Playing With the Boys

by Nicole Leigh Shepherd

  “Are you ever going to speak to me again?” he finally asked. Lucy wasn’t paying attention. She couldn’t stop hearing Martie’s words in her head. She didn’t know what to do. Play and lose Benji? Or keep Benji and not play?

  Less of a person to have Benji as a friend, then his friendship isn’t worth much.

  She so wanted to ask her dad what to do. She wanted his guidance, his advice, his life experience—but she knew that all she’d get was his wrath if she so much as mentioned what she was thinking about doing. So she said nothing.

  “Lucy?” he asked again. “Are we ever going to talk about this?”

  Lucy shrugged. She was through being accommodating and not standing up for herself.

  Her dad sighed and turned his focus back to his breaded chicken.

  Lucy set her fork down, determined. “I want to talk about mom,” she said matter-of-factly. “I miss her.”

  Her dad nodded. “Of course, you do.”

  “But do you know why?” Lucy asked. “Because there are a million reasons. You know, I miss how she used to scratch my back at night, to get me to go to sleep. I miss how I used to hear her whistling in the kitchen in the morning, just when I was waking up. I miss the way a hug from her made everything better....” Tears were forming in Lucy’s eyes as she spoke. “But the thing I miss the most,” she said, her voice wavering, “was that she wasn’t afraid to just . . .you know, let me grow up and make my own decisions and be my own person.” Lucy mustered the courage to say what was on her mind. “She didn’t treat me like this fragile little girl that needed protecting. Mom saw how strong I was. And I wish you’d see it too.”

  She got up from the table and headed toward her room. She quickly shut her door behind her. She noticed the school directory on her bookshelf. She ran to grab it, then locked the door behind her. Quickly, she flipped to O.

  It was fourth period. The bleachers were filled with every student at Beachwood. Paper banners were taped to the wall, reading everything from GO BEACHWOOD and WIN FIGHT WIN to OAKWOOD SUCKS and BEAT THOSE WEENIES. The cheerleaders were already leading the crowd in cheers where different sections were screaming, “Go!” “Fight!” “Win!” They were pitting different classes against each other, and so far the sophomores and juniors were definitely the loudest.The freshmen were too insecure and meek to yell, and the seniors were too over it to bother. Because of their different ages, Charlie, Pickle, and Max were each relegated to their own class and couldn’t sit with each other.

  The entire football team sat together in the bleachers, as Principal Truex gave a speech about Beachwood integrity, good sportsmanship, and pride. The students cheered as the music was cranked up and the cheerleaders, led by Kendall and Regan, did round-off back-handsprings across the gymnasium floor. Then it was time for Coach Offredi to speak.

  He took the microphone, which blared feedback as soon as he held it. Some of the more obnoxious sophomores groaned in horror.

  “Hello, students,” Coach Offredi said, sounding more stilted and formal than he did on the football field, as if he were trying to sound like a calm, rational individual instead of the crazy, victory-obsessed maniac that he really was. “Thank you all for coming here today—”

  One of the obnoxious sophomores screamed, “We had no choice.” A bunch of the sophomores around him laughed.

  “We—myself, the fine coaching staff, and most of all, these dedicated players—appreciate all the support. We hope you’ll come out for the game tonight. And I’d like to introduce Ryan Conner, for those of you who don’t know him. He’s our quarterback and team captain—he’d like to say a few words.”

  Ryan jumped out of the bleachers to great applause and cheers. Coach Offredi passed off the mic, looking relieved to be finished speaking in public.

  “What’s up, Beachwood?” Ryan yelled. “You ready to watch us kick Oakwood’s butts?” Even the seniors erupted in cheers.

  “Tonight’s game is gonna be crazy. We’re gonna go all out, hold nothing back—and it’s going to be especially good because we’ve got someone back with us. . . .” He looked into the bleachers and smiled. There was Lucy, sitting right above the team. “She missed a couple of weeks of games after making a great tackle, but she’s back tonight and we can’t do it without her. Malone, come down here!”

  Lucy looked around nervously, then stood up tentatively. Had Coach Offredi already told everyone? All eyes were on her as she snaked her way through the team, past Benji. From the look on his face, no one had told him. But Lucy couldn’t worry about disappointing Benji anymore. And she couldn’t worry about defying her dad. She had to do this—for herself.

  “You’re gonna need this,” Ryan said, tossing her her home jersey. Lucy took it and slipped it on over her head.

  No surprise. It was a perfect fit.

  After the pep rally, she approached Benji at his locker.

  “Hey,” she said softly, afraid he was mad.

  “Hey,” he replied glumly.

  She nervously fiddled with her hair, wrapping a strand around her finger. “I guess I owe you an explanation—”

  He cut her off. “You know what, Lucy? You don’t owe me anything.”

  Lucy shifted uncomfortably. “I just . . .I, um . .. I talked to Martie. . . .” Lucy trailed off. It was so hard to just be honest. But she had to be. “And she kind of . . . she helped me see . . . that the only reason I wasn’t playing, wasn’t pushing through my injury, was because of you.”

  “Me?” he asked, not getting where she was going with this.

  “Yeah. I was afraid that if I did, you wouldn’t be friends with me anymore.”

  Benji stopped rummaging through his locker and looked at her as if she had just said something so out there that it was beyond comprehension. Like that the sky was green, or that orange juice was made from bowling balls. “Why would I not be friends with you?”

  Lucy shrugged. “It seems like you’re only friends with me again now that you have my spot. And I know that sounds really horrible. I mean, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, ’cause you’ve been such a good friend to me.”

  Her words seemed to hit Benji like a slap across the face. “Right. Good friend,” he said in a hostile tone.

  Lucy was taken back. “What? What’d I say? What’s wrong?”

  Benji slammed his locker shut. “Just forget it.”

  As Benji stormed off, Lucy watched him go. And suddenly something caught her eye. Coach Offredi. He’d been watching.

  “Lucy?” he said sternly. “A word?”

  “Um, I have to get to . . . um . . . bio,” Lucy stammered.

  Coach Offredi folded his arms across his chest. “Now.”

  Lucy sat on a hard wooden chair in Coach Offredi’s office, unsure of why she was there. She had called him last night and told him she was cleared by Dr. Cane to play. And surprisingly, he had seemed happy—relieved, even.

  “I want to talk to you,” Coach Offredi said, his mustache twitching a little. “About Benji. I want to talk about why he’s upset.”

  “Because I’m kicking tonight,” Lucy explained. “And he really wanted this position. Badly.”

  “That’s not the problem.” Coach Offredi sat down and picked up a pencil. He tapped the eraser against the desk. “The problem is that he likes you.”

  Lucy almost did a double take. “Huh?”

  “He likes you,” Coach Offredi said, a little louder. “Listen, I know from experience. I was a teenage boy once.” Lucy almost giggled. It was hard to think of Coach Offredi as a boy. “This isn’t about you kicking farther than him, and it’s not about beating him in a drill. It’s about liking a girl who’s probably way out of his league and is all drooly and moony-eyed for the quarterback.”

  “I’m not drooly and moon-whatever over Ryan!” Lucy exclaimed defensively.

  Coach Offredi raised his eyebrows.

  Lucy sat back in her chair. “Well, maybe a little,” she admitted.

  “Give the kid a break,
Malone. He likes you. We all lose our heads a little when we like someone. Now get to class.”

  Lucy stood up. “Yes, Coach,” she said obediently. As she opened the door, he called after her.

  “Oh, Malone?” He looked up from his desk and smiled. “Welcome back.”

  nineteen

  Beachwood exploded through the paper banner as they barreled onto the field, ready for a fight. Speeches had been given, ankles had been tightly taped (Lucy’s especially), and prayers had been said—now all that was left to do was play ball. Beachwood won the coin toss and opted to start on defense, wanting to send a message to Oakwood’s offensive line right away: “We’re shutting you down.”

  BAM! Lucy kicked the ball off solidly to Oakwood. It bounced at the twenty and was quickly picked up by their kick returner, who angled down the right sideline behind a vanguard of Oakwood blockers. Tank literally ran over one of the smaller blockers and brought down the ball carrier with a jarring tackle at the Oakwood thirty-two. The Beachwood section of the crowd roared, as Coach Offredi sent the defensive team onto the field.

  Both teams huddled on their respective sides of the line of scrimmage.

  As soon as Oakwood broke, Tank looked for signs of what play they were going to do. Seeing Oakwood’s tight end move right, he shouted, “Strength right! Strength right!”

  As the ball was snapped to Oakwood’s quarterback, the Beachwood defensive line charged forward. Big Jimmy came out of nowhere to pick off the pass.

  “INTERCEPTION!” Lucy cheered. Big Jimmy faked left, then cut back right, finding a small opening through the surprised Oakwood offense. The crowd roared!

  With Tank and DeRosa as blockers, Big Jimmy sprinted straight up the left side of the field, looking as though he had rockets on the bottom of his shoes. Several Oakwood players tried to grab him, but each fell out, one after the other. Triumphantly, he crossed into the end zone, spiking the ball dramatically before chest-bumping his teammates.

  On the bench, Lucy went crazy, cheering loudly and thumping several nearby teammates on their shoulder pads with her fists. The game had just started and Beachwood was already up 6-0! She went in for the extra point, which, thankfully, she made with ease. It was now 7-0. Her ankle stung a little on the impact. With all the warm-up kicks, the kickoff, and now the extra point, she was definitely feeling some soreness. But she didn’t care. All she cared about was that she was playing.

  “That’s it!” Coach Offredi bellowed. “That’s the momentum we needed.” He grabbed Lucy with the play. “Into their end zone for a touchback. We need a big kick!”

  On the kickoff, she followed Coach Offredi’s instructions, nailing the ball as high and hard as she could, her ankle protesting on contact.

  A totally juiced-up Beachwood defense roared onto the field and successfully shut Oakwood down on the next three plays. Oakwood had no choice but to punt on the fourth down. Oakwood punted a short kick to Beachwood that Sascha caught on the Oakwood forty-nine-yard line. On the sidelines, the offensive unit was ready for their turn.

  Coach Offredi grabbed Ryan by the shoulders. “Okay, son, let’s do this. Read the field, now. Read the field.”

  Ryan and the offensive team ran onto the field as if they were on fire. The energy and excitement in the air were almost palpable as Ryan tossed a quick pass to Kevin, who cut straight up the middle, gaining ten yards and enough for a first down.

  On the next play, Ryan did a pump fake to the right but then sent a low bullet pass to Little Jimmy, who cut back, turned, and caught it at ankle level, before being immediately tackled at Oakwood’s twenty. Another first down. Beachwood was clearly dominating.

  Anticipating what was coming next, Lucy warmed up her leg on the sidelines, expecting to kick again soon. She was right. Cope caught a line drive right at his gut in the end zone and Lucy was up again. Caleb snapped the ball, Benji held it and BOOM! Lucy nailed it between the uprights. Beachwood was up 14-0.

  Caleb knocked Lucy in the head excitedly.“Nice kick,” he said, banging her helmet. Her head rattled around inside. She had a moment to regroup on the sidelines as Coach Offredi gave the kickoff team instructions.

  “Now, remember the film from earlier,” he reminded her.They’d briefly looked at film after their ritual pregame meal at Sizzler. “Let’s a do a right return.The wedge slides right! Let’s pin their man back!”

  Lucy gave a solid kick to the right, just as she’d been instructed, but Oakwood’s kick returner was fast and, with the help of his teammates, was able to get by Beachwood’s first set of defenders, getting all the way to the Oakwood forty-five before he was brought down. On the sidelines, Coach Offredi threw down his clipboard, obviously angry. He marched over to the assistant coaches, strategizing defensive plays—but nothing Beachwood tried was enough to stop Oakwood’s push for a touchdown. The momentum had quickly shifted.

  Oakwood scored. Then scored again. And as the quarters passed and the clock ticked down, they scored yet another time. And by the time the game was deep into the fourth quarter, Oakwood was leading 23-14. Although Oakwood’s kicker missed one of his three extra point attempts, he had also gone on to nail a field goal from the twenty-five-yard line. Things weren’t looking good for Beachwood.

  Lucy watched Coach Offredi pacing up and down like a caged animal about to unleash his wrath on anybody in his way. He yelled at Ryan. He yelled at Tank. He yelled at the ref. At one point, Lucy thought she heard him yell for a hot dog, but she must have been imagining that. Who could eat at a time like this? She looked at the clock. There were only two minutes left in the game.They had to score now.

  “Crossfire . . . Idaho . . . Idaho,” Ryan shouted on the field. “Hut!” He took the snap from Caleb. The receivers took off running, deep into Oakwood’s territory. Just as he was about to be taken down, Ryan fired a thirty-eight-yard bomb to Kevin. The ball spiraled so fast Lucy couldn’t even see the laces. It fell right into Kevin’s outstretched hands. The entire Beachwood team jumped off the bench, screaming, as Kevin sprinted the final ten yards into the end zone. TOUCHDOWN! The team exploded on the field and sidelines! The coaches hugged! The crowd went wild! Suddenly, Beachwood had a shot. Oakwood only had a three-point lead. They were back in the game!

  Lucy looked up at the clock. It read 1:32. She jogged out to kick the extra point. BAM! The ball split the uprights. Another point was added on to Beachwood’s side of the scoreboard, which now read BEACHWOOD 21, OAKWOOD 23.

  “Huddle up!” Coach Offredi shouted, bringing the kickoff unit closely around him. “Okay,” he said. “This is it. We need to get the ball back. They know we need to get the ball back. Ten yards, Lucy. Right in front of you. That’s what we need.You kick it, you run after it, and you fall on it. Go to that ball, and whatever you do, hold on to it! Hold on like your life depends on it!”

  Lucy tried not to look horrified at what Coach Offredi was instructing her to do. “Wait—I’m supposed to kick it and fall on it, too?

  “You’re not supposed to,” Coach Offredi challenged. “You will.” He looked her in the eye. “If you can’t do it, you tell me now. I’ll put Benji in there.” Lucy looked over at Benji on the bench. They hadn’t exchanged more than two words since their locker fight. And the two words had been go and Beachwood.

  “No,” Lucy said defiantly. “I can do it.” She looked around at her teammates. “Really,” she said, trying to convince herself as well. “I can. I want to.”

  The kickoff team lined up on the field on either side of Lucy. Fully suspecting that Beachwood was planning an onside kick, Oakwood matched their formation, leaving only one player deep in their backfield on the slim off chance that the kick went deep.

  Lucy took a deep breath. She knew she could do this. She tried to ignore the throbbing in her ankle. She could do this. She was tough. She raised her hand. The whistle blew.