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 ï>¿The Trailer Park: The Fourth Year A Story in the Wynter/Trailer Park
Universe by Wizard CopyrightÂ(C) 2006 by Wizard

   Chapter 46

   "Are you an angel?" Tami asked when she finally opened her eyes twenty
minutes later.

   I grinned down at her.  "I thought that was my line."

   She smiled.

   My weekend was made.  Who cares about a silly state championship?

   Tami folded down her blanket, and her tits became my whole world.  Which
is too bad, 'cause I was about to cure cancer.  Then she folded it down
further and I forgot all about her tits.

   I crawled up between her legs and buried my face in her crotch.

   Tami giggled.  "Didn't you get enough?"

   I licked down one side of her slit and up the other.  "Have you?" I
said, looking up her body with a smile.

   She giggled, but slipped out from under me and ran to the bathroom.

   I wondered if the coach would notice if I stayed here all day.

   "So what's on the agenda today?" Tami asked as she padded back into the
room.

   "I thought I'd stay here in bed all day."

   "Works for me," she said and crawled up on the bed next to me.  "Of
course, I had my heart set on sleeping with a state champion tonight, but I
can always find out where the Pasco team is staying."

   "Revised agenda.  I guess I'm either winning a football game or beating
up an entire football team."

   "Works for me.  Seriously, what's your schedule?"

   "Well, we're supposed to meet for breakfast at ten.  Then we're going to
some athletic club for a little workout and to meet the Seahawks with the
Cougars.  We're supposed to be back here at two and have a couple of free
hours, then we leave for the game about four.  You are, of course,
invited."

   "Oh, boy, I could meet the Seahawks and the Cougars.  I don't know if I
can handle the excitement."

   "Sarcasm.  I've got to keep you away from Robbie."

   "Phu-leese, I did know how to be sarcastic before Monster Girl came
along."

   I nodded.  She may have known how, but didn't get nearly as much
practice.  "So you're just going to hang here?"

   "I've got some plans, but maybe you could pencil me in at two."

   "I don't know.  I had cheerleaders scheduled from two to three.  And
groupies from three to four."

   "You've got groupies?"

   "I sing.  I tackle.  I pass.  Of course I've got groupies."

   Tami pretended to swoon.  "I'm so lucky that you even talk to me."

   "That you are," I agreed.

   "Maybe you could squeeze me in between the cheerleaders and the
groupies. I'd be so grateful." She reached down and started massaging my
balls.

   "How grateful?"

   Her hand closed on my jewels and squeezed.  "I just might let you keep
these."

   "I'll rearrange my schedule," I said quickly, and the squeeze turned
back into a massage.  Note to self: Never negotiate with unprotected
testicles.  "So what are you going to do till then?"

   "I'll have breakfast with you, and then I'll go shopping or something
while you meet the Seagulls."

   "Seahawks," I said automatically, though I knew she knew the difference.
"So how are we going to kill a couple hours until breakfast?"

   "Maybe I can teach you to tell time."

   What?  I looked at the clock.  It was ten till ten.  I couldn't believe
it was so late.  We were in bed at ten.

   "I've got to get back to my room and get dressed," I said, jumping up.

   "You might want to shower too."

   I made a face at her as I climbed into yesterday's clothes.

   I raced down the hallway.  Just as my hand reached for the doorknob of
my room, it opened.  Robbie and I looked at each other.  "Can't talk now.
Gotta run," we both said as she raced out and I raced in.

   Larry was lying naked on the bed, looking dazed.  I ignored him, grabbed
some fresh clothes, and headed for the bathroom.  In five minutes I was
showered, deodorized, brushed, and dressed.  Larry was still lying on the
bed, looking up at the ceiling.

   "You want me to tell the coach you're fasting?" I asked as I sat on the
bed to tie my shoes.

   "The coach!  Oh, fuck!" he yelled, and rolled off the bed.

   'There, but for the grace of God, go I, ' I thought, as I tied my second
shoe.  Or maybe 'There, but for a girlfriend who can tell time, go I.'

   "I'll tell coach you're too tired for breakfast," I yelled as I opened
the door.  "If you're lucky, he won't ask why." I closed the door before
Larry could answer.

   In the lobby, the coach and his assistants were standing by the front
desk.  The coach was drumming his fingers.  I looked at the clock, straight
up ten o'clock.  I looked around.  About half the team was here, including
Robbie.  I couldn't believe she'd beat me.  And I couldn't believe how good
she looked doing it.

   The cheerleaders were all here.  I wondered how many spent the night in
the right rooms.

   The elevator dinged, and I looked over.  Tami and Mike got off.  She was
laughing at something he said.  I was surprised, 'cause she didn't like him
because of the way he treated Darlene.  But then again, Tami tried to be
nice to everyone.

   Tami walked over, and I hugged her as if I hadn't seen her all night.  I
wondered if I was fooling anyone but myself.

   Darlene, Allie, Robbie, and Larry shared breakfast with us at the next
door Denny's.  Robbie was her usual self, but Larry kept sneaking looks at
her.  Monster Girl strikes again.

   Darlene and Allie were quiet until Tami asked, "Did you guys share him
with Paula and Bambi again?" She timed it so that they both were sipping
their milk.  Darlene spit hers halfway across the table, and Allie
swallowed wrong and started choking until Larry pounded her on the back a
couple of times.

   "She's very understanding," I explained.  "She wouldn't even mind if she
knew I was stroking your leg."

   Darlene was sitting next to me.  "But you're not..." She stopped when my
hand settled halfway up her leg.  You got to love those cheerleader
outfits: short skirts and lots of leg.

   After breakfast, Tami went back to the motel and the rest of us piled on
the bus for the trip to the athletic club.  The club was great.  I think
they had every piece of exercise equipment ever imagined.

   We got there about eleven, and the Cougars were about twenty minutes
behind us.  For the next hour the two teams ran around the club trying
everything.  There was a lot of trash talk, but no trouble.  After all this
was Washington, not Chicago.

   The Seahawks were scheduled to meet us at noon and managed to get there
before one thirty.  It was obvious that they had better things to do.  At
least, it was obvious after the cameras were off.  One guy was on his cell
to his agent about a cologne ad before the cameraman got his equipment off
his shoulder.

   There were only three who seemed to be actually interested in being
there, and they weren't the three I would have expected.

   Tami was in the lobby when we got back.  Her hand slipped into my back
pocket as we kissed, and it stayed there as we walked toward the elevator.

   "I thought maybe you went straight to your cheerleaders," she said as
she pushed the up button.

   "Nah, I rescheduled the cheerleaders for three and the groupies for
three-thirty.  The damn Seahawks were over an hour late."

   The doors opened and we stepped in, then got pushed to the back as a
dozen of my team-mates joined us.  A couple got off on two, but most stayed
with us to three.  After they'd stampeded off, Tami and I followed more
sedately.

   "Your room or mine?" I asked suggestively.

   "Uh, mine." Her answer was less enthusiastic than I expected.

   "Is something wrong?"

   "Uh, no." She didn't say anything else as we walked down the hall to her
door.  She pulled her keycard out of her pocket and inserted it in the lock
until the little light turned green.  She pushed the handle down and the
door swung open.  "One of your groupies wants to talk to you."

   "I always have time for a groupie," I said and pushed her through the
door.  I swung the door closed with my foot and kissed her for real.  As I
did, my hand slipped under her shirt and cupped her breast through her bra.

   "He..." she started a minute later.

   "Oops.  Sorry.  All groupies most be female and between the ages of
thirteen and twenty."

   "One of your fans then.  He..."

   "Nope.  All fans most be female and between twelve and thirty."

   "That's very democratic of you," she said dryly.

   "I thought so," I agreed.

   "Okay, my dad wants to talk to you."

   "Your dad?"

   Tami nodded.

   "He wants me to call him?"

   Tami hesitated, then shook her head.  "He's next door."

   You know, my all-time favorite show is Mission: Impossible.  The old
ones from about sixty-nine with Peter Graves and Leonard Nimoy.  My
favorite part was the very end when the dictator or spy or general or
whoever realized that he's been setup.  I didn't know why that was flashing
through my mind now.

   "I don't have anything to say."

   "Will you listen?"

   I ignored the question.  "Did he bring you here?" she nodded.  "And he
was in the room last night?" she nodded again.

   Nine months ago he was going to blow my kneecap off for calling myself
Tami's boyfriend.  I didn't want to think about what he'd want to blow off
now.

   "I think I'll go back to my room now.  You and your father can spend
some quality time together." I guessed that was safe.  Tami always insisted
that her dad had never hit her.

   Tami stepped between me and the door.  "Anthony Marion Sims!  I love
you, and you say, you love me.  I'm asking you to talk to my dad."

   I stared at her face for a long time.

   "Lady, you fight dirty."

   "I learned from the best." She smiled, then added, "Robbie."

   She reached out, and I took her hand.  "Let's go." Why did I feel like a
priest should be following me, reading scripture?

   We went next door and knocked.  "It's us, Daddy," Tami called,

   "Come in."

   Tami smiled at me before putting her hand on the door handle.  "You
ready?"

   No!  Not even.  I want to go hang by the pool with the cheerleaders. 
"Let's do it."

   Tami opened the door, and I saw Daddy.  I hadn't forgotten how big he
was, but I'd tried.  I'd called him King Kong.  Now, standing in front of
him, I was thinking more like Godzilla.

   "Daddy, this is Tony."

   "I remember," he said, his voice neutral.

   Now I was supposed to talk.  What to say?  I could go with the standard,
'Nice to meet you, ' or 'Good to see you again, ' but both would be lying
through my teeth.  The man beat his wife.  There was nothing nice or good
about this.  He'd be in jail if I'd had the guts to say no to Tami.

   "Uh, hi."

   The silence after that was like a huge weight.  We stood there, not
moving, not talking.

   King Kong finally broke the spell.  "Baby, maybe this would be easier if
you waited in your room?"

   I wanted to volunteer to wait in her room.

   Tami looked at me.  "Daddy, I'm not sure..."

   He smiled down at her.  "It'll be okay."

   She looked from her dad to me, then back at Daddy.  "Promise?"

   "I promise."

   Tami turned toward me and held out both hands.  I took them, and she
squeezed.  Then she smiled and was gone.  I took a deep breath and looked
back at King Kong.

   "Tony would you sit down?" he asked, pointing at the bed.  I wanted to
stay on my feet.  It would make it easier to run.  "Please?"

   I walked to the bed and sat down.  King Kong walked to the window and
looked outside.  I could see that the sky had turned darker.  There was a
flag in the distance that was whipping furiously in the wind.

   "My little girl loves you."

   I figured that was enough talk right there.

   "That must mean you're something special."

   Now comes the part where he threatens, 'if I ever hurt her.'

   "I think you're special too."

   Huh?

   "You came charging to the rescue when you thought Tami and her mom were
in trouble.  That means a lot to me.  Even though I was the trouble.  That
says a lot about the kind of person you are, and the kind of feelings that
you have for Tami.

   "You may not believe this, but I am so glad that you stopped me when you
did.  I was so mad that night that I don't know what I would have done.  I
still love Tami's mom.  I don't know what I would have done if something
happened to her.  Especially if I was that something."

   "How can you say you love someone and hurt them?" I asked, knowing I
should keep my mouth shut.

   King Kong turned and looked down at me.  I figured I could be off the
bed and out the door in a second or less.  "I don't know," he said and
turned back to the window.  "I just don't know."

   For a second I almost felt sorry for him.  Then I remembered the look on
Tami's mom's face when he had his hand on her throat.

   "The department has a shrink, and I've been talking to him ever since I
went home.  I'm trying to understand, but I don't."

   "So you're still a cop?"

   "Yeah.  Yeah, I am.  It's important to me that you understand.  I had
three things in my life that were important to me.  They were what my life
was all about: being a cop, Bonny, and Tami.  I almost lost all three."

   "I know that I've lost Bonny.  And I almost lost Tami.  And I could have
lost being a cop, if not for you dropping the charges.  That's why I
finally went to counseling."

   "I didn't do it for you.  I did it for Tami."

   He turned and looked at me again.  "And I'll bet you didn't like it a
bit."

   "I'm still not sure it was the right thing to do."

   "The right thing can be elusive at times," he agreed, looking back at
the sky.  "Tami talks about you constantly.  She really wanted me to watch
you play today."

   Another one of those what-do-you-say moments.

   "She says she's gonna marry you."

   "That's the plan."

   I think he smiled, but with his back to me, it was hard to tell.  "She
could do worse," he said to the window.

   I decided to take that as a compliment.

   "The head doctor seemed to think that talking to you was part of the
process."

   "Is it helping?"

   "I don't know.  Part of me wants to throw you through this window.  The
guy who took my little girl's innocence."

   I looked at the door and judged the distance again.

   "But part of me realizes just how happy she is.  She was never that
happy when we lived as a family."

   I felt that I should say something here, but my throat was too dry and
my brain too numb.

   He turned and walked to the bed, towering over me.  He held his hand
down to me.  "I was hoping you'd shake my hand."

   I looked up at him.  King Kong.  Godzilla.  It wasn't hard to imagine
him with a rubber hose in a back room.

   "No," I said, standing and ignoring his outstretched hand.  I reminded
myself of the fine line between brave and stupid.

   "No?"

   "There's a lot of things I'll do just because I love Tami.  Shaking your
hand isn't one of them."

   He looked down at his extended hand.  Slowly, he let it drop to his
side. "I understand."

   "I'm not sure you do.  I'd be happy to, proud to, shake the hand of the
man that Tami sees when she looks at you.  I'm hoping to meet that man
someday.  And shake his hand."

   King Kong walked back to the window.  He didn't look as big anymore.

   I let myself out of the room, wondering how somebody could go so wrong.
'There but for the grace of God, go I.' That could never be me, grace of
God or not.  I knew it couldn't.

   In the hall, I turned away from Tami's door and walked to the stairs.  I
climbed up and through the door marked STAFF ONLY.  Outside, I stood and
looked at the building storm.  A few rain drops hit me, and a snow flake.
Mostly the wind tried to rip my clothes off.

   I wondered if Tami and I could go to Honolulu and hire a boat for a
three-hour tour.  Life would be so much simpler without other people.



   Chapter 47

   The ref blew his whistle, and the battle for the state championship was
on.  We ran forward.  Jimmy kicked the ball, and we watched it sail through
the air deep into the Cougar backfield.  I looked out of the corner of my
eye.  Robbie was streaking ahead on the left and Larry and Jimmy in the
center.  The idea was simple: get to the ball fast and force a turnover.  A
blocker came up in front of me.  I hit him, spun to my right and kept
going.

   I picked up on the ball and put on the speed, but another blocker hit me
from the side and I almost lost my balance.  By the time I regained it,
Larry was all over the guy.  The ball went loose, and there was Robbie
scooping it up.  Before she could take a step, two Cougars hit her.  She
went down hard, but held onto the ball.

   The story of the first half was turnover.  I'm pretty sure we set a
state record for turnovers in the first quarter, and the second quarter was
worse.  When the gun signaled the end of the half there were nine
interceptions.  Mike had thrown three and Robbie one.

   I not only didn't have any interceptions charged against me, I led the
game in passing yards.  Twelve.  That's for the half.  It was obvious that
the battle was going to be on the ground.

   But on the ground wasn't much better.  Eighteen fumbles, nine for each
side.  It was like the battle for the Eastern front in World War Two.  We
gained a yard, we lost a yard.

   At least the sports writers were wrong.  With a nothing to nothing score
as we trudged toward the locker rooms, the Cougars weren't dominating
anything.

   It was one of the quietest half-time locker rooms I'd ever been in.  We
weren't whipped, we were determined.  We didn't need rah-rah.  We just had
to go back out and fight for every yard.

   Robbie motioned to me, and we found a private spot between rows of
lockers.  "Hold me," she asked quietly.

   Hugging a girls when you're wearing full pads isn't very satisfying. 
When she's in pads, too, it's downright frustrating.  But I held her.

   "I want it so bad." I knew she meant the game and not anything with me.

   "Shhhush.  Just relax.  Try to remember that in the real world, we're
not even supposed to be here yet.  We're just sophomores."

   "That doesn't help," she said and held me tighter.

   "How 'bout this: if we lose, we blame everything on Mike."

   Robbie laughed.  "Works for me." She let go and stepped back.  "Are we
going to lose?"

   I knew she wasn't looking for confidence building.  I shrugged.  "We're
good, so are they.  We want it, so do they.  It may come down to luck.  I'm
just glad to be playing ball."

   "That's what I like about you.  You see the big picture."

   "It's not a big picture, it's a very small one.  I like what I'm doing.
It's all about me.  How far can I push myself?  I guess I'm an individual
in a team sport.  That's why baseball is my favorite sport, it's the most
individual team sport there is.  Don't get me wrong, I like to win.  Hell,
I love to win.  But this is about me looking good."

   Robbie grinned.  "You're so full of it."

   "Ready to play some football?"

   "Yeah, I think I am.  But I still want to win."

   "Well if Monster Girl wants to win, it's all over.  The Cougars might as
well go home.

   The Cougars kicked off to start the second half.

   Mike was supposed to take the kickoff, but Robbie accidentally bumped
him out of the way and caught the ball.  Larry and I jumped in front of
her, and the phalanx charged forward to the Cougar forty-nine.  As I helped
Robbie back to her feet I noticed Mike still standing on our twenty,
watching.

   The next play I took the hike and faded back.  I was supposed to hand
off to Mike, but saw Robbie was open and fired a short five-yard pass to
her.  Monster Girl found a hole and added eight yards to our total.

   Mike grabbed my face mask.  "That wasn't the play."

   I grinned.  "That's a first down.  Want to ask the ref to call it back?"

   We set up again.  I took the hike, faded back.  Robbie and Mike were in
motion.  The plan was fake to Robbie and hand-off to superstar.  I slammed
the ball into Robbie's gut.  Our line shifted right to cover Mike.  Their
line shifted to cover ours, and Robbie punched out another nine yards.

   "That wasn't the play I sent in," the coach yelled when I trotted to the
sidelines a minute later.

   "It worked.  We're second down with a yard to go."

   "I send in plays for a reason."

   "Robbie's on fire.  I saw openings, I exploited them."

   "Sit!" he pointed toward the bench.

   I sat and watched Mike get thrown for a six yard loss.

   Third and seven.  Mike took the snap, faded back, then instead of the
handoff to Robbie, he tucked the ball in and headed toward our sideline. 
Unfortunately, so did two of the largest tackles I'd ever seen.  I wondered
if they had Sasquatch blood.  Mike reversed and headed the other way. 
Another Cougar broke through our line and headed right at him.  Mike
reversed again, and all three of them hit him at once.

   As I watched them climb off our star quarterback I almost felt sorry for
him.  That lasted until he got back to the huddle and I heard him yell "...
block for a change."

   "Sims!" The coach yelled, and I jumped off the bench.

   "Yes, Coach."

   "You're in for Mike.  We're going to punt.

   I popped off a snappy salute and rushed onto the field, pulling my
helmet on as I ran.  I got to the huddle and tapped Mike on the shoulder.
He looked up, and I jerked my thumb over my shoulder toward the sideline.
He nodded and trotted off.

   "Okay, ladies and Monster Girls, We're gonna punt on two or Monster them
on thirteen."

   "Is that what the coach called?" Jake Avery asked.

   "Who's the quarterback here?" I asked with a grin.

   Jake shook his head.  "You are, at least, for one more play."

   "On the punt, get down field as fast as you can and stop them hard. 
They don't cross the fifty.  Right?" I looked around the huddle, everybody
nodded.  "Let's do it." We clapped and rushed to our positions.

   Robbie hung back.  "You sure about this?"

   I smiled.  "Can you get me a first down?"

   She grinned back.  "Can you get me the ball?"

   We set up, Jake at center.  Mark Russell, who had the only decent foot
on the team was about six yards behind him.  I was three yards from the
line and a yard-and-a half to the right.

   "Down!" I looked around.  "Set!" I saw Robbie at the far end across from
one of the Sasquatch twins.  "Fourteen!" Their backfield was spread out
waiting for the punt.  "Eleven!" Well, thirteen always was my lucky number.
"Thirteen!"

   Jake snapped the ball diagonally to me.  I caught it, shifted it until I
could feel the threads.  Mark took two steps forward and kicked thin air. I
pulled the ball up by my ear and fired a short pass.

   Robbie hit Sasquatch with her left shoulder, then rolled right and to
the side of him.  She reached up in the air and pulled the ball down and
into her side.  She'd gotten three good steps before anyone knew she had
the ball.

   Robbie took about three more steps, then jerked to the right just as one
of the Cougars dived for her legs.  He missed, and she spun out of another
defender's reach and started running toward the sideline.  A Cougar grabbed
her by the shoulder pads from the back, but she refused to go down.  She
took a step, then another, dragging him along.

   Another Cougar hit her from the side, and she almost went down, but
managed to struggle up.  The player on her back had been knocked off.  She
jumped over a player diving for her knees and managed another five steps
before the Cougar quarterback nailed her right in the chest and knocked her
onto her back.

   Seventeen yards.  We had our first down with four yards to spare.  I
might actually get to play some more ball.

   The Pasco coach was yelling that she'd gone down, her knee had touched,
but all three officials were shaking him off.

   I rushed to Robbie.  "You okay?"

   She smiled weakly.  "You got me the ball."

   I grinned back.  "You got me the first down."

   She slapped me on the back and started to jog toward the huddle, but she
looked a little shaky.

   Mike was running onto the field pointing at me.

   I nodded, then looked toward the sideline and caught the coach's eye.  I
pointed toward Robbie, then toward the sideline.  He nodded, and called up
Cory Wood to replace her.

   I ran toward Robbie, caught up, and steered her toward the sidelines.  I
parked her on a bench and ran to the coach.

   He grabbed my face mask and pulled me close until his forehead was
almost touching my helmet.  "What do you think you're doing out there?" he
yelled.

   "Playing football," I yelled back.  "Ya see an opening, you go for it."

   The coach stared, then jerked me forward, his head bumping my helmet. 
"Good job.  Go make sure she's all there."

   I grinned and nodded.

   I sat next to Robbie, putting my arm around her.  "How's my Monster
Girl?"

   "Okay," she said without enthusiasm.  "How come I always get tackled by
guys bigger than me?"

   "I don't know.  Maybe because you're the smallest person on both teams."

   "Doesn't seem fair."

   "If it was any more fair, they'd outlaw you."

   "I say we call it a draw, and you and I go jump in a hot tub."

   "That is the best plan I've heard today.  Think you can sell them on
it?" I pointed to the opposite sideline.

   "Damn competitive bastards," she muttered.

   I laughed at Monster Girl calling anyone competitive.

   "It's been a long season," she sighed.

   "It's not over yet.  You think next year we should throw a game or two
so we don't have to mess with play-offs?"

   "Bite your tongue," Robbie said with a laugh.

   I glanced at the field.  "Thirty-nine right," I said before looking back
at Robbie.  "I think I'll let you bite it for me."

   She watched the play unfold.  Mike gained three yards, third and seven.

   "So what are you going to do with yourself without football or the
play?" I asked as the team huddled again.

   "I don't know.  What's next?" She nodded toward the field.

   "Twenty-two left."

   "I suppose I could catch up on my homework," she mused.

   "Like you're behind," I scoffed.

   "I'm not behind, I'm just not as far ahead as I'd like."

   I nodded and we watched the play on the field.  We gained another two
yards.

   "Punt," we said together.

   "That's a given," I added.

   "Unless you're on the field," Robbie accused.

   "Sometimes I even surprise myself."

   Robbie looked at me thoughtfully, then we watched the game.  Pasco
received the kick and brought the ball back out to our thirty yardline.

   Our defense did a hell of a job, and four downs later the Cougars
punted. Mike took the kick on our forty and ran it back to their
forty-nine. So far we were keeping the game on their half of the field.

   "Okay, hotshot," Robbie challenged.  "What's he gonna run now?"

   "Eighteen to Brian," I said confidently.

   We watched as Mike executed number eighteen in our playbook.  The pass
to Brian was blocked by a Cougar defender.

   Robbie looked at me.

   I shrugged.  "Probably twenty-three left or he might get tricky and go
seven tackle eligible."

   Robbie got off the bench and wandered over to the coach.  A second later
he yelled, "Sims!"

   I jumped up and hurried over.

   "Tate says you think Mike is predictable."

   "I'm not complaining," I explained, wondering why Robbie would rat me
out like that.  "Mike's doing a great job.  The Cougars have to be the
toughest team in the state."

   "Sims..." he paused while we watched the play, twenty-three left.  Mike
gained four yards.  Second and six.  "What's next?"

   "I don't know, I'm just guessing."

   "Sims!"

   I sighed.  "He'll probably go thirty-nine right again."

   "Do you know what the play is when I send it in?"

   "About half the time," I admitted.

   The coach shook his head.  "No wonder we can't get anywhere.  We're
predictable, and they've studied us."

   "Our big plays have come when Tony was out there," Robbie added.  "Even
he doesn't know what he's going to do next.

   The team ran thirty-nine right and gained two whole yards.  Third and
four.

   The coach slapped our backs.  "You're in."

   I pulled my helmet on as we ran out.  I tapped Mike, while Robbie called
out her guy.  I leaned into the huddle.  "Okay guys, thirty-one right. 
Robbie, you're a distraction.  Next play, no huddle.  Robbie, you take it,
what's up?"

   She nodded, "Fourteen.  Brian you're the man."

   Brian grinned and nodded.

   We clapped and headed for our spots.  On the snap, Robbie took off and
streaked down the field, three Cougars trying to pace her.  Brian was about
five yards down the opposite sideline.  I sent the ball spiraling right
into his arms.  He caught it easily and got another four yards before
getting bumped out of bounds.  First down on the thirty-five.

   No huddle.  Jake hiked the ball almost before the Cougars knew what was
happening.  Robbie took the snap, took three steps back, the ball coming up
by her ear.  This time, it was my turn to sprint down the left side, then
button hook back toward the center.  Robbie faked a passing motion toward
me, then underhanded it to Brian.  He caught it and plunged straight up the
middle, making five yards.

   We trotted back to the huddle.  "Okay ladies, thirty more yards and we
put some numbers on that big scoreboard.  Forty-four.  Brian, you're gonna
get a workout." He nodded.  "Then we go no huddle with Robbie in the slot
running sixty-nine."

   We clapped and broke.

   Jake snapped the ball.  I took three steps back, looked for Brian, and
found one of the Sasquatch twins sitting on my chest.  Note to self: ouch.

   No huddle, we set up and Robbie called the count.  On four, Jake snapped
the ball.  I started from the left and ran behind Robbie.  She slapped the
ball in my stomach but didn't let go.  I passed Brian coming from the right
side.  Robbie faked the handoff to him too, then plowed up the middle.

   First down on the Cougar twenty.

   Three more plays and we only made four yards.  The damn Sasquatch Twins
seemed to be everywhere.  Maybe we could get the refs to check their birth
certificates.  They probably went to UW.

   We got back to the huddle, fourth and six.

   "We gonna punt?" Robbie asked.

   "Hell no.  Jake, you make a touchdown this year?" Jake shook his head.
"Here's your chance.  On two."

   We hustled out of the huddle.  "Fourteen!" The Cougars could see we
weren't gonna punt.  "Six!" Robbie was in motion, running behind me from
the left side.  "Two!" Jake snapped the ball between his legs.  I touched
it, then took three steps back, looking for Robbie.  Jake pulled the ball
back to his stomach and blocked the Cougar in front of him.  The Cougar saw
a hole open up between Jake and Doug and rushed through it, crashing into
me before I could pass my imaginary ball.  Jake started running.  A Cougar
brought him down on the eleven, a yard short of our first down.

   The third quarter ended with nobody on the scoreboard, but we hadn't let
the Cougars past the fifty.

   Mike went back in when we got the ball, but the coach had gotten through
to him about being predictable, cause now, even I didn't know what he was
going to do.

   But both teams were getting tired.  The fourth quarter turned into a
dance, up and down the field.  The Cougars got within five before we
stopped them, then we fought back to their ten.

   With four minutes left, we'd fought our way to their twenty and the
coach decided to go for the field goal.  I called the count, "Sixteen,
fourteen, seven!" Jake snapped the ball.  I caught it and centered it on
the ground.  Mark ran up and booted it right down the center.  I stood, and
we watched it sail through the air -"right into the damned crossbar -"and
bounce back.

   As I jogged off the field, I wondered if maybe we could raid the soccer
team for a kicker.  Hell, even the girl's soccer team.  None of us could
kick worth a damn.

   At the two minute mark, the Cougars had gotten to our twenty-five and
tried their own kick.  It was perfect as it sailed right between the
uprights.  Pasco was on the board and we had one hundred and eleven seconds
to get there too.

   Mike, Robbie, and I jogged out to the field.  Halfway there, I clapped
Mike on the back.  "After tonight, I'll be the quarterback for this team,"
I said with a sneer.  I sped up before he could reply.

   Mike glared at me in the huddle.  He called for twenty-one right on two.
On the snap, he faded back and fired a bullet right into Robbie's arms. 
She ran out-of-bounds before she could get tackled and stopped the clock.
First down on our twenty.  I ran off the field and told Cory to go in for
me.

   "What are you doing here?" the coach growled.

   "Mike's not going to use me.  Might as well let Cory get some playing
time."

   "Now what?" His exasperation showing.

   "This is a good thing," I said.  "I hope," I added under my breath.

   I watched as Mike took the snap and plowed through the Cougar line for
another seven yards.  But the clock was ticking away.  Forty-four seconds.

   We didn't huddle.  Mike called a fast count, Jake hiked it right into
his hands, Robbie was streaking down the field.  Mike launched the ball
high in the air.  I watched as it came down right where Robbie was.  A
Cougar brought her down before she could get out.  First down on the Cougar
thirty-two, but only twenty-eight seconds and the clock was ticking down.

   Mike didn't huddle.  He called something I couldn't hear, and the team
took their positions.  Another short count and Mike took the snap.  He
pretended to hand-off to Robbie, then fired an eight-yard bullet right to
the waiting Brian.  Brian made another six yards before running out of
bounds.  First down on the eighteen, but at least the damned clock had
stopped.  I looked up.  Fifteen seconds.

   One, maybe two plays and eighteen yards.  It was doable.

   The team huddled, and I saw Robbie point toward me, but Mike shook his
head.  They broke and headed for their positions.  Jake snapped the ball.
Mike faked the handoff to Brian, then slapped the ball into Robbie's
stomach.

   Robbie sprinted toward the sideline, then turned toward the goal, making
nine yards before running out-of-bounds.  We were second and one, but more
important, we were nine yards from the state championship.  Three seconds
on the clock.

   A field goal would tie it up, but even from this distance our kicking
was too iffy.  I saw the coach signal to Mike to go for it.

   This was what football was all about.  One play for the state
championship.

   "He's gonna run it himself," I said.

   "What?" the coach asked, standing beside me.

   I hadn't even realized that I'd spoken out loud.  I wasn't sure if the
coach was asking what I said or why I said it.  I decided to answer the
second.

   "We've seen the same movie." The Replacements.  Gene Hackman to Keanu
Reeves.  "A winner always wants the ball."

   Which was okay, unless they showed the movie in Pasco too.

   Mike took the hike, faked a handoff to Robbie, then tucked the ball
under his arm and started running.  At first it seemed to be working.  Most
of the defense seemed to be keyed on Robbie.

   Mike was past the line of scrimmage.

   The defense realized that Robbie didn't have the ball and looked around.

   Mike was at the seven.

   The Cougars picked up on the ball.

   Mike was at the six.

   The whole Cougar team seemed to be homing in on him.

   The five.

   The Sasquatch Twins were out in front of the mob.  They were big, but
they could move.

   The four.

   It was going to be close.

   The three.

   I could see Sasquatch number one getting ready to lunge.

   The two.

   Sasquatch number one launched himself toward Mike's knees.  Number two
launched toward Mike's chest.  Mike leaped toward the goal line.

   The three of them hit in the air and went down.  Three more Cougars
joined the pile.  Part of the pile was over the goal, but where was Mike?
And where was the ball?

   The refs all came running up, and slowly the pile unpiled itself.  Then
the head ref was looking at the stands, his arms over his head and waving.
No touchdown.  Mike was less than six inches from the chalk line, but close
only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.  We lost.

   Bedlam.  A small word, only six letters.  But that's what the field
became.  Hundreds of Pasco fans poured onto the field, surrounding their
team.  Our team slunk toward our sidelines.

   It took almost fifteen minutes before the state officials could restore
enough order to present us our two-foot trophy and Pasco their five-foot
one.  Then the two teams lined up and shook hands.  Robbie had taken off
her helmet and shaken out her hair, and it was obvious that most of the
Pasco players wanted to do more than shake her hand.

   As we went back toward our sideline, I walked over to Mike and held out
my hand.  "Great game.  Especially that last drive."

   Mike ignored my hand and turned toward me.  "Remember this," he said and
I sensed his fist coming toward my stomach and tensed up just in time. 
"There's only one quarterback on this team."

   I doubled over as the air left my lungs before I was done with it.

   I stood back up, taking small breaths.  "That was fun.  Want to try it
again?"

   Mike looked surprised.

   Robbie came up next to him.  "If you were half as smart as you think you
are, you'd realize that Tony was making you mad to get you at the top of
your game.  And it worked."

   Mike's face fell as he realized what she was saying.

   Robbie reached down and, with her fist, rapped on Mike's protective cup.
"And sucker punch one of my friends again, and I'll make you a eunuch."

   Mike turned white and walked away.  I hoped he believed her.  I know I
did.  The team was sitting and standing around the benches, looking like
they'd just heard that the cheerleaders were going to start wearing parkas
and snow pants instead of short skirts.

   "What is your problem?" I asked.

   They looked at me, but nobody said anything.  "You're bummed because
we're the second best team in the state?  Last year we lost more games than
we won; this year we lost one.  And the one we lost was by inches.  And
people will talk about that last drive for years."

   Larry stood up.  "Goddamned sophomores.  Don't even know enough to be
depressed."

   "He's a sophomore?" I looked behind me and saw the Cougar quarterback.

   "They both are," Larry said, pointing to Robbie beside me.

   "I'm glad I'm a senior then.  I just wanted to tell you guys that you're
the toughest team we've ever faced.  This was a hell of a championship."

   Most of the team perked up at the compliment.

   He looked at Robbie.  "Ever date quarterbacks?"

   "Him," she said, hooking her thumb at me.

   "Ever consider moving to Pasco?"

   "No way.  But maybe I'll visit." She stepped forward and wrapped her arm
around him and kissed him.  Hard.  And long.

   "Oh, God!" he moaned when she let loose.

   "Holy shit!" Larry said with a grin.  "If you'd done him like that
before the game, we'd be the champs now."



   Chapter 48

   It had been a hell of a Monday.  If anyone learned anything, it was a
pure accident.  The school was celebrating.  We were the second-best team
in the state.  And compared to the last several years, that was something.

   We'd won the championship in '93 and hadn't even made the play-offs
since.

   First period, half the student body was still in the halls talking
half-an-hour after the bell rang.  It could have been a problem, except
most of the teachers were out there with us.

   Second period, we had an assembly where Larry and Jimmy, as co-captains,
presented our nice shiny-if-short trophy to Mrs.  Jeffries and Mr.  Mulino.
She cried, and he grinned a lot.  We were supposed to have the presentation
outside in the bleachers at the football field, but an unforecast freezing
rain moved it into the auditorium.

   The coach handed out our letters, along with miniature trophies for
second in state.  Normally, we had an athletic banquet for all the fall
sports for things like that.

   We got some certificates for the school, league, and state records we'd
broken during the season.  He also had special awards for everyone on the
team.  Mine was for widening his bald spot.  Jimmy and Larry shared one as
the heart and soul of the team.  Mike got his as the team mover, and I had
to admit, he'd moved the ball.

   Robbie got MVP, which was the only award voted by the team instead of
made up by the coach.  I found out later that it was one vote short of
unanimous, and I had a good guess who'd voted for himself instead of
Monster Girl.  I thought the coach was gonna cry during the presentation.
He told a whitewashed version of how she had to trick her way onto the
middle school team.  He didn't mention my name, but I noticed a lot of
heads turning toward me as he spoke.  He said that the school and
Washington football would be poorer if she'd just taken the rejection and
gone on to other things.

   When he pointed out that Robbie was not only the only girl to have won
the award, but the first sophomore, Robbie got a standing ovation.

   Then they added some future awards that Larry and Jimmy had created. 
Mike got Most-Likely-to-Lead-His-Team-to-a-Super-Bowl.  Robbie got the
First-Woman-in-the-NFL, and I got
Most-Likely-to-be-Traded-by-Every-Team-in-the-League.  I wondered if the
coach suggested that one.

   The poor basketball teams had it the worst.  As we swaggered the halls,
basking in our almost glory, we kept challenging them to keep the winning
tradition alive.  The boy's team hadn't made the play-offs since
ninety-four.  The girl's team had made play-offs six years in a row, but
hadn't gone the distance.

   Lunch was Round Table Pizza.  The booster club arranged it.  I don't
know how many boxes of pizza and bread sticks they brought in, but nobody
in the school went hungry.  It was definitely a step-up from the
pork-gravy-and-rice on the lunch menu.

   "Sims!  I want to talk to you."

   Ever notice how, when one guy says something like that to another guy in
a school hallway, that the center of the hall will open up, no matter how
crowded it is.  It was like two gunfighters squaring off in the old West.

   I glanced sideways at Mike about twenty feet down the hall.  "Just a
minute." I finished jamming books into my backpack and closed my locker.  I
set my backpack, jacket and gym bag down at Tami's feet.

   "What can I do for you?" I asked as I stepped out into the hall.  It was
unconscious on my part, but Mike and I were each in the center, with fifty
or sixty students squished against the walls and lockers.  I wished I'd
been wearing a jacket.  I could open it up and push the flap back behind my
imaginary holster, then flex my fingers a few times.

   "In private." He nodded his head toward Mr.  Howard's room.  I nodded
and followed him in and closed the door.  Mr.  Howard's room was the only
classroom in the school that didn't have a window in the door, which must
have disappointed our fans.

   "I don't like you," he said, when I faced him again.

   Damn!  Major newsflash.  Stop the presses.  Extra!  Extra!

   "That's too bad.  I like you a lot.  I want to be just like you when I
grow up."

   Mike looked like I hit him between the eyes with a baseball bat.  He
hesitated, then started over.  "I don't like you.  But I wanted to say I
respect you."

   Huh?

   "You're a great football player.  Maybe even better than me, since you
play almost everywhere."

   That had to hurt.

   "And I realized that Robbie was right.  You were trying to get me mad
Friday night, to get me to play better.  I realized that even if you'd
thought those things, you wouldn't have said them, especially not there."

   Yeah.  I did all the work, and he got the trophy for game MVP.

   "I know you're good.  And Robbie too.  And that made me work harder to
stay out in front.  And the coach told me that you're the one who figured
out that Pasco was anticipating me."

   I wondered if Mike had actually learned something or if he was trying to
practice team leadership the same way he practiced passing by throwing the
football through a tire.

   Mike stepped closer to me and held out his hand.  "Thank you for being
on my team."

   I decided that he was practicing team leadership.  If he'd learned
anything he would have said, 'Thanks for being on THE team with me.'

   I shook his hand anyway.  "It was a pleasure," I lied.  "I learned a
lot."

   "You're awfully quiet," Tami observed as we walked toward the middle
school.  At least the rain, freezing or otherwise had stopped.

   "I was just wondering if it was too early to start campaigning for team
captain next year."

   "Just so Mike won't get it?"

   "Do you really think I'm that petty?"

   Tami slip her arm around me and into my back pocket, then laid her head
against my shoulder as we walked.  "Yep."

   Don't you just hate when a girl knows you too well?

   "Ladies, this is Tony Sims.  He's going to help Tami and me with the
team."

   Eight smiling faces looked up at me.  They all had big smiles, but about
half showed strain beneath the smiles.  The girls were all in the splits.
Four of them were all the way down and seemed relaxed.  The other four were
pushing down and obviously uncomfortable.  Kelly was in the first group;
Traci was in the second.

   "We always do our team meetings while the girls are in their splits,"
Miss Calloway explained.

   "Yeah, it's so much easier this way," one of the straining girls
grunted.

   I grinned at her, and she stuck her chest further out.  Beneath her
form-fitting leotard it looked like there were two M&M's glued to her
otherwise flat chest.  I wondered if they were plain or peanut.

   I looked around.  They were all cute.  And all had the beginnings of
nice bodies.  Five of them wore single ponytails, two had doubles.  I had
an e-mail friend who was really into ponytails.  I'd have to take a picture
and send it to him.  Between the leotards and the ponytails, he'd be in
heaven.

   "Tony is going to help with the spotting," Miss Calloway continued.

   "He'll be a big help," Kelly said.  "He knows nothing about gymnastics."

   I think she was just joking around, but there was a slight edge to her
jibe.

   "Kelly, two extra laps tonight," Miss Calloway said.

   "Yes ma'am," Kelly said and looked down at her pointed toe.

   "You know," I said with a smile, "Kelly's right.  I don't know much
about gymnastics."

   "He's teaching me," Traci interrupted.  "And you know I'm getting
better."

   Several girls nodded, including Kelly.

   I decided not to point out that Kelly had taught me most of what I was
teaching Traci.  "I was going to say that I don't know much about
gymnastics, but I don't think it's fair that half of you are working and
the other half relaxing."

   "It's not my fault that I've got my splits and they don't," Kelly
protested, and the other three girls who were down nodded.

   "A couple of years ago, a bright, cute girl was explaining why
gymnastics was better than football or baseball.  She said, 'In gymnastics,
no matter how good you get, you can always try to get better.'"

   "I said that?" Kelly asked, sounding surprised that I'd remembered.

   "You think she's cute?" a blond who was all the way down asked.

   "She was.  She outgrew it."

   Kelly stuck her tongue out.

   "Since gymnastics is all about pushing limits..." I walked over to the
wall and picked up four pieces of hard foam.  I came back and started
putting them under the front foot of the gymnasts who had their splits. 
The first three got foam blocks that were about six inches square.  As I
lifted their foot to slid the foam under, their hips lifted, and they
started to press down and obviously felt some of the strain the other girls
were in.

   The last block was about twelve inches square.

   "No way," Kelly said as I started lifting her foot.

   I lifted her foot higher.  "You showed me one of your gymnastics
magazines last summer, there was a picture of a gymnast with her foot on a
chair.  That's twice as high as this, and her split was all the way down."

   Kelly nodded reluctantly, and I slid the foam under her heel and set her
foot down.

   Point for my side.

   "I thought there were nine of you," I said.

   "Candice quit," one of the girls explained.  "She'd never done
gymnastics before."

   "Neither has Traci," Tami pointed out.

   The girl shrugged.

   "Relax," Miss Calloway said.  The girls got out of their splits and
shook out their legs, then stood and jumped a couple times.  "Second side."
The girls got down on their knees, put their other foot in front, and slid
down into the splits.  Three of the four girls who were all the way down on
the first side were still all the way down, so I went around and lifted
their feet onto their blocks.  I learned later that the girls did their
best side first.  "Introduce yourselves," Miss Calloway suggested.

   "I'm Stephy Ward.  I'm an eighth grader, and I'm on the team in town as
a level seven.  I've been doing this since I was four." The girl was the
smallest in the group, and I was surprised that she was an eighth grader.
She had medium length brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and a
chest without a single bump.  She was one who had her splits.

   "Oh, and I do all four," she added.  Tami had explained that in high
school and middle school gymnastics, the team would have six girls compete
each event, and the top five scores would count for the team.  Usually, one
or two of the girls would be all-around, would do all four events.  The
rest specialized in just one or two.  In club gymnastics, like the team in
town, almost all gymnasts competed all-around.

   "I'm Rachel Clark.  I'm in seventh.  I'm a five in town.  I do beam and
floor.  I've been in gymnastics two years." Rachel was a blond, her hair
cut so short that she didn't need a pony tail.  Rachel also had her splits.

   "I'm Kelly Temple," Kelly said with a grin.  "I'm a seventh grader and a
level six.  I'm the other all-arounder."

   "You forgot to mention that you're a pain, but have two beautiful
sisters." Kelly stuck her tongue out at me.

   I looked at Tami.  "Remind me later to ask Miss Calloway if I can give
out those penalty laps." Tami nodded, and Miss Calloway, who was sitting
two feet away smiled.

   "I'm Brianna Lane.  I vault.  I'm in seventh, and I used to be on the
team in town, but I dropped out, I hate the bars." Brianna was a strawberry
blond, hair medium short and a Pebbles Flintstone ponytail coming out of
the top of her head.

   "I'm Susie Calloway.  No relation," she said, nodding at Miss Calloway.

   "How about Coach Calloway at the high school?" I asked.

   "He's my uncle."

   "Then you're Ricky's cousin."

   "No.  He's mine."

   "He's a good friend of mine."

   "I know.  He says you'd be a great baseball player if you'd stop getting
suspended during baseball season."

   I felt my face getting red, but couldn't stop it.  Several of the girls
giggled.

   "I do bars and vault," Susie continued.  "I used to be on the team, but
had to drop out when I didn't keep my grades up." Susie was blond and had
stereo ponytails.

   "I'm Miranda Williams.  I do vault, bars and floor.  I hate the beam. 
I'm a six in town and an eighth grader." Miranda had black hair in a loose
ponytail.

   "I'm Maria Hernandez.  I do beam and floor.  I'm in eighth.  I was on
the team before I started playing soccer." Maria was Hispanic, like her
name suggested, and beautiful, kind of like Catherine Zeta-Jones in the
Zorro movie.

   Traci grinned.  "I'm Traci Sims.  I've never done gymnastics before, but
I've got a big brother who's a superstar athlete and wanted to try this. 
I'm learning beam."

   I nodded.  "If I added right, that's five on vault, beam and floor.  And
four on bars.  I thought there was supposed to be six on each?"

   "It's a small team," Miss Calloway explained.

   "That's easy.  Traci, you'll do vault, bars and floor too.  Now we just
need another girl for bars and one for beam."

   "Tony!" You gotta love that look on Traci's face.

   "Is she always like that?"

   Tami looked over at the bars where Kelly was practicing her routine. 
"Pretty much.  Why?"

   I shook my head.  "That's more than practice."

   "She likes to win.  She practices hard.  You're the athlete, I'd think
you'd understand that."

   "I understand practice, and, like I said, that's more than practicing
hard.  That's attacking.  She's working off a mad."

   "But, she's always like that."

   "It must be a hell of a big mad."



   Chapter 49

   "Sit down.  Both of you."

   Damn!  Family meeting.  Never good.  I knew Tami and I should have
gotten out right after dinner.

   Traci and I sat on either end of the sofa, Dad in his chair, and Mom
hovered behind him instead of settling on the arm.  No wonder Mom had asked
Tami to wait for me in my room.

   "We, uh, I, uh, we have something important to talk to you about." Dad
couldn't decide how to assign blame, or responsibility, or whatever. 
Definitely not a good sign.

   "I, well, uh, I lost my job."

   "What?" Traci exclaimed.

   "How could that happen?" I demanded.  "They need you."

   To be honest, I wasn't all that sure what dad did.  He was some kind of
strategic planner for the state.  I didn't understand it, but I had the
impression that he was good at it.  At least his boss, Bill Miller, always
said he couldn't do his job without Dad.

   "I don't get it.  How could they fire you?" I asked.

   "They didn't exactly fire me.  I quit."

   "Why?"

   Dad looked up at Mom, then back at Traci and me.  "They moved my job to
the capital.  To Olympia."

   "Oh." I'd been upset when we moved here from California.  I'd had to
leave my old school and all my friends.  Dad didn't want to do that to me
again.  I looked over at Traci.  It was obvious that she'd figured it out,
too.

   "If we have to move, I'll understand," I said.  Traci nodded.

   Mom smiled.  "And I thought you didn't like to lie."

   "It's a done deal." Dad said.  "I quit two weeks ago."

   Thank you, God.  Wait a minute.  "Two weeks ago?  Why didn't you say
something?" That explained why they'd been acting weird.

   "You were in the middle of play-offs.  I, we, your mom and I, decided to
wait till that was over."

   "Well, at least you get unemployment while you find something else," I
said, trying to look at the bright side.  I wondered if anyone around here
needed a strategic planner besides the state.

   "Uh, not exactly.  The employment department say that since I quit, I
don't qualify.  I'm appealing that I wouldn't have quit if they didn't want
to move me halfway across the state, but it could take awhile."

   "So, for now, we're living on my salary," Mom said.  "Things may get
tight, but we'll be okay."

   Traci and I nodded.

   "Honey, I know you wanted to take some classes at the gymnastics club,
but that'll have to wait awhile."

   Traci's face scrunched up a little, but she nodded.  Maybe I imagined
it, but I thought I saw a tear in the corner of her eye.

   I snagged the phone on my way back to my room.

   "What's up?" Tami asked.

   I explained about Dad and his job.

   Tami had been sitting at my desk and playing solitaire on my computer. I
picked her up and deposited her on my bed, then took her place.  As I
angled the monitor so that she couldn't see, she gave me a funny look. 
"It's not a secret," I explained as I called up my special spreadsheet and
entered the password to unlock it.  "It's information that's temporally
inconvenient."

   "Temporally inconvenient," she repeated, but seemed to accept.  She
probably assumed it had to do with Christmas.

   My spreadsheet had my bank balance as of last week, and my total
available with the anticipated matching payments from my grandfathers.  It
also had the total price of my car, equipped the way I wanted.  At the
moment the two totals were only seventeen dollars apart.  I sighed and
removed the DVD player and thirty gig MP3 player and replaced it with an
AM/FM/Cassette.  The total for the car changed.  I sighed again, saved my
change and closed the spreadsheet.

   I made a call that took about ten minutes.  When I finished, I looked
Tami in the eye.  "You saw nothing.  You heard nothing."

   Tami shook her head.  "Damn, it must be hard work keeping everyone from
knowing you're a nice guy."

   "Brutal," I agreed.  "Ya think if I slip your mom ten bucks, she'd take
off for a couple of hours and see a movie."

   Tami grinned.  "What's playing?"

   "Not a clue."

   "We can take a shot."

   I grinned, stood, and held out my hand.  Tami took it, and we went out
to the living room.  Mom was perched in her usual spot next to Dad.  Traci
was on her stomach on the floor.  They were watching the first Harry Potter
movie.  I didn't know if it was on TV or a DVD.

   "Squirt, you should sit in the splits while you watch."

   Traci looked up and stuck her tongue out.

   "Sit-ups during the commercials wouldn't hurt either."

   "Hah!" she said triumphantly.  That told me it was a DVD.

   "We're going over to Tami's," I announced, and nobody reacted.

   Tami and I got our coats out of the closet and got ready to go.  At
least it wasn't raining at the moment.  "By the way, Mom!"

   She looked up.

   "Traci needs a ride to gymnastics tomorrow."

   Mom looked confused as I put my hand on the doorknob.  "What do you
mean? Gymnastics is at the school.  She's already at the school."

   "Not that gymnastics.  The club in town," I explained as I opened the
door.  Now Traci and Dad looked confused too.

   "What are you talking about?" Traci demanded.

   "You got a scholarship.  You've got classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at
six-thirty."

   "What scholarship?" Mom demanded.

   My mind went blank.  "It's, uh, it's, it's for sisters of football
players whose teams finished in the top three in state."

   Mom smiled.  "You want to think about that and try again in an hour?"

   "Can I do that?" I asked innocently as I ushered Tami out the door.



   Chapter 50

   It wasn't exactly raining.  Raining implies that water is coming from
point A and going to point B.  The water was here.  It was just hanging.  I
guess you'd call it misting.  Add to that a cold wind swooping down from
the North, and it was a miserable morning to be standing on the highway
waiting for a bus.

   And I felt good.

   Fifty-eight days from now, I'd stand here for the last time.  After
that, I was mobile.

   I looked around the familiar group.  Traci was the only one who seemed
in a good mood.  She was still bubbly from her first gymnastics class last
night.  I'd signed her up for an advanced beginning class, arguing that
since she was already on the middle school team, a beginning class would be
too slow.  She had her class, and they moved her up to the intermediate
group.  I figured it would be Christmas break before her feet touched the
ground again.

   I looked at Tami, her face cocooned in the fur-lined hood of her jacket.
She looked apprehensive, though I couldn't figure why.

   Zoe was back.  She'd missed Monday and yesterday.  I didn't know if
she'd had the flu or what, but she didn't look all that hot.  She had all
the color of Wednesday Addams.  I was wondering...  The bus pulled up and I
couldn't remember what I'd been wondering.  Ah well, such is life.

   I swung into the third seat, and Tami sat beside me.  The rain must have
had everybody down because the bus was almost silent as it worked up the
highway, stopping every couple hundred yards to pick up one or two
passengers.

   We drove past Robbie's road, since she wasn't on the corner.

   "Where's Robbie?" I wondered out loud.

   "Her dad's bringing her in this morning," Tami supplied.

   "Oh."

   "She called a few minutes before I went out to the bus."

   "Oh."

   Tami was looking everywhere in the bus except at me.  I grinned. 
"You're hiding something," I accused.

   "I'm not," she stammered.  "No secrets.  Just some things that are
temporally inconvenient."

   "Temporally inconvenient?" An odd phrase.  Then I remembered where I'd
heard the phrase before.  "Oh."

   "I was thinking about the Brady Bunch," she said whimsically.

   My mind immediately pictured Marsha.  I may lust after red-heads and be
in love with a brunette, but Marsha was just, well, Marsha.

   "Stop drooling, and wipe that stupid look off your face," Tami
commanded.

   I don't think I actually drooled, but I tried to compose my face.

   "Remember the episode where Greg wrote a song, and the kids got a chance
to record it, but Peter's voice was changing?"

   "Uh, yeah.  I think so."

   "So Greg wrote a new song, Time to Change."

   "Yeah?"

   "Well, it just goes to show that change can be a good thing."

   "I guess.  You weren't thinking of flying to Sweden for an operation
were you?"

   It took her a second to figure out the reference.  "Yuck!  No."

   "Just checking." I laid my arm across her shoulders and hugged her.

   Tami flung her hands up in front of her.  "I give up."

   "Tony!" Tami said solemnly.  "Look at me.

   I'd been rooting through my locker looking for my history notes.  I
looked up.  Tami's locker is to the left of mine, but she'd moved to my
right.  I straightened up and faced her.  That put my back to the front
entrance.

   "I want you to take a deep breath."

   I cocked my head slightly in surprise but followed her instruction.

   "Let it out slow and remember to think before you speak."

   I always think before I...

   "Hi guys," Robbie's voice said from behind me.

   I turned, planning to make a comment about Tami's weirdness.  "What the
fuck did you do?"

   "Tony, breathe," Tami recommended from behind me.

   I looked at Robbie again.  "What the fu...  hell did you do?"

   "Like it?"

   "No!"

   Robbie frowned, and I knew that Tami's face behind me mirrored hers.  "I
mean, I liked it before.  This is going to take some getting used to.

   Robbie's long red hair was gone.  It was still red, but now it was
shorter than mine.

   "I want it back," I whined.

   Robbie's frown was turning into a mad.  "Get used to it.  It would take
me ten years to grow it all back.  If I want to."

   "But you were so beautiful." Did you ever say something and realize even
as the words left your mouth that it was a big mistake?

   "I WAS?"

   I wondered if I could handle Monster Girl in full eruption.  One little
past tense.  I thought about hiding behind Tami, but sensed that she'd
taken a step back and I was on my own.

   "Roberta Elizabeth Marie Tate.  You are a beautiful..." My brain went
into hyper-drive.  This was one of those word choices that I hated.  Woman,
young woman, girl, lady.  All were correct, but all had connotations that
could sink me further into the pit I was digging.

   "...  very beautiful girl." To hell with it.  She's fifteen years old,
if she's offended by girl, too bad.  "If I was seeing you today for the
first time, my mouth would be hanging open and the drool flowing freely. 
But I've known you for two-and-a-half years with your long flowing locks. I
loved your hair.  This is going to take some getting used to."

   Robbie's face softened.  "I know it will.  You definitely had a thing
for my hair.  I thought about going blond too, but decided you were too
young for a cardiac care ward."

   "My heart thanks you."

   Robbie giggled.  "Tami suggested that I take off an inch or two a week,
so that you could adjust."

   I whirled.  "You knew!" I accused, pointing my finger at her nose.

   "I tried to talk her out of it."

   "She did too," Robbie said from behind me.  "But it was time for a
change."

   "But your hair," I whimpered.  "All your beautiful hair.  Just lying on
a beauty shop floor."

   "Not exactly."

   I turned to look at Robbie again.  She still didn't look like Robbie. 
"What not exactly?"

   "It wasn't just swept out with the trash."

   If I looked as lost and confused as I felt, I was truly pathetic.

   "Do you remember that story that you printed out for me to read?"

   Story?  What's a story got to do with anything?  I shrugged.

   "The one by that Night Hawk guy.  Once More with Feeling."

   I tried to remember.  I read so much that it was hard to keep straight
sometimes.  Night Hawk was one of the authors on ASSM.  I remembered.  Once
More with Feeling was the reincarnation story.  It was only about half
done. It was a serial that had a lot of chapters to go, but it was great so
far.

   "I remember the story, but..." I made a note to see if he'd posted any
more chapters, I think twenty-four was the last one out.

   "Remember when the girl decided to cut her hair?"

   I probably read a hundred thousand words a week, not counting school
stuff, and I'm supposed to remember one haircut in one story?  Let's see.
The girl, whatever her name was, was going to a boarding school.  She went
out for basketball.  No, volleyball.  She decided to cut her hair to make
life easier.

   "Cancer."

   Robbie smiled.

   "She gave her hair to a hospital for kids with cancer," I said.

   "I looked on the web.  I found a group called Wigsforkids dot com. 
They're getting almost all of my hair."

   "You didn't cut your hair..."

   "Just so I could give it away?  No.  And not because of the story
either. I just decided it was time to try something new.  But that kind of
made it easier.  I didn't like the idea of fifteen years of hair lying on
the floor."

   Tami stepped up beside me, slipped her hand into my back pocket, and
hugged me.  "I'm kinda surprised that you didn't do it before football
season."

   Robbie flashed a lop-sided grin.  "That would have made sense, but I
didn't want to then.  But it felt right now."

   I shook my head slowly.  "Would it be politically incorrect to want to
go home to bed and hope that I wake up and this was all a bad dream?"

   "Yes," both girls said together.

   Robbie stepped up to me, shaking her finger in my face.  "Listen slick,
you have forty-eight hours to get used to this, or..."

   "Or what?"

   "Or I won't give you your present."

   "Present?"

   Robbie smiled and pulled my present out of her pocket.

   A thick lock of hair, coppery red and almost three feet long.

   I was bored.

   It was Saturday afternoon, and everybody had something to do except me.

   Traci had gone to some open gym thing at the gymnastics club, and Mom
and Dad were at a wine tasting.  Robbie had taken Tami to her beauty shop,
though with a promise that Tami's hair would come back intact.  Mikee and
Kelly had gone to some cousin's baby shower.  The whole damn world had
stuff to do.

   I thought about taking a walk, but it was drizzling outside.  I'd
finished my homework.  Hell, I'd already finished the two papers and extra
reading for Christmas vacation, and that didn't start for five more days
yet.

   I'd looked on the internet, and the Night Hawk dude hadn't put up any
new chapters, and nothing else on ASSM grabbed my interest.

   I decided to read a book.  Nothing new.  I'd re-read an old favorite. 
Maybe some Heinlein, Citizen of the Galaxy or Starship Troopers.  Or
Asimov, the robot or foundation stories.  Or Bova's Weathermakers.  No, I
decided.  I know what I'd read.  This will keep me busy for a long time.

   A few minutes later, I was settling on the sofa with a Coke, a box of
girl scout cookies -"peanut butter sandwich, my favorites -"and The
Invader's Plan, the first book of L.  Ron Hubbard's Mission: Earth magnum
opus.

   I had a David Lanz CD on the stereo.

   I put my feet up on the arm of the sofa.

   I opened the book to the first page, My Lord...

   The doorbell rang.

   I closed the book and swung my feet down to the floor.  First I have
nothing to do.  I finally come to terms with that, and the damn doorbell
rings.  I swear if it's somebody trying to bring me to God, I was going to
convert them to Satan.

   I opened the door.

   "Peter!  I haven't seen you in a long time."

   He smiled.  "Can I come in?"

   "Sorry," I said, opening the door wide.  "I was just surprised.  Not
invited to the baby shower?"

   "I don't have enough X chromosomes."

   I pointed him toward Dad's chair, since all my stuff was around the
sofa. "Want a Coke or something?"

   "That'd be great."

   I went to the kitchen and got another Coke.  I came back, handed it to
him and sat down on the sofa.  We sat there in silence for a couple of
minutes.

   "Having more trouble with Tony Gleason?"

   Peter smiled.  "No, he's been pretty quiet since he came back from
suspension." Peter's smile turned into a big grin.  "He asked me about you
once.  Wanted to know if you were as tough as he'd heard."

   "What'd you tell him?"

   "I told him that when you were in the seventh grade, you took a gun away
from my brother, smashed it, and laid him out."

   I smiled back.  "Well, that's not lying.  Exactly." There was another
silence.  "So, what's up?  Just bored?"

   "Not exactly.  I, uh...  Are we friends?"

   That surprised me.  "I'd like to think so.  I mean, we don't hang much,
but I think of you as a friend."

   "Good!"

   "Are you in trouble?  Is there something I can do?"

   Peter smiled shyly and looked down toward his feet.  "It's not like
that. It's...  Mikee says that you don't like the guys Traci goes out
with."

   "Well, she's my little sister, and most guys only want one thing, and
she's sorta innocent.  You know how..." Light bulb.  Okay, I admit it.  I'm
slow at times.  "Traci?"

   "I wanted to ask her to the dance next week."

   Inside I smiled, but I tried to keep a straight face.  "Are you asking
me for my sister's hand?"

   "No.  Well, not exactly.  It's just that, well, you helped me and
everything, and I didn't want you to hate me."

   "Peter, I wouldn't hate you.  Not unless you mistreated Trace, and I
don't think you'd ever do that.  I have no idea if Traci likes you or not,
but if you want to ask her, I say, go for it.  I can't think of anyone I'd
rather see go out with Traci."

   Peter grinned.  No, not grinned.  Peter beamed.  "I feel the same way
about you and my sisters."

   "Go out with your sisters?"

   "I, well, I know you kinda fool around with Mikee and Kelly."

   Is there anybody in the world who doesn't know about my sex life?  Hell,
you'd think I published my diary on the internet.

   "I, uh..." It was my turn to stammer.

   "It's cool.  I've known for a long time.  I know you wouldn't hurt
them."

   "I don't know what to say."

   Peter grinned again.  "You could say you'll put in a good word with your
sister."

   "Blackmail?" I asked jokingly.

   "Desperation."

   "As long as we're talking.  Any idea what's going on with Kelly?"

   Peter's smile faded.  "She hasn't been herself for a long time.  About a
month."

   "I've noticed.  Any idea why?"

   Peter shrugged.

   "Is she going out with anybody?"

   "I don't think so.  She was going out with David Carpenter about a month
ago and just kinda stopped.  She doesn't even go over to friend's houses
much anymore.  She just sits around.  Either in the living room with me and
Mikee, or in her room."

   I processed that.  It was worse than I thought.  What the hell could be
bothering her?  I needed to talk to Tami and Robbie about it.  Mikee too.

   "You know Peter, my man, my beautiful, talented, sexy sister should be
getting dropped off in about a half-an-hour.  It occurs to me that if you
wanted to hang out, you could accidentally run into her, and that might
give you a chance to ask any questions you might have on your mind."

   Peter grinned.

   "And, slip me a buck and I might even disappear on cue."
   Peter stood and turned out a pair of empty pockets.  "Take an IOU?"