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 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 36

   Coach Vickers blew his whistle and signaled the team over.

   "Settle," he yelled as we formed a circle around him.

   I was feeling good.  It had been a good week.  So far, no one had
threatened to suspend or expel me.  Dad gave me some funny looks.  I think
he was trying to decide if he had to say something about Tami and me, but
in the end I guess he decided that Mom had handled it.  Football practice
had gone great and so had the play.  It was Thursday.  Maybe, just maybe, I
would finally get the confrontation free week I'd been hoping for.

   "I just have a couple of announcements, then you can take off.  No game
tomorrow, and we've looked real good this week, so I've decided to give you
the day off."

   The team cheered.  It had been awhile since we'd had a Friday to
ourselves.  Robbie looked like she couldn't decide whether it was good news
or bad till I clapped her on the back and she smiled.

   "Next week, we have the first round of play-offs and we lucked out,
we're at home.

   The team cheered again.

   "If we win..."

   "When we win," Mark interrupted.

   "When we win, we'll be at home for the quarter finals, too."

   "Then the Tacoma Dome!" Mark yelled and that brought on another team
cheer.

   Coach Vickers was grinning as big as any of us.  "Last, next week, Tony
won't be with us on Monday and Thursday."

   I won't?

   "Some guys think they're special," Luke muttered.

   I started to say something, but a sharp look from the coach silenced me.
"Some guys are special," he said, getting right in Luke's face.  "If he
wasn't, you wouldn't be on this team right now."

   Luke looked away from the coach, caught me looking at him, and looked
down.

   "And if any of the rest of you think Tony's getting special treatment,"
it might have been my imagination, but I thought he looked straight at
Mike, "volunteer to give up twelve weeks of your free time to coach some
kids and you can miss a few practices too."

   Gymnastics.  Tami and Robbie must have arranged it with the coach when
they talked to him about getting me back on the team.

   Friday was still peaceful.  Not one teacher threatened me, though Mr. 
Singara gave me a dirty look on general principal.

   That night Robbie and her dad, Tami, and I had dinner with the Bradleys.

   I'd talked to Mr.  Bradley a little before the concert, but now I had a
chance to get to know him.  He had a crude sense of humor, and I learned
several new dirty jokes that could come in handy for settling pitchers
during baseball season.

   Betty and Jo spent most of the night in my lap, with both Tami and
Robbie giving me satisfied looks.  I promised myself that if either of them
mentioned the words twins and harem in the same sentence, I'd spank.

   Saturday I went with Gary and the team to Traci's gymnastics meet. 
Traci was having a pretty good year.  She'd finished in the top six at
every meet so far, but not yet in the top three.

   Tami, Peter, and Kelly came along to cheer.  Since Kelly was a level
seven, she didn't compete until January.

   The girls all had a pretty good meet, though not one stayed on the beam.
Sixteen falls for twelve girls is not something to be proud of, but Gary
said some days are just like that.  Traci finished fourth all-around but
took a first place on vault, which was going to have her dancing on the
ceiling all weekend.  The team came in third.  Not bad, but they usually
finished first or second.

   "What's gotten into you?  Tami asked as we walked around the park Sunday
night.  I was grinning at the stars.

   "I did it."

   "Did what?"

   "A confrontation free week."

   "Tony, I'm so proud of you." The sarcasm in her voice made me wonder
about shipping a certain bad influence back to Tennessee.

   "Think I can make it two?"

   Tami smiled.  "Go for broke, try for three."

   I think we both knew a month was out of the question.



   Chapter 37

   "If you were grinning any harder, you'd hurt yourself," Tami said as I
slipped into the seat beside her.

   "Nothing wrong with being in a good mood," I said defensively, but my
grin didn't slip.  I checked the whiteboard in the front of the room, but
Mr.  Walker hadn't written anything, so it was business as usual.

   Tami looked at me suspiciously.  "What are you working on?"

   "Nothing exciting.  Just the grades list." The school paper printed a
list of everyone with a three point or better at the end of the nine weeks.

   Tami looked at me appraisingly.  "Wouldn't happen to include the class
standings too, would it?" she said after a minute.

   "Well, yeah." We always included the top five students in each class.

   "You wouldn't happen to be on it?" she asked, a smile starting to
appear.

   "I usually am," I said without false modesty.  I was almost always in
the top ten, and better than half the time, crept into the top half of
that.

   "Your best friend wouldn't happen to be on the list too?"

   "She always is," I admitted.  Robbie hadn't missed top five since she
arrived.

   Tami shook her head gently.  You two wouldn't happen to be in
alphabetical order for once?" I hadn't beaten Robbie in three years of
trying.

   "Now that you mention it."

   Tami held out her hand, so I opened my notebook and handed her the list
I'd gotten from the office.  Tami scanned it.  "Tony, number one.  I don't
believe it."

   "It just proves what I've always said: school gets in the way of
education." I'd been suspended for the first week and a half of the grading
period and for the first time topped the list.

   "I see Kelly Dubrey placed fifth," Tami said, handing back the list.

   "If the school didn't make her take things besides math and science,
nobody could beat her."

   "You weren't planning on rubbing this in, were you?"

   I put my hand over my heart.  "I wasn't planning to say a word."

   Tami cocked her head to the side and kept looking at me.

   "Okay, the banners are ordered and the sky writer's scheduled for two."

   "That's my Tony."

   I shrugged.

   "Just don't rub it in too hard.  Knowing Robbie, you might not heal in
time for the honeymoon."

   I started to protest that the honeymoon was a year-and-a-half away, then
remembered we were talking about Monster Girl.

   "My boyfriend and my best friend, one and two on the class list.  I feel
positively stupid by comparison." Tami had placed fourteenth, which was
about average for her.

   "You have other talents," I leered.

   "We'll assume you mean her writing," Mr.  Walker said, standing over our
table.  I nodded quickly.  "Back to work.  We have a paper to get out."

   As he walked to another table, I leaned back, my hands behind my head.
"Last week was a good week, but this one's going to be even better."

   Tami grinned.  "Now you've done it.  Maybe I shouldn't sit so close."

   "Good job, Monster Girl," I said as we caught up to her in the lunch
line.  "Number two in the class."

   Robbie smiled.  "Who beat me?  Toby Mather again?" Toby was the
uberstudent.  Not as smart as Kelly Dubrey, but good at every subject. 
Plus, he had no life.

   "Nope, he's third."

   "Kelly?" Robbie asked as she paid for her lunch.

   "Fifth," I said with a straight face.

   Robbie looked at me.  "No, the world isn't that warped."

   I just smiled.

   "Ladies!" I yelled about medium loud.

   Nobody paid any attention.

   "Not like that," Stephy Ward said.  "You got to do it like on the bus
after a meet." She took a deep breath, "Get your butts over here!" she
yelled at full volume.

   The girls all stopped talking and came over in front of us and sat down.

   "See?" Stephy said looking at me.

   I patted her on the head, then looked at the group.

   "For any of you who don't know me, I'm Tony Sims." There was some
whispering back and forth, especially from the new girls.  "This is Tami
Sharp," I said indicating Tami.  More whispers.  "And you probably all know
Stephy Ward," I added.  "We're your assistant coaches." I noticed some of
the looks that Stephy got and mentally recorded the lookers.

   "Miss Calloway won't be here today.  She broke a tooth on the mac and
cheese." You've got to love cafeteria food.

   "There are a couple of things you need to know about Stephy.  She's a
freshman.  I know some of you are thinking 'she's only a year older' or
'she's only two years older', but you better understand right now that she
IS your coach.  If you don't treat her like that, you WILL deal with me or
Miss Calloway.  Just remember, we need Stephy more than we need any of
you."

   "Even me?" Kelly asked coyly.

   "Especially you," I pretended to snap.  I knew Kelly wouldn't be a
problem and probably would be the captain of this mob.

   "There are advantages," I continued.  "Last year, the coaching staff was
Miss Calloway, Tami, and me, with zero experience between us.  This year,
the three of us each have a year of experience and Stephy has about three
times as much as all of us combined.  She may not be able to spot you on
some things some of you are bigger than she is but if you're smart, you'll
listen when she talks."

   I watched the faces I'd noticed before, and I think most of them got the
message.

   "Any questions so far?"

   Susie Calloway raised her hand, and I nodded at her.  "How come we
aren't in the splits?" A couple of girls groaned.

   I grinned.  "That's a good question.  Susie knows that we always do team
meetings in the splits.  The answer is, you aren't on the team yet.

   "One thing we want to see on this team is support for each other.  Last
year we went to our first meet and did bad.

   "Really bad.

   "As we got back on the bus, almost every girl was ripping every other
girl."

   "He yelled at us," Kelly interrupted.

   "A lot," Susie added.

   I grinned.  "But the team learned that when they worked together, we
could make the impossible happen."

   "We weren't last at districts," Traci said proudly.

   "No, we weren't," I agreed.  "And we aren't going to be this year. 
Basically it comes down to this: if you don't want to play nice, there's
the door." I pointed at the door to the locker room.

   "If you don't want to help your teammates, there's the door.

   "If you don't want to work hard, there's the door.

   "If you don't want to listen to Stephy, there's the door.

   "If you don't want to listen to Tami, or me, or Miss Calloway, there's
the door."

   I gave them a few seconds to let it sink in.  "But if you want to be on
this team, get in your splits.  Good side." Last year's gymnasts were
sliding into their splits before I finished the last word.  The others only
a few seconds behind.

   "We're not even going to bother learning your names today.  If you come
back tomorrow, then we'll work on it."

   "Tony," Tami interrupted and nodded her head.

   "Oh, I won't be back until Thursday, I've got football.  But Traci and
Kelly are both ticklish, and I'll get a full report."

   Play practice was the smoothest ever.  Everybody had their lines.  I
think even Robbie relaxed.  At least as much as she could.

   "No practice tomorrow or Wednesday," she said when we gathered at the
end.  "I think we all want to go see the competition.  "Thursday, we'll do
a dress rehearsal in the morning.  Then..." she finished with a sigh.

   I gave her a quick hug, and everybody started gathering their stuff.

   "You think you're pretty smart."

   I turned and saw Steve Reed, Darlene's stepfather standing at the foot
of the stage, looking up at me.

   I grinned.  "Well, I hate to brag about my I.Q., but class standings
just came out.  You can check them." From the corner of my eye, I saw
Robbie and Tami both stick their tongues out at me.

   "You thought I'd never know," Reed said.

   Definitely open-ended.  There were a lot of things I didn't think he
knew, but I wasn't going to be stupid enough to volunteer any of them.

   "You forgot something," he said and held something in his hand.

   I squinted against the glare of the footlights and realized it was a CD
or DVD case.  Then I recognized the cover.  It was the amphitheater in
Otter Park.  The Live From Otter Park CD.  Darlene and I were both on it.

   "What are you doing with that?" Darlene demanded loudly.  "It was in my
room."

   "It was in my house," he said simply, then looked back at me.  "You
thought you could go away with my daughter all summer and I wouldn't know."

   "Stepdaughter," I clarified.  "And it was only two weeks."

   "Ex-stepdaughter," Darlene said stepping to the front of the stage.  "I
don't want anything more to do with you."

   "You WILL NOT talk to me that way.  Go get in the car."

   "No."

   "I'll..." He lifted his hand, though I didn't know what he was planning
to do with it down there.

   "You won't touch her," I said.

   "Unless you want to go through me first," Robbie said, stepping to the
edge of the stage.

   "And me next," Tami added, standing beside her.

   "She's coming home."

   I looked at Darlene, and she shook her head.

   "No, she isn't."

   "You can't stop me."

   I jumped off the stage and stepped in front of him.  "I could break you
in half if I had to."

   "We'll see if you want to break the police in half." He reached into his
pocket and pulled out a phone.

   "Call them.  Right now, I think Darlene would rather spend the night in
jail than go home with you.  And that's where they'll take her if she
refuses to go.  Out-of-control minor, I think they call it.  But either
way, she's not going with you."

   We stared at each other silently for a minute.

   "And if you want to push it, we'll have the petition filed before noon,"
Robbie added from the stage.

   "Petition?" Reed asked.

   "For emancipation."

   "You can't possibly win that."

   "Probably not." Just from the sound of her voice, I knew Robbie was
grinning.  "But before we're done, the whole county will know how you treat
your family."

   "Treat my family?  I love them."

   "Sure.  Hey, Tony?  Want to bet the little girls have a list of daily
chores and Mike don't?"

   I grinned at Reed.  "Not a chance.  I ain't throwing my money away."

   Reed stared at me.  Then Robbie.  Then Darlene.  Then back at me.  After
a minute he turned and stomped out.

   I turned in time to see Darlene sob and walk toward the wings of the
stage.  I jumped back on the stage and pulled my phone from my jacket
pocket, tossing it to Traci.  "Better call Mom and tell her I'm bringing
home strays again." Then I followed Darlene.

   "You were right, I got cocky," I said later that night as Tami and I
walked the park.

   "See what happens when you tempt fate." Tami laid her head on my
shoulder as we walked.  "Where's Darlene?"

   "Already asleep.  She's in my bed, I'll get the couch."

   "Did she talk to her mom?"

   "For about ten minutes right after we got home.  Then she said Reed
started ranting in the background.  I don't think she's going back anytime
soon."

   "Why is it my boyfriend keeps winding up with cheerleaders living in his
house?"

   I started to say, 'Just lucky I guess', but changed my mind.  "Some
knights rescue maidens and ride off into the sunset.  I bring them home."



   Chapter 38

   "You've got a funny look on your face."

   I'd just stepped out my front door to meet Tami.  I kissed her, slipped
my arm around her and my hand into her back pocket, and we started walking.

   "I'm trying to decide whether to be insulted or not."

   Tami giggled.  "About what?"

   "Mom and I were talking about Darlene, and she was saying that she was
proud of me for bringing home strays, girls who need help."

   "And that's insulting?"

   "Then she added she'd be prouder if my strays weren't all female and
cute."

   Tami laughed.  So how's Traci getting along with her roommate?"

   I suppressed a grin and kept a straight face.  "Darlene isn't living in
Traci's room."

   "She's not?" Tami asked in surprise.  "You're still on the couch?"

   "Nope.  I'm back in my bed." I gave Tami a minute to process.  She
wouldn't get really jealous, not over Darlene, but there was a little...

   "You mean your mom...  ?

   "Tami, my love, Darlene moved out this afternoon."

   "She went home?"

   "That's not happening.  She moved in over at Robbie's.  Robbie's dad
said she could stay until she graduated college and not a day longer."

   "Good.  You think her dad will make trouble?"

   "Stepdad," I corrected.  "I think he'll make noises.  Mr.  Tate talked
to a friend of his.  He's a judge in family court in Seattle.  It's not his
jurisdiction, but he seemed to think that since Darlene has a good place to
live and is a good student and everything, that if nothing else we could
drown Reed in paperwork and stall till she turns eighteen in thirteen
months."

   "So she's never going home?"

   "Never say never, but I'm not holding my breath.  I can't see Reed
changing, and I don't think Darlene's mom is going to stand up to him."

   Tami nodded, and we walked in silence for a while.  I knew Tami was
worried about something, but I also knew she'd talk when she was ready.  We
were just finishing our third circuit when she asked, "What about her
sisters?"

   I sighed.  It was a question that I'd thought about but didn't have a
good answer for.  "They'll probably get it worse than Darlene since they're
growing up in it.  But there's not much we can do unless they rebel like
Darlene did.  If that happens, Robbie's dad said they're welcome, but it
probably won't happen.  They're too young to realize they're second class
citizens in that house."

   "That's sad."

   "That it is." We walked some more.

   "Think we'll win?" she asked on the fifth circuit.

   "The truth or the answer I'll give Robbie?"

   "I'll take the truth, and that's what you'll give Robbie too."

   "Probably, but she ain't gonna like it.  I think we're gonna send Romeo
and George to Seattle."

   "Why?  It was okay, but it wasn't that great."

   I agreed.  We'd seen the play last night.  Carl Troutman had done a good
job adapting a story he'd found on the internet, but the group he'd put
together hadn't been the best actors.  There were a lot of awkward pauses
and mumbled dialog.

   "The problem is the system.  Everyone in school gets to vote, but less
than half went to one play, let alone all three.  Most of them will vote
for a friend's group or whatever.  Romeo and George will get a lot of votes
just because of the idea of Romeo actually being hot for Juliet's brother."

   "What about Detective?" she asked as we passed her house for the sixth
time.  We'd seen The Accidental Detective tonight after my football and her
gymnastics.

   "I think Leslie blew it."

   "But it was good."

   "It was great," I corrected.  Leslie's play was much better staged than
Carl's.  And her actors hit all their marks.  Leslie's timing for comedy
was as good, maybe better than for drama.  "Leslie did a fantastic job, but
the play itself was a little too...  too intellectual for high school.  A
lot of the jokes depended on actually knowing some history and current
events."

   Tami nodded.  "I guess.  There were times when Robbie, you, and I were
laughing, but most of the audience just sat there."

   I nodded.

   "So, tomorrow?"

   I shrugged.  "Tomorrow we perform and do great, then lose.  Or we blow
it completely and lose.  No one ever said high school was fair."

   "Even with Parker gone," Tami agreed with a sigh.

   "I've got a plan!" Tami announced as I tried to kiss her goodnight.

   "I'm trying to kiss you here."

   "This is more important.  I've got a plan."

   I shook my head.  "So what's your plan?"

   "We petition the school board to let the middle school vote too.  Since
we've got the only play with middle schoolers..."

   "We win big time," I finished for her.

   Tami nodded.

   I kissed her hard for several seconds, then stepped back and bowed.

   "Robbie would be so proud."



   Chapter 39

   "Are you in trouble?"

   I'd been nuzzling Tami's neck as we walked.  I kissed it and said,
"Don't think so.  Why?"

   "Look."

   I lifted my head, Tami was pointing toward my house.  Robbie's little
Rodrigo was parked in front, and Robbie was sitting on the hood.

   "Should I make a break for it?"

   Tami smiled evilly.  "Nope, she's faster than you." I made a face.  "And
tackles harder."

   For a few seconds I contemplated replacing Tami.  A nice dumb blond. 
Judy Saunders was major cute.  And she was smart enough to dress herself,
but not much more.  Life would be so much simpler.  But I knew what Tami
would say if I brought it up I'd be bored in ten minutes and unfortunately,
Tami would be right.

   Robbie hopped off her car as we approached.  Watching her stand there
waiting for us, I couldn't tell if I was in trouble or not.  I reviewed the
day and couldn't think of anything, aside from a crack about the number one
student.

   "Hi, Rob..."

   In a heartbeat, Robbie was in my arms her lips mashed against mine.

   "I guess you're not in trouble," I heard Tami say in an amused voice
next to me as Robbie's tongue pushed deep into my mouth.

   "It was so good," Robbie said when she finally came up for air.

   Dress rehearsal had been a disaster.  Peter stepped on Susie's toes
three times, and at one point was reciting dialog from act three while the
rest of us were rehearsing act one.  I wasn't much better, though I didn't
step on anyone's toes.

   Mr.  Reed had arranged for us to have the stage all day, so we were able
to get a full run though before lunch, then work the scenes that Robbie was
most worried about, then another full run though.  The only catch had been
springing some of our troop from the middle school, but Mr.  Hallowell
helped with that.

   We finished at three-thirty.  Tami and I drove Traci and Susie back to
the middle school for gymnastics, Robbie headed for football, and Darlene
for cheerleading.  By five-thirty we were all back and getting the final
preparations done.  At least Mom dropped off a pizza to keep us from
starving.  I think Robbie forgot food existed.

   The auditorium started to fill up about six-thirty and was SRO,
standing-room-only, by seven, though we didn't start for another half an
hour.  It was almost like winning right there, since Romeo and George had
only filled about three-quarters of the seats and The Accidental Detective
about half.

   "It's traditional that Tony says something," Robbie announced a couple
minutes before curtain.

   Traditional?  Then I remembered last year when I'd threatened to have
Ricky gag her.

   I motioned everyone to circle around me.  "Okay, I think most of you
know that I don't think we can win.  So, we're just doing this for us. 
Let's have fun, hit our marks, give the audience a good show, then wait to
lose." Okay, not the most inspirational speech ever, but Robbie was
nodding.

   "One more thing," Tami added.  "We're not just doing it for us." Her
eyes flicked toward the ceiling, and all of us knew that Zoe was watching
too.

   I'd called the play Zoe's Song, but it wasn't about Zoe, not really. 
The Zoe in the play was thirteen and had a death sentence hanging over her
head, but the resemblance ended there.  The play's Zoe was an eighth
grader, she hadn't skipped ahead, and she didn't go to school.  She home
schooled on her computer as her mom tried to protect her from the world.

   David was a freshman who lived three houses away.  He was a bit of a
geek, not popular but not unpopular.  Kind of an every-kid.

   In act one, they met in a chat room on the internet, not knowing they
lived in the same town, let alone on the same block.  We'd made a set that
had two bedrooms, Zoe's and David's, separated by a big machine with
flashing lights that was supposed to represent a server or the internet in
general.  We'd set it up so that we could light one or both bedrooms,
depending on who the scene focused on.  It was kind of amateurish, but hey,
we were amateurs.

   Traci and Peter, playing Zoe and David chatted back and forth, talking
their words as they typed, occasionally interrupted by others: Zoe's mom
and dad or her doctor, David's mom and sister or his girlfriend Crystal.

   The first song was called Chatting, and Sally had written the lyrics a
few days after we started rehearsals to a song her brother had written a
couple years before.  In it, Traci and Peter sang about chatting with a new
friend, while Robbie and I, as Zoe's parents and Darlene as David's mom,
sang a counterpoint about kids and the internet.

   The second song was Traci's alone.  It was called Living to Die and
Dying to Love, and it sort kinda maybe almost worked.  I'd written the
lyrics and Sally did the music, and we all agreed that it was just a little
too saccharine, but none of us knew how to fix it.

   In the second act we'd taken out one of Peter's songs in favor of
Chatting in the first act, so the next song was Traci's.  She sang Too Many
Feelings as her character tried to sort out her feelings from finally
meeting David.  As she finished, Peter echoed the last chorus.  David
started sneaking over to see Zoe, and Robbie sang A Mother's Heart after
catching them together and kicking him out.

   In the last act Zoe and David got closer, with him sneaking to her room
every chance he got.  Peter got to sing A Little Bit Dangerous.  Then Traci
snuck out once just before her death scene.  Robbie sang Too Soon as Tami
pulled a sheet over Traci's face.

   The final scene was in Zoe's empty bedroom where David and his family
came to pay their final respects to Zoe's mom and dad.

   "She'd still be alive if you hadn't interfered," Robbie accused.  "My
baby would be alive, she'd be here.  We'd be here."

   Peter dropped his head for a long pause, and I held my breath, waiting.
Susie's hand found his and squeezed, and I heard some "Ahhhhs" from the
audience.  I let out my breath.  They'd gotten it.  Suzie's character,
David's little sister, had been a total brat to him during the entire play,
but now gave him just the support he needed.

   Peter lifted his head and looked at Robbie.  "But she wasn't alive.  She
was existing.  She was surviving.  She wasn't living."

   "How dare you!" Robbie thundered.

   "I dare because I cared for her.  I loved her.  I know you loved her,
too, and tried to help her, tried to keep her alive.  But to live you have
to have something to live for besides just drawing your next breath and
listening to your next heartbeat.  I hope I gave her that."

   "I..."

   Peter stepped forward and took both of Robbie's hands.  "You loved her,
and that was important.  You did the best you could in an impossible
situation.  You were her mom when she needed you most."

   Robbie sank back on Zoe's bed and cried.  Peter sat beside her, his arm
around her.  They appeared to keep talking as the lights on that set slowly
dimmed.  I'd slipped out of the scene and over to the set for David's
bedroom.

   A single pale blue spot hit me as I sang Zoe's Song.  I felt a tear in
the corner of my eye and it rolled down my cheek.  A tear that wasn't fake
or make-up, 'cause I wasn't singing to the audience...

   I was singing to her.

   "So it was good for you too?" I asked Robbie with a leer when she
released me.

   "It wasn't just good, it was right."

   I smiled.  From Robbie that was about as good as it got.  When the play
finished we'd both been too busy with the meet-and-greet thing to talk.

   "But I noticed you kept the best song for yourself."

   "I did?" I said, mustering as much innocence as I could.

   Robbie's fist hit me in the arm at the same time as Tami slapped the top
of my head, and I wondered for the millionth time if girls were worth the
trouble.



   Chapter 40

   "I don't think Wasay is happy with you."

   "Huh?" I looked up from my table of photographs.  "Wa-say?"

   Tami sat down, picking up one of the photos.  "The W-S-A-A, Wasay"

   I grinned, picked up two more pictures, and compared them.  It was
second period journalism, and Mr.  Walker had me picking out pictures for a
two-page photo spread on the plays for next week's paper.

   "And why would Wasay be unhappy with me?"

   "North Lincoln didn't show up for volleyball at Lake yesterday."

   "And this is my fault?"

   "Pretty much.  That makes two teams that haven't shown up for volleyball
with Lake: North Lincoln and us.  And one that didn't come for cross
country.  You're playing havoc with some carefully calculated schedules."

   "It's probably going to get worse before it gets better," Mr.  Walker
said as he looked down at my cluttered table.

   "Why?" Tami asked.  I picked up two more pictures.

   "One of the Lake school board members gave an interview in the Seattle
Times yesterday."

   "What'd he say?" I asked, discarding a picture of me in favor of one
with Peter and Traci.

   "Pretty much that kids have no business judging an adult's actions."

   I raised my hand in the air and started waving it around while making
small grunting noises.

   "Yes, Tony?" Mr.  Walker said with a small sigh.

   "Can I request an assignment?" I asked eagerly.

   "What?"

   "I want to cover districts for swimming."

   "Huh?" Mr.  Walker looked confused.

   Tami got it before he did.  "No way.  I'll cover districts.  Tony can
come along and take pictures."

   "Oh, God," he groaned and turned toward his desk.

   Tami and I grinned at each other, then she gave me a small kiss, and I
went back to my pictures.

   I wondered if no one else showed up for the district meet if Lake won
automatically, since they were the host team.

   "...  HIGH SCHOOL WELCOMES YOU TO THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 2005 WASHINGTON
STATE FOOTBALL PLAY-OFFS." Luke's voice boomed from the speakers.

   The two teams were milling just outside the gate to the field.  Robbie
and I had gone over to chat, but I think they thought it was a trap, 'cause
they mostly ignored us.

   "FROM WALLA WALLA HIGH SCHOOL, THE BLUE DEVILS." The other team yelled
and started sprinting onto the field.  The stands were completely packed,
and about a third of them stood and started yelling and clapping.  The
Devils circled the field once, then formed up in the south end zone and
started some spirited jumping jacks.

   "AND THE HOST TEAM..." The rest was drowned out as the remainder of the
crowd jumped to their feet and yelled.  I lifted my arm up and circled my
finger three times, then pointed at the field.  We yelled and started
jogging.  We didn't circle the field, we just jogged to the opposite end
zone and started our own warm-ups.

   "...  SHOULD BE A HELL OF A MATCH-UP." I wondered how much trouble Luke
was going to catch for that slip of the tongue.  "THE BLUE DEVILS ARE SEVEN
AND ONE AFTER ONE OF THEIR BEST SEASONS IN YEARS.  THE REBELS ARE ALSO
SEVEN AND ONE IF YOU COUNT LAKE HIGH SCHOOL, BUT NOBODY DOES." The crowd
laughed and clapped.

   Both teams finished their warm-ups and jogged toward their sidelines.

   I clapped Robbie on the back.  "Ready for this?"

   She grinned.  I knew she was thinking, 'Born ready, ' but she just
nodded.  Robbie was born for this.  For the first time I wondered what the
future held for her.  I mean, Tami was a journalist and I was a coach.  It
might as well be etched in stone.  But Robbie...  I grinned back, saving
her future for another time.

   "Captains!" the coach yelled, and we started walking toward the fifty
yard line.

   "Looks like we're outnumbered," I commented, noticing that Walla Walla
was sending out three captains.

   "No sweat.  You take the little one and I'll get the other two."

   We shook hands, all three of the Blue Devil captains giving Robbie a big
smile as they touched.  I got nothing.  The ref flipped an over-sized coin,
and one of the Devils called it in the air.  "Heads." And heads it was when
it stopped on the grass.  "We'll receive."

   Robbie and I nodded, then turned and trotted back to our sideline.

   Mark kicked off, and the Devils brought if back to their thirty-four. 
Then on the first play Robbie slipped though the line and sacked the
quarterback before he knew what was happening.  That'll teach them not to
chat with us.

   The next play it looked like every Devil on and off the field was
watching Robbie, and their line stopped her cold.  I might have been
insulted if I wasn't so busy racking up my first sack of the game.

   On their third play the QB actually got off a pass that Mark tipped away
from their receiver.  They punted.

   Our possession was even shorter.  Two Mike Reed passes right into Luke's
arms and we had six on the board.  Another pass, and the score was seven -
zip.

   That must have been their wake-up call, 'cause they got tougher and
smarter after that, and the score at the half was still seven nothing.

   Coming back from halftime, Robbie took over at quarterback while I
stayed on defense.  She and Luke were so in sync it was almost scary.  It
seemed like she'd toss the ball to an empty piece of field and Luke would
be there.  The score at the final gun was twenty-seven nothing.

   As chaos enveloped the field a dozen reporters surrounded Luke, Mike and
Robbie.  Nobody wanted to talk to me about my seven sacks, but I felt too
good about our win to be annoyed.  Besides, right now those three were the
stars, they'd get to me soon enough.

   Robbie and Tami were waiting by the door to the training room as I came
out of the lockers.  "Ladies," I acknowledged.  "So, you and Mark going to
meet us at the Three Blondes for a snack?  Or are you planning to find a
dark spot to take advantage of his innocent body."

   Robbie blushed, which surprised me.  I'd certainly said worse to her.

   "Robbie's going to dinner with Cody at the Holiday Inn," Tami explained.

   "Cody?" I asked a little sharper than I should have.  "What about Mark."

   "Mark's a nice guy, but..." Robbie didn't meet my eyes while she
answered.

   Tami slipped her arm around me and her hand into my back pocket.  I
glanced at her, and her eyes warned me that not only was I on thin ice, but
there were sharks in the water below.  I reminded myself that Robbie was a
big girl and nodded slightly at Tam.

   "Would you two stop telepathing back and forth?" Robbie said in
annoyance.

   I grinned.  "Why don't you bring Cody to the Blondes.  Food's half the
price and usually better." I was thinking about the twenty ounce prime rib
I was going to devour for my snack.

   "First date," Tami said before Robbie could answer.

   I understood and nodded.  First dates were hard enough without being in
a group where you were the outsider.  "I withdraw the offer."

   Robbie smiled a thank you, picked up her equipment bag, and headed for
the stairs.

   "So what do you think?" Tami asked as I shifted my own bag that I'd been
holding.

   "I think Robbie's my friend, and I want her to be happy.  If Cody makes
her happy..."

   Tami smiled.  "Now that you've been politically correct, what do you
think?"

   "You know that feeling I used to get in the pit of my stomach when
Parker would come up behind me and say 'Mr.  Sims'?"

   Tami nodded.
   "I don't feel that good about this."