Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ï>¿The Trailer Park: The Fifth Year: Part 1: Words And Music A Story in the
Wynter/Trailer Park Universe by Wizard CopyrightÂ(C) 2007 by Wizard

   Chapter 1

   I easily avoided the freshman trying to tackle me at the knees, stepping
to the side and giving him a downward push to put him on the ground.  I
cocked my arm, looking for my receiver, spotted Tracy in the open and... 
and Monster Girl hit me in the chest, knocking me a good five feet backward
before I hit the ground.

   She lifted her head until our face-guards touched.  "Are you ready for
some football?" she sing-songed.

   I pushed her off of me and sat up.  Then I grinned.  "Yeah, I am."

   It was the second day of practice, and we were scrimmaging.  Mr. 
Henley, who'd coached JV last year, was running the offense, and Mr. 
Vickers, the assistant coach last year, had the defense.  Both were up for
the head coach's job, but all we'd heard were rumors about who was going to
get it.

   Mike Reed, our star quarterback, was on the sidelines throwing some easy
passes.  He said his arm wasn't worked in yet.  Robbie and I had been
throwing since we'd gotten back from the road trip a month before.

   Practice was kind of a madhouse since we had everyone, freshmen through
seniors, all on the field and all playing for their spot on varsity.  I
think the freshmen were the worst.  They'd hit anything that moved.

   But I loved every minute of it.  This was my element.

   We ran a few more plays, then the coaches switched out Robbie and me,
putting her in the QB slot and me as a defensive end.  On the first play I
managed to give as good as I'd got, slipping past the line and tackling
Robbie as she tried to get off a pass.

   "That's going to leave a bruise," she muttered as she climbed to her
feet.

   "And you love every minute of it," I accused.

   She grinned and nodded.  "We should make football season longer.  Maybe
have one day off before baseball season and forget about basketball."

   "Heyyy!  Some of us have a gymnastics team to coach."

   She shrugged in a not-my-problem way and trotted back toward her huddle.

   Three hours later we limped toward the locker rooms.  "You know, I could
have sworn those locker rooms were closer last year," I mumbled as every
muscle in my body screamed at me.

   "You were younger last year," Robbie said without much sympathy.

   "Maybe golf," I suggested.

   "You'd be bored out of your mind in three days.  Besides, you know what
Mark Twain said.  'Golf is...  ' "

   " '...  a good walk spoiled, ' " we finished together.

   "Actually, the driving range is fun," Robbie said.  "But that stupid
putting..." We'd gone out earlier in the summer, just after the road trip,
and I finally found something that Robbie wasn't good at.  I would have
enjoyed it more, but I was worse.  On one hole it took us a combined
sixteen strokes to sink two balls, and that was after we were on the green.

   "Okay, not golf.  Maybe the volleyball team?"

   "You just want to shower with the girls," Robbie accused.

   I grinned and rubbed my hands together in anticipation.

   "And the sad thing is, Tami would let you," she mumbled, shaking her
head.  I wasn't sure if the remark was meant for me, so I kept quiet.

   "What's the matter, our co-captains tired?" Mark Russell said, walking
up between us and slapping us on the shoulder pads.

   "We're not the co-captains," Robbie protested.  "And you'd be tired,
too, if you actually played football." Mark was our kicker.

   "One, we haven't voted yet, and two, we're juniors," I added.

   "Who else would it be?" Mark asked, innocently.

   "Mike Reed and another senior," I answered.

   "Fuck!  I wouldn't vote for Mike to captain my rubber boat in the
bathtub."

   Robbie giggled, a sound that was completely at odds with her appearance
in pads and helmet.  "You have a rubber boat?"

   Mark leered, "Ask nicely and I'll let you play with it the next time I
take a bath."

   I was going to make a sarcastic comment, but I noticed that Robbie
appeared to be considering the idea.

   "Shall I call the committee to order, Madame Chairman?" I asked as Tami
let Mikee in.

   "You can't," Robbie said.

   I cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

   "Your sister isn't here."

   I was more surprised but tried not to show it.  There are times when I
really like Monster Girl.  "I'll summon her," I said and started toward the
back of the house.

   "Mine, too," Mikee called, and I nodded.  Behind me I could hear Tami
taking drink orders.

   I knocked on Traci's door.

   "Come in!"

   I opened the door.  Traci and Kelly were doing the splits on the floor.
Ann was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and Peter was sitting in Traci's
desk chair.

   "Mistress Kelly, Mistress Traci, the committee requests the honor of
your presence," I said with a courtly bow.

   "What committee?" Peter asked.

   We didn't really have a name.  "Committee to Undertake New Theatrical
Sensations."

   Peter looked surprised.  "that spells..."

   I winked at him.  "Traci and Kelly are members."

   "What about us?" Ann whined.

   I looked at her.  She was definitely growing up, and it was clear she
was going to be as hot as her sister, but I still considered her a waste of
space, though a decorative waste of space.  I'd been hoping that Trace had
outgrown her.

   "You can come watch if you want, but you're not part of the committee,
so keep quiet."

   Ann looked like she was going to complain but evidently decided against
it.  I went back to the living with the four younger kids following.

   I took my place in Dad's chair again.

   "The committee will come to order," Robbie said formally.

   "The Committee to Undertake New Theatrical Sensations, if you please," I
put in.  I wanted to keep things light.  I remembered how intense Monster
Girl had gotten during last year's play contest.

   Tami giggled.  Robbie rolled her eyes, but said, "The Committee to
Undertake New Theatrical Sensations will come to order.  The first order of
business is to decide if we have any business."

   "I think we should try again.  We came close last year," Darlene said.

   "Too close," Robbie said, glancing at me.  I wondered if I'd made a
mistake telling her that we lost by one vote.  If she ever found out whose
vote, it would be my last mistake.

   "Do we know for sure they're doing it?" I asked.

   "I checked the website," Tami said.  "The rules are almost the same as
last year.  Each school can submit one production.  The time line's pretty
much the same too." I smiled at my little research elf.

   "Show of hands.  Do we go for it?" I said, sticking my hand in the air.
Tami's went up at the same time.  Traci's beat Darlene's, but not Robbie's.
Mikee and Kelly made it unanimous.  Ann and Peter watched.  I think they
were both surprised that Kelly and Traci had a vote.

   "That's settled," Robbie said.  "So do we go original again or try one
of the classics."

   "I think we should go original.  But everyone will expect another
musical.  I think we should fool them and do a drama or a straight comedy,"
I said.

   "And I suppose you have the script written, mimeographed, and ready for
us to learn our lines," Robbie said dryly.

   "Welllll..." I said, trying to look guilty.  "Actually no.  I have a
couple of ideas.  One drama, and one comedy.  But that's all they are,
ideas."

   "I want to hear them," Traci said.

   "An eighth grader would," Robbie snorted, though there was a twinkle in
her eye.

   "Hey!" Kelly protested.

   "I want to hear them too," Mikee said.  "And I'm a sophomore."

   "Me too," Darlene added.

   Robbie looked at Tami.  "I suppose you want to hear them too?"

   Tami shrugged.  "I already have.  I like the drama."

   Robbie sighed.  "I guess I'm out-voted."

   "Monster Girl, would you like to hear them?"

   She smiled.  "Now that you mention it..."

   "Okay.  The comedy I'd steal.  There was a story on the web called
Family, Ready to Wear.  In it, a bachelor winds up with three girls, nine,
ten, and eleven.  The story itself was about sex, but I think we can take
the premise, rub off the serial numbers, and have an interesting story
about the kids adapting to him and vice versa."

   "I read it," Tami added.  "There was a lot of sex.  Pretty improbable if
you ask me, but there was a lot of humor too."

   "So you're giving your girlfriend porn now," Robbie accused with a grin.
"What's next, X-rated videos?"

   "I give you porn too."

   Robbie looked surprised.  "No, you don't."

   "What do you think Once More With Feelings was?"

   "That wasn't porn.  That was..."

   "Same website."

   "But..."

   I grinned.  "There's a newsgroup: ASSD.  Used to have lots of
discussions about what makes a story porn or erotic literature or regular
literature with sex in it.  I don't think anyone's come up with a good
answer yet.  Porn, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder."

   "Maybe I should read it," Robbie admitted.

   "I can give you the web address or print you a copy."

   "Uh, print me a copy."

   "I want one, too," Darlene piped up.

   "Me, too," from Mikee.

   "I want one," Traci added.

   "You're too young," I told her, and she pouted.  "I'd better start
printing.  The story is pretty long." I got up, went back to my room, and
pulled the story up from my hard drive, then started printing out four
copies.  I figured Kelly could share with Mikee.  I wondered what the
penalty was for distributing pornography to minors.

   I left the printer chugging along, briefly wished I had a laser, and
went back to the meeting.  "So who'd you steal your other idea from?"
Robbie asked as I sat down.

   "I don't think I stole it, though it's derivative.  A group of kids
hanging at a house when the radio warns everybody to take shelter 'cause,
as Chicken Little would say, the sky is falling, or in this case, the
missiles are coming.  While the kids hide in the basement, you have some
great opportunities to discuss government, war, death and everything else
under the sun.  Great dramatic dialog."

   "Could be a downer," Darlene pointed out.

   "Depends on how you handle it," I said.  "There'd be humor too.  Maybe
one boy who keeps telling all the girls it's bad luck to die a virgin."

   "You'd think of that," Mikee said and giggled.

   "Personally, I think it's bad luck to die, period."

   "Amen," I agreed with Robbie.  "Anyway, those are a couple ideas I've
been playing with.  Maybe somebody else has some ideas."

   "Or we could go with a lesser writer's work.  Somebody like Dickens or
Shakespeare," Tami said and giggled.

   "No, we boycott Shakespeare," I said definitely.  "After all, he stole
his good stuff from Marlowe."

   "Who's Marlowe?" Kelly asked.

   "The guy who Shakespeare stole his stuff from," Mikee said knowingly. 
Or knowing-all-itly if there is such a word.

   "Listen to your sister," I suggested to Kelly.  "After all she's a
sophomore and knows more." Mikee grinned and unconsciously stuck out her
chest.  "By the way, Mikee, what was Marlowe's first name?"

   Mikee's face went blank.  "Uh, um, uh..."

   "Stop teasing her," Robbie ordered.  "And it was Christopher."

   I stuck my tongue out, but otherwise held my peace.  Then I got up and
went back to my room.  As I figured, the printer had run out of paper.  I
cracked a new ream, loaded the hopper, and took the completed pages out
before hitting the resume button.

   The stack of paper included one complete copy.  I pulled off the pages
of copy two, straightened the other pages, and walked back to Traci's room.
I put the paper on her bed, under her pillow.  If questioned, I'd blame it
on a poltergeist.

   Back in the living room everyone was throwing out ideas, and Tami was
writing them down on her laptop.

   "Jesus Christ, Superstar."

   "The Music Man."

   "A Christmas Carol."

   "The Glass Menagerie."

   "Oliver."

   "Mousetrap."

   "A Chorus Line."

   "Can't you see Parker's face while one of you sings Tits and Ass?" I
said as I sat down.

   "Me!  Me!" Robbie said, waving her hand in the air.

   I made a pistol with my thumb and forefinger and shot her.  "Okay, gang.
We need to think realistically about this.  Superstar would be great, but
it would be too controversial, Parker would shoot us down in a heartbeat.
Music Man is great, but we'd need half the school to stage it, and besides,
they did it last year.  One of the reasons we went original last year was
to avoid things like that."

   "Party pooper," Darlene accused.

   I ignored her.

   "Here's the plan," Robbie said.  "For the next couple days, think about
plays, books, and movies you like.  Write 'em down.  Scratch off any that
are too controversial, need too big a cast, or too much staging.  We'll get
together again on...  what's today?"

   "Tuesday," I supplied.  "What's the matter, I hit you too hard in
practice?"

   Robbie glared.  "I just lost track.  Let's get together on Friday.  That
still gives us two weeks before school starts to figure everything out. 
All in favor?"

   "Aye."

   "Yep."

   "Sure."

   "Sounds good."

   "Okay."

   I just nodded.

   "Can everybody make it Friday?  Say, about six, like tonight?"

   Everybody nodded as I got up and went back to my room to feed the
printer again.  I came back and handed Darlene and Robbie their copies. 
"Yours will be done in a minute," I told Mikee.

   "What about mine?" Traci asked.

   "You're too young," I reminded her.

   She pouted.

   "Since the meeting's over and we have a couple hours left, Monopoly
anyone?"

   "Can we play?" Ann asked after the others had all agreed.

   "Sure.  Twenty-five dollar buy-in."

   She looked at me blankly.

   "Yes, you can play," Robbie cut in.  "You're just not allowed to win."



   Chapter 2

   "Ready to start?"

   I nodded to Robbie.

   "What?  No cute remarks about the Committee to Undertake New Theatrical
Sensations?"

   I shook my head.

   Tami was sitting on my left leg.  She leaned over and kissed me on the
chin.  "Tony's having a bad day.  He thinks it's safer not talking."

   "He's probably right," Traci said sharply, then glared at me.  Then she
grinned, came over, and sat on my other leg.

   Bad day was an understatement.  It started at seven, which is bad all by
itself since it was still summer and I could have slept in till
nine-thirty.

   Mom knocked and stuck her head in the door.  "Tony, can I borrow your
car?"

   "No!" I snapped and buried my head under my pillow.

   Mom slammed the door closed.

   I was awake 'cause Mom never slams doors.  Well, three times in my
lifetime.  That's almost never.

   It took me a minute to get oriented, 'cause I'd been having a dream, and
not a good one.

   Most of my dreams are great.  Sometimes I relive past experiences.  I'd
lived my first time with Tami dozens of times since it happened.  Sometimes
my dreams are what-if.  What if I was the personal trainer for a supermodel
convention, that sort of thing.  But this one was bad.  Traci was running
from something.  Something bad.  I didn't know what, but I knew I didn't
want it to catch her.

   Then Mom knocked and...

   Mom!

   I jumped out of bed, grabbing my car keys off my desk, and headed toward
the living room.  She was on the phone with her back to me.  "I can't wait
that long.  Can't you make it sooner?"

   I stepped beside her and dangled my keys in front of her face.  The
first look she gave me was very un-motherly, but then she smiled.  "Thanks
anyway," she told the phone, "but I won't be needing you."

   She snatched the keys and hugged me.  "You changed your mind?"

   I pulled away and looked at her, trying to give her a Cinnamonesqe-type
appraisal.  "Woman, how long have you been my mother?"

   "A few years."

   "And you haven't learned yet not to wake me abruptly and ask questions?
You know the drill: poke me a few times with a sharp stick, stand back a
safe distance, and give me a minute or two to become human."

   "Like I do your father."

   "Exactly.  What's wrong with your car?"

   She started gathering her purse and other stuff.  "Won't start.  I think
it might be the battery.  And I have a big meeting this morning.  And a lot
to do if I'm going to meet your dad." Dad was in Olympia, and Mom planned
to fly over this afternoon and spend the weekend with him.

   "So go."

   She gave me another hug and rushed for the door.

   I went back to bed.

   Or at least I tried to.  I lay there for over an hour, then gave up.

   I got up and went to the kitchen.  I was hungry, but didn't know what I
wanted.  Actually, I was very hungry, but nothing sounded good.  I spent
twenty minutes staring into the refrigerator and cupboards, hoping
something would grab me, but it didn't.  Finally I had a bowl of Rice
Krispies, not because I wanted them, but because they were easy.

   I turned on the TV to the Cartoon Network, couldn't get interested, and
switched to Headline News.  Then I picked up the phone and started working
on transportation.  I was supposed to be at the gym at ten.

   Absolutely no one was home.  Well, I take that back.  Robbie was home,
but from the male voice in the background, busy.  I knew her dad was back
in Tennessee and wondered who the lucky guy was.  I didn't call Tami,
'cause I knew she'd be busy babysitting, and besides, didn't have a car.

   About nine-thirty I gave up, got dressed, and hopped on my bike.  As I
rode I decided that this wasn't such a bad thing.  I didn't ride my bike
that much anymore, and getting out in the fresh air and sunshine was never
a bad idea.

   I was halfway there when I got the flat.  As I walked my bike toward the
gym I decided that cars weren't a bad idea.  At least, in my car I carry a
spare.  I hadn't grabbed my phone, so I couldn't even call and tell them I
was going to be late.

   It was about fifteen after when I got to the gym.  The six cars in the
parking lot didn't surprise me, but the six moms and a dozen kids milling
in front of the door did.  I parked my bike, not taking the time to lock
it, and hurried over.

   "Did we get the time wrong?" Mrs.  Paul asked.

   "I thought it started at ten," another mom said, though I didn't know
her name.

   "It does," I confirmed.  "I'm late, but somebody should have been here."
I unlocked the door and let everybody in.  "You can go in the gym and
stretch on the floor," I told the kids.  "But stay off the equipment until
I get the lights on and come in." The gym had big windows so it might be
dim, but not dark.  "Ladies, if you want to come this way, we'll get your
kids signed in." I led the moms toward the lobby as the kids rushed past
me, half toward the gym and the other half toward the locker room to
change.

   During the summer, Gary, the head coach, had an open gym every Friday
when the kids could come and just play.  They could even bring friends. 
But Todd Green and Lori Mills, two of Gary's assistant coaches, were
supposed to run it.  I was just supposed to help.

   I found some blank sign-in sheets and had the moms start filling them
out.  Two of the girls weren't students, so I got release forms for their
moms.  While I was doing that, I'd turned on the answering machine and
discovered that Todd had the stomach flu and that Lori had gone to Portland
for a family emergency.  I was on my own.

   I went to the fuse box and flipped the circuit breakers to turn on the
lights for the main gym while wondering how I was going to do this.  I was
pretty sure that my cousin Cinnamon had mastered the art of being in two
places at once, but I sure hadn't.  How was I going to be in the gym to
watch the kids and be in the lobby to do sign-ins and take cash?  The lobby
had a big window that looked out into the gym, but that wasn't enough.  I
needed to be in there.

   As I turned toward the gym, Megan Cressey came in with her mom and
little sister.  "Hi Megan," I greeted her.  Megan was a sophomore and on
the team here.  She was a level nine, which was way over my head, so I
never worked with her.

   "What are you up to today?" I asked automatically while thinking about
my problem.

   "Nothing much, just taking it easy," she answered.  The advanced team
worked out Monday through Thursday for six hours during the summer.  "Mom
brought the brat to open gym." Megan's sister, I think her name was Carly,
stuck her tongue out.

   Lightbulb.  "You've been wanting a job," I said.

   "Yeah, but Gary says I'm too young." She was fifteen.

   "How'd you like a job for today and a chance to show Gary how good you
can be?"

   "Doing what?"

   I explained that I needed somebody in the lobby, and she agreed.  I
showed her the paperwork and the cash box and headed for the gym where
everyone was getting antsy waiting.

   "Go!" I yelled as I walked in, and go they did, heading for every corner
of the gym.

   I watched for a minute, then picked up the wall phone.  Gary's cell
phone was the first speed-dial.  He was at a meeting in Wenatchee,
something about the upcoming season.  When he answered I explained that
Todd and Lori weren't here and that I'd hired Megan to help out.  I also
explained that I had football at two, and open gym was supposed to go till
four.  He promised that he's be back in time.  Meanwhile, I could call
Mikee or one of the other day camp counselors to help.

   After I hung up I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  At least
the boss was happy.

   I signaled Megan through the window, and when she came in I explained
where the phone list was and to call Mikee and see if she could come in.  I
realized that I hadn't a clue what Mikee's phone number was.  At home I
usually just walked over.  I thought I had it in my phone, but wasn't sure
of even that.  Besides, my phone was home on my desk.  I suggested that if
Mikee didn't have a ride, Megan could corral one of the moms dropping off a
kid to go pick her up.

   Mikee showed up about half-an-hour later, and by then I had almost forty
kids to watch, mostly girls but about half-a-dozen boys.  Open gym is
usually a lot of fun, but there must have been something in the air because
by one o'clock I'd broken up a dozen arguments.

   At one, I sent Mikee next door to Quiznos to pick up sandwiches for her,
Megan, and me.  After eating, I figured I could face the rest of my day.

   "Can't you do anything right?" I snapped.

   Traci, Kelly, and Ann had showed up as I was polishing off my sandwich.
Now Traci was on the beam trying to get her back walkover.  She'd start on
the beam, bend backward until her hands touched, then kick over, landing on
one foot, then the other.  Traci did all right getting her hands on good
enough that she didn't need help anymore but she usually got her first foot
on, then fell off.  I'd just watched her fall for the tenth time.

   Traci looked at me, surprised.  Then her face set.  "I'll do better."

   "Traci..." I started as she jumped back on top of the beam.

   "I need to concentrate," she told me.

   I waited and watched as she bent backwards, kicked over, and landed it
like she'd been doing it for years.  "Good enough?" she asked without
looking at me.  She jumped down and walked away.  They really need to
invent time travel.  Just a five minute rewind for guys with big mouths
like me.

   I walked over to Kelly.  I could tell she was mad at me, too.  Without
saying a word I grabbed her by the back of the neck and steered her out of
the gym.  Across the lobby, Gary had a pro shop.  I pointed at the rack of
leotards.  "Pick the one she'll like the best."

   Kelly looked over her shoulder at me and smiled, then started flipping
through the leotards at light speed.  In about a minute she'd found a lime
green one with black highlights.  "She was looking at this one last week."

   I took it to Megan and paid for it, then put it behind the desk.  "Give
it to her after I leave," I told Kelly.

   "Why wait," Kelly asked.

   I grinned.  "And ruin a good mad?"

   "How's your spidey-sense?  Any premonitions?"

   We were on the football field in full pads.  Robbie had been kneeling
down adjusting the face guard on her helmet.  Now she looked up.  "Why?"

   "'Cause Parker's coming."

   Robbie stood, her back still to the advancing administrator.  "So? 
School doesn't start for another couple weeks.  He can't suspend you."

   I gave her one of her own looks.  The you-just-said-something
incredibly-stupid-but-I-won't-say-anything one.

   Robbie laughed.  "Okay, he could suspend you, but...  Well, I won't ask
if you've done anything that could annoy him, but have you gotten caught?"

   "Don't think so.  But I've still got a bad feeling."

   "Why?"

   "Well, for one thing, he's wearing shorts."

   Robbie shrugged.  "It's summer, he's allowed.  Besides it's ninety
degrees.  I wish I was.  Is that all?"

   "Yeah.  He's wearing a whistle."

   Robbie spun.  A look of horror on her face.  "You don't think..."

   We watched as Parker and the kid with him walked over to Mr.  Vickers
and Mr.  Henley.

   "You recognize him?" Robbie asked as the kid shook hands with the two
coaches.  I shook my head.  The four of them talked for a couple minutes,
then Coach Henley blew his whistle and waved everybody over.

   Robbie and I looked at each other like a pair of inmates about to walk
the last mile, then trotted over.

   "Take a knee!" Coach Vickers yelled as we got closer.  "We've got a
couple of announcements."

   We made a semi-circle around them, kneeling on one knee.

   Vickers and Henley looked at each other.  I think they were deciding who
was going to talk.  "Three things," Henley said after a couple seconds. 
"One, you all worked your tails off this week, and we're proud of you.  The
list for varsity will be on the bulletin board Monday, after some..." he
glanced at Parker, then looked back at the rest of us, "some consultation.
And if you didn't make varsity, don't stop trying.  Tony got picked for
J.V. his freshmen year, but moved up."

   I stood, clasped my hands over my head and shook them like a boxer.

   "Sit down Sims," Parker growled.

   I grinned, but complied.

   "Second, the school has decided who will replace Coach Branson.  Your
new head coach is Charlie Parker.  Coach Vickers will be assistant, and
I'll be going back to J.V."

   Now I know how the captain of the Titanic felt when he noticed the
floating ice cube.

   Parker stepped forward.  "Last, we have a new player.  This is Luke
Hastings, a senior." Hastings stepped up, nodded at us and stepped back
again.  "Luke's a halfback, and he'll be on the varsity team."

   "Why's he varsity?  He didn't try out." Mark Russell protested.

   "'Cause I was all-state, that's why," Hastings said.

   "Big deal," Mark snapped.  "So was he." He pointed at Mike.  "He's
trying out."

   "Yeah, but I was all-state in Texas where it counts."

   "Slick, it counts in Washington too," Mark said, jumping to his feet. 
"Mike was all-state, and she just missed by three votes." He pointed over
at Robbie.  "Tony was all-conference," waving his arm toward me.

   Hastings seemed to notice Robbie for the first time.  "You have a girl
on your team?  God, I knew football here would be pathetic, but not this
pathetic."

   My hand was on Robbie's shoulder in a heartbeat.  Larry Gordon on her
other side was only a second behind.  Robbie glared at me, then nodded.  I
relaxed.

   "The policy has always been anyone can make varsity, no one's automatic,
everyone tries out," I said.  "If Luke didn't move here in time, he should
play J.V.  for a week until he shows us what he can do."

   "He moved here in time," Parker explained.  "I told him he didn't have
to try out."

   I shook my head in wonder.

   "You got a problem with that?" Parker growled.

   "You don't know much about teams, do you?" I said before my brain caught
up with my mouth.

   "He's varsity.  That's that.  Sims, take a lap."

   I smiled.  "Why not ten?"

   "Twenty."

   I stood, saluted, and started running.

   Traci kissed me on the forehead.  She was still wearing her new leotard.

   "Did everyone read Family, Ready to Wear?" Robbie asked.

   Everyone nodded or said yes, then Traci brought her elbow back into my
stomach.  'Some sisters just can't take a joke, ' I thought as I remembered
hiding her copy under her pillow.

   "It's a good story, and we could make a good play out of it, but if we
keep it a little racy, Parker and the school will shut us down.  If we
don't, it's The Brady Bunch: The New Generation.  Comments?"

   They discussed it for a few minutes while I kept quiet but pretty much
agreed with Robbie.

   "Other suggestions?" she asked.  Everybody had a couple, which were
analyzed and discarded for various reasons.  After two hours, we'd, that
is, they'd, with me nodding a lot, decided to do my basement drama with The
Importance of Being Ernest as a backup if my story didn't come together
fast enough.  We figured we could take Wilde's original and update it a
little bit.

   "Will you talk to me?" Tami asked as we took a walk later, after
everyone had gone home.

   "Always.  Though the way things have gone today, I may stick my foot in
my mouth."

   She laughed.  "Wouldn't be the first time."



   Chapter 3

   I leaned back, taking my fingers off the keyboard and flexing them.  I
decided that writing wasn't nearly as easy as I'd thought it was. 
Especially writing to a deadline.  The other play had been easy, but then,
it had been nothing but a bunch of songs held together by a little dialog.
Now the dialog had to tell the story.

   And on top of that, just when I was trying to think, 'How would this
character say that?' I found myself thinking, 'Robbie expects a first draft
tomorrow.' No pressure, it's not like Robbie is a perfectionist or
anything. I wonder if the Foreign Legion is still taking recruits.

   I think my biggest problem was while I was trying to write something on
page twelve, I'd think of a better way to say something back on page three.
If I didn't spend so much time going back and forth, I could have finished
three plays in the last week.

   I looked over at Tami.  She was sitting cross-legged on my bed, her
laptop on her lap, typing away.  She must have felt my eyes on her.

   "What?" she asked, looking up and brushing a wayward strand of hair out
of her face.

   "Just looking."

   She smiled, looked down, and finished typing something.  "How's it
coming?"

   "Slowly.  Think we can talk the foundation into waiting for spring?"

   Tami laughed.  "Now that you mention it, there was something on the
website about moving the competition to the spring, to make organization
easier.  But that's next year.  This year, you're stuck."

   "You're a lot of help," I said disgustedly.

   She shrugged.

   "Do you realize that every other member of the committee is off on a
date tonight and we're slaving over computers?"

   Tami shrugged again.  Traci and Peter had gone to the movies with Kelly
and some kid I'd never heard of.  Mikee was seeing a different movie in the
same multiplex with Billy Toland, a kid in my class and a guard on the
football team.  Darlene and Robbie had both gone out to dinner, though
neither mentioned who with.

   "I'm here.  You're here.  What more do you need for a date?" Tami asked.

   "It occurs to me that I'm here and you're here, and better yet, my
sister is gone for a couple hours, and my parents have decided to have
another weekend alone.  Two teenagers alone in a house.  That give you any
ideas?"

   Tami grinned.  "Yeah, we can get a head start on our reading for
European Lit."

   I sighed.  I was beginning to understand most guys' attraction for dumb
blondes.

   "Tell you what.  What page are you on?"

   I glanced back at my monitor.  "Halfway through page twelve."

   "How many pages?"

   "Probably twenty-five to thirty."

   "Okay, here's the deal.  Finish page fifteen before Traci comes home,
and I'll spend the night."

   "You'll..."

   Tami grinned.  "Mom's in Wenatchee.  She said I could spend the night. I
may have forgotten to mention your parents were gone."

   I grinned right back at her.  "And what happens if I only finish
fourteen-and-a-half?"

   Tami sighed.  "Then I guess I spend the night in Traci's room like Mom
expects."

   I turned back to my computer and started typing.  I wasn't sure it was
going to be coherent, but there was damn well going to be more than fifteen
pages.

   About an hour later I wrote END OF ACT TWO and saved the file.  All
sixteen-and three-quarters pages of it.

   I looked over at Tami.  She was in the same position typing away.

   "You look cute on my bed like that," I said.

   She looked up.  "You sound pretty smug.  You must have finished page
fifteen."

   I grinned.  "And page sixteen and most of page seventeen.  I think you
need to talk your mom into spending Saturday night in Wenatchee too."

   "Do I get to read it?"

   I turned back to the computer and pressed two keys.  "It is printing as
we speak.  So what are you working on?"

   Tami blushed.  "I'm, uh, not sure."

   "Okay," I agreed.

   "It's just, uh, you know how you say some secrets aren't yours to
share?"

   I nodded.  I understood, even if I didn't like having my own words come
back at me.

   "This is just something I heard about, and I was doing a first draft and
making notes on how to investigate."

   "Okay," I agreed again.

   "I want to tell you, but..."

   "Tami, I do understand."

   "I...  Damn!  I hate secrets."

   "Tell you what, save the file, blank the screen and forget about it.  I
have."

   "One thing?"

   "Yes?" Her 'one thing?' was so syrupy that I was on my guard.

   "Do you still have the passwords to hack the school paper?"

   I could feel my eyes getting big.  "Tami, my mother was so proud of me
not getting suspended last year."

   "Tony, she knows you.  She's not expecting it two years in a row." I
hated to admit she was probably right.

   "The Committee to Undertake New Theatrical Sensations will come to
order."

   "You can use the acronym if you'd like," I said.

   Robbie didn't dignify my suggestion with a response.

   We were all back in my living room with Peter watching.  Mostly he
watched Traci.  From the puppy dog look on his face, I guessed they'd had a
pretty good date.  They'd come back from the movies about ten, and he and
Traci disappeared into her room 'to talk' for about an hour.  I would have
let Kelly borrow my room, but her boyfriend had to go home.  His mom had
driven.

   "Did you finish a synopsis?" Robbie asked.

   "Welllll, no," I admitted.

   "Tony, we're pushed for time.  To do this right we need to figure out
staging and casting before school starts in a week."

   "I know.  Have you ever tried writing with a deadline hanging over your
head?"

   "All the time.  It's called homework," Robbie countered.

   "That's different.  The facts, the story is all there and you just have
to arrange it."

   Robbie sighed.  "Yeah, I guess it is different.  I suppose it was too
much to expect that you could..."

   "Would you settle for a first draft of acts one and two?" I asked
innocently.

   Mikee giggled.  "Tami, will you still be a widow if he dies before you
actually marry him?"

   Tami nodded.  "Black dress and all." She pulled five folders out from
under her laptop and passed them out.  Traci moved next to Peter so that he
could read over her shoulder.

   "A couple of things, then I'll leave you alone to read.  When I started,
I had four characters, two boys and two girls.  You'll see I expanded that.
Now there are two boys and six girls."

   "Convenient," Robbie said as she flipped to page two.

   "Like I said, I started with four, but as I wrote, I saw situations
where the extra characters would come in handy.  As you read it, bear in
mind that nothing's set in stone, we can add another character or two or
delete some."

   I got up and walked over to the big picture window.  Tami joined me. 
"It's too nice a day to be stuck inside," she said.

   "We could ditch and go swimming," I suggested.

   "I don't think the author and the secretary are allowed to ditch."

   "How'd you wind up as secretary, anyway?  That's grunt work.  That's why
we have eighth graders."

   Tami slipped her arm around me.  "I made the mistake of bringing my
laptop to the first meeting."

   "That'll teach ya." I slipped my arm around her and my hand into her
back pocket.

   We watched as some little kids, maybe six or seven, rode by on their
bikes.  I think they lived on the first row, up near Paula and Ann.  Traci
would know.

   "Buddy-boy, that wasn't bad," Robbie said when she joined us a couple
minutes later.  Everyone else was still reading.

   I looked at Tami.  "Not bad.  From Robbie, that's like a fantastic from
anyone else."

   "Don't get full of yourself," Robbie said.  "It has a lot of rough
spots."

   I looked at her.  "Read my lips, First draft."

   "If Shakespeare had written a first draft like that, he would have
stayed an obscure actor."

   I grinned at Monster Girl.  "Shakespeare did write first drafts like
that.  That's why he had to steal Mary Sidney's stuff."

   "I thought you said he stole Christopher Marlowe's stuff." Tami asked.

   "He did.  He stole his dramas from Marlowe, his comedies from Sidney,
and his histories from Neville."

   "Busy boy," Robbie said with a laugh.

   "Greatest thief in literary history," I agreed.

   "Now, for the first read-through it will be easier if all the girls are
in bikinis," I said a few minutes later, after everyone had finished.

   "They're going to be wearing bikinis in the basement?" Darlene asked.

   "Of course not.  But this isn't a dress rehearsal, it's a read-though."

   "Tami, sit on him," Robbie ordered.

   Tami set down her laptop and came over and settled in my lap.  Robbie
looked skyward.  Well, ceilingward.

   It was two hours later before we took a break.

   We'd read through the two scenes twice, taking different characters each
time.  Now Tami had several pages of notes for me to work on in the second
draft and some good ideas for the third and last scene.

   Mom had baked brownies on Thursday.  I passed them out, along with
refills on the drinks.

   "So how's the team looking," Darlene asked after I ran out of brownies.
"With Miss Herbert's schedule we have to practice in the morning, so I
haven't seen you yet."

   Robbie and I exchanged looks.  "Unless there's a homicide, I think we'll
take state," I said after a couple seconds.

   "Who's killing who?"

   "The victim is Parker.  The murderer will be a bigger mystery than who
shot J.R," Robbie explained.

   "The whole team has threatened him."

   "Except..." Robbie added.

   "Except your step-brother and Luke Hastings," I clarified.

   "The new kid?  What's he like?"

   "You know how they say that Texans think everything's better in Texas?"

   Darlene nodded.

   "Luke takes it a step further.  He thinks everything's worse everywhere
else."

   Darlene giggled.  "I take it he's not your new best friend?"

   I laid my arm across Robbie's shoulders.  "If I ever replace her, Mike
has a better chance."

   "Bite your tongue."

   "I'd rather let you bite it for me," I said and stuck it out.  Darlene
leaned forward and playfully nipped my tongue.

   "So Parker's a horrible coach?" Darlene asked.

   "Parker is..." I hesitated, and Robbie came to my rescue.

   "Parker knows football.  Maybe almost as good as Coach Branson.  What
Parker doesn't know is people.  He's not a good judge of potential and
hasn't got a clue about motivation."

   "How and why he got into teaching, I'll never understand," I added.

   Darlene nodded.  "I know.  Summers off."



   Chapter 4

   I looked around the locker room, taking a second to study each player. I
looked longer at Luke Hastings.  I had to admit he was good.  Damn good. 
I'd bet big bucks that Coach Branson would be up here scouting him sometime
this year.  But I didn't think he was that much better than Casey Williams,
the kid from Seattle who was the Washington all-state halfback last year. I
wasn't sure he was better at all.

   I made up my mind and printed two names on the slip of paper on my knee.

   ROBBIE TATE

   MARK RUSSELL

   I folded it and waited while the rest of the team voted.

   Robbie was sitting next to me during this team meeting before our last
practice of the week.

   Coach Vickers waited until everyone was done writing, then picked up a
helmet and walked around the locker room so everyone could drop their slips
in.  Then he walked to the P.E.  office to start counting.

   "Okay you gorillas, listen up," Parker said loudly.  A lot of coaches
could call their players gorillas, or apes, or ladies and build
esprit-de-corps; Parker just made it sound condescending.

   "I've worked you hard and it shows." Of course.  Without Parker, none of
us would have thought of working hard.

   "Monday, school starts and we'll have a seven A.M.  practice for running
drills and conditioning, then an after-school practice in full pads."
Two-a-days.  How did he ever come up with a concept like that?

   "A week from today is our first game at Richland.  If you keep working
hard and listening to me, to your coaches, they haven't got a prayer." I
thought you couldn't pray in school anyway.

   "After Coach Vickers finishes counting the votes, you can hit the
field." I know I was inspired.

   "I've finished," Vickers said, coming out of the office, holding a
clipboard.  "In a landslide, your two-thousand-and-five team captains
are..." he paused for dramatic effect, "Robbie Tate and Tony Sims."

   'I can't believe it, ' I thought as the locker room erupted in cheers
and a dozen hands pounded me on the back.  I thought they might make one
captain a junior and everybody loved Robbie, but two juniors?

   "That isn't right," Parker said.

   "I counted them twice, Charlie."

   "No, we can't have a couple of juniors as team captains.  SIT DOWN!" he
yelled.  When the team had all found their way back to their benches he
continued.  "We aren't going to have a couple of juniors as your captains.
So your team captains are going to be Luke Hastings and Mike Reed."

   Ever heard the phrase, the room got deathly quiet?  Now I knew what that
meant.  I stood.  "So what the team wants means nothing?"

   "Sit down."

   "You didn't answer my question," I said, staying on my feet.

   "We can't have juniors as captains."

   "Why?"

   "Because I said so."

   "That statement is the last refuge of people without a valid reason."

   "Sims, sit down!" Parker yelled stepping in front of me.  I didn't sit.
"Just because you want to be the center of attention..."

   "Not me, I withdraw.  All in favor of Robbie and Mark as captains, say
aye." There were a lot of ayes, I don't know that it was a majority, but
that's the way I'd bet.

   "This is not open for debate.  Juniors aren't captains."

   "Okay, so make sure everyone knows that and vote again.  Let them
choose, like always"

   "This is over.  The captains are Hastings and Reed." Parker leaned down
in my face.  "And you're going to have to adjust that attitude if you want
to play for me," he growled with a tight grin.

   I smiled.  "I just realized something.  I don't want to play for you."

   Parker straightened, looking startled.  I started pulling off my
shoulder pads.  The locker room had gone completely quiet again.  I think I
finally understood what Simon and Garfunkel meant by the Sound of Silence.
I dropped them at his feet, reached behind the bench for my bag, and headed
for the locker room door.

   "If you walk though that door, you're not coming back.  Not now, not
ever," Parker threatened.

   I turned to look at him and smiled again.  "Don't want to.  You know,
I've got a girlfriend, a beautiful, intelligent, sensitive girl, who's
spent almost a quarter of her life sitting on the sidelines waiting for me.
It's time I realized what's really important."

   I tossed a jaunty salute at the team and turned back toward the door. 
Behind me I heard footsteps, that distinctive sound of cleats on concrete.
I knew who it was even before I turned.

   "No," I told Robbie softly.

   "But..."

   I lowered my voice even more.  "If you go too, more will follow, maybe
everyone but Mike and Luke.  This isn't a mutiny, this is about me and
Tam."

   "But if we all walk, maybe we can get a real coach."

   "Or maybe the district will cut the whole program.  The school needs its
team, and some of these guys really need football.  Vince and Tommy only
pass their classes 'cause they want to play.  They're not the only ones."

   "But you got me on this team."

   I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder.  "Nobody helped Monster Girl
make the football team.  You got here on your own.  I just held the door
open.  Now Monster Girl has to step up and lead her team." I kissed Robbie
quickly, then looked at the team again.  "All the way, guys!" I shouted. 
"Bring us a championship."

   I turned and left.



   Chapter 5

   "What are you doing here?"

   I smiled.  "I live here.  Unless Mom's rented out my room."

   "Not yet," came Mom's voice from the kitchen.  "But the ad's in the
paper."

   I stepped behind Tami, tilted her head up, leaned down, and kissed her.
When our lips met, I knew I'd made the right decision.

   "What about practice?" Traci asked.  She and Tami were sitting at the
dining room table getting a head start on their school reading.

   I stood and buffed my fingernails on my shirt then blew on them.  "I
don't need practice."

   Tami, her head still tilted back, reached up, grabbed the collar of my
t-shirt, and pulled me down until our eyes were inches apart.  "Why?"

   "'Cause practice is for football players.  I'm retired."

   "WHAT?" from three different voices.

   I grinned, kissed Tami, and stood again.  "Ask me again when Dad gets
home so I only have to do this once.  In the meantime, I want to change. 
You might want to invite Tami to dinner since she's making sure you pass
English."

   "I already did," Traci said haughtily.

   I grinned again, picked up the equipment bag I'd dropped by the front
door, and headed for my room.  My bag was mostly empty since I was still
wearing most of my equipment.  Except for the shoulder pads since they were
mine, I needed to remember to pick them up tomorrow but dropping them on
Parker's feet had been too good a point to pass up.

   I peeled off my football pants and carefully pulled out the hip pads and
stowed them in my bag.  I didn't know if I'd ever play football again, but
it didn't hurt to be prepared.  Standing there in my underwear I realized
that my regular clothes were in my locker, something else to pick up
tomorrow.

   I didn't really need it, since I hadn't practiced, but I decided that a
nice long hot shower was the order of the day.  Besides, it would help
stall off the inevitable explanations.  Tami was waiting for me when I'd
drained the hot water tank, sitting at my desk.

   "Tami, I'm not sure this is a good idea."

   "Relax, already.  Nothing's going to happen.  And I doubt your mom would
be surprised if I saw you naked.  She let us go on the road trip, didn't
she?"

   I nodded, stepped inside, and closed the door.

   "Did she ever ask about, uh, the road trip?"

   "All the time," I said as I dropped my robe.  Big Tony must have
realized that this was a cameo appearance and not the main event, 'cause he
didn't bother popping up.  "Where we went, what we did.  She wanted to hear
all about Cinnamon and Mitch and the family."

   "Anything else?"

   "I mentioned we had two tents.  And how much fun it was putting them up
and taking them down, but she never asked about who slept where." I put on
shorts and a t-shirt, then sat on the bed to pull on socks.

   "Tami looked relieved.  "Good."

   "I doubt she'd admit it, even to herself, but I'm sure she thinks you
spent the whole trip in the small tent."

   Tami grinned.  "If she only knew."

   "I hear you have some news."

   From the expectant look on Dad's face, he didn't know.

   I looked at Mom.  "It's your news," she said with a shrug.

   "I sure wasn't going to tell him," Traci added.

   Dad looked at the three of us in turn, then Tami for good measure.  "Do
I want to hear this?"

   I shrugged.  "I quit football today.  So, Mom, when's dinner?  It smells
great."

   Mom gave her head a small shake.  "If you could really smell it, you
wouldn't say that.  It's tuna noodle casserole, not one of you favorites.
And dinner's in twenty minutes, so you have plenty of time for your story."

   So I gave them an abridged version of playing for Parker and deciding to
quit.

   "But you've played for coaches you didn't like before," Mom pointed out.

   "But never one I didn't respect.  Nobody likes all their coaches, but I
had at least some respect for them.  If not as a coach, then as a person,
or at least as a dad who took the time to work with his kid's Little League
or whatever.  With Coach Branson, I didn't like him a lot at first, but I
knew he was a damn fine..." A sharp look from Mom made me reconsider my
word choice.  "An excellent coach.  With Parker, I don't like him, and I
don't respect him.  It was never going to work."

   "But you love football," Dad said.

   "I love other things more." I squeezed Tami's hand that I was holding as
she sat next to me on the sofa.  Mom gave me her
you're-too-young-to-be-in-love look, and I smiled back.

   "I'm just concerned that you haven't thought this through.  That you'll
regret it."

   "I did think it through.  That doesn't mean I won't regret it.  I'll
miss football.  But when Parker said, 'You're going to have to adjust that
attitude if you want to play for me, ' it just became clear to me, that
football wasn't as important as other things.  Like being true to myself,
true to my team-mates, and true to football."

   "What do you mean, true to football?" Traci, sitting on the other side
of me, asked.

   I reached over with my free hand and ruffled her hair.  "In football, in
any sport, even gymnastics, you need to give your all.  In a team sport
like football, part of that is everybody pulling in the same direction. 
Mostly.  There were times last year when I went against Coach Branson.  But
he realized that I was the commander on the field.  Like during World War
Two, Eisenhower gave Patton orders, but Patton didn't always follow them,
'cause he was the commander on the ground."

   I turned and looked down at Traci.  "And if you say, 'Who's Patton', you
and I are going to spend the next two months doing nothing but studying.

   "George S.  Patton.  'Ole Blood and Guts.' Led the Third Army." She
grinned.  Then she leaned back and whispered to Tami behind my back as if I
couldn't hear, "I saw the movie a couple weeks ago."

   "Anyway, if I stayed on the team, I'd be pulling the team one way and
Parker another.  Not good for the team or for football."

   "What about Robbie and the others?  Will they do things Parker's way?"
Mom asked.

   "I don't know.  Robbie and everybody else will have to make that
decision for themselves.  I told her not to quit for me."

   I stood and pulled Tami to her feet.  "When Parker asked his question,
it was like I had two voices whispering in my ear.  One was saying, 'Think
of the consequences.' I did: no football.  The other was saying, 'Think of
the consequences.' I did: Parker wanted someone who would shut up and do
what he was told, no matter what."

   I started toward my room with Tami in tow.  "That's not the way my
parents raised me," I added over my shoulder.

   I was sitting at my computer, polishing the play, when Traci yelled from
the living room, "Robbie's coming!"

   I glanced at Tami sitting on my bed with her laptop.  She shrugged, "We
could always sneak out the back."

   Damn, that sounded like a good idea.  "No, she'll track me down
eventually."

   I got up and walked to the front door, pulling it open before Robbie
could knock.  "Hi beautiful.  How was prac..."

   Her fist slammed into my stomach.  If Peter King had hit like that, I
wouldn't have survived three punches.  I don't remember falling down, but I
was sitting on my ass looking up at a very pissed off valkyrie.

   Mom rushed toward me, but I waved her away, which was hard work
considering I was trying to re-inflate my lungs.  Somehow I got to my feet
and croaked "Let's take a walk."

   We were halfway around the park before I was breathing well enough to
talk.

   "Are you okay?" she asked.

   "Almost," I admitted.  "But I hope you never hit me again."

   "I'm...  I'm sorry.  I won't"

   "Don't make promises you can't keep."

   Robbie whirled, and I grinned at her.  She shrugged.  "You do have a way
of getting under my skin."

   "I can see it now.  You and I playing together for Stanford.  The
announcer saying, 'Robbie 'Monster Girl' Tate and Tony 'The Rash' Sims.' I
laughed.  Damn, it hurt to laugh.

   "You walked out and left me," she accused as we started walking again.

   "I know.  It was something I had to do."

   "I understand.  But you told me to stay."

   I was quiet for a while as we completed the circle and passed my house.
"If you'd walked out right then, almost the whole team would have followed
you.  'Cause, Lady, they love and respect you.  You and I were in a
position to kill football."

   "But..."

   "But nothing.  The school board's got a lot of good people, but they
would have seen it as a case of the kids trying to rule the school, and
they would have decided that if we won, the next step would be to walk out
on teachers we didn't like."

   "But, it wasn't like that."

   I grinned.  "You're preaching to the choir.  I was there."

   "But, I don't want to play without you."

   I stopped, turned her toward me, and put my hands on her shoulders. 
"Robbie, that was one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me.  And
one of the stupidest." I waited a second for the sucker punch.  "You played
football in Tennessee without me.  You started on varsity our freshman year
without me, and if we go to different colleges, you'll smash up the NCAA
without me.  Face it, you love football even more than I do."

   "Yeah, but..."

   "Listen, you have to decide what's right for you.  Football with Parker
or no football.  But if you play, you know I'll be there cheering you on."

   "I know," she said and hugged me.

   "Unless, of course, I'm having surgery to put my internal organs back in
the right places."
   Robbie took my hand, and we started walking again.  "Wimp."