cool kids" that held my girlfriend in so much disdain. They were friendly to Erin, and so was Josh's girlfriend. They all got along well that night and any other time we all happened to be together during the rest of the school year, and that made both Erin and I feel good.
Erin sat on my lap and laid her head on my chest for most of that night. Cindy cuddled up next to Jamie, and the other four girlfriends stayed close to their man as well. They sometimes added to the conversation or had side discussions of their own, but for much of the time they quietly listened to my teammates and I and enjoyed observing the camaraderie and, yes, love we had for each other.
The guys and I spent the whole night alternating between laughter over recounting old stories and good memories, and contemplating our reaching the end of an era. It was doubly difficult since all of us had already made our decisions regarding college, each one of us choosing a different destination.
At the end of the night Jamie addressed us. "Guys, our high school football careers may be over, but we still have most of the school year left together before we go off and do our thing in college. So let's make it a good one." We all shook hands and hugged and pledged to do so.
Neither of us said much as I walked Erin home. I was too lost in my own thoughts to speak. When we reached her house she kissed me and asked if I was OK. That was when my emotional dam broke.
