Page 25 of Trick Play

After we won the game, I hurried to shower and change, hoping Tyler would be waiting for me.

I rushed into the hall and looked for him before checking the coach’s offices. He wasn’t there.

Had I messed up? Did I not do well enough? Could he see I was distracted during the last period?

I ran my hand over my face and turned to head back to the locker room when the door at the end of the hall opened.

“There he is,” Weston called with a wide grin.

I froze, seeing Tyler between him and Mr. Crowley, the athletic director.

“Very nice to meet you, Ethan.” Tyler extended his hand, and I came out of my daze in time to shake his hand.

“It’s an honor, Mr. Rodriquez.”

He cringed and chuckled. “Oh please, don’t tell me I’m old enough for you to call me that.”

I smiled and Weston patted my shoulder. “He’s a good kid.” He turned to me. “Tyler was telling us how impressed he was with the dynamics on your line.”

“That’s all about really knowing and caring about my teammates,” I said. “We work really hard, but we’re good friends too. I think that’s really important to make sure the team has chemistry.”

Tyler grinned. “It certainly helps.”

I glanced around the group, wondering what came next.

“We’re going to dinner before his flight, so we should get going,” Mr. Crowley said.

“Thanks so much for coming.” I directed it to Tyler.

He nodded. “I’m glad I did. I think you have a lot of promise.”

They continued down the hall before I could say anything else, not that I had words at the moment. It wasn’t like he offered me a contract or made any promises, but positive feedback from him meant everything. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be the last scout to visit.

Benjamin peeked out of the locker room a moment later then hurried over. “Did he say anything?”

“He was impressed with our line and said I have a lot of promise.”

His face fell before he caught himself and smiled. “Good. They don’t always give a ton of information or a promise to call or reach out. We’ll have to wait and see.”

He turned and headed back inside, taking all my joy and pride with him. Was it normal for scouts to do more? I didn’t know. Benjamin would have a better idea, but Tyler didn’t mention ever talking again. Was that a bad sign?

How had I managed to mess this up?

I fell back against the wall. Why couldn’t I get anything right? I was failing my classes. I couldn’t manage my time. Kennedy was mad at me, again. And apparently, I wasn’t as good of a player as I thought. I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping and pulling. Why couldn’t I be normal? Why couldn’t I be enough?

Chapter 9

Kennedy

“Okay, there has to be a story there.” Mya leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

I glanced at Dustin, hoping he’d scoff at talking about my drama, but he seemed just as interested.

“We came to talk about the project, not me,” I tried to argue.

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Mya said before taking a sip of her coffee.

Agreeing to meet them at the cafe next to the art building was turning out to be a mistake. I figured we could get more done if we made our plans in person, but we barely sat down, and they were sidetracked.