Men, Women & Children: A Novel

by Chad Kultgen

  Mrs. Langston said, “That can be true. I just want you to know that if you want to, I’m always here to talk.” Mrs. Langston had coached Allison in the seventh grade as well. She had always liked Allison and felt sorry for her, knowing that once she got to high school, she would be too overweight to make the cheerleading squad. So when she returned to eighth grade, not only thinner than she had been in seventh grade but thinner than virtually every girl in her class, it seemed likely, at least in Mrs. Langston’s mind, that Allison might have developed an eating disorder, although she reassured herself that she had no conclusive evidence to support her suspicion. Mrs. Langston had never dealt with something of this magnitude, and wasn’t exactly sure how she should handle it or if she should alert a third party, so she decided in that moment to let Allison come to her if she felt it necessary; otherwise, she would remain silent.

  Allison said, “Thanks.” Then she looked at the Gatorade and said, “Could I actually just get some water?”

  Back in the main room of the field house, Coach Quinn delivered the final words of his halftime speech; then the team stood and began to file back out onto the field. Danny Vance thought for a moment about approaching Coach Quinn privately before they left the building, to air his complaint about not being allowed to use his passing capability as frequently as he thought he should be. Instead, years of discipline and forced respect for authority, instilled in him by his father through various organized youth athletic endeavors, motivated him to remain silent and hope that Coach Quinn would realize the Olympians should utilize the pass play far more in the second half than they did in the first.

  The first play Coach Quinn called in the second half was the four-three-six option, another running play. The next two plays of their first series of the second half were also running plays, resulting in a net gain of three yards and forcing a punt. As Jeremy Kelms delivered a thirty-two-yard punt, Danny watched from the sidelines, wondering what he should do about the obvious lack of coaching ability that was hindering his team. Brooke came up behind Danny and said, “You look really good out there, babe.” Danny found her voice to be annoying and shrill at that moment, a sound that broke his concentration on the game. He said, “Not now, we’re losing.” This was the same response and attitude that Danny’s father would display toward his mother when she would ask a simple question while he was watching a professional or college football game in which his preferred team was behind, although Danny would never have recognized the similarity. Brooke said, “Sorry,” with sincerity, and returned to her place among the Olympiannes as they began a cheer with “Go! Fight! Win!”

  For the next quarter and a half, Coach Quinn called only running plays that resulted in no additional scoring. The Park Panthers were able to exploit the Olympians’ weak middle defense to score an additional touchdown, bringing the score to twenty to seven with slightly more than five minutes left in play as Danny Vance and the Olympians’ offense took the field again.

  Chris Truby ran into the huddle from the sidelines and whispered the play to Danny as was protocol. He said, “Five-three-two flip” and took his place in the huddle, waiting for Danny to repeat the play to the rest of the offense. Danny looked at the clock and knew that another run play was a mistake. He decided at that moment to take matters into his own hands and said, “X fade on two, X fade on two. Ready—break!” Chris was the only player on the team who knew that Danny had changed the play, and he offered no complaint, because the play Danny called was a pass play with him as the primary receiver.

  As the offense lined up, Coach Quinn immediately knew that something was wrong, based on the formation. He was on the verge of calling a time-out, but before he could, the ball was snapped and the play was in motion. Chris Truby hitched on the front line for a few seconds as Danny dropped back in the pocket, and then Chris took off down the sideline with as much speed as he could generate. He overtook the right side cornerback and was alone within a matter of seconds. Danny threw the ball to Chris, who caught it and ran to the end zone for a touchdown. Coach Quinn was confused by what he saw. He didn’t know which of the players had decided to change the play he called, but the outcome was beneficial to his team, so he decided he would allow this one transgression against his authority to go without acknowledging it. There would be no reprimand, no inquiry into the matter.

  After the extra point, the score was twenty to fourteen with slightly under five minutes left in play, and the Olympian defense took the field. By this point in the game, the Park Panthers had recognized that the weakest point in their opponents’ defense was right in the middle. If they could get a run play through the defensive line, it was almost guaranteed to get past the middle linebacker and would only be stopped by the free safety, which would usually result in enough yardage for a first down or close to it. With a seven-point lead and little time left in the game, the Park Panthers’ coach decided that the best strategy was to call run plays up the middle for the remainder of the game.

  The first such play resulted in a gain of seven yards. The second, a gain of five for a first down. The third, a gain of fifteen for a first down. The fourth, a gain of four. The fifth, a gain of nine for a first down. The sixth, a gain of eighteen for a first down and a field position on the Olympians’ twenty-yard line with slightly under two minutes left in play. Even if they didn’t score a touchdown, they could easily kick a field goal, making it virtually impossible for the Olympians to win.

  The next play was another run up the middle. Every member of the Olympian defense expected it, and one member, a lineman named Eric Rakey, decided that instead of going for the tackle, he would attempt to strip the ball, knowing that a turnover might be the only thing that would allow the Olympians a chance to win their season opener.

  As the Park Panthers’ tailback came through the hole immediately to Eric’s right, Eric raised his hand and swatted at the ball in the tailback’s hands as hard as he could, causing a fumble that was recovered by Bill Francis.

  The Olympians’ offense took the field on their own eighteen-yard line with one minute and forty-two seconds left on the clock. The first play called was the seven-six-two smash, a running play. Danny knew that Coach Quinn had made no attempt to reprimand him for calling his own play earlier in the half, but he felt that doing it again might incur some form of punishment. He ran the play as called for a gain of one yard. The next play was also a running play. He ran it as called for a gain of two yards. On third down, Coach Quinn called another running play. This time, Danny decided to override his coach in an attempt to win the game. Danny called the wide-right fly, a play designed to get Chris Truby as deep as possible while making it seem as though the intended receiver was much closer to the line of scrimmage in the flat on the right side.

  Danny connected with Chris for a gain of thirty yards, putting the Olympians just over the fifty-yard line. In the stands, the parents credited Coach Quinn with finally deciding to pass. On the sidelines, Coach Quinn called his last time-out. As the offense made their way to the sidelines, Danny correctly assumed that calling his own play a second time might have been a mistake.

  Coach Quinn said, “I don’t know what in the hell is going on, but that’s the second play this game that I’ve called that got changed in the huddle. Now who’s doing it?”

  None of the players said anything. Coach Quinn said, “Well, it can only be one of two people. It’s either the guy I sent the play in with or Danny. So who is it?”

  Again, no one said anything. Danny was surprised that Tanner Hodge, the tailback who had brought the original play into the huddle, said nothing. Tanner wanted to win the game as much as anyone else and also recognized that Coach Quinn clearly had some personal reasons for calling running plays that were not working.

  As the referee blew the whistle to resume play, Coach Quinn said, “Fine. We’ll be running extra laps tomorrow. Right now, you run the five-three-four flip. Got it?”

  The entire team responded in unison, “Yes, sir!”


  As they took the field, Danny called a huddle and said, “Guys, I was the one changing the plays, and I’m going to do it again right now. If we’re going to win this game, it’s going to be with a pass to Chris. Are we all cool with that?”

  The other members of the Olympian offense nodded or answered in the affirmative. Danny had their support. He said, “Okay, then, we have thirty-four seconds left and about fifty yards to cover. Coach Quinn has no more time-outs, so let’s do it in two plays. First one, Y left hook, on two. Ready—break!” Danny passed the ball for a gain of twenty-four yards, leaving the Olympians with twenty-eight seconds and twenty-three yards to the end zone. Coach Quinn sent in Randy Trotter with a new play—a running play. Danny looked over to the sidelines. The coach was looking directly at Danny. He knew that Danny was the one calling his own plays. Danny understood that he was already going to endure some punishment for what he had done, so he had no reason to run Coach Quinn’s play at this point. He called the Z cross, another pass play to Chris Truby, and executed it for a touchdown. After the extra point, the Olympians were ahead twenty-one to twenty with less than ten seconds left on the clock. The Park Panthers were unable to score again in that time, resulting in the Olympians claiming a victory in their first game of the season.

  As the players ran off the field toward the field house, Hannah Clint found Chris Truby and said, “Hey, you were seriously awesome out there.”

  Chris said, “Thanks,” as he stared at her breasts.

  She said, “You’re cute,” quickly kissed him on the lips, and then giggled and ran off with the other Olympiannes. Chris continued on into the field house thinking about how underwhelming his first kiss had just been.

  In the parking lot after the game Jim, Don, and Kent stood near their cars waiting for their sons to be released by Coach Quinn. Jim said to Don, “Well, it looks like our kids are going to be carrying the team this year.”

  Don was drunk. He said, “Guess so.”

  Jim said to Kent, “If Tim was out here, it wouldn’t have even been a close game.”

  Kent said, “Yeah, I know. That kid they got playing his spot is pretty terrible.”

  Jim said, “You should really talk to him.”

  Kent said, “Yeah.”

  The Olympiannes came off the field and out into the parking lot. Dawn found Hannah and said, “Hey, I got some good shots.” Hannah said, “Cool. I tried to really pop my boobs out. Did you get that?”

  Dawn said, “Yeah, I think so. You looked great.”

  Brooke and Allison left together. Brooke’s mother, Sarah, was waiting in the parking lot. She said, “How was the game, girls?”

  Brooke said, “We won and Danny threw the winning pass. It was awesome.”

  Sarah said, “That’s great. Allison, your mom called me and asked if I could give you a ride home, so you’re with us tonight.”

  Allison said, “Thanks, Mrs. Benton.”

  In the field house, the team celebrated and congratulated Danny and Chris on their successful plays, the plays everyone correctly recognized as being the sole reasons for their victory. Coach Quinn was livid. He said, “Everyone sit down and shut up!” He knew it would go against school district policy to curse at a student, even in the current context of a sporting event outside of school. He found it difficult to control his temper, but managed to say, “I know we won, and that’s a good thing, of course, but the way we won is not a good thing. You all know I don’t like singling people out, but tonight one person on this team undermined my authority, and I can’t have that if we’re going to have a team that works together as a unit. Danny Vance, you played a hell of a game, there’s no question about that, but you played that game for yourself, not for your team.”

  Danny tried to protest, “Coach, we wouldn’t have won without—”

  Coach Quinn said, “That’s enough! You don’t know what we would or wouldn’t have done if you would have run the plays I called. Now, like I said, we won, that’s a good thing. But next week, Danny—since you proved tonight that you’re not a team player—you’re benched. Kramer, you’re starting. And that’s the last we’re talking about it. Go home tonight. Be happy we won and come back Monday morning ready to put in some hard work at practice. We have Irving next week. They may not seem like much, but we can’t take them for granted. So let’s get it done. Everybody in.”

  On Coach Quinn’s command, the entire team gathered in the center of the room and put their hands together. Coach Quinn said, “One, two, three,” and everyone in unison screamed, “Olympians!” Then Coach Quinn headed to his office in the field house, leaving the team to gather their equipment and file out into the parking lot, where their parents were waiting.

  On the ride home, Jim told Danny how immensely proud he was of the way he played. He went on to explain that he thought the team couldn’t have won without him, and that Coach Quinn should be calling far more passing plays than he did. A few minutes into the ride home, Danny received a text message from Brooke that read, “Great game, babe. Ur super hawt. Movies 2moro?” He replied, “Sure. Cu 2moro.” Danny made no mention of his reprimand, or of the fact that he wouldn’t be starting the following week.

  chapter

  six

  It rained on Saturday. This made parking at the Westfield Gateway Mall more tedious than it usually was for Dawn Clint. As she drove through the rows of cars looking for a parking space that was close enough to the main entrance for her liking, she envied her daughter, who sat in the passenger’s seat sending and receiving text messages at a rapid pace. Dawn said, “Who’re you texting?”

  Hannah said, “Just a friend from school.”

  Dawn said, “Uh-oh. Just a friend from school whose name you won’t tell me. I think my daughter’s texting with a boy. What’s his name?”

  Hannah said, “Chris.”

  Dawn said, “And is Chris cute?”

  Hannah said, “Yes.”

  Dawn said, “Am I going to get to meet this Chris?”

  Hannah said, “Um . . . I’m pretty sure you can let me text without the inquisition.”

  Dawn said, “Sorry. Sorry. Just curious.”

  Hannah and Chris had been texting that morning about nothing in particular. The conversation was initiated by Hannah, who sent a text message that read, “How u feelin after the big catch last night?” to which Chris replied with a text message that read, “Pretty good I guess. What r u up 2?” Hannah described a day at the mall with her mother, which was a usual occurrence for her on the weekends. Chris described a day at home with his parents, watching college football with his father, which was a usual occurrence for him on the weekends.

  At one point Chris sent a text message that read, “What wuz up with the kiss last night?” to which Hannah replied with a text message that read, “I like you, dummy.” This shift in the conversation, from the mundane outlining of their day’s plans to their attraction to each other, led down a path that prompted Hannah to send Chris a text message that read, “Have U ever had sex?” to which Chris replied with a text message that read, “No. Have U?” to which Hannah replied with a text message that read, “Only oral.” This text is what made Chris leave the living room, where he was watching football with his mother and father, and go to his room, where he masturbated in his bed throughout the rest of the conversation.

  Through these text messages, Hannah admitted that she had performed oral sex only once before and she might need some practice. Chris offered to be her practice partner as he continued to masturbate. Hannah said she’d think about it. Chris asked her to tell him exactly what she’d do to him if they were to be alone together. Hannah took a few seconds before responding. She wondered if someone other than Chris could possibly see these text messages. Up to that point, they had written nothing pornographic, but she was approaching the line. She ultimately decided that, even if Chris were to show these text messages to any of his friends, like Danny Vance, they would only make her more desirable to the rest of t
he male population at Goodrich Junior High School.

  As Dawn pulled into the closest parking space she could find, Hannah sent a text message to Chris Truby that read, “I wud totally suk ur cok until ur cum dripped down my throat. GTGFN. At the mall.” Despite the arousal he was experiencing as a result of the text message conversation with Hannah, he found himself unable to achieve orgasm. He turned his laptop on, went to a site called Tnaflix.com, and searched specifically for a streaming video of a man receiving oral sex from a woman while another woman slid a phallic-shaped glass rod into his anus. Chris had recently discovered a type of pornography that dealt with prostate stimulation and submissive male sexual behavior, and it seemed to be the only type of pornography that would arouse him enough to achieve orgasm. He tried to think of Hannah performing oral sex on him while she inserted a dildo in his anus. That thought, along with the image of the man in the video being fellated and simultaneously penetrated, was enough for Chris to ejaculate as his parents watched the second quarter of the Nebraska-Colorado game come to a close.

  Danny Vance and his father, Jim, were also at the Westfield Gateway Mall that morning. Jim had promised Danny that if he threw a touchdown pass in their season opener, he would buy him a new Xbox 360 game. Jim also thought this would give him a chance to engage in the conversation about sex with his son that his wife demanded occur.

  As they walked from the main entrance of the mall toward GameStop, Jim said, “So, what’d Brooke think of how you played last night?”

  Danny said, “She was into it.”