Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 The Trailer Park The Fifth Year

   Part 1 Words and Music

   Wizard



   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - Standard Disclaimer.  This is a work of fiction for
adults only.  If you are under the age of eighteen, please immediately do
what I would have done when I was your age.  Which is, delete this story
from your hard drive and/or leave this internet site.  I know you've left
now like the good little boys and girls you are.  But if you haven't or for
the rest of you, enjoy.

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - Author's Note: Special Thanks to Russell Hoisington for
his time and effort in making this almost readable.  His long hours of
correcting spelling, and punctuation are appreciated.  Thanks also to the
Night Hawk for his comments and suggestions.

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - One Last Note: Once again I'd like to remind you that
The Trailer Park started as a short story, before it took on a life of it's
own.  First it was a short story.  Then a six book series.  I added The
Road Trip and turned it into secven books.  Now I'm splitting the Fifth
Year into two parts and we're up to eight.  This is the sixth book in what
is now planned to be an eight book series.  If you haven't read the first
five books, I strongly suggest you do so before reading this, as I don't do
much recapping.  The Trailer Park: The Fifth Year: Part 2: Music and Lyrics
will follow shortly.

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - The realy final last note: In the Road Trip, I stole,
that is borrowed some of Russell Hoisington's characters from his Wynter
stories, some of which make cameo appearences here.

   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -



   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."





   Chapter 6



   "Tony, where are you heading?" Mr.  Calloway was leaning out of his
classroom.

   "I have P.E.  in five minutes."

   "I have a free period.  Could I see you for a few minutes.  I don't
think Mr.  Vickers will mind."

   I nodded, then looked around the hall, spotting Toby Reyes.  He had P.E.
this period too.  "Hey, Toby!" I yelled to get his attention.  A minute
later I was walking into Mr.  Calloway's room and Toby was going to tell
Coach Vickers why I was late.

   "What can I do for you coach?" I asked as he leaned against the front of
his desk and I took a seat in the first row.

   "I hear you quit football.  Planning on quitting baseball too?"

   "Depends.  You planning to retire and let Parker replace you?

   "Mr.  Parker," he said automatically, then added, "No, retirement isn't
in my plans this year."

   "Good.  Let's go ahead and start spring training then.  Get a jump on
the competition."

   Coach Calloway smiled.  "And the WSAA will jump on us." The Washington
School Activities Association decided when pre-season practice could start.

   "Just a thought."

   "About football.  Have..."

   "Yes, sir.  I've thought about it, and this is the right decision for
me."

   "I know you and Mr.  Parker don't always see eye-to-eye, but..."

   "Do they teach understatement in teacher's college?"

   "What?" I think the question surprised the coach.

   "It's just you're the fourth teacher today to say that Parker and I
don't see eye-to-eye, and I've only had two classes."

   "We're ganging up on you?"

   I nodded.  "Along with my parents, Tami's mom, Robbie's dad, and all
four of my grandparents."

   "We just know how much you love the game, and don't want to see you
making a mistake."

   "And I appreciate that.  I really do.  But this is the right decision."

   Coach Calloway nodded.  "So who do you like in the World Series this
year?" I knew it was his way of saying that he accepted my decision.

   "Who do I like, or who do I think is going to win?" I never did make it
to P.E.

   * * *



   I knew seventh period was going to be my favorite class.  Debate.  I'd
heard great things about the class from students who'd had it last year. 
Mrs.  Conners taught it; in fact it was the only class she taught.  She was
usually the librarian, but she'd been a national champion in college two
years in a row.

   We sat down.  She had the desks arranged in a circle with her at the
center.  When the bell rang, she pointed at me.  "Tony, resolved: teachers
are underpaid and should have their salaries doubled.  Three arguments
against."

   "Uh..." Damn, that was a loaded question.  "In the current financial
situation, doubling salaries would have to mean less teachers."

   "One," she enumerated, holding up a finger.

   "Raising salaries for teachers will cause a demand to raise salaries for
other school personnel.  Janitors, secretaries, administrators."

   "Two."

   It would be so much easier to argue the other way.  "Doubling teacher
salaries will cause an influx of new teachers, making it harder to get
quality teachers."

   "Interesting.  How will more teachers make quality go down."

   "Since determining quality in teachers is pretty much subjective, it's
hard to determine who the good teachers are.  And there will be more bad
ones, since more of them will be in it just for the money."

   "Three.  Very good."

   "Tami, How would you argue against Tony's first reason."

   Tami looked like she wanted to switch to a safer class.  "We wouldn't
have less teachers, we'd increase the economic base."

   "How?"

   "Uh, taxes."

   "So you're willing to lower your standard of living so that I can drive
a Mercedes instead of a Volkswagen." Mrs.  Conners' Volkswagen was almost
legendary.  Her dad had bought it in 1949, the first year Volkswagens were
sold in the U.S.  In fact, they sold two that year, though I don't know who
bought the other one.  He gave it to Mrs.  Conners for her seventeenth
birthday, and she'd been driving it ever since.

   "Uh...  I guess."

   "Think about it." She spun and pointed at a boy on the other side of the
circle.  "Why shouldn't tobacco be outlawed?"

   She hit all eight other students before, "Resolved: football is barbaric
and should be banned from school sports.  Robbie, sell me."

   Robbie looked as if she'd been asked to defend Lucifer in the Vatican,
but managed to sell it.

   "You've got me convinced.  Ladies and gentlemen, this class is about
thinking.  If you don't want to think, the door is over there.  Sometimes,
like today, you will have to think of an argument and present it coherently
with no preparation.  Sometimes you will have time to research and prepare,
but either way, you will think.  I..."

   The door opened and Bobbi Hills, a sophomore came in and handed her a
note.

   Mrs.  Conners looked annoyed but read it and nodded to the office aide,
who scurried away.

   "Tony, Mr.  Parker would like to see you."

   Tami and Robbie on ether side of me gave me their what-did-you-do-now
looks, but I shrugged and started gathering my stuff.

   As I walked out, I was surprised to see by the clock over the door that
only ten minutes had passed.

   * * *



   I wasn't very surprised to wait for fifteen minutes after I got to the
office.

   Mrs.  Hatcher's phone buzzed, and she waved me in as she answered
another call.

   I stepped to the principal's door and took a deep breath, noting that
Parker had wasted no time moving in despite the fact that he was only the
acting principal.  I knocked, heard him say "Enter." and let myself in.

   "Tony, be with you in a minute," he said cheerily.  "Never quite catch
up on the paperwork." He sounded friendly, and I wondered if he was a pod
person.  I made a note to see if UFO activity in the area was increasing.
"Have a seat."

   There were three chairs in front of the desk.  I took the center one.

   A minute later, Luke Hastings came in and shut the door behind him.

   Parker looked up.  "Mr.  Sims, Tony, even when you're not being a
problem, you're a problem for me." He still sounded friendly.  I had no
idea how to answer that, so I just nodded.

   "It's only the first day of school, and already I've had seven teachers
suggest that I need to get you back on the football team."

   Only five had talked to me, I wondered who the other two were.

   "I know you and I don't always see eye-to-eye..."

   There's that phrase again.  I wondered if it was a requirement for
accreditation.

   "...but I'm hoping we can work that out.  I know the team would be
happier if you came back."

   He was being so nice that I decided to be nice back.  "I appreciate the
offer, but I think it would be better if I sit on the sidelines and cheer
the team on."

   "I see." He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.  "In that
case, you're suspended.  Two weeks." He sounded so reasonable.  As if all
he had said was today's lunch is hamburger gravy over rice, which
unfortunately, it had been.

   "Excuse me."

   "There's no excuse for that kind of language," he said with a smile.

   "What language?  Cheer?  Team?"

   "You called Mr.  Parker a mutha-fucker, a bastard, and an asshole," Luke
said from where he was standing by the door."

   My rage lasted a fraction of a second, then was replaced by a calm
acceptance.  Mr.  Parker's new attitude, Luke as a witness.  I really
should have seen something coming.  Robbie will be ashamed.

   I leaned back and steepled my fingers, almost mirroring the vice
principal.  "Would it make any difference if I changed my mind about the
team?" Not that I would, but I was curious.

   "Do you really think I want you on my team?" He really should have added
a maniacal laugh to punctuate the question.  "A few busybody teachers seem
to think it would be a good thing.  Richard Calloway even called you the
heart of the team, but not after today."

   I made a note to thank the coach for that, though I think Robbie was the
heart.

   "Shall I go now, or do you need to wait for a parent?" I'd like to think
my calmness shook him a little, but I wasn't sure.

   "You can go."





   Chapter 7



   I heard the patrol car crunching gravel before I saw it in my rear view
mirror.  It pulled up behind me and parked.

   "I'm guessing this is official, so I should say, 'What can I do for you
deputy?' instead of how you doing Dan?"

   "It's official," he confirmed.  Dan Boyd walked around the car and got
in on the passenger side.  "We got a complaint that you refused to leave
school property."

   "I'm just waiting to pick up Tam."

   "But you've been suspended?"

   "Yep, about twenty minutes ago.  Apparently there are several words
you're not supposed to use when referring to your vice principal."

   Deputy Boyd look surprised, but nodded.  "You do know that when you're
suspended you can't be on school grounds?"

   "School's out in ten.  I'll pick up Tami and be on my way."

   Deputy Boyd hesitated.  After all, I was trying to be reasonable.  "I
can't let you stay," he said after a few seconds.  "The school complained."

   "I see.  Just out of curiosity, who complained?"

   "Charlie Parker called the sheriff."

   "What happens if I don't leave?"

   "I arrest you." He sounded like he'd regret that.

   "If I didn't mind leaving Tami stranded, I'd let you.  Could be fun."

   "Tony, this isn't a joke.  Getting arrested and getting a record is no
laughing matter."

   "Dan, do you know where you are?"

   "I...  of course."

   "Really?  You're sitting in Bob Sorrenson's pasture.  He lets the school
use it for overflow parking.  That's why it isn't paved."

   Dan nodded.  It was one of those things you knew but never thought
about. Sorrenson had been letting the school use it longer than I'd been
alive.

   "I know Mr.  Sorrenson.  I doubt he has any problem with me parking
here, but if he does, I'll move."

   Deputy Boyd nodded with a hint of a smile and started getting out. 
"What exactly did you call Charley?"

   I shrugged.  "You'd have to ask Luke Hastings.  It's a little fuzzy to
me."

   * * *



   Tami came out of the school and looked around.  I had to honk three
times before she saw me, since I'd parked next to the school that morning.

   "Why are you over here?"

   "I decided not to wait until March."

   "March?  What does March have to do with anything.  I...  Oh, Tony, not
again." I nodded.  "What happened?"

   "Long story.  Can you wait until Robbie comes over to beat me up."

   "Again?"

   I nodded.

   We drove to the middle school and picked up Traci and Kelly, then
dropped them at the gym.  I hadn't told Gary that I wasn't doing football
yet.  I was kind of enjoying having some free time.

   * * *



   Just before dinner I suggested to Tami that she spend some quality time
with her future sister-in-law.  One thing about Tami, she takes hints
really well.

   "I have some news," I said as I walked into the living room.

   Dad looked at Mom.  "It's not good, is it?"

   She shrugged, "This time, your guess is as good as mine." I was hoping
they'd continue their by-play and forget about me, but I didn't get that
lucky.

   "I'm suspended," I said when they looked at me.  "Two weeks."

   "The first day of school," Dad said in shock.

   "I guess I wasn't ready for summer to end."

   "What happened?" Mom asked.

   "The report's going to say I cussed out Parker."

   Mom nodded.  "And what do you say?"

   I thought about that.  It pretty much came down to I-said-he-said.  I
had faith my parents would believe me, but why bother?  "I can't argue with
the report."

   A look passed between them that I couldn't read, and wasn't sure I
wanted to.  "So, grounded until I'm thirty?  Chores sixteen hours a day?"

   It seemed like hours before Mom answered.  "Just make sure to pick up
your little sister."

   "That's it?" I asked, amazed.

   "Don't spend all day watching soaps.  Read something educational," Dad
added.

   "Uh, okay."

   "Go call Tami and Traci for dinner.  I'll dish up."

   I walked off in bewilderment.

   * * *



   "So I was thinking," I said after I'd explained the day's events.  "I
can put a tape recorder in my pocket and go talk to Mr.  Parker and get him
to gloat and..."

   "Which one are you, Frank or Joe?" Robbie interrupted.

   "Huh?"

   "If you're going to play Hardy Boys, you have to pick: Frank or Joe?"

   "But, I..."

   "Tony, it's okay.  You're not very bright.  But that's why you have Tami
to take care of you."

   "That's my job," Tami agreed, getting off the bed and coming over to
stand behind me and rub my shoulders.

   "Not a great plan?" I asked as Tami's fingers dug into my neck.  I
hadn't realized I was all tensed up.

   "One, you have no reason to talk to Parker for two weeks," Robbie
pointed out.

   "Unless you were going in to beg him to reconsider," Tami added.

   "And you ain't that good an actor," Traci finished.

   I felt outnumbered.

   "So what do I do?" My voice was almost a whine.

   "You stay home and watch soaps," Traci suggested.

   "Dad said I should read something educational."

   Robbie smiled.  "My dad just got a new book on Carthage.  I'll bring it
over."

   "So you can stay here, read, and get educated.  We'll go to school and
probably learn nothing," Tami said in a fake moan.  "Life just ain't fair."





   Chapter 8



   The doorbell rang.  It was the high point of my day so far.

   Freedom isn't over-rated, but it can be boring.

   I put down my book, Harrison's A Stainless Steel Rat is Born.  I'd
decided to re-read the series in chronological instead of published order.
I stretched and answered the door.

   "What are you doing here?" I asked astonished.

   "That's the thanks I get for breaking out of maximum security to come
see you."

   Robbie's grinning face was just the tonic I needed.

   "Maximum security?"

   "Parker's been on the warpath all day.  I had to slither through the
sewers, then climb the tower and hand-over-hand across the high tension
lines to get over the wall."

   "We don't have a wall."

   Robbie pouted.  "Sims, you take all the fun out of life."

   I shrugged.

   "Okay, so I waited till he was busy in the library and made a break for
the parking lot.  My little Rodrigo did the rest." Robbie had a Honda that
her dad had given her for her sixteenth birthday, and for some reason had
named it Rodrigo.  I'd tried to explain that cars are always female.  She'd
nodded, and it was still Rodrigo.  "But if he knew I was coming to see you,
it'd be worse."

   I grunted in agreement.

   "Grab a couple Cokes and let's go up front and throw a football around."

   "I'm retired," I pointed out.

   Robbie cocked her head and looked at me for a second, then turned, went
down the steps, and headed for the front of the park.  I grinned, got two
Cokes out of the refrigerator, and followed.

   "So when do you come back?" Robbie asked.  We were on the front lawn
about ten yards apart, just throwing lightly.

   "Not sure," I said and tossed the ball back.  "Parker said two weeks. 
If he meant that literally, I come back a week from Monday.  If he meant
ten school days, it'll be the next Tuesday cause of Labor Day next week."

   "You know," she said, sailing the ball straight into my stomach, "it's
hard to believe that Parker would do something like this.  I mean, you two
have had your problems, but to lie and set you up?"

   I threw the ball back and waited.  I figured about three seconds should
do it.  One-elephant.  Two-elephant.  Three-elephant.

   "I didn't mean...  It's not that...  I..."

   I grinned.  "Robbie, it's time to breathe now."

   I waited while she relaxed.  After a second, she grinned back and
side-armed the ball to me.

   "You're right," I said.  "This is a little over-the-top, even for
Parker. But to understand, you have to think like an aging bureaucrat."

   "I'm not sure I can."

   I tossed the ball, then waved toward the swing set.  We grabbed the
Cokes and went to sit down.  "The first thing you have to realize is that I
was ruining his plan."

   "What plan?"

   "Try to imagine you're an aging administrator."

   Robbie started swing.  "He's not that old, is he?"

   I grinned, pushed off, and tried to catch my swing up to hers.  "Perhaps
you haven't read my corollary to Einstein's Theory of Relativity.  He says
time is relative.  I say aging is."

   "Really?"

   "Yep.  Look, we're sixteen.  Most of the time, to us, anyone over thirty
seems ancient.  But intellectually we know it isn't, it just feels that
way. To a six-year-old, we're ancient."

   "Speak for yourself, kemo sabe."

   I grinned, though she couldn't see me.  We were swinging arcs of maybe
two-hundred-and-twenty degrees, but I was about ten degrees behind her. 
"Anyway.  Parker is somewhere between mid-forties and early-fifties.  It
seems old to us, but we know in the real world it isn't that far gone. 
But..."

   "Yes?"

   "In the world of public education it kind of is.  Somebody who hasn't
made principal by fifty or so, probably won't."

   "Okay, say I buy all this.  I'm not sure I see the connection to you
getting suspended."

   "Like I said, I got in the way of the plan.  Parker's getting older.  He
really lucked into the vice principal job or he'd still be a middle school
vice."

   "What do you mean?"

   "Miss Carlyle retired to help take care of a sick father, and the
district had a sudden vacancy to fill without enough time to advertise the
job before the school year started.  So here's Parker two years ago,
finally a high school vice.  I'd be willing to bet that he's sent out
dozens of applications for principal jobs, and I'd go double-or-nothing
that he hasn't even gotten short-listed."

   I put my feet down and skidded to a stop.  "Add to that, he's gotten
dozens of complaints, and not all of them from the Sims family, and he's
been over-ruled by the superintendent several times.  And he's applied for
the principal job at our school and the board didn't jump at it.  He's just
the acting principal.  Put that all together and you have a picture of a
man in a dead-end."

   Robbie slowed and stopped beside me.  "So he came up with a plan."

   "Maybe not so much a plan as an opportunity that dropped in his lap. 
You see, his school had this hot football team that almost took the state
championship."

   "Do tell," Robbie said with enough sarcasm to wither plants.

   "And while several players graduated, the all-state quarterback was
coming back, along with his two superstar teammates who got ripped in the
voting."

   "Poor baby," she said without a trace of sympathy.

   "And, and here's the good part, the coach was moving up to Oregon State,
so that left another lucky vacancy."

   "You figure he thought coaching a state championship team would look
good on his resume?"

   I nodded.  "Got it in one.  He figured Branson left a good team, and
though I hate to admit it, Parker knows football.  If he knew anything
about people, he could be a hell of a coach."

   "So if we get him a championship, he'll leave?"

   "Probably."

   "Damn, we're going to play our hearts out.  So why weren't you out there
trying to win one for the Gipper?"

   I shrugged.  "Mostly cause I didn't figure it out until Monday night. 
Tami and I talked about it.

   "Okay, I've got it about his plan, but why set you up?"

   "Because all of a sudden it wasn't a sure thing anymore.  If I'd bit the
bullet and played, with our team, districts were almost inevitable.  And
while state wasn't a shoo-in, we almost certainly would have gone far
enough to make him look good.  On paper at least."

   "Okay."

   "But then a star player walks off."

   "Mr.  Star."

   I grinned.  "Sometimes modesty and reality are hard to reconcile. 
Anyway, a star player quits and the story about why starts going around. 
Then a bunch of teachers start suggesting that he needs to ask me to come
back.  If I hadn't gotten suspended, well, I happen to know that four of
the school board members never missed a home game last year, and Mr. 
Whitting made all the away games too.  Add to that most of the players
making noises about wanting me back and one certain superstar who might
quit in sympathy."

   "If you hadn't told me not to."

   "But Parker doesn't know that."

   Robbie nodded as the last pieces fell into place.  "So Parker figures
that now, if the team loses, everyone's going to look at him 'cause he lost
you?"

   "Bingo."

   "But if Tony got suspended for bad attitude while Parker was offering an
olive branch...?"

   "All of a sudden, it's my fault for not playing for the team."

   "You know, he may be smarter than I've given him credit for."

   I nodded.

   Robbie looked at her watch and stood up.  "I've got to get back for
seventh period." We started walking toward my house.  "You know, the
question has to be when you come back, how long do you last?"

   "That my dear, is a hell of a question."





   Chapter 9



   "What the hell are they doing?" I yelled, jumping to my feet.

   I felt two hands grab my arms and try to pull me down, Tami on one side
and Mikee on the other.

   "Quiet!" Mikee hissed.  "You're not supposed to be here.

   I stayed on my feet as the referees untangled the dog pile with Luke
Hastings on the bottom.  As he stood, Hastings threw the ball on the ground
in disgust.  I couldn't blame him.  The blocking had been horrible, and we
got sent for a five yard loss.

   I let Tami and Mikee pull me back down to the bleachers.

   Sam Woodard, the kid who'd come with Mikee to the game, gave me a scared
look.  I think he was nervous about being caught around me.  On Tami's
other side Kelly, Traci, and Peter were looking around to see if anyone was
checking us out.

   Suspended students aren't supposed to come to football games.  Or any
other school activities for that matter.  But nobody expected me to stay
away.

   Nobody who knew me, anyway.

   So I'd thrown on a sweatshirt and kept the hood up and stayed in the
middle of a crowd.  I even paid full admission instead of using my student
body card.  I was supposed to be inconspicuous.

   I wasn't sure if Parker could actually keep me out of a game in
Richland, but I didn't want to find out the hard way.

   We settled in the bleachers in the visitors section and watched as the
Bombers, then our team ran onto the field and tried to out-calisthenic each
other.  I was surprised to see Robbie over talking to a couple of the
Bombers before the coin toss, but Robbie's one of those people who gets to
know everybody.  She probably made friends when we played them last year
and the year before.  Hell, I knew a couple of them myself.

   We'd kicked off to Richland.  Then on the third play Larry Gordon
stripped the ball from their quarterback and fell on it.

   Our ball on the fifty.  Life was good.

   Then our first play on offense, Robbie at quarterback--Mike was sitting
on the sidelines for some reason--handed off to Luke.  Before he got three
steps, three Richland defenders hit him.  Two more joined the pile before
the referees whistled the play dead.

   I shook my head.  We were better than that.

   I watched as we set up again.  I'd bet it was going to be a pass, a nice
long one right into the end-zone.  Robbie called the count.  If everybody
would shut-up I could hear her.  She checked both sides, then took the hike
from Alex.  She faded back, cocked her arm, and Luke whipped behind her
taking the ball.  Robbie, instead of faking a pass or trying to pull the
defense away, stood up and watched as Luke started running, right into a
wall of Richland players.

   "They can't do this!" I yelled, jumping to my feet again.  Robbie and
Mikee tried to pull me down.

   "Sit down!" Mikee pleaded.

   "They can't throw away the game because of..."

   "This isn't about you," Tami said.  "NOW SIT DOWN." The last three words
weren't loud, or angry, but they felt like they were carved in granite. 
I'd never heard such authority from Tami.  I sat.

   The team lined up again.  Robbie took the hike, handed off to Luke
and... Well, it wasn't pretty.

   I looked at Tami.  "But..."

   She shook her head.  "It isn't about you," she repeated.  "This is
Robbie teaching a lesson about the consequences of lying."

   "But..."

   Tami stared straight into my eyes so hard that I couldn't have looked
away.  "You taught me a lesson about the consequences of lying.  Trust me,
it hurt worse than this."

   I shut my mouth and nodded.  I didn't want to think about the way I'd
treated Tami when she'd lied to me.  "But the team?  State?" I said softly.

   Tami shook her head and grinned.  "You know how competitive she is.  If
you don't think she can teach a lesson AND win the game, you don't know
your best friend very well."

   I couldn't help it.  I grinned back.  Then I settled back to watch the
fun.

   Fourth down with nineteen yards to go.  Robbie took the hike, faded
back. The blocking was awesome.  Nobody was near her.  She had all the time
in the world.  She threw a beautiful spiral right into the arms of Zach
Hissman on the thirty.  Zach had nothing but clear field in front of him.
He took a step and went down on one knee.  Parker threw down his clipboard
and started yelling.  I was glad I couldn't hear.  I have delicate ears.

   "I guess Robbie's not done teaching," I said with a smile.

   "For a guy, you catch on quick," Mikee answered with a giggle.

   Parker grabbed somebody by the collar, yelled in his face, then sent him
onto the field.  As he ran out I saw it was number fifty-four, Tracy
Arnolds.  He tapped Zach on the shoulder in the huddle and pointed toward
the sidelines.  Robbie stood up, said a couple words and pointed herself,
and Tracy ran back off.

   Parker did not look amused.  He was yelling something from the sideline,
but I couldn't make it out, and I don't think Robbie was listening.

   Three plays.  Two hand-offs and a short pass to Luke.  Three
bone-crushing tackles.  I glanced at the sidelines.  Parker was yelling
something at Mike, who was sitting on the bench.  Mike was shaking his
head.

   Fourth down.  Robbie took the hike, faded back to pass, but couldn't
find an open man.  She tucked her head and ran toward a hole in the line.
Man, could that girl move.  I watched her shake, rattle and roll her way
through the defenders and down the field.  As she got to the goal line I
wondered if she cross or down the ball for another lesson.  I'm not sure
what she planned, but a Richland defender hit her and they skidded across
the line.

   The extra point.  Robbie handed Luke the ball.  It seemed like the whole
Richland team hit him.

   "She tipped them somehow," I said, more to myself than anyone else.

   "What makes you say that?" Tami asked, looking slightly amused.

   "Every time Luke got the ball, the Bombers seemed keyed on him.  But the
two plays he didn't, they were looking for the ball just like a regular
game."

   Tami smiled.  "I'm impressed, there may be hope for you yet.  Assuming
that Robbie would tip the other team, and I'm not saying she is, if it was
you, how'd you do it?"

   I thought for a second.  "A number in the count."

   "What number?" Tami asked.

   Now it was my turn to smile.  "If our positions were reversed, I'd use
thirty-one, Robbie's number.  So I'm guessing she's using mine, thirteen."

   "Except your positions wouldn't be reversed.  Robbie's too smart to let
Parker set her up like that," Mikee said.

   I used to like Mikee.

   The offense ran off the field, except for Robbie, who stayed on, and the
defense set up for the kickoff.  From the way he was pacing and yelling, I
had a feeling that wasn't Parker's idea.

   The Bombers took the kickoff and ran it back to the forty.  And never
crossed the fifty.  Monster Girl saw to that, sacking their quarterback
twice.  If she'd made a deal with them, it was only about Luke.

   When the offense charged out on the field, Luke didn't look as
enthusiastic as the others.  They huddled up.  Luke shook his head
vigorously.  They lined up.  Robbie faked a handoff to Luke and handed the
ball to Greg Sanders.  Greg went around the right end and made six yards.

   Next play she rifled a short pass to Zach.  He made ten yards and a
first down.  The team looked like a well-oiled machine, and I didn't think
there was a team in the state that could stop them, except maybe the
Seahawks.  On a good day.

   Robbie faked a handoff and snapped the ball into Luke's stomach.  Luke
looked around and saw a wall of Bomber green and gold.  He started
scrambling, losing more and more ground before they brought him down on the
forty-eight.  Second down and twenty-four to go.

   Robbie faked a handoff, fell back, and fired a shot straight to Zach on
the twenty.  This time Zach took the ball and headed for the goal before a
last Richland defender managed to take him at the knees on the three.

   Another handoff to Luke and we were on the ten instead.  I wished I'd
brought a radio, 'cause I'd love to hear what the Richland announcer
thought about this game.  Luke stomped off the field and Brent Thomas came
in at halfback.  Robbie faked a handoff, then scrammed through a hole in
the line and scored.  A short pass for the extra point, and we were up by
thirteen.

   The rest of the game was an anticlimax.  Luke never came back in, but
Mike moved to quarterback in the second quarter.  Richland's only score was
on an interception he threw.  The final was fifty-five to six, and that was
only because Parker played the second and third string in the second half.

   Football players MUST ride the team bus home unless released to a
parent, so of course Robbie rode back with us.  I'd borrowed Mom's minivan
since I had too many for my 'stang.  Peter and Traci rode in the back seat,
Mikee and Sam took the middle, and somehow, Tami, Robbie and Kelly all
squeezed into the front.

   "Interesting game," I commented as I pulled out of the school parking
lot.

   "First game of the season," Robbie said.  "Still a few kinks to work
out."

   "Mike usually likes to start the game as QB."

   Robbie smiled faintly.  "He wasn't feeling well."

   "Really?"

   "Yep, but you know how dense guys can be.  I had to tell him twice."

   "Uh huh.  Did Luke learn anything?"

   Robbie grinned.  "Time will tell."

   * * *



   We stopped at a Round Table Pizza about a mile from the school.

   We piled out.  Well, most of us.  It seems like Traci and Peter and
Mikee and Sam had better things to do.

   "This is on me," I announced.  I try not to be vindictive, but there's
no rule saying I can't enjoy a little justice.  Every now and then, the
universe gets one right.

   We'd ordered, gotten our drinks, and sent Robbie out to pry to lovebirds
apart when the team came in.  Parker was the third one through the door.

   "Sims!  What are you doing here?" he bellowed.

   'Man!' I thought.  'When the universe decides to dispense some justice,
it goes all the way.'

   "Getting a pizza," I said.  "Try the Italian Garlic Supreme.  It's worth
the drive."

   "You're suspended.  You can't be here."

   "I can't?"

   "Go home!" he ordered.

   I smiled.  "I don't think so."

   "What?"

   "I haven't eaten yet.  And like I said, I love their Italian Garlic
Supreme."

   "I said..."

   "Listen, lardbutt.  Nobody cares what you have to say.  In school, you
may be in charge, but we're not in school.  We're not even in our county.
So I'm going to sit here and have a pizza.  If you and your team want to
eat, go ahead." I turned my back on him.

   "Turn around," he ordered.  "I'm not through with you."

   I looked at the amazed staff behind the counter.  "Would one of you mind
calling the cops?" I asked pleasantly.  As I sat down, from the corner of
my eye I saw Coach Vickers whispering frantically in Parker's ear.  Damn! I
hate when cooler heads prevail.

   "Everybody out," Parker ordered.  "We're leaving."

   "But we haven't eaten yet, Coach," somebody complained.

   "Get your fucking ass on the god-damned bus now, or you'll be walking
home and be lucky to make the J.V.  tiddledywinks team!"

   The team left.

   * * *



   When we left an hour later I was stuffed.  I really do love their garlic
pizza.  And to make the night perfect, in my pocket I had a letter from the
manger of the restaurant discussing Parker's behavior in detail, including
the profanity he used on the team.  It was signed by the manager, all the
staff, and about half the customers.

   I love the universe.





   Chapter 10



   Usually a three-day weekend is something kids live for, but this one
seemed to drag on forever.  At least the weather cooperated.  Saturday,
Tami and I, with Robbie and Mark Russell, went out to the National Forest
and hiked for about four hours.  That night Tami and I played Monopoly with
Traci and Peter, Mikee and Sam, and Kelly and a freshman named Kyle. 
Robbie and Mark were supposed to play too, but spent most of the evening in
my room with the door shut, something that Sam and Kyle noticed and kept
giving each other nudges about.  Peter, the girls, and I ignored them.

   Sunday, Tami and I took her mom and my family to the city park for a
barbeque.  We'd bought huge rib-eyes and all the fixins.  We'd decided that
we'd gotten pretty lucky in the parent department and needed to show them
some appreciation.  Traci only got to come because I couldn't find a
babysitter at the last minute.  Peter came because somebody taught Traci
how to pout with big puppy-dog eyes.

   Monday, another barbeque.  But this time Tami and I were the guests and
Robbie's dad was doing all the cooking.  Robbie had invited Mark, but he
had a family thing.

   Tami, Robbie, and I hung around the backyard and played volleyball. 
Well, actually, they played volleyball.  I tried not to drool, 'cause
Robbie's sister was home.  Samantha had just turned twenty-three and was
every guy's wet dream.  She'd just missed the cover of Sports Illustrated's
swimsuit edition a couple years ago and had turned down Playboy a couple of
times.  According to Robbie, Samantha made more money than her dad, and
that was just working six or seven months a year.  The rest of the time she
was a professional student.  Right now she was doing archaeology at
Arizona.

   I kept having this daydream where's she'd ask if everything Robbie said
about me was true, then led me up to her bedroom to find out.  And every
time I came out of the fog, Tami and Robbie were looking at me knowingly.
Damned telepathy.

   All in all, it would have been a hell of a weekend if I hadn't been
waiting.

   * * *



   "Good morning, Mrs.  Price.  This is Tony Sims."

   "Morning, Tony.  How was your Labor Day?"

   "Just great.  Did the barbeque thing a couple of times.  How 'bout
yours." I figured it never hurt to shmooze a secretary.

   "Nice and quiet."

   "I was wondering if I could get an appointment to see the superintendent
this morning or this afternoon?"

   I could hear the hesitation in her voice when she answered.  "He's
booked solid this morning, but you could have a few minutes about two."

   "Two would be fine," I agreed.  "See you then.

   I hung up the phone and grinned.

   * * *



   "Good afternoon, Mrs.  Price," I said as I walked into the office.

   "Afternoon Tony," the little old lady said.  "He's on a long distance
call, but it won't be too long." She hesitated, and I wondered if there was
something more she wanted to tell me, but then she went back to her
paperwork.

   The new Time was on a table and I picked it up.  The cover story was on
heart attacks, which didn't interest me, but I started flipping through the
magazine anyway.

   "You can go in now," Mrs.  Price said a couple minutes later.  I set the
magazine down.  It never fails: just when you finally find an article worth
reading.

   I nodded to her as I walked through the office to the superintendent's
door.  "How was your summer, Mr..."

   Mr.  Mulino wasn't sitting behind the desk.

   "You would be Tony Sims," he said, looking up from some paperwork on his
desk.  Where Mr.  Mulino looked like a big friendly Jackie Gleason, this
guy looked more like that Marine drill sergeant on Mail Call on the
Discovery Channel.

   "Yes, sir," I admitted, startled.  "I was hoping to see Mr.  Mulino."

   "Mr.  Mulino isn't with the district anymore."

   Nobody ever tells me anything.  "There's nothing wrong is there?" I
asked, thinking he was too young to retire.

   "Mr.  Mulino left to take over as superintendent of the Seattle school
district."

   I relaxed.

   "Sit!" It was a command rather than an offer.

   I'd still been standing in the doorway.  I stepped in and closed the
door.  I considered standing just because I didn't like being ordered
around like a dog, but decided it was probably just his style.

   "Uh, I didn't get your name." I said after we'd stared at each other for
several seconds.

   "I'm Mr.  Butz," he said sharply, without bothering to offer his hand. I
decided this wasn't the best time to make a joke about his name.

   "Yes, sir.  I was hoping to..."

   "It seems, Tony that you've had rather free access to this office," he
interrupted.

   "I don't know about..."

   "That is over.  I am not here to make sure you're having a good time."

   "I see," I said simply.

   "I hope you do.  I don't like having my time wasted."

   I stood.  "Thank you for seeing me," I said dryly.

   He nodded in dismissal.

   At the door, I stopped.  "There's a board meeting tonight.  Would you
add me to the agenda?"

   "No."

   "No?"

   "The board has more important things to do than hold your hand.  Since
you're suspended, you're obviously not representing an official school
organization."

   I counted to ten under my breathe.  First in English, then Spanish,
French and German.  "Thank you," I said and closed the door behind me. 
Outside I counted to ten again in Russian, Swahili, Chinese and Hebrew.

   I took a breath and started toward the door.

   "Thank you," I said as I passed Mrs.  Price's desk, thinking that she
might have warned me.

   "I miss him too," she said.

   As I climbed into my Mustang, I wondered how many more languages I could
learn one to ten in.

   * * *



   "Could I say something?" I asked, standing.

   "Tony?" Mr.  Whitting said in surprise.

   "Sims!" Mr.  Parker said in annoyance.

   "Sit down!" Mr.  Butz said in command.

   I stayed on my feet.  Butz rose to his, came around the table and stood
on the edge on the stage, looking down at me.  "Mr.  Sims, as I told you
this afternoon, the board has important matters to discuss, and doesn't
have time for you.  You will leave now, or be suspended for an additional
two weeks."

   "Okay," I agreed, surprising Tami and Robbie sitting beside me, and my
parents and sister in the next row.

   "By the way, this meeting is now in violation of the state open meeting
law and I'll file the formal protest with the Attorney General in the
morning." I turned my back and started to edge past Robbie to leave.

   "That law, young man is not about students disrupting important
meetings."

   "THAT LAW, Mr.  Superintendent, says 'member of the public'.  It does
not contain any reference to age or school standing.  And I did not disrupt
anything.  I asked if I could address the board, which is customary in this
district.  The CHAIRMAN can choose to recognize me or not.  But since you
have ordered me out, in violation of state law, you can explain it to the
Attorney General and the State Board of Education.  I believe the fine is a
hundred dollars."

   "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE..."

   "Mr.  Butz.' Mr.  Whitting wasn't loud, but there was enough authority
in his voice to shut Butz up.  He turned and faced the board.

   "All of us know Tony," he indicated his fellow board members. 
"Personally, I've known him since he pulled a couple of my neighbors out of
a fire."

   I thought I detected a change of skin color on the back of Butz's neck.

   "I know him well enough to know that he wouldn't waste our time.  And he
is correct that state law gives him the RIGHT to be here, because
sixteen-year-olds are still members of this community."

   Butz stood silently in front of the board.

   "Would you mind sitting down, so that we can hear what he has to say?"
It was phrased as a request, but I knew an order when I heard one. 
Apparently, so did Butz."

   "Sims is suspended," Parker said from his seat.  "He's not supposed to
be here, or any other school activity."

   "As far as I'm concerned, this is one activity that Tony is always
welcome at," Mrs.  Shell said.  The other board members nodded.

   "But..."

   "And I was aware that Tony was suspended and intended to discuss the
matter in executive session," Mrs.  Day added.  Parker looked like he'd
just swallowed something nasty.

   Mr.  Whitting rapped the table with his gavel.  "Tony, bearing in mind
that the board does have a heavy schedule this evening, was there something
you wanted to say?"

   "I just wanted to deliver this and answer any questions the board might
have about it." I pulled a letter out of my pocket and handed it to Robbie,
then pointed at Mr.  Whitting.

   Trying to hide her grin, she took it to him.

   "I tried to give it to Mr.  Butz today, but he told me he was to busy to
talk to students.  I asked to be added to the agenda, but he said you were
too busy for students too."

   "Apparently, Mr.  Butz isn't aware that in this district we consider
students to be human, too," Mrs.  Day said dryly.  "At least until proven
otherwise." The laughter lightened the tension in the room.

   Mr.  Whitting was scowling as he handed the letter to Mr.  Sacramone on
his right.

   "Would you say this is accurate?" Mr.  Whitting asked me after all the
board members had read the letter and passed it on to Butz and Parker.

   "Yes, sir."

   "Robbie?" he said.  She stood.  "You're on the football team.  Were you
at the pizza parlor?" She nodded.  "Have you read this?" She nodded again.
"Would you agree?"

   "Yes, sir," she said almost meekly.

   "She's a friend of his," Parker accused, looking up from the letter, his
face drained of color.

   "Are there any other football players here?" Mr.  Whitting asked,
looking around.

   "My son's on the team," someone said from the back.  "He's shooting
baskets in the gym."

   "Would you get him?"

   We waited while the parent left.  I hadn't recognized the voice and
didn't turn around to look.  A minute later we heard them come back.

   "Come up here please."

   A boy walked up the aisle.  As he passed I saw it was Steve Logan and
grinned.  Steve was the only sophomore on this year's team, which made him
our youngest player, and it was obvious he wasn't thrilled about the
attention.

   "Were you at the football game Friday?' Steve nodded.  "Did you go to
the pizza parlor afterward?" Steve nodded again.  "Would you like to tell
us what happened?"

   "I, uh, well, uh, I mean..."

   "I think it might be easier if you read this," Mrs.  Moore said, leaning
forward with the letter she'd gotten back from Parker.

   Steve stepped up on the stage, took the letter, and read it.

   "Is that what happened?"

   "Yeah," he agreed a minute later.  "Mr.  Parker said he was going to buy
us all pizza since we won our first game.  Then we got back on the bus and
came home without eating anything," he added.

   "Thank you," Mr.  Whitting said and Steve all but ran out of the room.
"Charley, we'll discuss this in executive session unless you have some
questions."

   "He wasn't supposed to be there," Parker accused, standing and pointing
at me.

   "At the pizza place?" Mrs.  Day asked.

   "At the game."

   "You saw him at the football game?"

   "No, I was busy.  But he was there."

   "Tony, were you at the game?" Mr.  Whitting asked.  I had the feeling
that he knew the answer.

   "I'm not sure this board has the authority to ask me that," I started.

   "You see what he's like," Parker accused.

   "But, for the record, yes, I was at the game." I finished.

   "There.  He admitted it." Parker said in triumph.

   "You were aware that suspended students are not to attend school
activities?" Mr.  Sacramone asked.

   "Yes sir.  But do you really think the school has the right or the
authority to bar me from other schools' activities?"

   "Excuse me?"

   "I drove to Richland in my own vehicle and went to a game at their
field. I didn't even use my student body card to get a discount, since I
was suspended from the student body.  I paid full price.  Does being
suspended in this school mean I can't attend any school's games?"

   "That is an interesting question," Mr.  Whitting admitted, "but we'll
save it for another time.  Moving on, item three on the agenda, replacing
the..."

   * * *



   "Tony, a moment please," Mom said as we walked out an hour later.  The
board had gone into their executive session.

   The others walked on to the van while Mom and I found a spot off to the
side of the school entrance.

   "I just wanted to say I was proud of you today."

   I swallowed hard, a lump in my throat.

   "You got their attention, then calmly had your say.  You didn't act like
a child, and they, well, most them, didn't treat you like a child."

   I had a feeling that Mom wouldn't be joining the Butz fan club.

   "Thanks," I said embarrassed.

   "And you didn't lie about going to the game."

   I grinned.  "Mr.  Whitting's the ultimate football fan.  I don't think
he's missed a game in ten years.  It was better than even money he saw me
there."

   "Is there a game this Friday?"

   I nodded.

   "Where?"

   "Here," I admitted.

   "And your plans...?"

   "I thought I'd go to Wenatchee in the afternoon and hang with Peter
King."

   "Peter King?  Isn't he the boy you had the fight with?"

   "I wouldn't call him a boy.  He graduated last year."

   Mom looked suspicious.  "And what were you and Peter going to do?"

   "Well, he's been helping with the football team, so we'll probably go to
the game."

   "And just where is Wenatchee playing?"

   "Uh, here."

   Mom walked, away shaking her head.

   * * *



   It took a long time for me to realize that the song that kept playing
wasn't part of my dream.  It was my ring tone.

   I opened one eye and reached for my cell phone, wondering who would be
calling.  Almost everybody I knew would be in school.

   "Hello," I gasped after I almost fell out of bed getting my hand on the
phone.

   "Tony?" I didn't recognize the voice.

   "This is Tony," I admitted, wondering why I hadn't ignored the phone.

   "This is Bob Reed." I took almost a minute to make the connection.  I'd
been up till three after the school board meeting finishing A Stainless
Steel Rat Gets Drafted.

   "Mr.  Reed," I acknowledged.  Bob Reed was the principal of the middle
school.  I wondered if he was calling to tell me my services as a
gymnastics coach wouldn't be needed this year.

   "You're late."

   "Late?" I was really confused.  Gymnastics season didn't for a couple of
months.

   "Late," he repeated.  "You've already missed first period."

   "But..."

   "My first day as principal of the high school, and you decide to take
the day off."

   "You're principal?"

   "Jason Whitting called me last night."

   "You're principal," I repeated, hoping the world would stop spinning.

   I heard him laugh.  "You've missed first period, but I expect you here
in time for second."

   "Uh, yes, sir."

   He laughed again and hung up.

   I jumped up and started getting dressed.  I'd never been so happy to go
to school.  Late slip and all.





   Chapter 11



   I pulled into the lot, parked, and killed the engine.  It felt good to
be back.  I climbed out and grabbed my backpack from behind the seat. 
'This ought to surprise Robbie and Tami,' I thought, grinning to myself. 
Surprising Monster Girl was never easy and almost worth a week of
suspension if I could.

   I walked in the front door and stopped in the main hallway.  I was kinda
surprised that it didn't feel different.  The hall was mostly deserted.  I
glanced at my watch.  Second period had started six minutes ago.  I wished
the hall had been deserted, cause the only people I saw were Mr.  Parker
talking to Frank, one of the janitors.

   Parker saw me, and the look on his face wasn't what I would call
friendly.  He took a couple steps toward me, then turned and walked quickly
the other way.  I decided this wasn't a good time to question luck and
walked to the office.

   "Good morning, ladies," I said, tossing my backpack at the foot of the
counter.

   "You're back!" Stephy Ward yelled, rushing around and hugging me. 
Cassie Saunders and Miranda Watkins, the other two office aides, just
smiled, but Stephy had been one of my gymnasts last year.

   "I need a tardy slip," I told Miranda, with Stephy still hugging my
side. "I'm not sure if it's going to be excused or un-excused since I
hadn't known I had school today."

   "I already have it here," Mrs.  Hatcher said, from her desk.  I came
around, disentangled Stephy, and took the slip.  "Mr.  Reed would like to
see you," she added.

   I nodded.  "Ladies," I said, tipping an imaginary hat and walked back to
the principal's office.  Then I hesitated.  "Is he in here?"

   "The other one," Mrs.  Hatcher said without turning around.  Parker had
moved into Mrs.  Jeffries office as soon as he became acting principal and
apparently hadn't moved out yet.  I moved to the other door and knocked.

   "Come in."

   I nodded to the girls again, opened the door and walked in.

   The room was mostly bare.  Mr.  Reed had a picture frame on his desk,
and that was the only decoration.  Without seeing the front I knew it was
his family.  He had a wife, a boy here in the high school, and two girls in
the middle school, one sixth and one eighth.

   "I like what you've done with the place."

   The look he gave me wasn't the friendly greeting I'd expected.

   He looked back down at the file he'd been reading.  There was a chair in
front of his desk.  I sat down.

   Maybe Tami's telepathy thing is contagious, cause I suddenly KNEW the
file he was reading was mine.

   After a couple of minutes he looked up and smiled.  "Tony, glad to have
you back."

   I returned the smile.  "Glad to be back."

   "This," he tapped the folder, "makes interesting reading."

   "I'll bet it does."

   He picked up a paper.  "Recommendation for suspension in the seventh
grade for fighting." He set that one down and picked up another. 
"Suspended in the eighth grade for disrespect to the vice principal." He
exchanged that paper for the next one in the stack.  "Suspended as a
freshman for unauthorized publication."

   I was beginning to wonder if I should have stayed in bed.

   He picked up three more papers.  "Then last year, recommendation for
suspension for refusing to take a test." He shuffled the first paper behind
the others.  "Recommendation for suspension for disrespect to a teacher."
He shuffled the papers again.  "And recommendation for suspension for
leaving school without permission."

   He set all the papers down and looked at me.  "Then you started this
year off with a suspension the very first day for disrespect to the
principal."

   I wondered if his reading material had just lost me a friend.  Actually,
when you put it that way, I wondered if I shouldn't just slit my throat and
get it over with.  It didn't sound like the kind of record that Stanford or
Harvard would jump at.

   "Tony, are we going to have a problem?"

   "I hope not," I said after a long pause.

   "But you're not making any promises?"

   "No, sir."

   "At least you're honest," he said, leaning back in his chair with a
half-smile.  "And I know there's more to the stories than is here.  Most of
them I know.  What concerns me the most is this year.  To be honest, I
think the board may have made a mistake changing your sentence to timed
served."

   That surprised me.

   "The things you said to Mr.  Parker surprise me.  It doesn't sound like
you.  Did you say them?"

   I hesitated.  "I've never denied it."

   Mr.  Reed smiled.  "Tony, I know how smart you are.  And I've seen you
play word games.  That wasn't what I asked.  "I asked if you said those
things to Mr.  Parker.  I believe he had a witness..." He looked down at
his papers.  "Luke Hastings."

   Damn!  I wondered if Mom was giving lessons in asking questions without
wiggle room.

   "Well, I won't call Luke a liar." I wondered if Robbie's lesson on
consequences took.

   "Again, that's not what I asked.  I understand he had a very tough game
Friday."

   I nodded.

   "Somehow, I don't think Miss Tate would have made it so tough on someone
who only told the truth, no matter what the truth was, but I'll take that
as your answer for now."

   "Thank you," I said, meaning it.

   "There is something that I think you and I need to get clear right now.
As long as I am principal of this school YOU will treat EVERY employee of
the school with respect, despite what you may think of them personally. 
And that goes especially for Charley Parker."

   "I'm surprised he's still an employee," I said, then regretted it.

   Reed arched an eyebrow.  "Charley's employment status is between him and
the board.  Yes, I know all about the letter you gave them.  But it is no
longer any of your business.  Am I clear?"

   I considered arguing.  After all, I was still part of the dispute.  But
I saw Mr.  Reed's point.  I nodded.

   He smiled again.  "Tony I like you.  And I remember what you did for
Peter Temple last year.  But you are NOT going to run my school, and you're
not going to run roughshod over my vice principal.

   "I didn't want this job," he continued, leaning back again.  "I liked
the middle school and didn't even apply for this job.  But Jason Whitting
called me last night and practically begged me to take it."

   I nodded.  Mr.  Reed was a good guy, I didn't want to cause him
headaches.  "Who's going to take the middle school?"

   "We haven't had a vice principal since Charley moved over here.  Mr. 
Mulino decided we didn't need one.  But now Mr.  Hallowell will be vice and
acting principal, and I'll help him out as much as possible."

   "Good choice."

   Mr.  Reed smiled again.  "I'm so glad you approve," he said
sarcastically.  "Are you going to do gymnastics this year?"

   "If Mr.  Hallowell doesn't mind."

   Mr.  Reed chuckled.  "He's a fan.  I don't think he'll object.  One more
question, then you need to get to class and at least pretend the teachers
are smarter than you and can teach you something."

   "Yes?"

   "Do you want to play football?"

   I'm not sure what question I expected, but it wasn't that.  "Uh..."

   "I should probably tell you first that Charley is still the coach."

   "No," I said definitely.

   "I see."

   "I'm not sure you do.  I've played football most of my life, and I love
it.  But when I quit I told Parker, I mean, I told Mr.  Parker that I
wanted to spend more time with Tami and not miss the beginning of
gymnastics.  I think those are still good reasons.  I don't think I'd come
back even if you talked Coach Branson back from OSU."

   Reed sighed.  "Maybe next year?"

   "Maybe," I agreed.  "Why?  Looking for a championship?"

   "Well, if I'm going to run this zoo, a big trophy would be nice."

   "You have Robbie and Mike.  You'll never even notice I'm not there."

   "I think we'll notice."

   "Luke's pretty good too.  Almost as good as he thinks he is."

   "Uh, Robbie?"

   "Robbie likes to win," I said as if that explained everything, and it
pretty much did.





   Chapter 12



   I stepped past several students in line and up behind Tami and Robbie as
they pushed their lunch trays down the line.  Neither knew I was back in
school yet.  I stepped up beside Tami and slipped my arm around her waist.
"Hey, baby," I said in a fake voice.  "How's about I buy you lunch since
your lame boyfriend ain't here."

   I wasn't prepared for the elbow that snapped back into my sternum, but
my spider sense must have kicked in 'cause I turned my leg a millisecond
before her fist slammed the space where my balls had been.

   "Tony?" they said together.

   I straightened up.  "Robbie remind me not to sneak up on her."

   "You should have known better," Robbie said without sympathy.

   "What are you doing here?" Tami asked at the same time.

   "Came to have lunch with the two sexiest girls in the county," I said,
still rubbing my sternum.  "I snuck in."

   Robbie laughed.  "You're so full of it.  Reed let you come back?"

   "School board actually," I admitted.

   "Does Parker know?"

   "He saw me, but didn't say anything."

   Tami noticed the lunch line had stopped behind us.  "Come on, let's get
out of the way."

   * * *



   We settled at a table, and a few minutes later Darlene, Allie, and Mikee
joined us.  I glanced around the room.  "Your brother is cute when he's
being insecure," I told Mikee.  Peter was standing near the front of the
line, holding his tray.  He glanced over at us, then at a couple of tables
of freshman.

   She giggled.  "Want me to get him?"

   "I will.  TEMPLE!" I yelled.  "Get your butt over here."

   "Subtle," Tami commented before trying a spoonful of the bean soup and
making a face.

   "My middle name," I said as Peter came over by the table.  I pointed at
an empty spot between Darlene and Mikee.

   "I could have sworn it was Marion," Robbie said.  She tried the soup and
pushed it away.

   Peter still looked unsure.  "I, uh..."

   "Peter, sit down before I call the goon squad and declare open season."
Peter sat.  The goon squad was a group of juniors and seniors who made life
interesting for freshmen.  Every school has them.  Ours weren't as bad as
most, but I'd already declared Peter off-limits.

   "Peter, if you have friends you want to sit with, fine.  But just
because we're juniors..."

   "Except for me," Mikee jumped in.

   "Except for your sister, doesn't mean you can't sit with us."

   "Thanks," he smiled.  "I wasn't sure, I mean..."

   "I know.  Sometimes freshmen get treated like a lower life form."

   "Totally," Mikee agreed.

   I stared at her.  After a second she blushed.  "Okay, not me so much.  I
had you guys.  But some of my friends."

   We all nodded.

   "I want to know how you got back," Allie said between bites of
cornbread. "I thought you were out for another week."

   So I gave them an abridged version of yesterday and this morning.

   "I can't believe you went over Parker's head to the school board,"
Darlene said, munching a carrot stick.

   I took a second to think about it.  "Suppose Tami and I invited you over
to the house to play Grizbet."

   "What's Grizbet?" Darlene asked, and the others looked confused too.

   "Brand new game.  You've never played it before.  No one has, 'cause I
just made it up.  So you come over, what's the first thing you do?"

   "I suppose, take off my coat."

   I lowered my forehead onto my hand.  I decided that my earlier plan of
going back to bed had been the right idea.  I looked up at Darlene again.
"You've got your coat off.  You're comfortable and sitting at the table. 
What do you do?"

   "I ask how to play," she said with a shrug.

   "Exactly.  You learn the rules so you can use those rules to win." I
grinned.

   "Life's like that too," Robbie took over for me.  "If you learn the
rules, you can use them to play.  To win.  In this case, the rules say
Parker's got a boss, the superintendent.  But he didn't help, but he's got
a boss too: the school board."

   Darlene nodded.

   "But what if they hadn't helped?  Hadn't let you come back?" Mikee
asked.

   I grinned.  "I actually wasn't trying to get back, I was trying to nail
Parker.  Coming back is a bonus."

   "What if it hadn't worked?" Peter put in.

   "Well, over the school board are the state board of education and the
voters, but you know how some card games have a trump?"

   Peter and Mikee nodded.

   "This game has a trump too."

   "Newspapers." Tami, Robbie, and I said together.

   "Now what?" Allie asked.  "Get Reed to let you play football again?"

   "Nope.  I found something better." I leaned over and kissed Tami on the
cheek and she blushed.  "Actually, he asked if I wanted to play and I told
him no."

   "I wish you would," Robbie said wistfully.  "We need you."

   "No you don't.  You've got and Mark, Mike, and Luke."

   "Luke?" she seemed surprised.

   "Yes, Luke.  You've taught him his lesson, now make him part of the
team."

   "But..."

   "But nothing, Monster Girl.  Look, Luke's no friend of mine, but he came
here, and yes, he was obnoxious, but we, and that includes me when I was on
the team, we, never made any effort to make him part of the team.  I want
that trophy."

   For a second I thought she'd argue.  Then she nodded.  "I'll try."

   I leaned over and kissed her, holding it for several seconds.

   "Parker's checking you out," Mikee warned.

   I broke the kiss and looked over my shoulder at the administrator.  He
turned and walked away.  I looked back at Robbie.

   "You'll do more than that," I said forcefully.  "It doesn't matter who
they call the captains.  Or who they call the coach, for that matter.  We
both know who leads that team."

   "You know, I hate you sometimes," she said without any spite.

   "Yep, and I've got the bruises to prove it.





   Chapter 13



   "Tony.  How's your first day?"

   "Good so far," I said with a smile.  "Why?  What have you heard?"

   Mr.  Reed sighed and sat down across from me.  "Could you at least try
to go a week without problems?"

   I shrugged.  "I can try."

   "Why do I feel like I should have told Jason no and gone back to
watching television?"

   It was rhetorical, so I shrugged and kept quiet.  I'd been sitting by
myself in the library.  I had calculus sixth period, not that I thought I
would ever use it, but it kept my brain nimble.  I'd kept up with the work
during my suspension, and Mrs.  Wayne was letting me cut so I could read
over Tami's notes for debate.

   "I was thinking about our talk," Mr.  Reed said after a few seconds.

   "Uh huh."

   "I thought maybe I came down too hard, made you feel like you're on
probation or something."

   I held up my hand to stop him.  "That's not how I took it.  I figured
you were just setting the ground rules.  After all, you're new here, and
I'm probably not the easiest student to keep in line."

   "Probably?"

   I grinned.  "Okay, I'm a trouble-maker through and through.  Blame Mom."

   He nodded.  "So we're good?"

   "We're good.  I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to butter you
up, but I have a lot of respect for you.  Mostly because you see your
students as people.  Par...  uh, some administrators don't."

   "Good save."

   "I try."

   "I did have a question, if you have a minute."

   I looked at the clock.  "About ten."

   "There was a paper in your file I didn't understand.  It was a
recommendation for expulsion from last spring.  But it was only about half
filled out."

   I laughed.  "I have a feeling that Park...  Mr.  Parker forgot to remove
it.  Either that, or he was keeping it as a memento.  What was the reason?"

   "Defiance of authority."

   "That's me."

   "So what was it all about?  And why didn't Par...  Mr.  Parker finish
it? Marty?"

   I grinned at his almost-slip.  "No, surprisingly it was Mrs.  Jeffries
who convinced Parker that he couldn't win.  Did you hear about the prom?"

   "Only that it got canceled."

   "Kinda."

   "Kinda?"

   "Kinda.  I don't know if you heard about it, but last year we had some
trouble with vandalism.  Nothing major."

   "I heard some of it."

   "There were three incidents that I know of," I continued.  "The first
time was in March.  Mr.  Parker had left his car here overnight for some
reason and somebody trashed it.  Cut the tires, spray-painted the windows,
that sort of thing.  Not to sound too paranoid, but I was in Seattle when
it happened, and I have witnesses to prove it."

   Mr.  Reed smiled and nodded.  Not that I thought he'd suspect me,
definitely not my style, but I'd been trying to make a joke.  The joke fell
flat and brought back memories.  The day Parker's car got hit was the day
that Zoe...  that Zoe...  that Zoe got promoted to the next dimension.

   After a minute Mr.  Reed said, "We can talk another time if it's..."

   I smiled.  "That's okay.  Just a few memories."

   "I understand."

   "Anyway, about the middle of April we had another problem.  Somebody
broke into the school, trashed some classrooms, and painted some
interesting biological suggestions on the door and inside the girl's locker
room."

   "Got an alibi for that one?"

   I grinned.  "Away game.  I was in Wenatchee.  Then the last weekend in
April somebody really did a job on the statue.  Tore the front legs and
head off the horse, smashed up the General." The school had a statue of
Robert E.  Lee on horseback.  Some alumnus who'd gotten rich investing in
Microsoft at the start gave it to us since we were the Rebels.

   "THAT I heard about."

   "Anyway, the next week, Parker got everybody together in the gym and
read us the riot act, which was cool.  I don't like vandalism, especially
untargeted vandalism.  It's useless.  Besides, I liked the General."

   "I wish I'd brought my PDA," Reed said with a smile.  "I'd make a note,
you actually approve of one of Mr.  Parker's actions."

   "It definitely wasn't the start of a trend, 'cause next he canceled the
prom.  Which was stupid, 'cause the kind of people who were doing the deed
probably weren't the kind to go to the prom anyway.  But Parker canceled it
saying that he's reinstate if the guilty parties turned themselves in.  He
totally ignored the fact that he was punishing over a hundred innocent
people.  People who had already spent money on dresses, tuxes, and stuff."

   "You?"

   "I was a sophomore, and I was going out with a sophomore.  I wasn't
planning to go.  But Robbie was.  I'd seen the dress.  Keeping her from
wearing it would have been a crime."

   "So what happened?"

   "I stood up and confessed."

   "That must have made Charlie's day."

   I grinned.  "Nope, he told me to sit down.  He knew the team had been in
Tacoma for a tournament all weekend.  But then a lot of other guys stood up
and confessed.  Instead of seeing it for what it was, people trying to save
the prom, Parker decided that we were making a mockery of him and the
school and said the prom was canceled forever."

   Reed chuckled and I looked up at him.  "I was just trying to remember if
I heard anything about an angry mob storming the school board."

   I shook my head.  "Robbie and I talked about it, but Marty Mulino was
gone, that conference in Boston, and we figured the school board was iffy.
After all, what Parker was doing was stupid, but it wasn't entirely
unreasonable.  He wasn't the first administrator to punish the group.  We
came up with another plan.

   "We arranged with the city to borrow the park, then arranged with the
Elks to borrow their ballroom if it rained.  We held the prom in the park.
Since the school student body fund had the ticket money for the prom, we
couldn't use it, but we got stores to donate food and drinks.  Recruited
parents to chaperone.  Everything.

   "It was a perfect night.  Alana Temple was there to crown the prom
queen. She'd gone to the last four proms and said this was the best one
ever.  It was perfect until Parker..."

   The bell rang, and I started gathering my books to leave.

   "No way.  You can't leave till you finish.  What's the use of being
principal if I can't throw my weight around."

   I grinned.  "Not that much more to tell.  About halfway through, Parker
showed up and tried to shut us down.  Told everyone to go home.  I
explained that we were a private group having a party, nothing to do with
the school."

   "That's all?" Reed asked as I stood.

   "Well, I might have mentioned that if he didn't leave I'd get the
football team to sit on him until I could get the cops to arrest him for
trespassing since the city had given us the park for the night."

   "I'm sure that went over well." Mr.  Reed stood and we started walking
toward the door.

   "He's smarter than he looks.  He left."

   "Tony," Reed said warningly.

   I shrugged.  "Robbie got elected a princess.  Tami and I got voted
assistant king and queen, or King and queen in waiting or whatever.  The
three of us became honorary seniors."

   The second bell rang just as we got into the hallway.  "Then, Monday,
Parker called me into his office and started ranting and filling out the
expulsion form.  Mrs.  Jeffries came in, they talked quietly, then he
kicked me out of his office."

   Mr.  Reed shook his head.  I'm not sure whether it was at Parker or at
me.

   "Did they ever catch the vandals?"

   I hesitated.  "Nope."

   Reed stopped and looked at me, so I stopped too.  "Tony, do you know who
it was."

   I considered evading but decided this might be a good time to find out
what the ground rules really were.  "Yes, but I'm not telling you."

   "So they get away with it.  I thought you said you liked the General."

   "They didn't exactly get away with it.  A delegation from the senior
class, guys who almost lost their prom, met with them and explained that
vandalism was a bad thing.  There was bruising.  A lot of bruising."

   "You know, speaking of vandalism," he said as we walked up the hall
together.  "They had a problem at North Lincoln." North Lincoln High School
was the closest school to us, about twenty miles down the highway.  They
were probably the closest thing we had to a rival.

   "What?"

   "Somebody spray painted Rebels over their Grizzly sign."

   "'Tweren't me," I said as we got to my classroom.

   "I didn't think it was.  Just making conversation."

   "Un huh."

   "Speaking of conversation, hear about the excitement this morning?"

   I shook my head.

   "Big fire on the other side of town.  The Bradley family.  Know them?"

   I shook my head again.  "Don't think so.  Everybody okay?"

   "Nobody was home, thank goodness.  The kids were at school.  Mrs. 
Bradley was at the store, but they lost everything."

   "Hope their insurance was paid up," I said, putting my hand on the
doorknob.  Mrs.  Conners wasn't going to be happy with me.

   "No insurance.  The house was rented."

   "Fuck!"

   "Tony!"

   "Sorry," I said and meant it.

   "I understand.  My feeling too."

   "You say there's kids?" I'd forgotten all about debate.

   "Four girls.  Bobbi is a freshman, you've probably seen her.  Billie is
a seventh grader and Betty and Jo are twins and in the fifth grade."

   "What about the father?"

   "He's working in Montana or Wyoming.  Something with the methane
fields."

   The Red Cross can help, can't they?"

   "Normally, but they're out of money."

   "OUT OF MON...!" They couldn't be.  They'd just had three big fund
raising projects over the summer.  Robbie and I had sang at the talent shoe
last month and Sue Grimwald, the president said it was the best year they'd
ever had.  "KATRINA!"

   Mr.  Reed nodded.

   I shook my head sadly.  "You know, I'm sorry for those people in
Mississippi and Louisiana, but to listen to the news and the stories coming
out of there, you'd think that nothing bad had ever happened to anyone
before this.  And it seems like every relief agency in the country is
sending their money there and there's nothing left for the community."

   Mr.  Reed shrugged.  "What can you do?" he said, then walked back down
the hall toward the library.  "By the way Tony," he said over his shoulder,
"try to remember, it's Mr.  Parker."

   I stood outside the door for a minute, then went the other way toward
the office.

   What can you do?





   Chapter 14



   "Sims!  What are you doing here?"

   Tami and I had been walking down the hall under the gym toward the
girls' locker room when Parker came out of the boys' locker room.

   "Just meeting Robbie," I said with a smile.

   He frowned.  "This area is for football players only."

   "Okay," I agreed amiably.  "We'll wait in the parking lot."

   I think I surprised Parker and Tami.

   "Remind me to tell the cross country team that they can't use the locker
room," I said quietly as we retreated back up the stairs.

   Tami nodded, and for once the telepathy was going my way 'cause I knew
she was thinking, 'That's more like the Tony I know.'

   Outside, we leaned against my car and waited.  "You remember the plan?"
I asked.

   "It's not necessary.  She's not going to hurt you."

   "Are you sure?"

   "Mostly," she said with a giggle.

   "Let's stick with the plan."

   Just then Robbie came out, sandwiched between Mark Russell and Cassie
Grover, and I do mean sandwiched since Mark had almost three inches on
Robbie's five-ten, and Cassie had another inch on him.  Cassie was the star
of the volleyball team and was telling them about their last game.  They
stopped in front of us as Cassie finished her story, then Cassie waved and
headed for her car.

   "When you gonna come back and play some football, man," Mark asked as
Cassie drove away.

   "With Mike and Monster Girl there fighting it out for quarterback, Luke
at half, and you kicking and pretending to play defense, I'd be riding the
pine.  I was never any good at that."

   Mark laughed.  "The third string needs quarterbacks, too." His laughter
stopped abruptly with a little help from Robbie's elbow.  "Seriously man,
it's not as much fun without you."

   "I don't know," I said as I maneuvered Tami between us, my hands resting
on her shoulders.  "Monster Girl's a lot of fun in a tight huddle."

   The quick blush on Mark's face confirmed that Robbie and he were getting
pretty tight, and I really didn't want to know how tight.  My theory is
that all the girls I know revert to innocent virgins when not with me, and
I'm sticking to it.

   "Got to run," Mark said, recovering.  "Mom said that if I was late to
dinner again, she was going to start feeding me out of a bowl on the floor
with the dogs." He gave Robbie a quick kiss and started to step away.

   "You can do better than that," Tami urged.

   I could see Mark thinking about it when Robbie grabbed his neck and
pulled him into a long kiss.

   "This is not the place for that," Parker said pompously as he walked out
of the building.

   "Play practice, sir," I said quickly, even before Robbie and Mark could
separate.  "We're working on act three."

   Parker seemed to consider that, opened his mouth, then shut it again and
walked off.

   "There's a make-out scene in act three?" Tami asked innocently.

   I shrugged.  "Ask me again if I ever get it finished.  At the moment,
no."

   "You called him 'sir,'" Robbie pointed out after Mark had kissed her one
more time and headed for his car."

   "Your point?"

   "Parker, sir?"

   I shrugged again.  "I promised Mr.  Reed that I'd try to be good."

   "For how long?" Robbie asked sarcastically.

   "I'm shooting for two weeks."

   "But we're not holding our breaths," Tami added.

   Robbie moved over and set her equipment bag on my hood.  I shifted Tami
so that she was still between us.

   "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

   "We just came to see you and ask how practice went," I said, trying to
sound off-hand.

   "Un huh.  So what are you two doing here, anyway?" she repeated.

   I smiled.  "You know how you've always wanted a sister?"

   Robbie cocked her head slightly to the side.  "I've got a sister.  She's
a pain." Robbie opened her equipment bag and pulled out her back pack.  She
opened it, pulled out a text book, then slid it back it.  "And you can wipe
that silly grin off your face," she added without looking up.

   I don't think I'd actually been grinning as the picture of Samantha in
her cut-offs and halter top at Labor Day danced through my brain, but I
tried to put a straight face on anyway.

   "You know how you've always wanted a kid sister?"

   Robbie zipped up her equipment bag and set her backpack on top before
looking at me.  "I don't remember ever saying I wanted a kid sister. 
Besides, aren't you the guy who told me that kid sisters are a pain?"

   "I was joking.  Kid sisters are wonderful.  You get to be a role model
and you get to..."

   "Tony, what have you done, and how bad am I going to hurt you?"

   "What makes you think I did anything.  I..."

   "Tami."

   Almost as if it had been prearranged, Tami ducked out from under my
hands and stepped to the side.  So much for the plan.  Robbie stepped
forward.  "What have you done?"

   "Nothing much, I..."

   "One."

   "It was Tami's idea," I lied.

   "Two," Robbie counted.

   "Not even," Tami said.

   "Thre..."

   "I kinda rented out your house."

   Robbie stepped back and sat against my car.  "You what?"

   I decided that dying today might almost be worth the look on Robbie's
face.  "I kinda rented out your house."

   "You rented...  but how...what...  I mean who?"

   Tami stepped up and hugged Robbie.  "Deep breath,' she instructed. 
"Hold it.  Let it out.  Again."

   When Tami stepped back, Robbie looked back in control.  I knew I never
liked Tami.

   Robbie took another breath.  "Who?"

   "Did you hear about the fire this morning?"

   Robbie nodded.

   "The Bradleys, four girls and their mom."

   "So you just moved them into my house?"

   I shrugged, trying hard to look innocent.  "You have all that space. 
Rooms that never get used."

   "You just moved them into my house."

   "Actually, I called the furniture store and got beds and dressers first.
By the way, you can't afford college anymore."

   "You got furniture and moved them into my house."

   She seemed fixated on that idea.

   "I talked to your dad first." He was back in Tennessee, though he was
supposed to be back for the game Friday.  "He said since it was your idea
and such a nice thing to do, no problem." Briefly I wondered what Parker or
Butz would say if they notice the long distance call to Tennessee on the
school's phone bill.

   "My idea!  You didn't even ask me!"

   "Would you have said no?"

   "THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

   Tami giggled, then stepped up to Robbie again, putting her hands on the
other girl's shoulders and leaning forward until their noses touched and
they were looking at each other cross-eyed.  Robbie let out a breath that I
don't think she realized she'd been holding and laughed.  Tami leaned
closer and rubbed noses, then kissed her and stepped back.  "As I see it,
you have two choices.  You can go home and meet your new sisters--they're
all real nice--or you can kill Tony, then go home and meet your new
sisters."

   Robbie looked at me, and I knew she was contemplating various ways for
me to die.

   "You do realize if you had a bigger house, he would have done this to
you."

   Tami nodded.  "By the way, if you kill Tony, I need a ride home."





   Chapter 15



   Two things helped me salvage my dream of finishing the week with my body
intact.  One, Robbie knew it was the right thing to do.  Even after
installing the Bradley family in three of her unused rooms there were two
left for future refugees.  And two, she liked the girls from the moment she
met them.

   As we walked in the living room I pulled a whistle out of my pocket and
blew it hard.  Robbie turned around and looked at me as if I'd lost it, but
as she turned back the four Bradley girls were forming themselves into a
straight line, oldest to youngest, standing at attention, and trying to
keep straight faces.

   "Refugees ready for inspection, ma'am," I said, assuming a
straight-backed attention myself.  "Any you don't like we can send to the
county orphanage."

   "We don't have a county orphanage," Robbie snapped.

   "Animal shelter then."

   Robbie shot me a dirty look and mouthed one of the words I don't like.
Seven letters starting with A.

   I worked hard not to smile and stepped in front of the oldest girl.  I
pretended to dust off her shoulders.  "Senior refugee, ma'am.  Bradley,
Bobbi R.  Hasn't told me what the R stands for.  Fourteen years old,
freshman, but will grow out of that.  Prepared to rub your tired feet until
her hands bleed."

   Bobbi made a face but then nodded.  She was just an inch or two past
five feet, with short brown hair and perky but small breasts.

   I stepped down the line to the next girl and pretended to lift and
adjust her t-shirt.  "Refugee first class, ma'am.  Bradley, Billie J.  J
stands for Jean.  Twelve years old, seventh grader.  Partly civilized. 
Prepared to fetch cold beverages and snacks all night long.  Will peel
grapes and feed them to you one at a time.

   Billie curtsied.  She looked like an older version of her sister, though
she was two years younger.  About two inches taller and hair just a little
longer, breasts bigger, but not as pointy.

   I stepped down until I was between the last two girls.  "Refugees second
class, ma'am.  Bradley, Betty, no middle initial, I don't know why.  And
Bradley, Josephine M.  M for Marie, uses alias of Jo.  Ten years old, fifth
graders.  Both claim to be oldest and fight constantly.  Mother claims not
to remember which came first.  Prepared to finish any and all homework."

   The twins had what I call dirty blond hair, dark enough that he could be
brunette, but light enough that it could be blond.  One had a single
ponytail and the other a double.  Both wore plain pink t-shirts with bumps
that might have been the beginning of tits or maybe just wrinkles in the
fabric.

   Robbie smiled.  "You have the fifth graders doing my homework?"

   "You keep beating me in class standing," I explained.

   "Pa-rade rest," I snapped.  I think the colonel would have been proud of
me.  The girls snapped to a parade rest position like we'd seen in the
movies, just like a Marine drill team.  We'd practiced that afternoon
before going to the school to get Robbie.

   "All four can be used interchangeably to wash dishes, mop floors, clean
the chicken coop, or remove ashes from the fireplace," I added.

   "Why do I suddenly feel like the evil step-mother?" Robbie asked.

   "He said guilt was the safest way to handle you," a new voice said.  We
looked at the doorway to the dining room.  "I'm Kate Bradley," a pretty
woman in her thirties said.  I hope this is all right.  He said you didn't
know."

   Robbie smiled and went forward to hug the older woman.  "It's fine. 
Tony just likes to tweak me sometimes." She turned and looked at the girls.
"Uh, at ease.  And nobody has to rub my feet, or fetch and carry, or do my
homework."

   The girls relaxed.

   "I really do do foot rubs," Bobbi said.

   "And I really don't do chicken coops," Billie added.

   "And we have enough trouble getting our own homework done," came in
stereo.

   Robbie smiled again, then started toward the entryway and the staircase.
"I might take you up on that foot rub, but I need to have a word with Tony
first." Tami and I started to follow.  "Alone," Robbie added without
bothering to look back.

   Tami shrugged and stopped.  "I'll miss you," she whispered, as though it
might be the last time.

   "Talk!" Robbie ordered when she was about halfway up the stairs.

   "I was talking to Mr.  Reed just before debate, and he told me about the
fire.  He also said the Bradleys had no insurance and the Red Cross didn't
have the funds to help much."

   Robbie nodded, not seeming to be surprised about the Red Cross.  "Why
you?" she asked as she paused at the top of the stairs to let me catch up.

   "I think he had two reasons.  The first was a lot of people were
surprised when I got suspended for cussing out Parker when he was just
trying to be nice and get me back on the team.  I think Mr.  Reed was
trying to help repair my reputation a bit."

   Robbie nodded, accepting the explanation.  "And the second?"

   "I think he was trying to find out if I was the same Tony he thought he
knew."

   Robbie nodded again.  "Probably about twenty percent of the first and
eighty percent of the second."

   I accepted her evaluation.  We walked together to her bedroom.

   "What did you do?"

   "First, I called Mr.  Mulino, cause he knew everybody.  Not the easiest
thing to do, by the way.  He has about a dozen assistants whose job it is
to keep people from talking to the superintendent.  He knew all about the
Bradleys but not today's fire.  They used to have a farm east of town.  In
fact, the farm straddled the district boundary.  They could have sent their
kids to the North Lincoln district if they'd wanted."

   Robbie looked a little surprised as she sat on the bed.  A lot of people
thought the North Lincoln district was better than ours.  Academically at
least.  They always beat us on SAT and standardized tests, though I'd heard
a rumor that they encourage some kids to be absent during those tests.

   "They bankrupted about three years ago," I continued.  "According to Mr.
Mulino, the main reason they're hurting for money, even though Dad is
making good money in the methane fields, is that they're trying to pay back
old debts even though the bankruptcy settled them and they don't have to."

   Robbie nodded.  I know that impressed me too.

   "I also talked to Dan Boyd.  He said pretty much the same thing.  He
said that John Bradley, the dad, had been a hell raiser as a teenager and
in his twenties, but settled down and became a model citizen when Bobbi was
born."

   "I guess being a dad can do that to you," Robbie observed, and it was my
turn to nod.

   "I called around and found out they had no place to go.  Then I called
your dad."

   "And told him it was my idea?"

   "I said that, but I think he knew that I was doing it behind your back.
I got the office to send for Tami..."

   "I wondered where you were and why she had to leave."

   "Then we drove to the middle school, and Mr.  Hallowell helped me coral
Traci, Kelly, and my gymnasts."

   "Your gymnasts?"

   "Yep.  Rachel, Brianna, and Susie.  I told them it was pre-season
conditioning.  They called their parents, then I drove them all to your
house and they started cleaning out the three bedrooms at the end of the
hall.  Stephy Ward showed up on her own."

   "They cleaned?  What about you?"

   "I went downtown and talked Mr.  Rodriguez at Hacienda Furniture into
donating five beds and five chests-of-drawers."

   "I heard he was a tightwad.  How'd you do that?"

   "Mr.  Rodriguez is one of the people the Bradleys owed money to, though
I didn't know that when I went in.  They paid him off, even though they
didn't have to.  I didn't have to do much more than mention their name.  He
called Mr.  Olafson at Swede's Market, who donated about a hundred pounds
of food, which is down in your kitchen, and Dan Conn at Ball's Department
store.  Conn sent over some jeans, shirts, underwear and stuff for all the
girls."

   "Cool," Robbie said, leaning back on the bed, and I think that summed it
up.

   "Mrs.  Bradley was still at the Red Cross trying to work something out.
I went by, collected her and the girls, and brought them back.  We spent
about twenty minutes with me teaching the girls how to greet the ogre who
lives here..."

   "Ogre?"

   I grinned.  "Then I drove all my workers home, and Tami and I went to
school to meet you."

   "You owe me," Robbie said after almost a minute.

   "I owe you?"

   "Big time." Robbie unfastened her jeans and pushed them and her panties
down her legs.  "It's been a stressful day.  Relax me."

   "What about Mark?"

   Robbie shrugged.  "Mark and I have gone out a couple of times.  Right
now we're just at the kissing stage."

   More information than I needed.  "There's kids in the house."

   "When has that ever stopped you, Stud," Robbie said with a giggle.  "But
I'll try not to scream."

   I bowed to the inevitable, crawled onto the bed, and pressed my face
into her pussy.

   Robbie didn't scream, but the pillow she kept over her face helped.





   Chapter 16



   "...Tate with the ball.  She's scrambling.  She see's an opening and...
it looks...  it looks like a perfect pass right into the hands of Zach
Hissman.  A good catch, and Zach brought down on the thirty-four.  That's
another first down for the Rebels."

   I leaned back and took a deep breath, then looked at Tami beside me.  "I
didn't realize that talking was such hard work."

   Tami gave me a quick grin and went back to her laptop.

   I looked back down on the field.  "The Rebels out of their huddle.  Mike
Reed in the worry seat again.  He takes the snap.  Luke Hastings wide open,
and a beautiful bomb right into his arms.  Hastings on the ten.  He shakes
a defender, and another, he spins, and he's across!  Touchdown, Rebels!" I
shouted.  "Hastings really showing why he was a star in Texas and now a
star in Washington."

   Tami leaned back and stretched.  "Did it hurt?"

   I grinned.  "Just a little as the words were coming out of my throat."

   "Poor baby," she said without a trace of conviction.

   I grinned again.  Life was good.

   Mr.  Reed had decided that I couldn't go cold turkey without football,
and if I wasn't going to play, I should talk.  He practically ordered me
into the announcer's booth.  We'd had a dozen announcers the last couple
years, none of them very good.  The problem was, for the most part, the
world is divided into jocks and geeks.  The geeks can talk good, but don't
understand sports, especially football.  They may know rules, but they
don't feel the game.  The jocks know the game, but can't necessarily talk
it up on the spur of a moment into a microphone.

   Then there's me.

   There were perks.  Second best was a nice heated announcer's booth with
a great view of the field.  I drafted Tami to help me track stats on her
computer.  Traci, Kelly, and Peter also shared our warm perch.  Mikee would
have, but she got drafted to the varsity cheerleaders when Patricia Kale
decided to move without telling anyone ahead of time.

   But the best perk was...  Parker hated the idea.

   The teams lined up for the kickoff, and I started talking again.  After
a while, I found I could take the input from my eyes and send it straight
to my mouth without having to think about it.  Of course, Parker would tell
you that I usually skip thinking about what I'm saying.

   "And now some routines by your Rebel cheerleaders and the drill team," I
said and shut down the microphone.  The teams had already jogged off the
field for the half.

   "Ladies, snackage?" I said as I stood and stretched.  Snackage?  Maybe I
was watching too much Kim Possible.  No, she was red-headed, a cheerleader,
and completely flexible.  No such thing as too much.

   "What about me," Peter asked.

   "Kid, you're cute, but you ain't that cute."

   I came back a couple minutes later with the order.  Another perk, I got
to cut to the front of the snack bar line.  Two popcorns, a nacho, a
pretzel, three hot dogs and five Cokes.

   I felt pretty good about my debut.  To paraphrase our big song from the
road trip, 'I may have stumbled, but I ain't never fell', or something like
that.  I kept the commentary moving along.  I identified all of the players
from our team and most of them from Wenatchee.  Of course, it had been a
pretty easy game to announce.  We dominated from the opening kick-off,
finishing the half twenty-one to six.

   The drill team finished, and the cheerleaders rushed out for one final
routine as the teams headed back to the field.  I took a deep breath,
turned on the microphone and started recapping the first half.

   * * *



   "Another bad decision by Coach Parker," I said as the third quarter
wound down.  "Deviating from the play book again, and in the confusion, a
fumbled handoff by Reed to Tate, with Wenatchee recovering.  What can he be
thinking?"

   "Enjoying yourself?" Tami asked as I flipped off the mike.

   "Not really.  He could give away this game." I'd made a comment at the
end of the half about Parker using Coach Branson's playbook to full
advantage.  He apparently didn't like people to be reminded that this was
still mostly Branson's team.  He'd come out of halftime with several new
plays which just weren't working.  He'd managed to screw up the defense
enough that Wenatchee had put two touchdowns and an extra point on the
board, bringing the score to twenty-one twenty with less than thirty
seconds in the quarter.

   "Coach Parker's getting smart, bringing Tate in as Monsterback to stop
the Wenatchee defense.  The teams are taking the line, the snap,
quarterback Ritter with the ball, and...  ow, that had to hurt.  Monster
Girl with her third sack of the game."

   I grinned at Tami, and she grinned back.

   "Wait, there's a time-out on the field, called by the Rebels." I shut
the mike off.  "What the hell?  Why'd he call a time-out now?"

   Tami shrugged.

   "And Monster Girl coming out of the game, replaced by Jim Elliott.  The
teams are lining up, twelve seconds in the third quarter."

   The door to the booth opened, and Steve Logan rushed in and handed me a
note, shrugged, and rushed out again.  I didn't have time to look at it.

   "There's the snap.  Ritter with the ball, looking for an open man,
and... and, Ritter takes off.  He finds a hole in the line, great spin to
get loose of Russell, and he's charging toward the goal.  He's at the
twenty.  Brian James angling in from the side.  He's at the fifteen. 
There's the gun.  James almost on top of him.  He's at the...  James for
the tackle and Ritter with a great reverse, he's at the ten.  The five. 
Touchdown Wenatchee."

   "End of the third quarter, Wenatchee twenty-seven, Rebels twenty-one," I
finished a minute later after the extra point.  I shut the microphone off
and mumbled several inappropriate words.

   "What'd the note say?" Tami asked, reminding me about the paper in my
hand.

   I opened it up and read it, then laughed.  Tami looked at me
questioningly, but I shrugged.  It was just too good.  "Ladies and
gentlemen, I have just been instructed by Charlie Parker, the school's vice
principal, that these announcements may not include any criticism of
coaching mistakes by Head Coach Charlie Parker.  I may also not mention any
connection this team has had with Coach Branson, and Monster Girl may not
be called that, but must be referred to as Robbie Tate or number
thirty-one. Please fill in your own commentary for these subjects.  Looks
like the teams are ready..."

   The door to the booth opened again, and Mr.  Singara stormed in as I
swung around to look at him.  He was the duty supervisor for the game. 
"Turn it off!"

   "Excuse me?" I said, keeping the circuit open.  "What do you mean, turn
it off?"

   "Shut down.  You're through."

   I turned back to the microphone.  "I've been ordered to shut down now.
So good night and good football." I clicked off the microphone and swung
back to Mr.  Singara.  "Anything else?"

   "What are they doing up here?" he challenged, pointing at Traci and
Kelly.  "They're not even in high school."

   "Mr.  Reed said I could have guests.  He didn't say they had to be in
high school.  Want to call him?"

   Singara glared for a minute, the turned and left.  He hadn't been a fan
since he was forced to apologize in front of the whole school after Allie's
cheating incident.

   Tami shut off her laptop and leaned back.  "Looks like we get to relax
for the last quarter."

   "Are you in trouble?" Traci asked.

   "With Charlie Parker?  Nah, he and I are like that," I said, holding up
two fingers squeezed together.

   Nobody looked like they believed me.

   * * *



   "I'm not sure I see the problem," Dad said.  I sat quietly.  Mom had
made it clear that if I opened my mouth without Dad's invitation that life
as I knew it would be over.  "You gave Tony a list of items he couldn't
announce.  Did he announce any of them."

   "No, but he announced the list," Parker said.  "He made it sound like
blatant censorship."

   "I agree.  That's exactly what it sounded like to me," Dad agreed
amiably.  "You gave him a list of things not to talk about.  What other
definition of censorship is there?"

   Parker looked exasperated.  Mr.  Reed looked amused.  Butz looked
annoyed.  "Censorship is a buzz word," he said.  "But this is a school. 
There are reasons that freedom of speech or freedom of the press aren't
absolute."

   "I agree completely," Dad said with a smile, surprising everyone in the
room, including me.  "Even in a free society, there are good and valid
reasons to censor some facts, for instance, the names of police officers
working undercover."

   Butz and Parker nodded.  Mr.  Reed just watched.

   "Exactly what was your reason Mr.  Parker?"

   "Excuse me?"

   "I'm sure you had a good and valid reason to censor the announcements.
What were they?"

   "I...  uh, he...  he made it sound like Coach Branson was still coaching
the team."

   I caught Dad's eye, and he nodded.  "If I remember correctly, I
mentioned Coach Branson exactly twice.  Once at the end of the half when I
said you were using his playbook to full advantage.  And once in the fourth
quarter when I announced that I wasn't allowed to mention his name."

   "You made it sound like he was responsible for the team winning," Parker
complained.

   "He was.  It was his playbook.  And he built the team."

   Parker started to object, but I held my hand up.  "No coach can really
take credit, or blame for that matter, until he's had a team for some
time."

   "Then you started criticizing my coaching," Parker pointed out.

   I looked at Dad again, he nodded, though more reluctantly this time. 
"You made some stupid mistakes."

   "I won't have you talking about school employees like that!" Butz
blustered.

   I stood.  "Let's go Dad.  They don't want to talk."

   "Tony, just a minute," Mr.  Reed interrupted, then looked at Butz and
Parker.  "Tony didn't call Charley stupid, he said he made a stupid
mistake. That's different.  I've made some of those myself.  Personally,
I'd be interested in hearing what he has to say."

   Parker glared, and Butz kind of rumbled but nodded.  I hoped Dad's
permission to speak was still in force.  "Like I said, you made some stupid
mistakes.  First, you took what I intended as a compliment and..."

   "A compliment?" Parker seemed flabbergasted.

   "Yes, a compliment.  It was Coach Branson's playbook.  But YOU were
using it.  The plays you sent in worked.  And the rest of the time you let
Mike or Robbie have their heads.  It worked.  We weren't just winning, we
were creaming them.  But then you took what I said and tried..." I caught a
slight shake of Mr.  Reed's head and moderated myself.  "...to make the
team more yours.  In the locker room you tried to give them several new
plays, plays they hadn't practiced.  And you switched around the defense so
much that they were getting in each other's way instead of Wenatchee's.  We
went from a fifteen point lead to a six point deficit."

   "When athletes or coaches make stupid mistakes, announcers call them on
it.  Last year, in baseball, in the first game of state, I tried to steal
home and got put out.  The announcer said it was a stupid hot-dog play, and
he was right.  It may have cost us the game.  When it was all over, he said
it probably cost us the game.  He was being nice by including the word
probably.

   "You have to decide if you want an announcer who's going to call the
game or if you want someone who's going to say things like 'Tate, number
thirty-one, now in for number twenty-four, Mike Reed." I took a breath and
patted the paper in my shirt pocket.  "Doesn't matter to me.  I resign."
Everyone on the other side of the table looked shocked.  Dad knew it was
coming.

   "I guess that settles it," Butz said, standing.

   "What about his punishment?" Parker asked.

   "For what Charlie?" Reed asked.

   There was some low conversation, and I think Parker started to pout, but
Mr.  Reed nodded we were done.  He caught up to us in the hallway.  "Tony,
are you sure?  We could have worked this out."

   I smiled.  "I needed to resign anyway."

   I pulled the paper out of my shirt pocket and handed it to him.  He
unfolded it and read the top page.  "Fuck!"

   "Mr.  Reed, your language," I laughed.





   Chapter 17



   "You look way too happy for a Monday morning."

   I smiled at Robbie.

   "I take it you're smiling cause you're still in school?" Tami asked.

   "Nah, I'd be happier if I got a two week vacation, but I'm stuck here."

   "Give it up," Robbie said with a laugh.  "Everybody knows you like
school."

   I tried to look shocked.  "Who's been spreading those rumors?  I'll
sue."

   "Tony, I hate to break it to you, but they all know you're a nice guy
too."

   The line moved, and we got closer to lunch.  Hamburgers.  There was a
chance it might be edible.  Not a big chance.

   "So how much trouble are you in?" Robbie asked.

   "None.  I resigned."

   "So much for a brilliant broadcasting career."

   I put my arm around the redhead and gave her a squeeze.  "You know what
I love about you?  Your compassion."

   "I calls 'em as I sees 'em"

   I was about to say some sarcastic when I was interrupted.  "You must be
Robbie Tate." We all looked.  The speaker was a guy my age that I didn't
know.

   "I'm Robbie," she admitted.

   "I'm Cody.  I'm new here." Cody ran his fingers through his hair and
kind of flipped his head.  To me, it seemed faked, but Robbie seemed to be
checking him out.  "I, uh, heard a lot about you, and just wanted to say
that I think what you did was awesome."

   Robbie smiled modestly.  "Well, there's a lot of other guys on the team
too."

   "Team?" He looked surprised.  "Oh, the football game.  That was cool
too. The way you guys pulled it out in the end.  But I meant the family you
helped.  Taking in five people after a fire, it was...  it was way cool. 
I, um, I'll get out of your way now." He turned and disappeared toward the
end of the lunch line.

   "He was cute," Robbie said.

   "Very," Tami agreed.

   I don't know why, but I felt like I was reviewing a play and the shy
awkward bit was way overdone.

   * * *



   "Heard the latest?" Robbie asked as we met up and headed for debate.  It
was a rainy Wednesday and I just kind of grunted at her.

   "About Cody or something else?" Tami asked.

   "Cody?" I asked, my ears picking up.

   "Robbie's been checking him out."

   "He's a classmate," Robbie said with a hint of red.  "I'm interested."

   "She's interested all right," Tami said with a leer that would have done
any construction worker proud.

   "So what's the scoop," I asked, not really interested.

   "He's a senior.  Just moved here from Phoenix.  Average student.  Runs
track," Tami reported, I assumed condensing reports she'd gotten from
Robbie.

   "Is that the latest?" I asked Robbie.

   "NO!" she said forcefully

   I grinned at her as we took our seats in the classroom.

   "The sheriff was here to talk to Parker."

   "Did they take him away in handcuffs?  If they did, I'll go outside and
do my impression of Fred Astaire and Singing in the Rain."

   "Sorry.  No such luck.  Somebody trashed Clay Willingham's car."

   "And Parker's a suspect?" Tami asked.

   "Nope.  Clay's the quarterback at North Lincoln.  The sheriff probably
thinks that somebody on the team did it," I answered and Robbie nodded.

   "Any idea who..." the bell rang and ended the discussion.

   * * *



   "Eight more hours and schools over for the week," I said as I turned
into the school parking lot.

   "You like school," Tami reminded me.  She was sharing the front seat
with Robbie.

   "Yeah," I admitted.  "But the weekend's cool too."

   "And the game," Mikee added from the back seat she shared with Bobbi
Bradley.  We'd dropped Traci and Kelly at Robbie's house to take the bus
with the other girls.

   "Spoken like a cheerleader," I said.  I paused for a second then added,
"Put that tongue back in your mouth." From Bobbi's laughter, I guessed I'd
nailed it.

   "Give her a break," Tami admonished.  "You've been waiting all week for
the game too."

   I parked next to the gym, and we got out.  "Make sure you walk three
steps behind us," Mikee said as she climbed out of the back.

   "Why?" Bobbi asked as she followed.

   "Well, you're a freshman after all."

   "You can walk with me," Robbie said, holding out her hand.  "She's only
a sophomore, she can follow behind."

   "Hey, I was only kidding."

   I grinned to myself as I held the door open for the girls.  It was nice
to have things back to normal for a change.

   A sheriff's car pulled into the parking lot.  Deputy Boyd was driving.

   "Anything you want to tell us before he pulls out the handcuffs?" Robbie
asked with a smile.

   "Nothing recently, and most of the old stuff's pretty well buried. 
Maybe he's after you this time."

   Robbie smiled.  "Like I ever get caught."

   I nodded.

   "Tony, I might have known you'd be in the middle of this," Dan Boyd said
as he walked up.

   "Middle of what?  We just got here."

   He nodded.  "Okay, come with me."

   I wondered if I had time to have Robbie kick me for thinking things were
normal.

   There was a small crowd in the main hall, but he pushed his way though.
I followed Deputy Boyd, and the girls followed me.  As we got to the front,
I discovered that the center was the trophy case.  And maybe 'was' is the
perfect word, because it was trashed.  All the glass had been broken out,
plaques broken in half, and trophies busted.  Our biggest trophy, for
second in state last year, was broken into a dozen pieces on the floor, and
I was pretty sure I knew what the yellow liquid splashed all around was.

   "One of the janitors, Frank, discovered it when he opened the school
about twenty minutes ago," the deputy explained.  "Any ideas?"

   "One." I didn't elaborate.

   "Sims, get out of there.  Let the deputy do his work," Parker commanded,
charging up.

   "Tony's helping me right now," Dan said softly.  "Could you stand back?
This is a crime scene."

   Parker turned a nice shade of red, spun on his heel, and stalked off.

   Dan smiled and asked me to get him a couple of chairs out of one of the
classrooms.  When I brought them back, he took the yellow tape he'd been
holding and fastened it to the wall near the trophy case, then made a large
square using the two chairs and fastened the end on the other side of the
case.  When he'd finished he'd left about a three foot passage in the hall.
Next he sent Tami to his patrol car for his camera.

   "Shouldn't you be getting pictures for the paper?" Robbie suggested.

   "It's too late for today's paper, but that's a good idea." I sent Mikee
down to the journalism room to get my camera, explaining I wanted mine and
not one of the school's.  "Parker may not let us run it, even next week. 
He kept the trouble last year out." Robbie nodded.

   "Speaking of last year," Dan said, kneeling to get a closer look at
something.  "Should I be looking in the school, or outside?"

   "Outside, I think," I said.

   "The ones last year, well, two graduated, barely.  And the other two
were, uh, reasoned with.  Even if they hadn't been, I don't think they
would have done this," Robbie added.

   I was glad he didn't ask us any names, considering that last year's
vandalism was still, technically, an open case.

   Mikee brought my camera, and I started talking pictures, some of just
the vandalism and some of Deputy Boyd inspecting damage.  Tami brought his
camera, and he started doing the same, even taking one picture of me taking
a picture.

   "Any ideas?" he asked again.

   I stood mute, as they say in the police procedurals.  So did Robbie,
though I was sure she'd come to the same conclusions I had.

   * * *



   Mr.  Walker looked up from the news copy he was holding.  "Good work."

   "Thanks," I said, trying to sound modest.  "Tami and I did it together.
She did most of it."

   "The pictures aren't bad either."

   I nodded.

   He hesitated.  "I, uh, have to clear this with Mr.  Parker before we can
put it in next week's paper."

   I grinned.  "I know.  Just like I know he'll squash it.  Could you do it
this morning?"

   Mr.  Walker looked surprised.  "Quash," he corrected automatically.  "On
a deadline?"

   "Sort of."

   "I don't want to know, do I?"

   "Plausible deniability," I agreed.

   * * *



   "Sims, what is this?" Parker slammed a newspaper down on my desk.

   "I think we had this conversation before.  That's a newspaper.  A form
of mass communication.  Some people read it to get information.  If the
words are too big for you, maybe somebody can help."

   The class laughed until Parker spun and glared around the room.  Why
does he always have to interrupt debate?

   He turned back.  His face ran the gamut of colors, and for a second I
thought he was going to go for my throat.  "Sims, I've just about had it
with your attitude.  I mean this article."

   "Are you about done?" Mrs.  Conners asked.  "I am trying to teach a
class here."

   Parker ignored her.  "Well, Sims?"

   "Just a story that Tami and I wrote."

   "I thought I made it clear this wasn't running."

   "You made it clear that the school newspaper is a joke, and we couldn't
run this there." I picked up the newspaper and held it open.  "This isn't
the school paper.  This is a real paper, and they might take exception if
you think you can censor them."

   "I can censor you."

   "Interesting idea.  Mrs.  Conners, can we debate that?  Can the school
stop students from publishing in non-school forums?"

   "You made it sound like our students are to blame," Parker accused.

   "Somebody did their sign and Willingham's car first."

   "It wasn't..."

   "MR.  PARKER!" Mrs.  Conners interrupted.  "This isn't the time or the
place.  If you really think you can punish Tony for publishing that, then
suspend him and go.  The rest of us have a class."

   Parker looked from me to Mrs.  Conners, then back to me.

   "This isn't over," he snapped and stormed out.

   * * *



   "Interesting day." Robbie observed.

   "It ain't over yet." I sat with Tami in my lap while Robbie drove my
baby.  Mikee and Bobbi were in the back again.

   "Have you ever considered not baiting Parker?"

   I sighed.  "Tami and I talked about it while we wrote the article.  We
felt that we owed the school paper the right of first refusal, even though
we were pretty sure Parker would kill it.  After he did I faxed it to the
paper in town, and they bought it.  Parker was just a bonus."

   "How much?" Mikee asked from behind me.

   "Thirty-five for the story and twenty-five for the pictures."

   "You're rich," Bobbi said.  Something about the way she said it made me
feel that it wasn't just a kid wishing she had sixty bucks.  I had a
feeling that in the Bradley family, sixty bucks was a lot of money.

   Robbie saved me from having to comment.  "Daddy's home," she announced
as she pulled up in front of her house.

   "You didn't think he'd miss your game, did you?"

   "Not if the planes were still flying."

   Robbie parked and was out of the car almost before the wheels stopped
turning.

   "You'd think she hadn't seen him in a year instead of a week," Tami
said.

   "All things are relative.  If I hadn't seen you in a week, it would seem
like a year."

   "You say the sweetest things." Tami leaned down and kissed me.

   "Would you two get a room," Mikee said from the back seat.  "Some of us
would like to get out."

   "Why?  You'll just have to get in again when Traci and Kelly get here."
The younger girls were riding the bus.  Tami giggled, opened the door, and
slid off my lap.  I got out and moved the seat for the other girls.

   "Can I ask something?" Bobbi said shyly.

   "You can ask anything," I said grandly.  "Of course, I reserve the right
to answer or ignore you or throw a tantrum or prevaricate or downright
lie."

   "I thought prevaricating and lying were the same thing," Mikee said,
just as the school bus pulled up in front.

   "Prevaricating is more like evading the truth.  Like if Tami asked what
I thought of her new dress and I said 'check out the hooters on that
babe'," pointing at Billie as she got off the bus.  "I didn't lie, but I
didn't answer truthfully, either.  I evaded the truth."

   "I thought that was equivocate," Mikee said.

   I was impressed that she knew the word.  "Equivocating is more like
using words that can mean different things.  Have you heard the song, If I
Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?"

   Mikee and Bobbi both nodded.  The girls who had just gotten off the bus
just looked confused.

   "That's an equivocation.  Does he mean would you get mad about his
words, or does he mean would you press your body up against his?"

   "Oh." Mikee thought for a second, then added, "I thought school ended
fifteen minutes ago."

   Tami laughed and ruffled her hair, then looked at Bobbi.  "You had a
question before the professor started his lecture."

   "I, uh, just wondered about Robbie's mom."

   "She lives in Tennessee.  Robbie hasn't seen her in..." She looked at
me. "Three years?"

   I nodded.  "And she's just as happy that way.  If you ask her, she won't
get mad, if that's what you're afraid of.  She may not answer, but she
won't get mad."

   Bobbi nodded, then she and her sisters went in the house while Mikee,
Traci, and Kelly climbed into the back of my Mustang and we drove home.

   * * *



   "Welcome to another great night of Washington football.  It's a
beautiful night, completely clear and a balmy forty-eight degrees on the
field, though it's a toasty seventy here in the booth.  This is Tony Sims
from KAHJ and this is the North Lincoln Grizzlies versus your own..."

   I was on the air.  Kurt Mahoney, the manager of the local station, had
been at the football game last week and heard me announce.  Since his
regular sports guy couldn't get to this game, Kurt had offered me a
one-night contract to broadcast for KAHJ, with the possibility of more to
come.  Since he didn't know where I lived, he'd brought the contract to
school, first thing Monday morning.  I couldn't believe I was making almost
a hundred bucks to talk about football.  Parker was going to love this.

   "Both teams are two and o, though the Rebels almost dropped a game last
week after some crucial coaching mistakes." I sure hoped that someone was
taping this for Coach Parker.  It just won't have the same impact if he
hears it second hand.  "According to quarterback Clay Willingham, the
Grizzlies have their best team in twenty years.  The Rebels, according to
alternate quarterback Robbie Tate, have their best team ever, and nobody
argues with Monster Girl.  Two hot and undefeated teams.  This is looking
like the storm of the century, and somebody's perfect season ends tonight."

   "You are so full of it," Tami said as I turned off the microphone during
a commercial.

   "And getting paid for it," I reminded her.  The booth was crowded.  In
addition to me and Tami, we had Traci, Kelly, and the two oldest Bradley
girls.  Also the North Lincoln announcer, who said he'd been calling games
for thirty years.

   The commercial ended.  "And now, to introduce the teams, Tamarone
Sharp."

   Tami took a deep breath and pulled the microphone in front of her.  I
stood, then rushed down to the field, wondering how my new boss was going
to feel about the substitution.

   * * *



   Nobody seemed to notice me as I stepped onto the field and up behind our
team on the sidelines.  The captains were on the fifty-yard-line with the
referees.  I watched the coin flip, then Tom Metzger, the head ref, looked
over and saw me and waved me onto the field.  I took a deep breath and
jogged out.  Robbie followed.

   "Sims?" I heard Parker's voice behind me.

   "Gentlemen, listen up," Metzger ordered as I joined the four captains
and three officials.

   "We've had some problems this last week," I said.  "Things that have
never happened before, and aren't going to happen again."

   "Who are you?" the second Grizzly captain demanded.

   I ignored him.  "This isn't some hooligan state like," I fixed my stare
on Luke Hastings, and he looked away, "California.  This is Washington.  We
play hard, but we play fair.  Somebody trashed our trophy case.  Their
problem is they did it on candid camera." I held up a web cam and a zip
disk.  "I had a feeling that there might be problems and stashed a couple
of these in strategic locations."

   The second Grizzly captain lost all his color.

   "I'll take that," Parker said from behind me.

   "Sorry, private property," I said without turning around.  "Get a
subpoena."

   "Coach, go sit down," ordered Metzger.

   "I will not!"

   "Coach, you can sit on the bench, or you can sit in the locker room. 
Your choice."

   I almost felt sorry for Parker as he slunk away.  He was not having a
very good day.

   Almost.

   "We have two options, and only two.  Plan A." I pointed at Deputy Boyd
and two other deputies standing at the bottom of the grandstand doing
routine security.  "I give Dan Boyd the file, and he arrests several
Grizzlies.  Then I tell him who trashed Clay's car and the Grizzly sign,
and he takes some Rebels.  Then we play."

   "What's Plan B." I don't think Luke and Captain Number Two noticed they
spoke at the same time.

   "Plan B is the silliness stops.  Clay, I know you, and I know you didn't
have anything to do with any of this.  You collect from the guilty parties
two hundred and thirty bucks, which is what they figure it will cost to fix
our trophies and the materials for a new trophy case.  What was the damage
on your car?"

   "My deductible is two-fifty."

   "Then Mike here," I clapped him on the back, "collects two-fifty from
the guilty Rebels.  Then the whole Rebel team comes down here tomorrow and
cleans your grand stand from top to bottom.  Washes the seats, the whole
nine yards.  As a gesture of good will."

   "I don't know if they..." Mike stuttered.

   "They'll be here," Robbie said, speaking for the first time.

   "Then Sunday, the Grizzlies return the favor," I finished.

   "They'll be there," Clay promised, glaring at his co-captain.

   "These are two good teams.  I think the Rebels are going to win, but I
wouldn't bet against the Grizzlies.  But from now on, we keep it on the
field."

   Everyone nodded and headed for their sidelines except Clay.  "Sorry you
won't be out here with us.  I owe you a few bruises."

   "One of those things, "I shrugged.  "I'll be up there," I pointed at the
booth.  "Announcing it every time you get sacked."

   "I've only been sacked once in two years," he boasted.

   "That was me," I reminded him.  "She's better," I said as I walked away.
Robbie had been sick for the game against North Lincoln last year.

   * * *



   "...and Coach Parker's Rebels not having a good night.  His decision to
play Monster Girl on defense all night has stopped the Grizzlies' scoring
machine, but the plays he's sent in to his offense just aren't making the
grade.  So with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter, it's
still zero to zero.

   "The teams are lining up again.  Second down and seven, Grizzlies ball,
only twenty yards from the goal line.  There's the snap.  Willingham with
the ball, hands off to Marquez.  No, it's a fake.  Willingham, still with
the ball, heading for the right side.  Here come two Rebel defenders,
number fifty-two Mark Russell and number thirty-one Monster Girl herself.
Russell makes the tackle, and THE BALL IS LOOSE!  Monster Girl scoops the
pigskin and starts toward the goal with an open field in front of her. 
She's at the thirty, the forty, the...  and Marquez with a blinding burst
of speed brings her down just past the fifty.  The Rebels are back in this
ball game.

   "The teams are lining up, but there seems to be a holdup.  It looks like
Coach Parker is arguing with one of his players.  It's..." I picked up the
binoculars and looked though I would have bet my car that it was,
"...number thirty-one, Monster Girl.  It looks like he wants her off the
field, and she doesn't want to go."

   "She's pointing at the clock, which is still ticking, forty-eight
seconds.  And Parker calls a time-out.  Parker and Tate energetically
discussing strategy."

   "Energetically?" Tami mouthed, and I shrugged.

   "And Monster Girl running out to the huddle, and on the sidelines,
Parker tossing his clipboard and throwing a tantrum."

   Tami rubbed one forefinger down the other in the sign for shame, and I
shrugged again.

   "Monster Girl in the saddle.  She takes the snap, fakes to Hastings,
then fakes to Rogers, and a short pass to Hastings who runs out of bounds
at the forty-two.  Second and four.  Tate takes the snap.  She fades back,
looking for an open receiver, the line opening up, and Tate through the
middle.  Chad Adkins with the tackle, bringing her down on the
thirty-seven. I wish his mother had taught him not to hit girls, but the
Rebels with a first down.

   "Clock is running, Rebels without a huddle.  Tate takes the snap, fakes
to Rogers, hands off to Hastings.  Hastings heading for the left side
and... brought down before he could get out of bounds.

   "Clock still running, no huddle again.  Tate takes the snap.  She's
heading for the left side.  She stops, plants and fires.  Zach Hissman
open. A beautiful catch, and there's no one between him and the goal line!
He's at the twenty, the fifteen, the ten, the five, TOUCHDOWN!  Touchdown,
Rebels!"

   How the hell do professionals do this?  I could barely breathe.

   "The teams are lining up for the extra point.  The snap, Mark Russell
with the kick and...  no good, off the uprights.  The score six-nothing
with thirteen seconds left on the clock.

   "The teams set for the kick-off.  Monster Girl still on the field,
playing for the defense.  She wants this win.  There's the kick, deep into
the back field.  Clay Willingham with the ball, running it back.  He's at
the thirty, the forty, the...  and he's out of bounds at about the
forty-five.

   "Three seconds on the clock.  This is the Grizzlies last chance. 
There's the snap.  Willingham with the ball.  He's scrambling, looking for
the open man.  There's the gun, still scrambling, he finds Ortega down
field, sets and...  Tate with the sack!  Monster Girl finishes the game!"

   * * *



   I saw Clay for a few minutes after the game.

   "You were right.  She's better than you.  Hits harder too."

   Sometimes being right ain't all it's cracked up to be.





   Chapter 18



   "Are you still on the team?" I asked as I slipped my arm around Robbie's
back and cupped her breast.

   "Don't know.  Don't care.  Feel good."

   I had a feeling that she wasn't talking about the hand that was gently
toying with her already erect nipple.

   "We got the job done," she elaborated.

   "Did Parker say anything?" Tami asked from my other side.  We were
sitting on Robbie's bed, our backs leaning against her headboard, and I had
a tit in each hand.  The stereo was playing something by the Wizards of
Wynter that Cousin Cinnamon had sent, though I didn't get the name.

   "Not a word.  After the game, Parker looked at me a few times, opened
his mouth a few more, but nothing came out.  Then I rode home with you
guys."

   "So what are you going to do?" Tami asked.

   "I'm going to have a nice relaxing Saturday with my best friends.  Then
I'm going to pump them for information."

   "Information?" I asked innocently, though I knew exactly what she
wanted.

   "Yeah, it seems I'm not allowed to have plans for Thursday night, and I
want to know why."

   "Tam, you know anything about a Thursday night?

   "Seems like I heard something.  But it was just a rumor."

   "Well, we don't want to spread rumors."

   "I hate you both," Robbie said without spite.  "And if I wasn't so
comfortable, I'd kick you out of my house." We sat for several minutes,
silently enjoying the company.  "So Friday, we..."

   The door opened, and Bobbi stepped in.  "Robbie, can I borrow..." Her
eyes got too big for her head.  "I should have knocked."

   "Yes, you should have," I agreed without removing my hands.  "Come
here." I indicated Robbie's side of the bed with a jerk of my head.  "This
is just between us," I said when she was standing next to Robbie. 
"Sometimes I cheat on Tami, and we don't want it getting around.  She might
hear."

   "But she's right there," Bobbi said, confused.

   "Yeah, but she isn't very bright.  She never notices."

   "I heard that," Tami piped up.

   The oldest Bradley girl left, shaking her head.  I figured that Robbie
would tell her as much or as little as she wanted her to know later.

   "You say anything involving the words 'life' and 'complicated' and I'll
hurt you," Robbie said as the door closed.

   "Me?  I'm just enjoying a nice relaxing Saturday."

   * * *



   "So what'd your dad think of the game?" Tami asked as we walked.  The
temperature had jumped up to a tropical sixty-two, and we were wearing
jeans and t-shirts and circling the trailer park.  I had one arm around
Robbie with my hand on her hip and the other arm around Tami with my hand
in it's accustomed place in her back pocket.

   "He made all the usual parental pride noises.  He was a little surprised
that I played almost all defense.

   "What'd he think about you and Parker?"

   "He asked if it was something he wanted to know.  I said no, and he
dropped it.  By the way, Tony, he was listening to the radio at the game
and said you did a great job."

   "My new fan club meets every Wednesday at..." I really should have
expected her fist in my shoulder, and being a tough ex-football player I
wasn't even allowed to cry.

   "So what about Friday?" Robbie asked.  "It's a home game.  Going to be
the voice of KAHJ?"

   "I don't think so," I said, wishing I could rub my shoulder.  "I talked
to Kurt Mahoney yesterday morning, and he said that considering it was my
second announcing gig and my first broadcast, I was awesome.  Compared to
professional sportscasters, I was good.  He's going to have their regular
guy do Friday, then after that we'll see.  I think he's waiting to see if I
get fan mail or complaints."

   "Smart guy," Robbie said after a little consideration.  "So what do you
want to do next week when we're both suspended?"

   "I think I'm solo.  I figure you're scot free."

   "Why?" Tami asked.

   "I was thinking about this last night.  I think..."

   "Wait a minute!" Tami interrupted.  "You and I had your house to
ourselves until midnight and you were thinking about Parker and FOOTBALL?"
I think the clue that tipped me off that I was on thin ice was that every
word in that sentence got a little louder.

   "There was a couple minutes you were gone to the bathroom, and I was
trying to keep my mind off of how much I missed you."

   "Oh, good save," Robbie said

   "You got to admit," Tami said, "my guy thinks fast on his feet."

   I reminded myself for the millionth time to check out monasteries.

   "So why's Robbie getting off and you're toast?"

   "She's cute and she's a redhead," I said with a grin.

   "Don't forget I have nice tits."

   "That only works with Tony.  Not Parker."

   "Don't be so sure," I said.  "But in reality, as a coach, Parker has
four choices: suspend her, fire her, bench her or ignore the whole thing.
We talked about his motivations.  If he suspends her, he basically has to
tell the world that he won Friday's game because she ignored him.  He can
kick her off the team, and that works great if she goes meekly.  Hands up
anybody who thinks Monster Girl is going anywhere meekly." We kept walking.
"Plus, he has to wonder, if she goes, how many go with her.

   "Lastly, he can try benching her.  But what if she won't stay benched?
What if she puts on her helmet and hits the field anyway?  If he sends
somebody else out, he gets called for too many players on the field.  Of
course, he can call time and ask the referees to remove her, but that's the
kind of story that gets picked up by the newspapers and then ESPN.  First
thing you know, it's a joke on Leno."

   "You make it sound like I'm a troublemaker."

   "Nah, you just hang around a bad influence.'

   "Me!" Tami said.  "Can I be the bad influence?" I gave her butt a
squeeze.

   "So I just get away with it?"

   "Pretty much," I agreed.

   "That's no fun.  What about you?"

   "Depends on how stupid Parker is.  And I hate to admit it, but I don't
think he's stupid enough to go after me.  'Cause if he does, he knows I'll
turn it into a constitutional thing, Does a student have a right to air his
opinions on public radio?  It's the sort of thing that's newsworthy and
would make him look petty."

   "So you get away, too," Tami commented.

   "Unless he tries to go after me for something else."

   "Or sets you up?" Robbie pointed out.

   "I have a tape recorder in my back pack.  If Parker wants a meeting, I
pull it out and set it on the desk.  If he refuses to let me record, I walk
out and go straight to Mr.  Reed or Butz."

   "Sounds like you're learning," Robbie said.  I took it as a compliment.
"So how many times do you think you would have been suspended if you'd
stayed in California?"

   I had to think about it a few seconds.  "Probably about the same.  I'm a
little opinionated, and I don't think authority is absolute.  And while I'd
love to believe that no other school is saddled with a Parker, he's
probably not the only one out there.  He may not even be the worst."

   "Bite your tongue," Robbie snapped.

   "Can I have Tami do it for me?"





   Chapter 19



   "You've had a busy morning."

   "I have?" I said, turning around.  I'd been standing in the lunch line
with Tami and Robbie when Stephy Ward came up behind us.

   "Un huh," she said with a giggle.  "When I got to the office second
period, Mr.  Parker was in with Mr.  Reed.  He wasn't exactly yelling, but
he was pretty loud, and even with the door closed I heard your name several
times."

   I tried to look humble.  "One of the prices of fame.  Everybody talks
about you."

   "Just before I left, some guy named Butz went into Parker's office, and
I heard them talking about you some more.  Then last period I had to go
back 'cause I forgot my basic comp homework, and Parker was still
complaining about you."

   "I do seem to get under his skin."

   "Mrs.  Hatcher said he was in with some guy from the school board,
Whitting or Whitney or something, and some guy named Cole."

   "Jason Whitting I know.  He's chairman of the school board.  Cole's a
new one." I looked at Robbie, and she shrugged.

   "Mrs.  Hatcher said he was the district's lawyer."

   I grinned.  "I have a feeling that Charlie Parker's had a very
frustrating morning.  Stephy, my dear, if you have no other plans, can I
buy you lunch?"

   "Sure," she said with a giggle.  "Are you going to be able to coach
gymnastics this year?"

   "Probably.  You going to help?"

   "I can't do that.  Can I?"

   I slipped my arm around her waist.  "I don't see why not.  You're in
high school.  Tami and I are in high school.  The high school doesn't have
a team, so unless you're going out for basketball or something...  Of
course, it's up to Miss Calloway.  You'd have to ask her."

   Stephy looked thoughtful.  "I may just do that."

   * * *



   "Heads up.  Parker's coming."

   Tami, Robbie and I were standing in the hall after lunch.  Lunch had
actually been good for once, though I'm sure the lunch ladies will promise
never to do it again.  I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a zip
disk.

   I looked at Robbie.  "The answer is yes," I said quietly.

   "What answer?"

   I ignored her and focused on Tami.  "So I'm standing out there with Clay
and the other North Lincoln captain and I show them the disk..." I waved it
in front of me.  "and explain that I had a video file of the whole thing.
Then I..."

   An arm reached over my shoulder and took the disk out of my hand.  I
spun.  "What the...?  Mr.  Parker?  What are you doing?"

   He smiled tightly.  "I'll just take this."

   "I told you.  That's private property.  You can't have it without a
subpoena."

   "Mr.  Sims, I suggest you get a better lawyer.  On school property,
everything is subject to inspection and confiscation."

   "He can't do that, can he?" I looked pleadingly at Robbie.

   She hesitated.  "I think...  I think he can."

   Parker smiled and started walking away.

   "You won't get away with this," I told his retreating back.

   I could hear him laugh as he turned the corner.

   "So what was on the disk?" Robbie asked when he was gone.

   "A selection of my best term papers, an MP3 I ripped from the Otter Park
CD of you singing My Way, and an MP3 of my broadcast Friday night.  I
thought about putting a video file of Traci taking a bath when she was four
and then reporting him for child porn, but I figured Trace would never talk
to me again."

   "She's not the only one," Tami said sternly.  "Where's the real disk?"

   "What real disk?" I asked, slipping my arms around the two girls.

   "The one with the video file.  The vandalism," Tami said, confused.

   "There was no video file," Robbie said, looking at me for confirmation.
I nodded.

   "What about the cameras you told them you setup?"

   "Great idea.  Remind me to think of it before the vandalism next time."

   * * *



   The auditorium was more crowded than I'd expected.  There were at least
eight groups, maybe more.  It was hard to be sure the way people were
milling around.  Parker had called this meeting for second period, so
naturally, the period was half over and we were still waiting.  At least it
was Wednesday, so we were on the downhill side of the week.

   Parker bustled onto the stage and stood at the lectern.  "Everybody sit
down and be quiet.  We have a lot to get through and a short time to do
it."

   "We'd have a lot more time if you got here when you were supposed to," I
mumbled a little louder than I meant to.

   "Mr.  Sims, you had a comment?"

   I stood.  "I said, we'd have a lot more time if you got here when you
were supposed to."

   Parker looked like he was going to explode, then seemed to get a handle
on it.  "Mr.  Sims, it may surprise you to know that I DO have other things
to do beside babysit you and your friends."

   I could tell that the babysit crack did not go over well.  "You're the
one who set the time for this meeting.  I assume for your convenience.  I
know it's not for mine.  I'm missing journalism."

   "You've already been suspended once this month for your attitude. 
Trying for two?"

   "Think you can make it stick this time?"

   Parker sputtered.

   "I'm sure the school board will hate my attitude of not wanting to miss
more class than necessary."

   "THAT'S ENOUGH!  SIT DOWN!"

   I'm not sure what I would have done, but Tami and Robbie pulled me into
my seat.

   Parker glared at all of us, gripping the side of the lectern as if he
expected to be pulled into a vortex any minute.

   "As you may know," Parker said after almost a minute, "this year we have
ten different groups proposing to stage plays for the Prentiss Foundation
Play Contest.  Like last year, the school has decided to stage three, then
let the student body vote."

   I was ready to ask if the voting would be as fair as the voting for
captain of the football team, but a look from Robbie changed my mind.

   "It has fallen to me to make the final decision," he said pompously.

   No way.  I started to jump up, but Tami pushed me down as she stood,
raising her hand.

   "Mr.  Parker?"

   "Yes."

   "Could I ask a couple questions?"

   "Go ahead."

   "Just how are you going to make your decision?"

   "I'll choose the best plays."

   "I just wondered what criteria you were going to use," Tami said
sweetly.

   "What's best for the school," he said as if it was obvious.

   "My problem is this; my partners are Tony Sims and Robbie Tate. 
Everybody knows how you feel about Tony.  And everybody knows how Robbie
totally ignored you at the game last Friday."

   "Are you suggesting I can't be fair?"

   "Yes, sir.  Exactly."

   I decided right then that Parker was going to live forever, 'cause if
his heart was going to attack him, it would have done so right then.

   "SIT DOWN!"

   "But sir, you've just said that your selection process is entirely
subjective."

   "One more word and I cancel the whole program."

   "Is there an appeals process?"

   "We're done.  There won't be a play contest," he yelled as he stomped
off.

   The bell rang, and I had to go to P.E.  wondering if I was a bad
influence on my sweet little Tami, or if I could blame it all on Robbie.

   * * *



   "Mr.  Reed is not happy with me."

   "Why?" I asked as Tami sat down.  Debate was half over.  I'd been
sitting with Robbie in the back of the classroom.  We were organizing for
some three-on-three debates next week, and Tami was our third.

   "He seems to think I should have talked to him first."

   "First?  What did you do?"

   Tami shrugged, opened her backpack, and pulled out a copy of the local
paper.

   I closed my eyes and shook my head.  "Give me the Reader's Digest
version."

   "I just wrote an article about the play contest," Tami said smiling.  I
couldn't see her smile with my eyes closed, but I could hear it in her
voice.  "I pointed out that Leslie had won the state-wide competition last
year, but that neither she nor the school would be defending our title
because a lone administrator canceled the program rather than answer
questions about the selection process."

   "I knew it," Robbie said.

   I opened my eyes and looked at her.  "Knew what?"

   "I knew my best friend couldn't spend all these years hanging around me
and you and then this summer your cousin Cinnamon without having an act
two."

   "Act two?"

   "You know.  The meeting was act one.  Then the paper was act two."

   Tami looked entirely too smug.  "Mr.  Lebeau at the paper asked me to
write a column about the high school a couple times a week too."

   The world went topsy turvy 'cause right then I actually felt sorry for
Parker.

   It didn't last.





   Chapter 20



   I considered not telling Robbie till show time, but I figured she
already knew.  It's hard to keep a secret when you're advertising all over
the county.  Besides, there are worse things than death, and I didn't want
Robbie putting her mind to what they were.

   It was first period and we were on the stage, trying to get everything
organized.

   "What are you three doing up here?" Parker thundered.  "Just because you
think you're special doesn't mean you can skip classes anytime you want
to."

   I put my hand in the air.

   "Just yesterday you were complaining about missing classes, and now I
find you sitting around gabbing with your friends when you should be in
class."

   I started waving my arm around.

   "There are rules for a reason and they're not just for everybody but
you."

   I'd stood and kept waving my arm.

   "What?"

   I pulled my arm down and smiled.  "Did you ever consider asking a
question, then waiting for the answer instead of starting the lecture?"

   "That's it.  I've had all I'm going to take out of any of you. 
You're..."

   "Mr.  Parker?" Tami said, clamping her hand over my mouth.

   "What?"

   "We have permission." That seemed to slow him down.  "From Mr.  Reed. 
For the whole day."

   "The whole day?"

   "In fact, we need a few other students, too.  Could you possibly get
Toby Reyes for us?  I think he's in geometry right now."

   Parker left, muttering.

   Tami kept her hand over my mouth and turned to face me.  "Do you have to
bait him?  He's having a very bad week."

   "Speaking of which, did he ever say anything about the zip disk?" Robbie
asked, as Tami took her hand away.

   "Not a word.  Hasn't offered to return it either."

   "That's not like him," Robbie mused.

   I shrugged.  "What's he going to say.  If I have the disk and it's not
on school property, he can't touch it.  And I hope that contributes to his
bad week."

   "And it's not going to get any better," Tami added.

   "It isn't?"

   "Friday," she said as if that explained everything, and I guess it did.
Friday was a home game, and Robbie was probably not going to make his life
any easier.

   * * *



   "You sure you don't want to do this?"

   "You wanted to be an impresario," I said with a smile.

   Tami stuck her tongue out, then walked around the curtain and out onto
the apron of the stage.  She walked to the middle, looked out at the
audience, turned red, and walked quickly back.

   I grinned and handed her a microphone without saying a word.  She
snatched it out of my hand and retraced her steps.

   "It works so much better with one of these," she said, and the audience
laughed.  "I want to thank all of you for coming tonight and showing your
support for our community and the Bradleys." She waited for the applause to
die down.

   "Most of you probably know that the Bradleys lost their home and all
their belongings in a fire last week.  You may also know that the Red Cross
or other aid organizations weren't able to help because they were stretched
to the limit with aid for Katrina victims.

   "Speaking of which," she continued, "some of you may know my friend,
Tony Sims." There was scattered applause and cheering.  "And you may know
he's just a little bit opinionated." That got a bigger laugh than her
mistake with the microphone.  She continued while I was still deciding if I
was offended.  "He's written a petition that he asks you to sign.  It's in
the lobby and would require the Red Cross to keep at least half of their
resources for the local community.

   "As for our local community, eight hundred and ten of you bought tickets
tonight to help out.  Half of that will go to our Red Cross and the other
half toward helping the Bradleys find a new home.  Thank you."

   I could see the Bradley girls in the front row all hugging their mom as
she wiped tears from her eyes.

   "Tonight, fresh from their Western tour, Unrehearsed.  This summer, they
performed in Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming, including
two radio concerts."

   Okay, that might be stretching things a little bit.

   "And their first CD, Live From Otter Park, has sold out three
pressings."

   And that might be stretching things a lot.

   "Ladies and gentlemen, to get your blood pumping, from the middle
school, and who knew anyone could sing over there," she paused and the
curtains opened.  "TRACI SIMS AND A CLASSIC, JAILHOUSE ROCK!" she yelled
and ran off.

   Traci looked a little embarrassed as the lights died and the spot hit
her, but then the music started and she jumped in.  By the time she time
she got to "Let's Rock," she'd forgotten about the audience and was just
into the music.

   Ninety minutes later and I was almost exhausted.  I'd done five songs,
including a duet with Robbie.  Robbie and the others had done fourteen
more. So far, the hit of the night was a new song that Toby and Sally had
written together called Dumped in the Bleachers.  As Traci sang about her
boyfriend who dumped her for a cheerleader at a football game, I wanted to
punch somebody.  But the high point was when Traci picked up her sax and
let loose with a long sad solo.  Her applause lasted longer than the song.

   "She can't really play that thing," I said as I walked out when the
applause died down.  "We have a tape player in the back." Traci ran out and
stomped her foot down next to mine.  I lifted my foot and started hopping
around as she stomped off.  "Anybody want to buy a little sister?  All
proceeds to charity."

   Peter stood up in the fifth row.  "Five cents!" he shouted.

   Luke was in the third row.  "A dime!"

   The bidding went up bit by bit to a dollar.  Then a guy I didn't know
stood up and yelled, "I'll give you two dollars if you throw in her sax."

   I knew a good punch line when I heard it.  "Sold!" I shouted to stop
Peter and Luke from going on.

   "We want to thank everyone, you've been a great audience.  To finish
tonight we have pair of special requests.  The first is a song that Bobby
Goldsboro did about a decade before I was born.  It's called Summer, the
First Time.  This is for..."

   "No!" someone shouted.

   "No?" I was staring into the spotlight and couldn't tell who had spoken.
I saw a shadow stand and make it's way down the aisle.

   "That's not an appropriate song," Parker said as he got to the foot of
the stage.

   I looked down at him.  "It's not your decision."

   "This is my school, and I'll decide what's appropriate," he said loudly.

   "Guess what Charley.  This isn't a school show.  The district rented us
the auditorium.  We can sing whatever we want."

   "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

   "I called you Charley.  It's not school, and you came to my show."

   "I'll..."

   I ignored him and looked back at the audience.  "How many of you don't
want to let Charley-Baby decide what you can listen to?" The applause was
almost as loud as for Traci's song.  "Be sure to call your school board
tomorrow and let them know what you think about this interruption.

   "As I was saying," I continued without looking back at Parker, "this
song is for Kate Bradley.  She says that it's always been special for her
and her husband John because she robbed the cradle.  He's six years
younger."

   Chad started out on his guitar, then Sally and Toby joined in.

   "It was a hot afternoon,

   last day in June,

   and the sun was a demon.

   The clouds were afraid,

   one ten in the shade,

   and the pavement was steaming.

   I told Billy Ray in his red Chevrolet,

   needed time for some thinking.

   I was just walking by,

   when I looked in her eye,

   and I swore it was winking.



   "She was thirty-one and I was seventeen.

   I knew nothing about love,

   she knew everything.

   but I sat down beside her on the front porch swing,

   and wondered what the coming night would bring."



   Darlene and Robbie came out of the wings and down the stairs at the end
of the stage.  They walked to Kate Bradley and pulled her to her feet and
escorted her up to the center of the stage, where Tami had brought a stool.
They sat her on it, then her girls came up and sat around her.



   "The sun closed her eyes,

   as it climbed in the sky,

   and it started to swelter.

   The sweat trickled down the front of her gown,

   and I thought it would melt her.

   She threw back her hair,

   like I wasn't there,

   and she sipped on a julep.

   Her shoulders were bare,

   and I tried not to stare,

   when I looked at her two lips.

   And when she looked at me,

   I heard her softly say,

   I know you're young.

   You don't know what to do or say.

   But Stay with me until the sun has gone away,

   And I will chase the boy in you away.



   "And then she smiled and we talked for a while,

   And we walked for a mile to the sea.

   We sat on the sand, and a boy took her hand,

   But I saw the sun rise as a man.

   Ten Years have gone by,

   Since I looked in her eye,

   But the memory lingers.

   I go back in my mind,

   To the very first time,

   and feel the touch of her fingers.



   "It was a hot afternoon,

   last day in June,

   and the sun was a demon.

   The clouds were afraid,

   one ten in the shade,

   and the pavement was steaming."

   As I faded out, I leaned forward and gently kissed her on the cheek. 
When I looked back out at the audience, Parker had vanished.  Which was
good, 'cause he was going to really hate the last song.

   "We have one last request.  But first..." I set my microphone down and
arranged the girls in front of their mother.  Then I put Kate's hands over
Bobbi's ears, Bobbi's hands over Billie's ears, Billie's hands over Jo's
ears, and Jo's hands over Betty's ears.  I picked up the microphone. 
"Impressionable you know."

   The audience laughed.

   "This is from John.



   "I don't like to sleep alone,

   stay with me, don't go.

   Talk with me, for just awhile.

   So much of you, to get to know.



   "Reaching out, touching you.

   Leaving all my worries, far behind.

   Lovin' you, the way I do,

   My mouth on yours, and yours on mine."



   I shut up and a gravelly voice took over.  Kate looked like she'd been
hit with a two by four.



   "Marry me.  Or let me live with you.

   Nothing's wrong, when love is right.

   Like the man said, in his song,

   Help me make it through the night."



   John Bradley stepped out from the side of the stage, and Kate actually
knocked Bobbi down as she rushed into her husband's arms.  I picked up the
song again.



   "Loneliness, can get you down,

   when you get to thinking, no one cares.

   Lean on me, and I'll lean on you.

   Together we will see it through."



   The Bradley girls were giving their parents a group hug.



   "I don't like to sleep alone.

   It's sad to think that some folks do."

   No, I don't like to sleep alone.

   No one does, do you?



   "I don't like to sleep alone.

   No one does, do you?"



   "Thank you and good night."





   Chapter 21



   "I have good news, and I have bad news," I announced as Robbie walked up
to her locker.  She'd driven to school with the Bradley girls that morning.

   "Let me guess.  The good news is, you haven't been expelled.  The bad
news is, you're suspended for two weeks," Robbie said with a grin.

   "Not even close.  I haven't even seen Parker this morning."

   "That's MISTER Parker to you," Tami said in a deep authoritative voice.

   Robbie laughed.  "So what's the news?"

   "You're losing your sisters."

   "I am?"

   I nodded.  "Yep.  Mr.  Blandings, the developer whose building that new
sub-division at Falcon Hills, is giving them a house."

   "Giving?" Robbie seemed shocked.

   "Well not giving, exactly.  He's selling it at cost with no down, and
he'll carry the mortgage."

   Robbie looked disappointed.  "And what's the good news?"

   "The good news is, the house won't be ready for two weeks.  Maybe
three." I looked at Tami.  "You know, I think she's bonded with her
sisters."

   Tami didn't answer, she just hugged Robbie.

   "Will it be big enough?" Robbie asked after a minute.  "There's six of
them now." After Mr.  Mulino had arranged with a airline friend for John
Bradley to fly home for free, Robbie's dad had offered him a job so he
could stay.

   "It's a four bedroom so the twins will have to share, but I doubt they'd
have it any other way." I stepped up beside her and put my arm around her
shoulder.  "You know, just because they move out doesn't mean they have to
stop being your sisters."

   * * *



   I was wondering if I was going to get away with it.  I mean, it was
seventh period and I hadn't even seen Parker all day.  Maybe he realized
that he didn't have a leg to stand on.  Or maybe there had been enough
complaints at the district office to keep him busy.  Either way, I figured
less than ten more minutes and I'd made it through another week without
getting suspended.

   Mrs.  Conners was playing lightning round again.  So far I'd had to
defend eminent domain for private development and sending troops into
Mexico to create a buffer zone.  Personally, I thought we should send the
troops north and annex Canada.  Then we'd bomb Paris until they took back
Quebec.

   "Tony.  Lawyers are the foundation of our society.  Go."

   I opened my mouth but nothing came out.  I closed it again.

   "Tony, you're burning the clock."

   "Can I take an F for the day?"

   "No."

   "Lawyers are..."

   "SIMS!  What is the meaning of this?" Parker shouted as he stormed into
the classroom.  I never thought I'd actually be glad to see him.  He
slammed a newspaper down on my desk.  The article I saw had a picture of a
local ranger who'd just won some kind of forest service award.

   "Meaning of what?"

   Tami shot to her feet.  "Can't you read?"

   "Miss Sharp?"

   "Or are you just stupid?"

   "Tami!" Mrs.  Conners cautioned.

   "There's a name on that article and it ain't Tony Sims."

   "You wrote this?"

   "Yes, I wrote it.  That's why the newspaper put my byline on it." She
stared at the administrator and didn't flinch.

   I glanced at Robbie, and she shrugged.  Then I turned the paper over. 
The article below the fold was called Football: Rules Are Meant to Be
Broken and featured two pictures: Parker and Luke Hastings.

   "This is all lies," Parker accused.

   I scanned the article and passed it to Robbie.  She read it even faster
than me and passed it to Mrs.  Conners.

   According to the article, Luke had been suspended from Texas football
when he tested positive for steroids last year, which was why he was living
here with his grandmother now.  It also said that Luke's name had been
intentionally left off the list used for selecting random drug test
victims. And that Luke's suspension had been part of his school records but
hadn't been forwarded to the Washington School Activities Association.

   "That's why they have slander laws.  If you think I'm wrong, sue."

   "That's why Luke lied," Robbie blurted out and I realized she was right.
It made sense.

   "Luke didn't lie," Parked snapped as he spun to face the new attack. 
"Be quiet," he ordered and turned back to Tami.  "You said my team doesn't
respect me." That must have been on the continued-on-page-two.

   Tami laughed.  "Why?  Did you think they did?  Robbie, do you respect
Coach Parker?"

   Now it was Robbie's turn to laugh.  "He's a joke."

   "You're off the team!"

   "Okay," Robbie agreed.  "Is there a school rule that players have to
have respect for their coaches?"

   "You're done!"

   "Think you'll have a team at the game tonight?" Robbie asked.

   Parker took several steps backward and leaned against Mrs.  Conner's
desk.  "You'll never play football again," he threatened.

   Robbie smiled.  "I can live with that.  Tony says the first week is the
hardest.  After that it's all downhill."

   I did.

   Parker looked like he wanted to add something, but instead stood,
straightened his tie, and walked out.  I wondered what it felt like to have
all your dreams come crashing down around you.  Then I remembered when Tami
saw me coming out of Paula's house and wouldn't even talk to me and thought
I knew.

   Mrs.  Conners looked at the clock and shook her head.  "I'm not totally
sure what just happened, but go home and have a good weekend.

   The clock said we had three minutes before the bell rang, but I sure
wasn't turning down a chance to get to my locker before the stampede.

   "Looks like we all have a free evening," Robbie said as she gathered her
books.  "Your house and torture Traci, or my house and beat up on my
soon-to-be-ex little sisters?"

   "Your house," I said and Tami nodded.  "More targets."





   Chapter 22



   "I think that can be arranged."

   Robbie hung up the phone and grinned at Tami.  I had an image of a lion
smiling at her partner before attacking a herd of antelope.  And I felt
very antelopish.

   "Who was that?" I asked.  We were sitting in Robbie's living room.  The
twins were lying on the floor watching something on the Disney Channel. 
The girls on the screen had cute tits, but other than that, I had no idea
what was going on.

   "Coach Vickers.  He wants me to come in a little early."

   "Early?" I said as I tickled Tami's ribs.  She was sitting across my
lap. "Doesn't he know you're off the team?"

   "Not anymore."

   I raised an eyebrow and waited.

   "Seems there was a conference call between Parker, Mr.  Reed, and the
WSAA right after school."

   "Oh?" The Washington School Activities Association governed high school
football along with a lot of other things.

   "Seems some enterprising reporter faxed an advance copy of her article
and..."

   Tami started to get up.  I clamped my hands on her hips and held her
there.

   "...copies of a Texas suspension and the school's random drug test list.
Parker's been suspended from coaching pending an investigation.  Coach
Vickers will take over, and he says I'm not kicked off."

   "You know it's funny that that enterprising reporter didn't say anything
to her best friends."

   "It didn't seem important," Tami said innocently.

   "Not important!" Robbie sputtered.  "We could have set a camera up in
Parker's office.  His face during that call would be worth everything he's
put us through over the last three-and-a-half years."

   Tami pulled herself out of my grasp and stood up.  "I may not like Mr.
Parker, but I don't think we have to enjoy watching his life come apart."

   Robbie started to say something, but I caught her eye and shook my head.
Parker may have brought most of this on himself, but to revel in it brought
us down to his level.  I guess that's why I love Tami: she makes me better
than I am.

   "I'm getting a Coke.  Anybody else want one?" Tami asked.

   "We do," The twins said in stereo.

   Robbie stood.  "I'll help."

   A commercial came on and the twins jumped up and moved to my lap.

   "You know how I hate girls sitting in my lap," I said, sliding my arms
around them.

   "No, you don't.  Robbie said that on your trip this summer you almost
always had a girl in your lap," Betty said.

   "That doesn't mean I liked it."

   "Yes, it does," Jo said.

   "Can we come next summer?" Stereo again.

   "I can never tell you two apart," I said to change the subject.

   "I'm Betty," Jo said.

   "And I'm Jo," her sister added.

   I looked at Betty.  "So how come you don't have a middle name?"

   The girls giggled, realizing that I knew their true identities.

   "Mom says that after three other girls, she was running out of cute," Jo
said.  "Which I think proves that I was born first."

   "No it doesn't," Betty snapped at her sister.  "Besides, I was named
after Mom's great aunt and she didn't have a middle name either."

   "I see you wasted no time replacing me," Tami said, coming back with a
can of Coke in each hand.  She handed one to each of the girls.  "I'm
borrowing your car," she added, saving me the necessity of answering.  She
reached down on the coffee table and picked up my keys.

   "Where are you going?"

   "Around." She smiled and left.  I looked at Robbie, who walked in with
two Cokes and handed one to me.  Robbie was practicing her
innocent-until-proven-guilty look.

   I took a sip of Atlanta's finest, set down the can, and slipped my hands
into the girls armpits and started tickling, accepting that girls ran the
universe and figuring that I should get mine while I could.

   * * *



   "Just the person I wanted to talk to."

   I smelled a set-up.  Robbie forgets her equipment bag and calls and asks
me to bring it to the school, and Coach Vickers wants to talk to me.

   "Hi, Coach.  I just brought Robbie's bag.  I know you're busy, so I'll
stop in and see you Monday." I started to turn, but Tami stopped me and
pushed me forward.  That's when I realized that she'd followed me into the
locker room.

   "Tony, I want you to come back."

   "Coach, I already made this decision.  It wasn't about Parker.  Well,
not all about Parker."

   "Tony, it's hard enough changing coaches in the middle of the season,
but with her on the team, it's almost impossible." He hooked his thumb
toward the one-and-only Monster Girl.  She grinned and buffed her
fingernails on her jersey.  "I figure you're the only one in the state with
even a chance of controlling her."

   Control Monster Girl?  What's he been smoking?  "Coach, I..."

   "Besides, it doesn't look good for one of a team's captains to be
sitting in the bleachers."

   "Captain?"

   Mike Reed stepped forward.  "I resigned.  And Mr.  Reed suspended
Hastings until he has a drug test.  I know the team wanted you and Robbie."

   I was impressed, though I didn't know if Mike meant it or just wanted to
do it before it was done to him.  I wondered if Luke was still using the
steroids.  If he was, maybe Mr.  Mulino's airline friend could come up with
a ticket for a certain future M.D.  from Colorado to come up and talk to
him.  "Even if I wanted to, my equipment..."

   "Is right here." Robbie stepped to the side.  My old locker had a brand
new label, 'SIMS.' And inside was my equipment bag.  "Tami got it and
brought it over."

   Tami turned me around until I faced her.  "You're playing.  Suit up."

   "But..."

   "Tony, I love that you wanted to spend more time with me, but I'm not
missing out on anything.  You love football.  Enjoy it while you can,
you're almost seventeen, over-the-hill.  Besides, I like watching you
play."

   "But..."

   Tami lowered her voice so only I could hear.  "Tomorrow, my mom's gonna
be gone all day, and I plan to make love to a football player."

   I turned back to the team.  "Let's play some football."

   * * *



   The team from Wapato should have stayed home.  They never even got on
the board.  We scored six touchdowns in the first half before the coach
pulled all the first string.  Mike had offered to let me start at
quarterback, but I played all defense.  I thought it would be easier after
having been gone.  Four sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception.  Not
a bad comeback.

   After a few weeks off, I was out of shape and certain that I'd never
been so bruised and battered in my life.  And I loved every minute of it.





   Chapter 23



   "Tony Sims and Tami Sharp, please come to the office."

   Damn!  I'd just finished getting dressed down for P.E., and now I have
to deal with Parker.  I opened my locker again and reversed the process.

   When I got to the main hallway Tami was waiting by my locker.  She
smiled, but half heartedly.  "How bad?"

   "Depends." I opened my locker and pulled out my backpack.  "If your mom
doesn't ground you or put you on chore duty, we can have two weeks of empty
houses while parents work.

   Tami grinned.  "That's my Tony.  Already a plan."

   I slipped my arm around her, my hand finding it's place in the back
pocket of her jeans.  I figured were already toast; a little public display
of affection couldn't hurt worse.

   "Hi, Mrs.  Hatcher," I said as we walked into the office.  "We were
summoned." I held open the swinging gate for Tami.  We headed for Parker's
office.

   "Not there.  Mr.  Reed wanted to see you."

   I looked at Tami, surprised.  We stepped over to the next office, and
Tami knocked.

   "Come in.  Miss Sharp, Mr.  Sims, glad you could make it."

   "Miss Sharp?  You always call me Tami."

   "That was when you were my student.  Apparently now you're a full-time
journalist.  I need to treat you with respect."

   "You're mad at me," she said in dismay.

   "Not mad, disappointed.  I expected better of you."

   "I..." Tami started.

   "Parker..." I tried to say.

   "No!"

   We both shut up.

   "This is where I get to talk.  As an educator, I'm proud of you.  You
have become a journalist.  The article you wrote Friday is excellent.  You
did your research and presented it well."

   "Thank you," Tami said.

   "But...  as your friend, I'm not so impressed.

   "But..."

   "Tony, shut up and listen for once."

   I listened.

   "There is a name for what you did.  It's called ambush journalism."

   "But..." we said together.

   "QUIET!  Ambush journalism is very popular.  All the tabloid shows use
it.  But a journalist, a real journalist, balances the story.  You got your
facts, as I said.  Your research was excellent.  But did you even consider
giving Mr.  Parker a chance to respond?  Did you even try to get a comment
from me or Mr.  Butz?"

   "I..."

   "Now I and all your teachers are in the position of not knowing if we're
talking to Tami the student or Miss Sharp the reporter.  The tabloid
reporter.  If we make a joke, it could wind up on the front page.  AND
without a chance to explain ourselves.

   "As I said, your facts were correct.  You will probably be very happy to
know that Charley Parker has been suspended.  Now you're dismissed.  I'm
busy."

   "I..."

   "I said I was busy," he said coldly.

   I stood.  "We better go," I said.

   Tami looked like she was ready to cry.  "Hold me," she said as we shut
the door behind us.

   I hugged her close.  "It's okay."

   "No, it's not.  It wouldn't hurt if he wasn't right."

   "He's not."

   "Tony, he is.  If I was a journalist, I would have talked to him, too.
To Mr.  Reed and Mr.  Butz.  Even Luke.  But I wasn't getting a story, I
was getting revenge.  For you, for Robbie, for everybody."

   "Tami, he deserved..."

   She held her finger up against my mouth.  "Tony, it's not what he
deserved.  It's what I have to do if I want to respect myself.  If I want
you to respect me."

   "I'll always respect you."

   "But I won't.  You know how you feel about lawyers?  That's how I feel
about tabloid journalists.  And that's what I become the minute I don't
balance the story.  The minute I use it for an agenda." She reached into my
front pocket and pulled out my keys.  "I need to clear my head."

   "Want some company?" I asked conscious of the fact we were discussing
cutting class in front of the school secretary.

   "Not this time." She gave me a last hug, then pulled away.  "This one I
need to do on my own."

   I watched her leave.  Like I said before, that's why I love Tami.  She
makes me better than I am.





   Chapter 24



   "Ready, my captain?"

   I was just pulling my practice jersey over my shoulder pads as Mark
asked.

   "Ready," I agreed.

   The locker room was noisy.  Everybody was up after Friday's game.  I had
to admit I was feeling pretty good myself.  Tami had come back after about
an hour, then went in to have a talk with Mr.  Reed and another one with
Mr. Walker, and seemed to have found her balance.

   I looked at the outside door.  "Alright you clowns.  Let's try to look
like a football team," I yelled.

   The locker room echoed with their cheers, but then, just as I got to the
door, it died.  I turned.  Luke was standing just inside the other door. 
"Can I talk to you?"

   I nodded.  "Mark, take 'em out.  Two laps around the field, then give
'em to Robbie."

   He nodded, and, subdued, the team headed for the field.  "What can I do
for you, Luke?"

   "I, uh, I just wanted to say I was sorry."

   "For what?" I didn't want to see him squirm, but I figured if he was
really sorry, saying the words would help.

   "I, er, I lied.  I said what Mr.  Parker told me to say."

   "Okay."

   "If you want me to tell anybody, I will."

   I nodded.  "I don't think you have to do that.  The people who matter
already know."

   He looked at the ground and scuffed his foot.  "I just thought I should
say something."

   "Well, when she read the article, Robbie figured out why you lied."

   "Yeah," he said, rubbing his side.  "She's something else.  Remember
when I started and I said something about a pathetic team having a girl?"

   I nodded.

   "There's nothing pathetic about her."

   I grinned.  "Painful sometimes, but never pathetic." Luke looked like he
wasn't done, but didn't know what else to say.  "Can I ask you something?"

   He nodded, seeming almost grateful.

   "Were you using in Texas?"

   He looked at me, then back at the ground.  "Yeah."

   "Here?"

   His head hung even lower.  "Yeah."

   "Have you stopped?"

   "I...  I guess."

   "Don't guess.  Have you stopped."

   "I have."

   "Okay." I turned my back on him and walked to my locker.  I opened it
and dug my cell phone out of my jeans pocket.  I looked back at Luke, then
found the number I wanted in my contact list.  I dialed.

   Rosita answered the phone.  "Brees residence."

   "Hi, Cuz-in-law.  You ready to dump the doc and come cook for me?"

   "Who?  Is this Tony?"

   "The same.  Is the red-headed terror around?"

   "I'll get her."

   Luke scuffed his foot a couple more times, then turned toward the door.
"I'll just get..."

   "Stay!" I ordered as Cinnamon answered the phone.

   "Tony?"

   "The one and only."

   "You decided you wanted more of my body and are flying back?"

   "I wish," I said, only partly joking.  "I need Wynter's phone number."

   "I see.  A brunette and a redhead aren't enough, so you want a blond
too."

   "I need an expert opinion, and I'm short on minutes.  Right now Robbie's
running the football team, and I'm not sure how long they can last."

   "You're back on the team?"

   "Long story.  I'll call this weekend."

   "If you don't, I'll sic Hailey on you."

   "The number," I reminded her, and she rattled it off.  "Do you know if
she's home?"

   "She's supposed to be working on a group project for one of her classes,
and they're supposed to meet at her house."

   Luke had a nice little ping pong game going.  He's look at me, he'd look
at the door to the field.  He'd look at me, he'd look at the door to the
hall.  I pointed at a bench.  "Sit."

   I dialed Wynter's number, saving it to memory.  Her mom answered.

   "Hi, this is Tony Sims.  We met this summer.  Is Wynter around?"

   "Yes, I remember," she said.  She seemed to take it in stride that a
teenager she'd met once was calling her young daughter.  Someday I'd have
teenaged daughters.  I doubt I'll be so easygoing.  "Get suspended again
and need help?"

   "Well, I did get suspended again."

   Luke turned red.

   "But I'm back in school again.  I have a medical question"

   "And they don't have doctors in Washington?"

   "Not this good."

   She laughed.  "She's upstairs with friends, just a minute." I heard a
click.

   A minute later, another click--I must have been on hold--and Wynter came
on the line.  "Hello?"

   "Hi, adopted cuz.  What do you charge for phone consultations?" I asked
as soon as she answered.

   "For you, nothing," she said.  "Cinnamon wouldn't let me, anyway."

   "Never make exceptions for family, they'll drain you dry.  What do you
know about steroids?"

   "A little." I had a feeling that Wynter would say 'a little' even if
she'd just won a Nobel for a paper on them.

   "Know anything about how long they're detectible in a person's system?"

   "Tony!" she gasped.  "You're not thinking..."

   "Blondy, I don't even like aspirin," I interrupted.

   "Well, of course it depends on the steroid.  I did some research on them
when one of LaMarcus's and Huntly's friends said he was thinking about
using some, so they could talk him out of it.  Some like clenbuterol or
tets...  tet..." She sighed and then took a deep breath.  "Tes-tos-te-rone
undecanoate, less than a week.  Others like nandrolone phenylpor... 
phenyl-pro-pri-on-ate or nandrolone decanoate, a year or more."

   "Hang on," I said, then caught Luke's attention.  "What did you use?"

   "Winnies, the pill kind.  I don't like needles."

   "Winnies mean anything to you?"

   "Oh, sure!  That's from the brand name Winstrol, which is what their
friend wanted to use.  That's stazon...  sta-noz-o-lol.  Two weeks, maybe
three."

   "That works," I said, more to myself than Wynter.  "Feel up to a
lecture? Something on the order of what your dad got when he fell down the
stairs."

   Wynter laughed.  "Will it do any good?"

   "Time will tell," I said.  "Can you hold?"

   "Sure." I could picture her nodding, her ponytail bobbing.

   I dropped my hand with the phone, picked up my helmet and walked over to
Luke.  "Here's the deal stud.  This is my cousin.  She's only thirteen, but
you will listen to her like she is God herself, and with that much respect.
Do NOT let any problems she has pronouncing words make you think she
doesn't know what she's talking about.  When she's done, put my phone in my
locker, dress down, and hit the field.  Five laps, then report to Robbie
for your assignment." I held the phone out to him.

   "But I'm off the team."

   "You're back on.  I'll clear it with Coach Vickers and Mr.  Reed.  Two
weeks from now, your name WILL come up on the drug testing schedule, and it
WILL come up every week until you graduate.  If you don't come up clean,
I'll make sure you never play ball again.  Understand?"

   Luke looked confused but nodded.  "Why?"

   "Partly because we never gave you a chance to be a part of this team. 
And partly because I got reminded today that fair is not just in the eye of
the beholder.  It's in the eye of the doer."





   Chapter 25



   "How'd your meeting go?" Robbie asked.

   "Not great," I said and sat between the two girls.  Robbie and Tami were
sitting on the stone wall outside the side door.  Thirty-seven-and-a-half
percent of the cheerleading squad were sitting on the other wall.  I gave
Mikee, Allie, and Darlene big smiles.  Beyond the overhang the rain was
coming down.  Mr.  Nye, the science teacher, said we might set a record.  I
didn't want to set a record, I wanted football practice, and if it didn't
lighten up soon, practice was going to be in the gym or canceled all
together.

   "So Luke's off the team again?" Tami asked.

   "No, he's on.  But Coach Vickers and Mr.  Reed are not my biggest fans
at the moment."

   Yesterday when I'd gone out to the field, Coach Vickers hadn't been very
happy to have Luke back, but he let himself be convinced to wait and
discuss it with Mr.  Reed and me.  Robbie had been less than thrilled,
though I don't think anyone realized it but me.  Last night, when she
joined Tami and me for our walk, I kept waiting for a sucker punch.

   Today I'd met with Coach Vickers and Mr.  Reed at the beginning of
second period.  Coach Vickers left for his class at the beginning of third,
but Mr.  Reed and I had just finished.  I'd missed most of lunch.

   "Does he have to take a drug test first?" Robbie asked.  She knew the
deal I'd made with Luke.

   "Nope.  I convinced Mr.  Reed that the whole team would walk if one
player was required to take a non-random drug test without any evidence
that he's been using."

   "We would?"

   "Yep.  I figured I could convince my co-captain it was the right thing
to do, and she'd lead the team.  They kinda like her."

   "What if your co-captain isn't sure it's the right thing?"

   I put my arm around Robbie and gave her a squeeze.  "She would be.  Luke
got caught in Texas and paid the price." Officially he wasn't Texas
all-state.  He gotten caught right after the season, and they stripped him
of the title.  "In Washington, he's never been caught."

   "Never been caught.  That's what worries me.  I don't want to play the
season under a cloud."

   "This is Washington.  There's always clouds." Her elbow caught me in the
stomach, but I'd been expecting it and tensed up.

   "You know what I mean," she said with a touch of spite.

   "I know what you mean, and the universe will make sure that the cloud
doesn't hang over us too long.  Mr.  Reed added Luke's name to the drug
list himself."

   "The universe, huh?"

   "Yep, that old justice-loving universe." With a touch of help from Kelly
Dubrey.  The district used a computer program that WSAA provided.  All the
names of athletes in fall sports were input, and the computer spit out a
random list of seven percent.  This morning, before my meeting, she'd
hacked into the computer and added a worm to the program that would keep
Luke's name off the list for two weeks, then make it come up every week
after that.  It took her about fifteen minutes.  It was great having a
genius on retainer.

   "And Mr.  Reed bought that?" Tami asked.

   "I gave him my personal guarantee that Luke was clean." Or would be when
he tested.

   "And he bought that?"

   "Yep." After two hours.  I knew he wanted to pin me down about how I
knew Luke would get tested.  But he knew the only way I could guarantee
that was to fix the system, and I was trying to give him some plausible
deniability.  I think he finally got that.

   Tami asked the question that I knew everyone was thinking.  "And what if
he's still using?"

   "Then I guess I hang up my white hat and six-shooters and stop trying to
save the world.

   "But you'll still save cheerleaders, right?" Allie asked.

   "I'll always save cheerleaders."

   "Save them from what?" Paula asked stepping out the side door.

   "Save them from slave-driving captains.  They want to transfer to
football, 'cause they heard that Robbie's not nearly as tough."

   I was saved from Paula and Robbie's comebacks by the bell for our next
class.

   * * *



   I watched Robbie walk away with relief.

   "Think it's no football?" Tami asked, reading my mind.

   "That's part of it." There'd been no football practice Tuesday or
yesterday because of the rain.  We couldn't even use the gym because of
other activities.  "She's just been a..." I stopped before calling my best
friend a bitch.

   "Totally," Tami agreed.  "She barely ate anything at lunch.  Maybe she's
just hungry."

   I couldn't blame her for that.  Tuna noodle surprise.  The surprise was
if you could keep it down.

   "Must be her time of the month."

   "Nope," Tami said, slipping her arm around me and her hand into my back
pocket.  "Too early.  Next week."

   Oh goody.  Something to look forward to.

   "Maybe she just needs to get laid."

   "Is that a suggestion, oh love of my life?" I leaned to the side and
kissed her nose.

   "You better believe it," she said with a grin.  "See if you can get Mark
Russell off his butt and into her pants."

   Not exactly what I had in mind, but on the other hand, not a bad idea.

   "Maybe she's just nervous," I suggested.

   "Robbie?"

   "She gets nervous.  She just usually hides it well.  This time she wants
it too bad."

   "I wonder why.  You shouldn't have told her about losing by a vote."

   "She needed to know."

   Tami sighed.  "I guess she did.  So what's going to happen?"

   Now it was my turn to sigh.  "Officially, we have three chances in ten.
In truth, probably three out of five, straight odds."

   "So better than fifty-fifty."

   "Maybe."

   Tami tilted her head but didn't say anything.  "Leslie probably has one
slot locked.  After all, she won last year.  I think Jeremy Wilkins is
gonna get a slot.  That leaves one."

   "One out of three." I nodded.

   "What do we do if we don't get it?"

   "You and I get some free time.  And Robbie we keep sedated and away from
other people."

   "How long?" Tami asked with a sly grin.

   "Probably not more than two, three years.  She should be over it by
then."

   "You're a good friend."

   "I try."

   * * *



   "You still clean?" I asked as I pulled a jersey over my head.

   Luke looked irritated.  I'd arranged for me and him to be the last ones
out of the locker room.  "I said I was," he snapped.

   I didn't bother tucking in my shirt and stepped over in front of him. 
"Slick, you haven't earned trust yet.  Mine or anybody else's.  I don't
know if you believe it or not, but I want you to succeed, to pass your
test. And you WILL get tested.  Since I don't trust you, I'll nag you. 
Still clean?"

   Luke's fists were clenched, and I was ready if he took a swing.  "Yes,"
he said finally.

   "I don't know a lot about those Winnies.  But I've heard that steroids
can cause increased aggressiveness, so either uncurl those fists or use
them."

   Luke looked down at his hands as if he hadn't realized, then relaxed
them.

   "We might as well get this straight," I said, relaxing a little myself.
"I'm not your friend.  I probably won't be.  I'm your team-mate and your
captain.  And I will nag you, bug you, and bully you to get what I want. 
If you don't like that, or you can't handle that, you know where the door
is."

   Luke tensed again, his fists half closing, but nodded.

   "If you need help, ask.  If it's medical I can call Wynter."

   "No, I...  is that chick really thirteen?"

   I laughed and slapped him on the back.  "So she tells me."

   "She sounded like a cross between my doctor, my mom, and Mr.  Lansing,
my old vice-principal."

   "That's my Wynter.  Now get out there.  Four laps."

   "The team did two."

   "Your point?"

   Luke stared for just a second, then nodded and ran through the door.  I
decided that I'd call Wynter after practice and see if there was anything I
should know.

   The absurdity of the situation struck me, and I laughed as I grabbed my
helmet off the bench.  A junior calling an eighth-grader for medical
advice. I ran toward the field and my own four laps.

   * * *



   Tami and I were just finishing our sixth circuit of the park when Kelly
skipped out of her house.  The rain the last couple nights had kept us
inside.

   "How's my favorite munchkin?" I asked.

   "Am I really your favorite?" she asked coyly with a big grin.

   "Well, top three anyway." Her face fell.  "Definitely top five."

   "Tony, stop teasing," Tami ordered.  "You're his favorite," she added to
Kelly.

   "I don't even know if I like him anymore," Kelly said with a hint of a
pout.

   "You do," Tami said, then leaned down and whispered something that made
them both laugh.

   Kelly looked up at me.  "Mom wanted to talk to you."

   "What about?" I asked automatically.

   Kelly shrugged.

   "Now?"

   Kelly nodded.

   I reviewed my last couple weeks and decided that I probably didn't need
to make a run for it.  Tami and I followed Kelly back to her house. 
"Where's Mikee?" I asked as she let us in.  I knew Peter wasn't home.  He
was at my house, supposedly doing homework with Traci.

   "She's at Lizzie's.  They have some kind of presentation in science
tomorrow." I nodded and noticed Kelly's mom look from me to Kelly to Tami.
She didn't want a crowd.

   "Hey, Tami.  Why don't you take Kelly over to my house and play her
those new MP3's I downloaded.  I think she'll like them." Tami hesitated
only a second before realizing the same thing I had.  She took Kelly by the
hand and led her out.  Kelly would probably like the music though.  I'd
found a Swedish singer named Amy Diamond.  She was only twelve or thirteen
but had a hell of a voice.  Her music was a little too bubblegum but still
good, and, hopefully, her managers would get smart and find her better
songs.

   As the door closed, Mrs.  Temple and I looked at each other awkwardly,
then she waved me toward the sofa.  After I sat she fidgeted, then sat in
the opposite lounger.

   "I don't think I ever thanked you," she said, not quite looking at my
face.

   "It was nothing," I said.  I wanted to minimize it considering the rest
of my relationship with her girls.

   "No, it was more than that." She got up, walked across, and sat next to
me, taking my hand in both of hers.  "You saved my daughter."

   "She just needed someone to talk to," I said, embarrassed.

   "No, it was more than that." She let go of my hand with one of hers,
reached up, and gently turned my head so that we were looking at each
other. "She needed someone to listen.  That's a lot harder to find. 
Someone she trusted.  I'm a nurse.  I've seen what happens to kids who
can't find a way to work through their traumas.  Alcohol, drugs, suicide."
The last word was barely a whisper.

   "It wasn't that bad."

   "It could have been.  She was...  retreating."

   "I, uh..."

   "I know I'm embarrassing you, and I'll stop.  But I wanted you to know
that I knew everything you'd done for my Kelly.  And my Michelle."

   I really wish she hadn't said 'everything.'

   She leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.  "Now that you're totally
embarrassed and uncomfortable, I was hoping to talk you into a favor."

   "A favor?"

   "We got a call from Green Hill."

   It took me a few seconds to make the connection.  The State Boy's School
wasn't something I thought about a lot.

   "Kenny's doing real well.  We're going up this weekend."

   "That's..." I wasn't sure what that was.  I knew this was his mother,
and she wanted him to do good.  BUT, if he did too good they could send him
home.  I really didn't want to deal with that.  "I'm glad he's fitting in."

   "That's nice of you to say, though I have trouble believing you meant
it."

   I figured silence was my best answer.

   "We're going up tomorrow.  He'll get a three-hour furlough Saturday,
then maybe another on Sunday."

   Damn, damn, damn!

   "Kelly and Mikee don't want to go."

   "If you want me to talk them into it, you picked the wrong guy."

   She smiled.  "There are some things that are beyond even you."

   I wish she hadn't said it like that.  I found myself wondering if I
could talk the girls into going if I tried.

   "Kelly isn't ready for it.  And now Mikee..."

   "She knows it all," I said quietly.  What hadn't come out on the road
trip came out shortly after.  Both girls had talked to me about it.

   "I thought so," she said.  "Those two don't have many secrets."

   Thanks to Cousin Cinnamon.

   "Like you said, Kelly needed somebody who'd listen," I said, and Mrs. 
Temple nodded.

   "Anyway, Kelly and Mikee don't want to go, and as much as I'd like to be
a family again, I don't think forcing them is the right thing to do."

   I relaxed.  I hadn't realized that I'd tensed up.

   "Kelly wants to stay with Traci.  Michelle too."

   "Uh...  We'd love to have them, but Mom left today." Her company was
sending her to some kind of meeting in Dallas.  "Dad too." Mom and Dad
decided that we were so responsible lately that they made a long weekend of
it.  Mom's meeting started Monday, and she'd be back Thursday or Friday. 
Dad was going to fly to Olympia from Dallas and be back Wednesday or
Thursday.  Until then, Traci and I were solo.

   "I know.  Michelle told me."

   "Oh." I was more embarrassed than when she'd thanked me.  She was
telling me that she trusted me.  Not my parents: me.  "I'll call and check
with Mom, but I don't think there'll be a problem."

   "Thank you." She leaned forward and hugged me, and I finally realized
that she'd been holding my hand all this time.

   "What about Peter?" I asked.

   "He's going with us.  He's never got along with Kenny all that much, but
I think he feels it's his duty."

   "He doesn't, uh, know?"

   "No.  Do you think he should?"

   I felt odd being asked to advise a parent about raising a kid only two
years younger than me.  "Peter's a pretty smart kid.  And he's pretty close
to his sisters." I left the rest unsaid.  Did they want to tell him, or
risk having him find out.

   Mrs.  Temple nodded.  "I'll think about it.  There's one more thing,"
she said, letting go and sitting back.

   Damn.  I really wanted this conversation to be over.

   "I told you that the counselor said Kenny was doing really good."

   I nodded.

   "If he keeps it up, there could be other furloughs."

   I nodded again, trying not to think about where this was leading.

   "He might even be able to come home for a weekend."

   Damn!  Why hadn't the fucking D.A.  charged him as an adult and put him
away?

   "Kelly and Michelle are always welcome.  But it might be better if they
stayed with friends outside the park."

   "I wasn't thinking of that.  I was thinking of you."

   "Me?"

   "You and Kenny." She was holding her breath, looking at me, watching me.

   "I have no problem with Kenny."

   She relaxed, letting out the breath she'd been holding.

   "But I told Mikee that I'd do whatever it took to make her and Kelly be
safe.  Feel safe." I looked her straight in the eye.  "I don't make
promises lightly.  And I don't break them."

   She held my gaze for a couple seconds, then looked down at the floor. 
"I wouldn't want you to."

   I think I was just given permission to hurt Kenny if I thought it was
necessary.





   Chapter 26



   We climbed up the bleachers and Robbie sat.  Then Tami and I sat on
either side of her.  Robbie looked from Tami to me and back again.  "How
come you're not sitting over there?" she asked Tami, pointing at the empty
space next to me.

   "'Cause I wanted to sit by my best friend."

   Robbie looked from me to Tami.  "Un huh.  Afraid I'm going to cause
trouble?"

   "Of course not," I said quickly.  Then softly added, "If we win."

   "I heard that."

   I grinned.

   Robbie glared for a minute, then smiled and nodded.  "I'll be good.  I
promise."

   I relaxed.  Robbie knew how competitive she was, and if she was thinking
about it, she'd control it.

   The bleachers filled up while we talked, mostly about the football game
tonight.  Mikee and Allie came in together, Mikee sat next to Tami and
Allie next to me.  After a few more stragglers wandered in, Mr.  Reed
stepped up to the lectern.

   "Settle!" he ordered, holding up both hands.  "We have a few things
before we get to the good stuff."

   "The Cheerleaders!" some boy yelled.

   I reached down and gave Allie's leg a squeeze, and she slapped my hand
playfully.

   Mr.  Reed held up his arms again.  "First off, where's Kelly Dubrey?" I
looked around and eventually saw her at the far end of the bleachers
holding up her hand.  "Kelly, come here." While Kelly maneuvered her way
out of the bleachers, Mr.  Reed continued.  "This summer, NASA and the
Gates Foundation sponsored a competition to design software that could be
used to guide automated research vehicles on other planets.  That's a fancy
way of saying artificial intelligence for you sci-fi buffs.  The
competition was open to anyone who had not graduated college as of the
first of September.  They received just over a thousand entries, but only
fifteen from high school students."

   Kelly was standing next to the lectern now.

   "Mr.  Nye and I have just been informed that the twenty-five finalists
include two high schoolers, and the other one is from Boston." It took a
second to register before the applause started.  I think Tami was first. 
"Kelly will be invited to Houston to discuss her entry with the judges'
panel in December, and invited back for an eight-week internship this
summer.  If she wins, her prize is a fifty-thousand dollar SCHOLARSHIP, so
don't start hitting her up for loans." The applause was even louder this
time and Kelly turned a delicious shade of red before shaking Mr.  Reed's
hand and running back to the bleachers.

   Mr.  Reed made several more announcements before, "Girl's volleyball
will be in Portland for a tournament this weekend.  They left yesterday. 
The cross-country team will be in Olympia for their tournament.  Now I'm
sure no one cares about football, but the Seattle paper this morning said
there were only seven undefeated teams in four-A.  Anybody want to guess
one?"

   "REBELS!" about six hundred voices yelled.  Everybody started stomping
and clapping as the cheerleaders and football players made their way down
out of the bleachers.

   Paula took Mr.  Reed's place in front of the microphone.  "Who's gonna
play football tonight?" she yelled.

   "REBELS!"

   The other cheerleaders had formed in front of the bleachers, and the
football players lined up behind Paula and the lectern.

   "Who's gonna score some touchdowns tonight?"

   "REBELS!"

   "Who's gonna make the Pirates cry?"

   "REBELS!"

   "Who's gonna win football tonight?"

   "REBELS!"

   "Who's still gonna be undefeated tomorrow?"

   "REBELS!"

   The cheerleaders all started jumping around, and I enjoyed the view from
the back as their short skirts fluttered up and down.

   Cassie Tate, the cheerleader on the far end, ran to the wall and picked
up some large cards, then handed them out to the other cheerleaders as I
walked up to the lectern.  I gave Paula a hug, then adjusted the microphone
and looked out over the crowd.

   "We're not very good.  We've even got a girl on our team.  And everybody
knows, girls can't play football."

   "Monster Girl!" somebody yelled, then the chanting started.  I turned
and smiled at Robbie, and she gave me a I'm-gonna-get-you stare in return.

   I turned back to the audience.  "It's pretty simple.  We've got the best
team in the state and the prettiest quarterback.  They might as well give
us that trophy now."

   The audience started clapping and stomping again.  I walked back to the
line and gave Robbie a hug.

   Paula stepped back to the microphone.  "Who's gonna throw that football
till the Pirates think that pigs can fly?"

   Mikee held up a white card about three feet by two feet and the audience
yelled, "Mike!" It was blank on our side, but I guessed it had Mike's name
on the other.

   "Who's gonna sack their quarterback till he cries for his mommy?" Paula
yelled.

   "Robbie!" the crowd yelled as Darlene held up a card.

   "Who's gonna stand around, do nothing, and look cute for the girls?"

   Allie held up a card and the crowd yelled my name.  I decided that I
owed Paula something special.

   "Who's gonna kick that ball right over their heads?"

   "Mark!" they yelled as Cassie held up her card.  He was standing next to
me, and I clapped him on the back.  Then I had an inspiration.  Paula was
still yelling questions and the other cheerleaders holding up cards with
player's names on them.  They all had two piles, one for the used cards.  I
whispered to Mark, and he ran up and got one of Allie's discards while I
ran over to the side wall and borrowed a felt pen from Mr.  Nye.

   As Paula finished the last player, I stepped up and yelled from behind
her back, "And who's single again and needs a date for next week's dance?"

   "Paula!" They yelled as I held up the card I'd made, complete with her
phone number at the bottom.

   Mr.  Reed prevented a murder by stepping back to the lectern.  "One last
announcement," he said and waited for the audience to settle down.  "One
last announcement because I know you're all eager to get back to class."
That got a few laughs.  "The teacher's committee has selected the three
plays to compete to represent our school."

   Next to me, Robbie put her hand on my shoulder and whispered, "We didn't
get it."

   "You don't know that," I whispered back.

   "I've got a feeling."

   "The teachers all said they're never doing it again," Mr.  Reed
continued.  "It was too hard.  Everyone worked hard on their presentations,
and all ten groups deserve a big hand." He paused while the audience
clapped politely.  "The Accidental Detective, a comedy with Leslie Villiers
directing.  Twelve Angry Men, Jeremy Wilkins directing.  And last, Romeo
and George, a musical with Carl Troutman directing."

   I almost fainted.  I couldn't believe that Troutman's group got in, I'd
written them off as too controversial.  Carl had found a story on the
internet, a retelling of Romeo and Juliet where Romeo went after Juliet but
was really in love with her brother George.  I almost wished that Parker
was here because I'd have given anything to see his face.

   Robbie sighed and squeezed my shoulder.  "That's that."

   "There's always next year."

   "You better believe it," she said with a smile.  "Start writing now
instead of waiting for the last minute."

   "Yes, ma'am."

   "And with Parker out of the equation, the sky's the limit."

   "Still want to sing Tits and Ass?"

   * * *



   "The Committee..." Robbie paused to glare at me.  "to Undertake New
Theatrical Sensations is now in session." Robbie sighed heavily.  She hated
losing.  "Well, so much for this year, but Tony is going to start on next
year early so we don't get beat again."

   Everybody nodded.

   "I think we made a mistake not doing a musical," Traci said.  "That's
our strength."

   "Now you tell us," I mumbled.

   Peter sat beside her.  I think he was still amazed that Traci had an
equal voice in this meeting.

   "You didn't say anything," Tami pointed out.

   Traci blushed.  "I...  Tony said that..."

   "Trace," I said quietly.  "Remember the talks you and I had this summer
about you and I both singing?" she nodded.  "Insert good ideas for singing
and play them back in your head." Traci turned red again but nodded

   "I think Traci's right," Robbie said.  "We should stick to musicals, and
we've got a whole year to either write our own or find a good one.  As our
last order of business for this year's committee, I think all of us should
pick the play they think is the best, then offer our support."

   We all nodded again.

   "Meeting adjourned," Robbie said sadly.

   "I think she handled that very well," Tami whispered in my ear from her
seat on my lap.

   "Our little Roberta's growing up," I said.

   "I heard that," Robbie snapped from where she was talking about the
football game with Darlene, Traci and Kelly.

   I grinned and blew softly in Tami's ear.  I didn't think the game was
worth discussing.  We'd kicked off to the Pirates, and when Robbie had
tackled the kid with the ball, he'd fumbled and Mark picked it up and ran
it in for a touchdown.  That was probably the high point of the game.  For
the Pirates.  Coach Vickers pulled the first string halfway through the
first quarter.  And most of the second string before the half.  It was
embarrassing.  In the fourth quarter, Robbie and I volunteered to play for
the Pirates.

   "Tony?" I looked up at Mikee standing by the side of the chair.  "Can I
talk to you?"

   I nodded.  She tilted her head toward the back.  I lifted Tami off my
lap and followed her to my room.

   "That's a hell of an idea," I said a few minutes later and sat down at
my computer.  I started typing.  I could feel Mikee hover over me for a few
minutes and didn't even notice when she left.





   Chapter 27



   "Finally," Kelly said with a giggle as I walked into the living room.

   "Who are you, and what did you do with my brother?" Traci asked.

   "What?"

   "You had two sexy girls staying in your house without the benefit of
adult supervision, and you practically locked yourself in your bedroom all
night.  You ain't my brother," Traci said with a grin.  "Tami even said you
growled at her when she went in to talk to you."

   I didn't growl at Tami.  At least I don't think I did.  I didn't
remember her coming in.  I didn't remember much of anything after talking
to Mikee.  I'd finally finished about four in the morning and turned off
the computer.

   "I was busy."

   "Doing what?" Kelly wanted to know.

   "It's all her fault," I said pointing at Mikee, trying to change the
subject.

   She turned red and grinned at the same time.  "Did you...?"

   I nodded.  I'd finished, the first draft anyway.  "It's on the computer.
Go look."

   Mikee started toward my room.  Traci and Kelly started to follow her,
but I waggled my finger at them and they settled for my lap after I'd sat
down.

   "Meanie," they said in stereo.

   Mikee came out a few minutes later, her cheeks damp with tears.  She
reached between the two girls and hugged me.

   Traci gave me a questioning look as Mikee stood, but I just smiled.

   I'd forgotten how much fun torturing my sister was.





   Chapter 28



   I was lining up my shot and reminding myself I didn't need force.  I
took a breath and started the cue forward.

   "Have you heard?" Robbie yelled as she ran in.

   'I suppose I should consider myself lucky that I didn't rip the table
felt.' I thought as I watched the cue ball jerk crookedly toward the corner
pocket instead of the eight-ball.

   "Ha!  Scratch!" Mikee said as the ball dropped in the pocket.  "You owe
me a buck."

   "That's okay," I said with a tight smile.  "I'm taking it out of
somebody's backside."

   "What?" Robbie asked innocently.

   "You have news?" Tami asked, trying to put off the murder.

   "You heard about the accident?" Tami, Mikee and I nodded.  There'd been
a car accident Friday night after the game.  A drunk driver ran Tim Reese
and three other kids off the road.  Other than that, it had been a quiet
couple of weeks.  Our last two games were easy wins, but not blow-outs like
the Pirates.

   "They're okay, aren't they?" Mikee asked.  "That's what I heard."

   Robbie nodded.  "They're okay, just broken bones and stuff.  But all
four of them were in the play.  Jeremy Wilkins has withdrawn.  Mr.  Reed
called me.  We're in if we want it."

   I took a minute to digest that, trying to decide if it was good news or
not.

   "Should we go for it?  Should we do The Basement?" Robbie asked after
she couldn't take the silence any longer.

   "We only have two-and-a-half weeks," Tami pointed out.

   "Three-and-a-half," Robbie corrected.  "Mr.  Reed said he could push it
back that far."

   I looked at Mikee.  "What do you think?" I could tell she knew what I
meant.

   "Is it...?"

   I nodded.  "Mostly."

   "What about...?"

   I shrugged.  "Two are done.  The one is done except for that one
section. They've got good starts on the other three."

   From the corner of my eye I saw Robbie looking questioningly at Tami. 
"What the hell?"

   Tami shrugged.  "They've had some kind of secret for a couple weeks."

   I worked hard at not grinning.  "So what do you think?" I asked Mikee.

   She hesitated.  "We should ask...?"

   I nodded.  "Why don't you call 'em."

   Mikee nodded and headed for her house.

   "Game of pool?" I asked Robbie.

   "What was that all about?"

   "We had a perfectly normal conversation.  Weren't you listening?"

   Robbie's look wasn't amused.

   Tami moved smoothly between us and looked me in the eye.  "If you think
Parker enjoyed messing with your life, just keep pissing off Monster Girl."

   I nodded, knowing she was right.

   We'd heard last week that Parker had submitted his resignation and
wouldn't face the school board's hearing.  I wondered if he's find another
job or have to learn to say, "Would you like fries with that?"

   I gently moved Tami to the side and addressed Robbie.  "My bestest
friend in the world, Mikee and I have been working on something and are
trying to decide if it's ready for prime time..  We'll know in a minute. 
In the meantime, would you care for a game of pool to take your mind off
it?"

   Robbie considered.  She knew how I felt about secrets that weren't mine
to tell.  "Lag for break?"

   * * *



   Mikee came back while Robbie was winning her third game.  We were
playing rotation and I hadn't gotten a shot yet.

   Mikee nodded.  I put my useless cue back in the rack and said, "Let's go
back to my house."

   Robbie looked up from her shot.  "You just don't want to lose three in a
row," she accused.

   "Okay, finish wiping the table with me, then let's go to my house."

   Robbie laid her cue on the table.  "Do you really think I'm that petty?"

   I warred with myself.  The desire to say yes versus the desire to keep
my testicles attached to my body.  My balls won.  I took Tami's hand, and
we started walking.

   At my house I had Mikee and Robbie sit while Tami got drinks and I went
to my room, fired up my computer, and started printing.  While the printer
churned, and I wished for the one thousand three hundred and seventh time
that I had a laser, I went back and knocked on Traci's door.

   "Come in." Kelly's voice.

   I opened the door just as Peter and Traci pulled apart.  They'd been
sitting together on the bed, obviously making out.  Both were bright red.

   "That was mean," I told Kelly, then held up my palm for a high five.

   "Is she at least sharing?" I asked after she'd slapped it.

   "Yuck.  He's my brother."

   I thought back to the road trip but held my peace.  "We're having a
meeting, if you want to join us."

   They nodded, and I let the girls lead the way to the living room,
stopping at my room to pick up the papers I'd just printed.

   * * *



   "The last time we discussed the play, someone I admire and respect said
we should have stuck to a musical."

   Traci blushed as she realized I was talking about her.  "Someone else I
respect and admire, who has the added advantage of being cute, came to me
with a suggestion that sparked something." Mikee blushed and Traci pouted
as they both got it.

   "I finished the first draft that very night."

   "So that's what you were doing," Tami muttered.

   I squeezed her hand.  We were sitting together on the sofa.  Robbie had
the chair and the others were spread out on the floor.  "Unlike my beloved,
words don't always flow easily for me, but with this, I couldn't type fast
enough."

   "It's a musical?" Robbie asked.

   "It's a musical.  As I wrote I found six places for songs and knew what
each song had to say.  After Mikee read it..."

   "I cried," she said.

   "After she read it, I talked to Sally and Toby about music.  The lyrics
for one of the songs were already in my head, and another was pretty clear.
Like I said, the other four, I knew what they had to say.  Sally had some
music that she'd just finished that fit the first song like we'd been
holding hands when we wrote it.  And Toby had an idea for the second song.
Since then, they've been working on the other four, and I've been polishing
the draft."

   "And it's ready?" Robbie asked."

   "I think the play is, though after you read it, you may have some
suggestions.  I usually have Tami to bounce ideas off of, but this time..."

   Tami squeezed my hand.

   "The songs?" Robbie asked.

   "Two are done.  One is mostly done, we have a bridge that isn't quite
right." I looked at Mikee.

   "I called Toby.  He said he thought he and Sally could finish the others
in a week if it's top priority."

   Traci raised her hand and waved it around.

   "What?" You want to leave and go make out with Peter some more?"

   Traci and Peter both turned red, and his sisters giggled.  I really
should have expected the elbow in my stomach.

   "Why top priority?" Traci asked.

   "Oops," I said, realizing that we hadn't explained.  "Robbie."

   Robbie explained while I handed out copies.

   "So now we have to decide if we do The Basement, the new one, or wait
till next year," she concluded.

   "Can we change it?  Mr.  Reed is probably expecting The Basement," Tami
pointed out.

   "We'll work on a what-they-don't-know-won't-hurt-them basis, and just
not mention it.  Since we have to print our own programs, nobody will know
till we go on."

   I grinned.  That was my Robbie.  My adopted cousin Wynter had used the
phrase 'my heart got too big for her chest.' Right then I knew how she
felt, 'cause it sounded like Robbie had already made up her mind without
even reading the new one, and that said a lot about her confidence in me.

   "Go ahead and read it," I said, got up, and headed for the kitchen.  I
grilled some chicken patties, topped them with ham and Swiss, and put them
on buns with a dab of honey mustard.  I was just finishing when Tami came
in and hugged me, a tear in the corner of her eye.

   I loaded plates on a tray, and as I walked back into the living room
Robbie said, "All in favor of doing Zoe's Song?"





   Chapter 29



   "Don't you want to say anything?"

   I looked up from tying my shoe.  Luke Hastings and I were alone in the
locker room.  I'd been late.  Robbie, Tami, Darlene, Mikee and I had been
talking about the play.

   "About?"

   "I passed my drug test Thursday, and you never said anything."

   I looked back down and finished tying my shoe, then stood.  "Good," I
said flatly.

   "That's all?"

   "What do you want, a pat on the back?  Let's be honest, the only reason
I care at all is that I put my reputation on the line too.  You passed one
test.  Try passing the next one, and the one after that.  Maybe after
you've passed fifty, I'll be impressed."

   I turned my back and pulled my helmet out of my locker.

   "About that?"

   I turned back.

   "I don't think it's fair that I have to take a test every week.  Nobody
else does.  I'm clean, that should be enough."

   I decided that I really needed to stop trying to help people.  I
remembered deciding not to get involved anymore before dinner at Darlene's
last year.  How many times have I made that decision?  Hell, I never did
get my ribs.

   "We had a deal," I said simply.

   "Yeah, but, I'm clean.  I'm already back on the team, and I'm doing
great."

   That was true.  Half a dozen sports writers were saying that he was
cinch for all-state.

   "We had a deal.  You don't want to test, don't come back."

   "You can't do that.  Only the coach can kick me out."

   I sighed.  "Try me.  Remember my little medical expert?  Think she can't
tell me how to make your sample test positive?" I wondered if she would -
She seemed a little goody-goody, but there was always Cousin Cin.  "Then
goodbye high school ball, goodbye college."

   "You wouldn't."

   I looked Luke square in the eyes.  "Dude, I put my reputation on the
line for you.  My reputation means a lot to me.  I'll do whatever I have to
in order to protect it.  You want me to make your name random again for
testing, okay.  But the first week you don't test, you're gone."

   I turned and jogged toward the locker room door.  I hoped like hell he
believed me.

   * * *



   "Where do we stand?" Robbie asked with a sigh.

   "Pretty much square one," I answered with a sigh to match.  "We have to
cast this tonight, and you and I don't agree on how to do it."

   Robbie looked around her living room at the others.  "We could put it to
a vote."

   "Wouldn't be fair to them.  It's a tough position.  They know I'm right,
but they're afraid of you."

   Robbie glared at me and I grinned.

   The Bradley twins on my lap fidgeted.  I think they were worried about
being in the line of fire.

   "Okay, your way," Robbie said after a minute.  "You wrote it.  Hopefully
you know what you're doing." She dropped her eyes.

   "I wouldn't go that far."

   Robbie glared again.  "Just give Tami the cast list," she said with
another sigh.

   I smiled and ticked the twins' ribs.  "We have four adult roles. 
Playing Zoe's mother, Roberta Elizabeth Marie 'Monster Girl' Tate."

   "The bitch from Hell," Robbie murmured.

   "No, she's not a bitch, from Hell or anywhere.  She's a mother in an
impossible situation.  That's why you have to play her.  You're the only
one who can, at least, since Leslie Villiers is the competition."

   Robbie nodded without modesty.  She knew only part of that was buttering
her up.

   "Playing David's mom, Darlene 'Hot Pants' Carter."

   Darlene turned red.  "Hot Pants?"

   I shrugged.  "Playing the doctor, Tamarone Elizabeth..."

   "Careful," she warned.

   "Sharp," I finished.

   She nodded and typed in her name.  "At least it's a step up from nurse
last year."

   "I wanted to get Wynter but she has a test that week."

   Tami stuck her tongue out and typed something else.

   "Playing Zoe's dad, Anthony Marion 'The Rash' Sims."

   "The Rash?" said almost everyone.

   "Inside joke," muttered Robbie.  I grinned.

   "The kid roles are what Robbie and I have been arguing about.  I think
we need to use middle schoolers to help the audience differentiate. 
Playing David's sister, Susie Calloway."

   "You just want to get on her uncle's good side," Robbie accused.

   "Considering how much practice I missed last year, I figure it's a good
idea."

   Robbie smiled and nodded.

   "Playing Crystal, David's girlfriend, Kelly Temple."

   "No nicknames?" Darlene asked.

   "She bites."

   "That leaves David and Zoe," Tami reminded me.

   I hesitated a second to draw out the suspense.

   "Tell them already," Robbie growled.

   "Peter Temple and Traci Sims." Peter wasn't middle school, but he was
small.

   The two had a contest to see who could turn reddest.

   * * *



   "Tony, can I talk to you?"

   I nodded.  I'd been expecting it, one of the reasons my door was open.

   "I...  I don't know if I can..." Traci looked so cute when she panicked.

   I reached out and took her hands, pulling her into my room and onto my
lap.  "I don't know if you can either.  I guess we'll find out."

   I had a feeling that she was hoping for more than that.  I waited.

   "Maybe we should get somebody else."

   "Who?"

   "Uh, Jenny Piccalo was is the middle school play last year."

   "Nope, Tami's already got your name in the computer."

   "What if I screw up?"

   "Then we lose.  Robbie probably becomes a bag lady."

   Traci blinked.  "A bag lady?"

   "Her life will be ruined.  She never recover.  She'll spend the rest of
her life picking through dumpsters and trash cans."

   Traci giggled.  "I'm over-reacting?"

   "No, you're nervous.  A little nervous is good.  Too much makes you an
alcoholic or gives you an ulcer.  Maybe both."

   "You don't get nervous."

   I laughed.  "Trace, that's the stupidest thing you've ever said.  You
even topped, 'Mommy, look at the pretty kitty.'" The kitty in question was
black with a white stripe down it's back and didn't appreciate the little
girl who ran up and tried to hug it.  Mom didn't appreciate my suggestion
that we tie Traci to the luggage rack for the ride home from the woods,
though I think Dad was considering it after a few minutes, even with all
the windows rolled down.

   "That's not fair.  I was four."

   "I had to ride in the back of the car with you."

   Traci stuck her tongue out.

   "Trace, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been playing baseball
almost as long as you've been alive."

   "I've noticed.  I've been dragged to enough games."

   "You know, even after all these years, I still get nervous when I step
to the plate.  I worry about letting down my team or looking stupid if I
strike out."

   "You're just making that up."

   "Nope.  Scout's honor." I held up my hand with three fingers extended.

   "You've never been a scout," she accused.

   "Only because they promise to be morally straight in the oath.  I
figured that meant no girls."

   She stared for a minute, digesting that.

   "How's this.  On my love for Tami."

   "You DO get nervous," she said, sounding like she'd just discovered
fire.

   * * *



   Traci went back to her room, and I turned back to my computer.

   "You know, big brothers are supposed to be pains.  It's in the job
description." Mom said.

   I turned back toward the door.  Mom and Tami were standing there.

   "And just how long have you two been there?"

   Tami came forward and kissed me gently on the forehead.

   "Long enough," Mom said and left us alone.





   Chapter 30



   "How's it going?" I asked, sticking my head into the music room.

   Traci jumped up and raced toward me, throwing her arms around my neck.
"It's perfect," she whispered.

   I looked questioningly at Sally at the piano.  "Her second song," she
explained.

   I hugged my sister, and she kissed me on the cheek.

   "Be sure to hug Sally too," I said as I released her.  "It's her music."

   "I already did."

   I swatted her on the butt, then headed for Mrs.  Wayne's room.

   Toby was plugging his keyboard into the wall when I walked in.  Peter
was standing next to Mrs.  Wayne's desk, shifting nervously.

   "Relax," I ordered, then checked on Toby.  He sat down and ran some
scales, then nodded.  I walked over and put my arm around Peter.  "I
realize nobody asked you the sixty-four thousand dollar question, can you
sing?  Don't sweat it.  We'll just try this.  It's the kind of song that
doesn't have to be perfect."

   "What if I'm no good?"

   I shrugged.  "Then you can't make out with Traci any more."

   Peter turned deliciously red and swallowed hard.

   "Peter, relax.  Singing is supposed to be fun.  If you can't do it, I
can rewrite the scene, add a new character and give it to them, or we can
have someone else sing and you can lip sync, or we can drop this song
completely.  This song is probably the least important in the whole thing."

   "That why you gave it to me?"

   "Nope.  Just worked out that way.  This song and Traci's first one just
move their scenes along, but don't really add to the story."

   "Okay."

   I smiled, hopefully, reassuringly.  "Want me to stay, or do you want to
run through it with just Toby first?"

   "Uh, Toby," he said, sounding like he was afraid of hurting my feelings.

   "Cool.  I can check on Monster Girl and Darlene."

   As I walked toward the auditorium I wondered how we could possibly do
this with only three weeks.  Robby and I had football practice, and Darlene
had cheerleading after school, so we couldn't start practice till six.  Mr.
Reed was letting us use the stage two nights a week, Tuesdays and
Thursdays, since we had a late start.  That was something.  And we had a
couple of classrooms and the music room, too.

   "So how come you don't go to school?" I heard Robbie say as I walked in
the top of the auditorium.

   "I'm sick," Darlene answered as I started down the aisle.

   "You don't look sick.  You look pretty good."

   "Wrong!" I shouted.  I was halfway to the stage.  "You've got to leer
and check out her boobs." I recognized some of Traci and Peter's dialogue
from act one.

   "I'll be checking out the contusion on the side of your skull if you're
not careful," Robbie said without looking up from the script she was
holding.  I grinned, and Darlene stuck her tongue out at me.

   "How's it going?" I asked standing at the foot of the stage.

   "Pretty good," Robbie said.  She picked up a clipboard and made some
notes.  "I've got most of the blocking for act one done.  We can probably
figure act two tonight, and three tomorrow, so that we can walk through it
when we get the stage on Thursday again."

   "Sounds good," I agreed.

   "Most of the dialogue works pretty good, but there are some rough
spots."

   "Works better when you leer."

   "I'll..."

   "Robbie!" I said sharply.  "Come here."

   Robbie looked startled but walked to the steps and came down off the
stage.  As she got to me, I spun her around, put my hands on her shoulders
and started digging my thumbs in.  "Robbie, girl, you've got to relax." Her
muscles were so tight that I might as well have been rubbing a statue.

   "It's just..."

   "It's just that Robbie likes to win.  We know.  It's one of the things
we love about you.  But if you are going to stress out about this, I'll go
to Mr.  Reed tomorrow and tell him we're dropping out."

   "You can't."

   "Want to watch me?"

   "But..."

   "Monster Girl, there is no but.  We're trying to do in three weeks what
everybody else is doing in eight.  With a play and songs that didn't even
exist a month ago.  If we happen to win, great.  If not, well at least the
rest of us are going to have fun trying."

   "But..."

   I turned her around again until I was looking in her eyes.  "Listen to
me.  You're going to have fun, or I'll get the committee together and we'll
fire your ass."

   "Think you can pull it off?"

   "You better believe it." I leaned forward and whispered in her ear. 
"I've got an edge.  I've slept with most of them."

   "You'd probably fuck Susie just to get her vote."

   I grinned.

   "You bastard," she said with a laugh.

   "Feel better?"

   Robbie rolled her neck around.  "Much.  What are you doing now?"

   "I just checked on Traci and Peter.  I'll check on the others next."

   Tami was running lines with Susie and Kelly in Mr.  Calloway's room.

   I started back up the aisle.  "Remind me when we're done and I'll give
you a full massage."

   "I've heard that before," she said sarcastically

   "You still owe me one from June," Darlene added.

   * * *



   "How does that feel?"

   "Heavenly," Robbie moaned.

   Tami giggled without looking up from the script she was studying.

   I moved my hands from the small of her back down to her butt.

   One of the twins giggled.  The other said, "You're not supposed to touch
her there."

   Tami laid down her script and motioned the younger girls to her.  "A
massage..."

   I didn't bother listening while she explained that massages were
different.  She'd already explained it once when the twins complained that
Robbie was naked.

   Robbie was lying face down and naked on her bed while I tried to make
good my promise from the road trip.

   The night had gone pretty good.  Robbie and Darlene had blocked out all
of acts one and two and gotten a good start on three.  Traci knew both her
songs, and Peter turned out to have a decent voice.  Once he got some
confidence, he'd probably be fine.  If nothing else came up, we'd be okay.

   * * *



   "You look like you can't decide whether to jump for joy and crawl under
your bed and hide," I said as Robbie walked up to my locker.  The lunch
bell had just rung.

   "We're in.  First team ever," she said without inflection.

   "First team ever to what?" Luke asked.  He'd been asking about playoffs
in Washington before Robbie came up.

   "I don't know.  Ask her," I said, when it hit me.  "Oh no, not..."

   Robbie nodded.  "Yep, the Rebels are going to be the first team ever to
be in back-to-back Halloween Bowls."





   Chapter 31



   "The answer is...," I hope, "three-x."

   Mrs.  Wayne smiled.  "Now trying saying like you believed it."

   "Three-x."

   "Very good.  Now did everyone get how he got that?  Tony, did you get
how you got that?"

   Robbie giggled from the next desk.

   The door opened, and Tami stuck her head in.  "Mrs.  Wayne, could I
borrow Tony and Robbie for a couple minutes?"

   Mrs.  Wayne hesitated, then nodded.

   Robbie and I glanced at each other, then gathered our stuff.

   "Pages one-twenty-five thru one-twenty-eight for homework tonight," Mrs.
Wayne said, then turned back to the class.

   "Now what?" Robbie asked as we followed Tami out into the hall.

   "Follow me," Tami said without answering Robbie's question.  We walked
up the hall and stopped in front of Mrs.  Conners room.  Tami reached into
her jeans pocket, pulled out a key ring, and unlocked the door.  Robbie and
I exchanged looks again.  "Inside," Tami ordered.

   In the room Tami flipped on the lights, then pointed at Mrs.  Conners
chair.  "Tony, sit." I started to protest.  I have this thing about being
ordered around like a dog, even by the love of my life, but the look in
Tami's eye stopped me.

   Tami pointed at my lap.  "Robbie, sit."

   "With or without clothes?" Robbie asked sarcastically, but sat down.

   "Your choice, but we only have about five minutes.  Tony hold her."

   I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug.  I remembered Tami
bringing Kelly to my room once and telling me to make her happy, or make
her purr or something like that.  Then there was the time I tried to make
Tami and Mikee both cum before the new year struck.  I wondered if this was
supposed to be a combination of both.

   Tami set the keys in the middle of the teacher's desk, then set her
books beside them and pulled a newspaper out of her notebook.  It was one
of the Seattle ones.

   "Mrs.  Conners found a story in the paper today and decided that it
would be a good topic for class.  But she thought that Robbie deserved some
advance warning." I started to ask why I was here when it hit me, Tami
thought whatever it was might upset her.  I was here to be a friend.  I
gave Robbie another hug, then patted her butt for good measure.  I think
she figured it out too, 'cause she smiled at me, wiggled her butt against
my hand, then nodded to Tami.

   "The first part of the story is about the Lake High School football
team." I think Robbie and I were both startled by the name of the team we
were playing this Friday.  We'd never played Lake before.  They joined our
league this year when the WSAA re-districted.

   "Apparently they were a powerhouse team back in the sixties and
seventies," Tami said, not reading the article.  "They'd take their league
championship every year and usually place in the top four at state, taking
six championships.  But they've struggled since then.  They haven't had a
winning season in twenty years.  This year, they're three and three."

   Our league had an eight game season.  One more win would make them four
and three and a winning season.  One more after that and it would be
official.  Their first winning season in twenty years.  I still couldn't
guess what this was about.

   "The last half of the article is an interview with Coach Rich and Brian
Moreland for the paper." Tami lifted the paper in front of her and started
to read.  "Moreland: The latest poll places the Rebels as the number two
team in the state.  What does this do to Lake's chances of a winning
season?"

   "Rich: The Panthers aren't about polls.  Personally I think the Rebels
are overrated.  They've been playing in a candy league with no real
competition."
"Moreland: They've got some talent.  Mike Reed was all-state quarterback
last year.  Tony Sims was mentioned for several positions and Mark Russell
has really come on as their kicker and as a defenseman.  Then there's
Monster Girl."
"Rich: Monster Girl, that's why the Rebels are all hype."
I felt Robbie tense up and rubbed her butt some more, even giving her

neck a quick kiss.

   "Moreland: You don't think she's a threat?  She received several votes
for quarterback in the all-state balloting last year, and she was one of
only four juniors that ESPN picked as their football players to watch."
"Rich: Watch.  That's the problem.  She's a pretty girl playing
football. That's why ESPN and a lot of sportswriters are making a fuss over
her.  Most of the boys are afraid to block her or tackle her, that's why
her stats look good."
"Moreland: And your boys?"
"Rich: If she's on the field, I've drilled them to hit her like they'd
hit anyone else.  Hard.  She'll probably quit after this."
"Moreland: It sounds like you don't think girls should play sports?"
"Rich: No.  Girls are great at sports.  Look at gymnastics or ice
skating.  But this is football.  This is about hitting and aggressiveness."
"Moreland: What about Title IX?"
"Rich: Title IX is the law.  Any girl who wants to come out for football
at my school or any other school should.  And they'll get a fair try-out.
But in the end, girls just don't have the strength, the aggressiveness, the
drive to make the team."

   Tami lowered the paper.  "The rest is about the Panthers season so far."

   The bell rang to end sixth period.

   Robbie kissed me.  "Thank you for being here." She stood, stepped up to
Tami and kissed her too.  "Thank you for finding a good way to break the
news."

   She picked up her books off the desk, then moved to the desk-chair she
used in class and sat down again.  "They are so not even crossing the fifty
yard line on Friday."

   * * *



   "Everybody finished reading?" Mrs.  Conners asked.  "The article raises
several questions.  Mr.  Sims, see if you can sum them up for us?"

   Damn.  I always knew I was going to hate this class.

   "And everybody knows you're afraid of the two girls sitting next to you,
but do try to be unbiased," she added.

   If everybody didn't know before, they did now.

   I stood.  "Well, leaving aside the question of how any sane person would
think the Rebels are going to lose this Friday," that got a chuckle from
the class and a sharp look from Mrs.  Conners, "the first question is how
in this day and age an educated man, and even though he teaches auto shop
he has to have gone to college, could have these opinions.  It's not really
debatable though.  Anyone can have an opinion.  I can think Mrs.  Conners
is a Nazi war criminal.  It doesn't make it so, but it can be my opinion.

   "I think the questions for debate are, can he air his opinions as a
teacher and a coach, should he air his opinions, and can his school stop
him from airing his opinions?" I sat down.

   "Not bad.  And your take on those questions?"

   "Can he air his opinions?  Yes.  The constitution gives him that right.
Freedom of speech and all," I answered without standing.  "As a teacher and
a coach, should he air his opinions?  No.  Whether he means to or not, he's
speaking for his whole school.  Can his school stop him from airing his
opinions?  Yes and no.  Legally, I don't think they can outright stop him,
but they can make it clear they disapprove, and their disapproval could
take the form of relieving him from coaching or not picking up his next
contract.  Personally, I'd bet that he'll be coming out with an apology
and/or a clarification tomorrow or Friday."

   "How much?" the teacher asked.

   "Excuse me?"

   "How much did you want to bet?"

   "Two bucks," I answered surprised.

   "That's two bucks you owe me.  You can leave it on the desk after class.
He did a radio interview this afternoon and halfway apologized and halfway
clarified his remarks." Mrs.  Conners turned and surveyed the rest of the
class.  "I think Tony's second point is worth some discussion.  If you're a
member of a group and can be considered it's representative, does it limit
your right of free speech and should it?  Miss..." and we were off.

   * * *



   "All in all, she took it very well," Tami said later that night. 
Football was done and so was play practice, and we were just enjoying the
crisp clear night and each other.  Traci and Peter had joined us but were
drifting along about twenty feet back, lost in their own worlds.

   "Unh huh."

   "You don't think so?"

   "Love of mine, though I've already lost two dollars today..." I knew it
was a joke, but I'd left two dollars on Mrs.  Conner's desk anyway, "I'd be
willing to bet you my car that Friday, if a play comes within ten yards of
the Panther's sideline that a certain coach is getting accidentally
tackled."





   Chapter 32



   I've always heard that when you're drowning, your whole life passes in
front of your eyes.  I wondered if that had anything to do with my thoughts
about the first time I made love to Tami.

   "Tate!  Sims!  You're up."

   I stood, and picked my helmet.  Robbie was waiting for me just over the
sideline.  I put on my helmet and we walked toward the fifty-yard line. 
Normally we jogged out, but I held her back and we walked.

   Mr.  Metzger, an old friend, was the chief referee.  "Gentlemen, and
ladies," he added with a nod to Robbie.  "Shake hands."

   Robbie started to step forward and extend her hand, but I knocked it
down.  "No."

   "No?" the referees and other captains echoed.

   "Your team's a joke," I told the other captains as I took off my helmet.
And we won't share a field with him." I pointed toward the coach on the
Panther sideline.

   I looked straight at Mr.  Metzger.  He was half surprised, half mad and
half amused, and I know that's three halves.  "We forfeit."

   I turned, raised my arm over my head, extended my forefinger, made three
small circles and pointed toward the locker rooms.  On our sideline, the
Rebels started toward the locker rooms without a word, leaving fans and
coaches alike in stunned silence.

   I walked, my head slightly down, wondering if Robbie was following.

   "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," came over the loudspeakers.  Luke Reese, my old
best friend had taken over for me in the announcer's booth.  "I'VE JUST
BEEN HANDED THIS STATEMENT FROM TONY SIMS, THE REBELS' QUARTERBACK AND
CO-CAPTAIN.  WE ARE APPALLED AT THE NEANDERTHAL ATTITUDES DEMONSTRATED BY
THE PANTHERS' HEAD COACH ALLAN RICH TOWARD GIRLS IN SPORTS IN GENERAL AND
ROBBIE TATE IN PARTICULAR.  WE REFUSE TO SHARE A FIELD WITH SUCH A PERSON.
THEREFORE, WE FORFEIT.  IF THE PANTHERS WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL, THEY CAN
LEAVE THEIR COACH AT HOME AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO TEACH THEM HOW IT'S DONE."

   I kept walking, wondering if I'd be able to get up if Robbie clipped me
from behind.  Just as I reached the gate I heard one person start clapping,
then another, then more.  I paused, waiting for the team to catch up to me,
and looked back.  Almost the entire home section of the audience was on
their feet applauding.  And maybe a third of the Panther's section.

   "Why'd you do that?" Robbie asked, coming up beside me.

   "It needed to be done.  Besides it was safer than your plan."

   "What plan?" she asked, sounding surprised.

   "Tell me you weren't think about tackling the coach on the sidelines if
a play got close enough."

   "Well, I thought about it, but..." The other players were passing us,
and as they did, they clapped me and Robbie both on the shoulders.

   I waited.  Everyone had passed, Coach Vickers giving me an unreadable
look as he went by.  I looked back at Robbie.

   "Okay.  I would have hit him.  But just a tap.  Just enough so that he
wouldn't have any doubt I could hit."

   "And you figure the WSAA would suspend for the rest of the season or for
life?"

   I loved the look she gave me.  It was the exact opposite of her
you-just-said-something-incredibly-stupid-but-I-won't-say-anything one.  It
was her I-know-you're-right-but-I-really-don't-want-to-hear-it look.  I
didn't see it that often, so I savored it.

   "What about you?  They could suspend ya, you know?

   I grinned.  "That would be a real punishment.  Every civil rights group
in the country would be banging on my door.  Imagine suspending an athlete
for not playing on moral grounds.  I'd have to associate with...  with...
lawyers.  You want to know the best part?"

   Robbie nodded.

   "They've got their winning season."

   "Not yet.  They've got a game next week."

   I shook my head.  "Canceled.  Some kind of scheduling conflict.  So the
Panthers have their season.  They're four and three.  A winning season. 
Should take about an hour before they realize their only winning season in
twenty years happened on a forfeit because their coach is an asshole. 
How's that for salt in the wound."

   Robbie smiled.

   The Panthers jogged past us, some with comments that weren't printable.

   "What about next year?  What about other sports?" Robbie asked.

   "Who knows?  If he's still coaching for Lake next year, I won't step on
his field.  I can't speak for anybody else.  Same for baseball.  Basketball
players, track, and wrestling will have to make their own decisions.  I
know volleyball is supposed to be there next week, and Cassie Grover is
talking about not showing up.  Since's she's probably going to be the
captain of the girl's basketball team, too, it could get interesting."

   "You always say life is complicated," Robbie accused.  "Then you
complicate it for everybody else."

   "Some people try to spread sunshine wherever they go; I spread
complications.  Everybody's got to have a hobby."





   Chapter 33



   "How you feeling?"

   I was sitting, eyes closed, on the floor, my back against my locker and
my feet stretched out in front of me.  But I didn't need eyes to know that
Tami was standing above me.  I lifted my hand out in front of me, palm
down, and wiggled it.

   "Poor baby."

   I felt her sit down beside me.  Then she pulled my head down into her
lap, not that I resisted.  I smiled, thinking that Parker would not have
appreciated the scene, not that he was around anymore.

   "Ever think your mother might have been right?" Tami asked softly.

   Mom had suggested that I should take another day before going back to
school.

   "Of course she was right.  But we can't let her know that.  You know how
parents are.  They get uppity."

   Again, I didn't need eyes to know that Tami was grinning.  "I'll remind
you you said that when we have those three sets of twin girls you want."

   I was saved from answering by Robbie's arrival.  "Cute picture.  I guess
with Parker gone, the public displays of affection rule is gone too."

   I knew I should have a snappy comeback for that, but I didn't know what
it was.

   "This isn't a display of affection, public or otherwise.  This is a
medical prescription." Tami answered for me.

   "Aw, poor baby." It sounded better when Tami said it.  Besides I could
have cut myself on Robbie's sarcasm.  "Having a bad day?"

   I slowly opened my eyes and focused on Robbie.  "Drop it."

   Robbie opened her mouth, changed her mind, and closed it again.  She sat
down next to Tami, and I closed my eyes again.

   "Tony had a stomach flu on Sunday.  He stayed home yesterday and should
have stayed home today too," Tami explained.

   "No, I shouldn't.  The flu's done.  I don't feel bad anymore, I just
don't feel right yet."

   "Been there, done that," Robbie said, actually sounding sympathetic.

   "Tony wanted a nice quiet day, and I don't think it's working out that
way," Tami added.

   "Honey, you ain't just whistlin' Dixie." Damn!  I hate when I channel my
grandfather.

   "Want to talk about it?" Robbie asked.

   I started to say no, but decided it was things that Robbie should
probably know.

   "It started quietly enough.  I was running late because of arguing with
Mom about coming to school at all, and Tami and I got here just before
first bell.  When the bell rang, I went down to the gym to talk to Coach
Vickers about Friday night."

   "What'd he say?  At practice he didn't say anything about it, but he
seemed different."

   "Well, he didn't come out and say it, but he was put out 'cause we
didn't tell him what was going on."

   Somebody must have been holding the cafeteria door open, 'cause I could
smell food, though I couldn't identify what, a common occurrence with
cafeteria food.  My stomach did a quick back flip.

   "I explained that we, the team that is, discussed it and didn't tell
him, not because we didn't trust him but because we wanted him to be able
to honestly say he knew nothing about it."

   "Plausible deniability.  Did he buy it?"

   I smiled.  "It's a good thing he doesn't have a first period class.  It
took me awhile.  But I think he knows we were protecting him.  He never
said it outright, but I think he was proud of us for what we did."

   "I know I was," Robbie said softly.

   I smiled again.  "Apparently, Coach Rich has quite a few controversial
opinions about women, blacks, and stuff.  But usually he's smart enough not
to air them in public.

   "So what's going to happen to him?" Tami asked, stroking my hair.

   "Probably nothing.  After all, we're kids.  What do we know?" I could
feel Tami shrug.

   "Then what?  That's not so bad." Robbie asked.

   "I was on my way to second period and a freshmen stopped me.  Felicia
something, she was an office aide.  Kinda cute."

   I felt a hand on my forehead.

   "Just slightly feverish," Robbie said.  "Pretty soon he'll come to his
senses and realize he can't handle what he already has."

   She was right, but I sure wasn't going to admit it, so I ignored her. 
"She had a note that Mr.  Reed wanted to see me.  When I got there, he and
Butz were waiting for me in the conference room."

   "Butz?  The superintendent?" Tami asked.

   I nodded.  "That would be him."

   * * *



   "Where have you been?" Butz snapped as I opened the door.  "We sent for
you an hour ago."

   I stood in the open door and wondered if Butz was channeling Parker.  "I
was talking to Coach Vickers."

   "Instead of coming here."

   "I just got the note."

   Butz looked skeptical.  "Sit!" he ordered waving at a chair across the
table from him and Mr.  Reed.

   "Woof!"

   "Excuse me?"

   "I said, woof.  I figured if you wanted to treat me like a dog, I should
try to respond like one."

   Butz gave me a long look.  I still hadn't moved from the doorway.  "Mr.
Parker was right about you," he said finally.

   I smiled.  "Charlie Parker resigned rather than face a hearing with the
school board.  If you think he was right, you might want to reconsider your
career options." I wondered if there was a rule that every school had to
have a 'Parker', and Butz was going to take over now that Charlie was gone.

   "Mr.  Parker was a dedicated professional who..."

   "Charlie-boy was an asshole," I interrupted, shocking Mr.  Reed.  I
focused on him for a second, "You said that I had to treat every employee
of the school with respect, even Parker.  He choose not to be an employee
any longer, so I can call 'em as I see 'em." I looked back at Butz. 
"Parker had forgotten, or else never knew, that the students in this school
are people.

   "I wouldn't play peon for him, and I'll be damned if I'll play it for
you.  And I don't sit on command."

   "You are very close to being expelled."

   "Then you'll make Charley-boy's week.  Should I go back to class while
you draw up the paperwork, or wait here?" Butz looked flustered, not that I
could blame him.  I decided to put salt in the wound.  "I never wanted to
make my school a laughing-stock, but if that's the direction you want to
go..."

   Butz lifted his arm, his forefinger extended toward me.  I wondered if
it was his official expelling finger.

   Mr.  Reed put his hand on Butz's arm and caught his eye.  Butz relaxed.
"Tony, is there something I should know?" Reed asked.  I noticed that he
emphasized 'I'.

   I smiled.  "Larry King had a hell of a show last night."

   * * *



   "Friday night lights.  Friday night in October, almost every town in
America readies for football.  But in one town in central Washington, the
lights went off and the fans went home." Larry King's face faded, replaced
by a football stadium, with four football players facing off as a referee
flipped a coin.  "While other teams waited for a coin to land, The Rebels
picked up and walked off their field, taking a forfeit rather than sharing
a field with the coach of the opposing Panthers.  A forfeit that spoiled
their perfect season."

   King's report was fair and balanced.  Tami even said so as she watched
it with me.  Coach Rich got his say--pretty much blaming the media for
taking his remarks out of context and the Rebels for making a mountain out
of a molehill.  So did representatives of the Washington and National
Education Associations: they thought we were uppity.  They didn't use that
word, but they gave that impression.

   Some history professor from Georgetown compared us to the students of
the sixties, walking out of classes to protest the Vietnam War.  I thought
he was a little over the top and just liked to hear himself talk.

   Mike Reed was interviewed by phone.  "Sometimes you have to do what's
right and to hell with the game." I wondered if I should shoot Larry an
e-mail that Mike was the only one to vote against walking off.  I was
mentioned.  Larry said that I was sick and couldn't be reached for comment.
I decided that I was never talking to Mom again.  My first chance to be a
smart-ass on national television.

   The last interview was Brent Tatum, the Panther's quarterback.  "I was
mad when the Rebels turned their backs and walked away.  I mean, we came a
long way to play ball, and they just walked.  But the more I thought about
it, the more I realized just what they gave up.

   "They walked out on a perfect season.

   "If you're not an athlete, that may not mean much, but perfect seasons
don't come around often.  My school's never had one.  The Rebels just
missed last year, losing the state championship by inches.  They had a
chance to do it again this year, and they walked away from it.  They gave
it up to make a point.

   "That made me think about the point they were trying to make.  Robbie
Tate is a hell of a football player.  I watched the championship game last
year from seats on the thirty-yard line, and she was something else.  Yet,
if she went to Lake, Coach Rich would try to make her a cheerleader or
something.

   "I'm glad that our season's over and that I'm a senior, cause I don't
think I could play for him anymore."

   * * *



   "Yeah.  Thanks for telling me about King by the way," Robbie said, her
words dripping with venom.

   I shrugged.  "Sorry.  Tami and I were in my room when Mom yelled.  We
came out just as he introduced the story and kind of got caught up in it.
We didn't think to call anybody."

   "I guess I understand.  What about Butz?"

   "He dismissed me after I mentioned King.  Mr.  Reed found me later and
said that Butz was dropping the whole thing."

   "What did he want anyway," Tami asked.

   "He was going to read me the riot act for embarrassing the school.  But
now..."

   "But now he doesn't want to end up on Larry King explaining why he
expelled a student for having a conscience," Robbie finished.

   I nodded.

   "So tomorrow you have to win?" Tami asked, changing the subject.  We
were playing on Wednesday because of the Halloween Bowl this weekend.

   "Nah, we could take the day off and forfeit if we want," Robbie said.

   "The leagues down to us and North Lincoln," I explained.  "If we win,
then we win league, seven and one.  If we lose, we're six and two.  If
North Lincoln loses of Friday, they're five and three and we still win the
league, but if they win, then we're both six and two, but we win cause we
beat them head to head."

   "So the games don't even matter," Tami summed up.

   "Pretty much," Robbie and I said together.  We were happy that we were
going to state, but neither of us liked seasons that were settled before
the final gun.

   * * *



   "TONY SIMS, TO THE OFFICE PLEASE."

   I looked up at the P.A.  speaker in disgust, then back at Mrs.  Conners.
"We could pretend we didn't hear it," I suggested.

   For a second she looked like she was considering it, then shook her head
and nodded toward the door.

   I grinned, stood, and started packing up my stuff.  Then I changed my
mind.  "I'm coming back," I told Robbie and Tami, not sure whether I was
trying to convince them or me.  I slipped out of the classroom and started
toward the office.

   In the office Mrs.  Hatcher pointed me toward the conference room and I
wondered if this was going to be a repeat of yesterday's bout with Butz.

   I knocked.

   "Come in," Mr.  Reed's voice called.

   In the conference room Mr.  Reed sat at the head of the long table, and
three adults I didn't know sat along one side.  "Mr.  Sims?" said the one
in the middle.

   I nodded.

   "Please sit down," he said indicating a chair across from them.  Well at
least he said please.

   "Tony, this is Mr.  Spalding from the Washington School Activities
Association," Mr.  Reed introduced.  The guy in the middle nodded.  "And
his associates Miss Lee and Mr.  Trunt."

   Another bureaucrat who wants to get his name in the paper I decided.

   "Tony, we just have a few questions," Spaulding started, shuffling some
papers.  Why do bureaucrats always think shuffling papers gives them
authority?  Either you're prepared or you're not.  For this I was missing a
debate on lowering the voting age to sixteen?  "We've already talked to
Mike Reed.  He said, this walkout was your idea."

   So much for his 'You have to do what's right and to hell with the game.'

   Spaulding leaned across the table at me.  "What I want to know, is who
put you up to it.  Was it Coach Vickers?"

   "No, it wasn't Coach Vickers.  He was probably the most surprised man on
the field.  And it wasn't Principal Reed or Superintendent Butz.  Coach
Rich is a prejudiced S-O-B, just like you are, and we decided to take a
stand."

   "Prejudiced?  I'm not prejudiced," Spaulding sputtered.

   "Sure you are.  Rich doesn't think girls belong on a football field
except in short skirts and clingy sweaters, and you don't think that
sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can have moral convictions or act on
them." I stood.  "If you or the WSAA were embarrassed, that's too bad.  The
Rebels decided we wouldn't share a field with a loud-mouthed idiot, and I
don't feel like sharing a room with one.  I stepped to the door and opened
it.  "You want to suspend me, then suspend me."

   I almost slammed the door on my way out, but Mom would have had me shot.
At least I'd make it back to debate.

   * * *



   "I have a topic."

   I looked up from my notes.  Mr.  Reed had come in.  We'd been tossing
out topics for future debates.

   "Yes, Mr.  Reed?" Mrs.  Conners said, looking amused.

   Reed stepped in front of my desk and looked down at me.  "Resolved,
there are a lot of people in the world that we'll never respect, but an
in-your-face attitude may not be the best way to deal with them."

   I smiled and shrugged.

   "If they suspended Tony, none of us will play," Robbie announced.

   He looked over at her, then back at me.  "Robbie, save your breath to
tell me things I'm not sure of, like whether the world will keep spinning
tomorrow."

   * * *



   "Fourteen, thirty-two, seventeen, thirty-one."

   The ball snapped back into my hands.  Robbie was in motion.  I spun to
the left and slapped the ball into her stomach without letting go.  I took
a couple steps with Robbie, then planted my right foot and fired a short
pass to Zach on the other side.  It seemed like the whole Bulldog defense
was keyed on me and Robbie.  Zach pulled in the ball and took off for the
goal without a defender in sight.  I saw him crossing the fifty as someone
hit me and knocked me to my butt.

   I didn't bother getting up until I heard the whistle and the cheers that
signaled Zach crossing the goal line.

   "Hurt or lazy?" Robbie asked standing over me.

   "Just lazy," I said sitting up.  "I knew he'd score."

   Robbie reached a hand down, and I pulled myself up.  "It isn't supposed
to be this easy," she muttered glancing at the scoreboard.  We were up
twenty to nothing with over two minutes left in the first quarter.

   "There's no pleasing some people," I muttered.  "You complain when it's
too hard, like the championship last year.  Then you complain when it's too
easy."

   "Something in between would be nice."

   I nodded.  Though I was giving her a hard time, I knew exactly how she
felt.  Wednesday our last regular game had been a rollover.  Forty-seven to
six.

   Mike had QB'd the whole game since the coach knew there were scouts
there to look at him.  The easy win gave him a new state passing yards
record and left him short of yards rushing by nine.  Robbie and I had
played about a dozen minutes between us before the coach started rotating
in some of the second and third string.

   Today should have been different.  The Halloween Bowl was about matching
some of the toughest teams in the state.  Teams who wouldn't normally play
each other.  But either we were too good or the Bulldogs were over-rated.

   "What do you think, steal Mike's new record?"

   I grinned.  "Monster Girl, that would be mean."

   The rest of the team looked at us like we were nuts as we did rock,
paper, scissors in the huddle.  From then on, I passed and Robbie ran as we
built our yards.  Coach Vickers figured out what we were doing in the third
quarter and pulled us.





   Chapter 34



   "Tony, we got you a..."

   * * *



   I could never decide if Sunday was the first day of the week or the
last. My job at the club--and my old job at the restaurant--used Saturday
as the end of the week and Sunday as the beginning, but biblically Sunday
was day seven.  And calendars seemed split on the subject.

   If Sunday is the end of the week, then this was a great way to end a
not-so-great week.

   On the other hand, this could be the beginning of a great week.

   I decided that this week, anyway, Sunday was day one.  A week with no
confrontations or problems.  Just the good things in life.

   "I could stay like this forever," Tami murmured, seeming to echo my
thoughts.

   "Let's."

   Tami sighed.  "You may have forgotten, but I haven't.  You have a coach
who expects you to be on the football field tomorrow..."

   "And a slave driving director with play practice right after," I added.

   "And I have an editor who thinks I actually have something to say in my
column tomorrow, and we both have history papers due Tuesday."

   "Stop!  You're depressing me." I lowered my head and nuzzled her
breasts. "We have this afternoon.  My parents won't be home till at least
five."

   Tami grinned, then pushed me onto my back and straddled me.  "And I've
got you in my power till then." My limp cock was nestled against her ass.
"For all the good it does me."

   I felt my cheeks burning.  "Woman, we've done it five times," I said in
my defense.  "Want me to see if Peter's available, since Trace went with
the folks?"

   Tami leaned down and kissed my nose.  "Nope, I'll wait.  I know my guy."

   I wondered if I could live up to her expectations.  We'd shared my bed
since one, with only occasional bathroom breaks.  It was our first
opportunity in over a week.  "How much time have we got?" I asked, looking
up at her.

   Tami turned her head to check my alarm clock on the dresser.

   "Tony, we got you a..."

   Traci and Mom stood in the open doorway.

   Mom turned crimson and retreated toward the kitchen.

   Traci looked like she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

   "I think our time just ran out," Tami said as she buried her face
against my chest.

   * * *



   "What's going to happen?" Tami asked as she pulled her t-shirt over her
head.

   "I figure I have to learn how to turn invisible, run away, or convince
Mom that she's having hallucinations," I said as I zipped up my jeans. 
"But one of us is going to have to learn to tell time." The clock on my
dresser said six-fifteen.

   "How bad, really?" Tami pulled on her tennis shoes and stood up.

   "Well, two years ago Traci got caught making out at a dance, and I got
The Talk for two hours.  I figure we're talking two week seminar, minimum."

   "Grounded?"

   "Maybe from you."

   "Tony, I don't want to sneak around on your parents."

   I stood and hugged her.  "Me neither.  Let's just take this a step at a
time."

   "Think she'll call my mom?"

   "I honestly haven't a clue."

   * * *



   I let Tami out the front door.  I'd thought about walking her home but
decided that was stalling the inevitable, and the longer I stalled, the
harder it'd get.  I walked quietly through the living room to the dining
room.  Mom was sitting at the table paying bills.  I knew she was a lot
happier now that she could pay them before they were due.

   "Mom, I, uh..." What do you say at a time like this.  'Hi, Mom, I know
you caught us fucking, what's for dinner?' I wondered for a second if I'd
doomed poor Traci.  When she got caught, I got a lecture too.  Was she in
for it now?

   "My son, tongue tied?" Mom said without turning around.  She took off
her glasses and set them on a pile of envelopes.  She'd only had them a
couple of weeks and didn't look like Mom wearing them.  Fortunately, they
were only for reading.

   "Mom, I..."

   "Tony come sit down.  I'm not mad."

   "You're not?" I guess I wasn't all that surprised.  She wasn't mad when
Traci got caught making out, just concerned.  I walked into the dining room
and sat down across from her.  I could feel the heat in my cheeks.  After
all, Mom had just caught me naked with my girlfriend.  Somehow 'awkward'
just didn't cover it.

   "I suppose we should get the big stuff out of the way first.  You're not
in trouble.  You're not grounded.  And you're not forbidden to see Tami."

   I hadn't realized I was holding my breath till I let it out.

   "I've known that you and Tami were, uh, physical for a long time, though
it was something I tried not to think about."

   There was no right thing to say about that, so I kept quiet.

   "I know you and Tami think you're in love..."

   I opened my mouth to protest but Mom held up her hand.  "No, that's not
right.  I know you and Tami are in love."

   I couldn't believe Mom had said that.  She'd always said I was too young
to feel that way before."Mom, I..." Mom held her hand up to stop me again.

   "I know what I've said, but..." She reached up and wiped the back of her
hand across her eyes.  I thought I saw a tear in the corner of one. 
"Remember just before school started, when you and Robbie were in that
talent show?"

   I nodded.  The Red Cross fund-raiser, when we helped raise money that
got shipped off to the Gulf Coast.

   "Remember the song Robbie sang?"

   I had to think about it.  There'd been so many songs and so many shows.
"She's in Love With the Boy."

   "There was one line in the song, toward the end, the mother talking to
the father, 'Katie looks at Tommy like I still look at you'.  Robbie sang
that, and I realized that I recognized the way that you and Tami look at
each other.  It was the same way my mom and dad look at each other, even
after fifty years.  It's the way I look at your dad."

   "Remind me to send Trisha Yearwood a thank you note." Even now I
couldn't resist being a smartass.

   "Did she write it?"

   "Not sure.  But she's the one who sang it."

   "A thank you might be appropriate." I didn't know Mom had it in her.  "I
know you and Tami plan to get married, though you might want to wait awhile
after you finish college."

   I debated a few seconds.  This had been a pretty adult conversation.  I
decided I trusted Mom enough to keep it that way.  "Even if we don't get
married, we'll live together."

   "I know."

   Damn, parents can still surprise you.  "You know, her parents didn't
think that Grandma Vickie should get married right after college."

   "My grandparents didn't think Mom should get married at all.  At least
not to a Marine."

   I grinned.  "And I seem to remember a few stories about your parents not
wanting you to get married before you finished college.  That seems to be
working so far."

   Mom laughed.  "If I'd known you actually listened, I'd never have let
Mom tell you those stories."

   I grinned.

   Mom smiled at me for a few seconds, then her face turned solemn.  "I,
uh, didn't look very close.  Were you wearing protection?"

   'Damn, we were doing so well.' I thought as I felt the heat return to my
cheeks.  "No, but Tami's got the patch."

   Mom nodded.  "That doesn't help against other things."

   "Tami's only had one other partner, and that was three years ago."

   "Peter King," Mom said to my amazement.  I remembered telling her.  We
were talking about the fight.  I hadn't come right out and said that I
caught Tami fucking Peter, but Mom's a smart lady.  I knew she put it
together from what I said and what I didn't.

   I nodded and wondered if she'd ask how many partners I'd had.

   Mom hesitated, and I knew that's what she was thinking.  I wondered what
I'd say.

   "Your little sister didn't seem all that surprised."

   "She kind of got used to it on our road trip."

   Mom sighed with a half smile.  "You know, I sent her on the trip to be a
chaperone.  Little sisters are supposed to get in the way."

   I grinned.  "You were a couple of years late.  Traci's not the brat she
used to be."

   "Because of your good influence?"

   I grinned gain.  "Or in spite of it."

   Mom shook her head.

   "Do I need to talk to your sister?"

   "I don't think so.  She's pretty smart, and she knows she has people she
can talk to if she has questions."

   Mom nodded.  Behind her eyes I could see the debate raging.  She wanted
to ask if Traci was sexually active.  I waited and could tell when Mom
decided to let it be.  She knew how I felt about confidences.

   "Uh, Tami wondered..."

   "I'm not going to say anything to Bonny, if that's what you're
wondering. Though I don't think she'd be any more surprised than I was.  I
think she accepted you and Tami a lot sooner than I did."

   I didn't ask if she was going to tell Dad.  They didn't have many
secrets.  I stood.  "Mom, I'm glad we had this talk." And I was too.

   Mom put her glasses back on and looked at the next bill in her stack. 
"Tony," she said without looking up, "just because I know doesn't mean it's
open season."

   "You want us to keep sneaking around?" I blurted before my brain caught
up to my mouth.

   "You've been discreet for three years.  Another year-and-a-half won't
hurt you."

   I nodded, though she couldn't see me.

   "By the way, we got you a laser printer.  It's in the van."

   "I can't believe it.  I've been wanting one."

   "It was on sale at Wal-Mart.  It was your sister's idea."

   * * *



   I was plugging the printer cable into my computer before it hit me that
Mom said three years.

   She'd known almost the whole time.





   Chapter 35



   "Good practice." Coach Vickers looked happy as we knelt in a half circle
around him.  "Captains, anything to add?"

   "Yeah," Robbie said without standing.  "You almost look like you deserve
to be in the first round of playoffs.  But we have a ways to go if you want
to look like state champions." She nodded to me.

   I stood.  "Don't forget.  The list for drug testing gets posted
tomorrow." I caught Luke's eye.  "It's usually up by third period.  Last
week, a kicker who shall remain anonymous," Mark turned red, "almost missed
his test and wouldn't have been able to play." Luke looked like he was
going to say something, then nodded.  "Anybody missing their test, I'll
turn over to Monster Girl for memory drills."

   "What if she misses her test?" Mike Reed asked with a smirk.

   "If Robbie blows a chance to play football, it won't matter.  The
Earth's falling into the sun anyways."

   * * *



   "Good practice."

   Robbie closed her notebook.  "Almost everybody has their lines down."
She glared at Peter.

   "I would point out that Peter got most of his lines dead on, and that he
does have more lines to learn than anyone but Traci.  And she only learned
all of hers 'cause she's afraid of you." I grinned at Robbie, and she
transferred her glare to me.

   "Next week Romeo and George plays on Tuesday, with The Accidental
Detective on Wednesday and us on Thursday.  We..."

   I stepped behind Robbie, clamping my hand over her mouth.  "Don't have a
chance, so we're going to have fun.  Right madame director?" Robbie nodded,
my hand still over her mouth.  "Go home and happy Halloween."

   * * *



   "Where to, my captain?" I asked as Tami snuggled in my lap.  We were in
the passenger seat of Robbie's Honda.

   "Somewhere." Robbie smiled evilly.  "You like surprises."

   "I do?"

   "I rented your house," Robbie mimicked.

   I decided that silence was my best answer.  A minute later we pulled
into the elementary school's parking lot.

   "What are we doing here?" Tami blurted.

   "You'll see." We followed Robbie into the school.  "Here's two more
volunteers," she said as we approached Mrs.  Archer, the principal.

   Volunteers?

   "Thank you," she said, spreading her arms to indicate all of us. 
"You're just in time, we have three groups left."

   Groups?

   Mrs.  Archer led us into the gym where three groups of about eight kids
each waited.  In costume.

   "What?"

   "Trick-or-treating, pickledick," Robbie said softly so that only I
heard.

   Pickledick?  I had to keep my friends away from my cousins.  At least my
Hawaiian ones.  Then I had a flash of Robbie and Cinnamon working together
and decided to include my Coloradan ones too.

   "Here's your routes," Mrs.  Archer said and handed us each a sheet of
paper.  "Robbie made them up last week."

   I looked at my paper.  Robbie had set up eight different routes, so I
assumed there were five other groups that had already left.  We were
covering the same territory, but Robbie had set it up so that, hopefully,
we weren't all hitting the same houses at the same time.

   "Robbie, why don't you take that group.  Tony, that one.  And, I'm
afraid I don't know your name?"

   Tami smiled.  "I'm Tami Sharp."

   "Oh!  You write that column in the paper."

   Tami nodded.

   "I never miss it.  You take that last one please."

   Tami nodded again.

   "If I'd known, I would have brought a costume," I said as the principal
left.

   "I almost forgot." Robbie reached into the white plastic shopping bag I
hadn't noticed she was carrying.  A second later she tossed me something. I
grabbed it out of the air and looked at it.

   "A Nixon mask?  You got me a Nixon mask."

   Robbie grinned.

   "He was a politician and a lawyer."

   "Live with it.  Here's yours." She tossed another mask to Tami.

   Tami opened it up and showed it to me, The Bride of Frankenstein.  That
would make me...

   "And you?" I prompted.

   Robbie reached into her bag again and pulled out a tall black witch's
hat and a long rubber nose with a black wart on it.

   I wanted to say 'missed by one letter,' but I also wanted to live till
morning.

   * * *



   Trick or treating was fun.  I'd forgotten how much, even if I wasn't
getting any candy.

   My group included Robbie's two ex-sisters, Betty and Jo.  They'd moved
into their new house over the weekend.  It also included a boy who'd come
prepared with a few eggs that I confiscated, then wondered if our route
included Parker's house.

   * * *



   "Have fun?" Robbie asked when we got back to the grade school.

   "Almost as much as you had with the Bradley girls I stuck you with."

   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.  Susie'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."





   Chapter 41



   "Are you totally blind?"

   The ref turned and glared at me, then turned back to the game.  On the
field, Mike Reed was climbing to his feet again.  French Park had just
logged their fourth late hit and gotten away with it again.  Not that it
did them any good.  The pass that Mike had launched seconds before the hit
had sailed right into Robbie's arms.  She made another seven yards before
two of the Legionaries brought her down.

   I looked across the field at the other sideline.  The Legionaire
quarterback was pointing at Mike and laughing.

   I was playing defense again.  I decided that I was going to clothesline
the son-of-a-bitch and take him out of the game.

   The play was already in motion before I focused on the game again.  Mike
took the hike and faded back.  A handoff to Robbie, no, a fake.  The ball
came up by his ear and sailed toward the end zone.  Luke snatched it and
the Rebels were on the board.

   I looked back down field.  Mike was on the ground again.  Two
Legionaries were high fiving each other as they walked away.  The ref was
standing a dozen feet in front of me, watching.

   "You going to call that, or did you forget how!" I yelled.

   He turned and glared again.  "Watch your mouth, or you'll spend the rest
of the game in the locker room."

   "At least I'm watching the game!" I yelled back.

   He turned his back on me.

   This was not how I pictured spending my Friday night.

   * * *



   It had been a pretty good week.

   Saturday and Sunday, Robbie and I read every paper we could get our
hands on.  About half of them said the Rebels were on the road to a state
championship.  It was a big change from last year.  Even the other half
said we were the team to beat.

   Monday the school voted for the best play, then Tuesday the committee
had it's last meeting and decided better luck next year.  Wednesday Cody
had lunch with the group.  I had to admit he was a nice guy.  He told some
great stories about growing up in Phoenix.  But there was just something
about the guy.  Tami said it was jealousy; I don't like sharing.  But I
thought it was more than that.  Maybe I hoped it was more than that.

   Then this afternoon we had the pep rally.

   * * *



   "Settle!" Mr.  Reed said sharply.  "Or we can go back to class."

   That got everybody's attention.

   When the bleachers had quieted, "Your Rebel cheerleaders!" Mr.  Reed
yelled and the lights went out.  From the speakers came a cackling laugh,
then "Wipe out!" followed by the familiar drumline.  I wondered if my
Colorado Cousin was feeling a twinge.

   The doors on either end of the gym opened and in came eight apparitions.

   The cheerleaders had applied some kind of glow-in-the-dark face paint
and carried glow wands.  The dance they'd choreographed to the music was
very strange with just their faces and the glow wands visible.

   "Your cheerleaders!" Mr.  Reed yelled again as the music came to an end
and the lights came back on.  The girls bowed and ran out.

   "A few announcements." Mr.  Reed looked conspiratorially over each
shoulder then leaned in close to the microphone.  "There's a chance that
Murphy hasn't heard about the dance tonight, so keep it under your hats."

   Most of the audience chuckled.  We were learning about Murphy's Law
firsthand.  The dance Mr.  Reed was talking about was homecoming.  It had
been scheduled for the first week in October, and we'd been trying ever
since.  First a water pipe broke and flooded the gym.  Then the roof leaked
during a big storm.  They'd just gotten everything dried out and one of the
big lights came crashing down, so the gym had to be closed while all the
others were checked.  Then...  I didn't even want to think about it.

   "The girl's swim team is at districts today and tomorrow.  If you're
planning to attend and root our girls on, remember it's been moved from
Lake High School to North Lincoln." Something the administration at Lake
was upset about for some reason.

   "Football's got another game, though nobody cares," he mumbled.

   "We care!" Paula yelled and the cheerleaders jogged back in and took
positions in front of the bleachers and started working up the school.

   I gave Tami's knee a squeeze, then stood and started making my way down
the bleachers.  Robbie had been sitting with Cody and some of his friends.
She hugged me when we came together on the floor along with the rest of the
team.  We formed a line behind Mr.  Reed.

   As the cheerleaders finished, Robbie and I stepped forward and did rock,
paper, scissors, though we'd prearranged who would go first.  Robbie's rock
destroyed my scissors and she stepped up to the mic.

   "Eight teams play tonight.  The Rebels are one of them!" The audience
applauded and stomped their feet.  "For the second year!" The noise from
the bleachers got even louder.  I wondered if they stress-tested those
things before they installed them.  "Last year all the newspapers were
saying that we were a mistake, that we didn't belong.  This year about half
of them are ready to give us the trophy now.

   "It doesn't matter, 'cause either way, the Rebels are going to teach
them how to play FOOTBALL!" Every word got louder until she shouted the
last one.  The audience jumped to their feet and yelled and clapped.

   I stepped up to the microphone and waited.  And waited.  And waited some
more.

   It took almost three minutes before it got quiet enough that I thought
the speakers had a chance.

   "WE'VE got four things that no other team has.  We've got Mike Reed! 
And we've got Luke Hastings!" I waited some more.  Then, "WE'VE GOT MONSTER
GIRL!" The noise reached a crescendo.  I'm sure we could have drowned out
any 747 or B-52 on the planet.  Probably both.

   "AND..." the noise quieted as everyone waited for me to include me. 
"We've got the one thing that practically guarantees a win tonight." I
waited a couple beats.  "We've got a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model
cheering us on!" As the crowd erupted into their loudest cheer of the
night, I knew behind me that Robbie was planning something dark and evil.

   Mr.  Reed took my place at the mic.  "Two last announcements.  The last
couple years have seen a lot of firsts for our school.  The first girl on
the football team." Now he had to wait for the cheers to die down.  "The
first sophomore elected homecoming queen." Next to me, I felt Robbie shift,
and I put my arm around her.

   "But now our firsts go national."

   National?  Now what?

   "She was the first freshman ever nominated for the Bothwell award, and
now she's the first writer ever to be nominated twice.  She..."

   Whatever else he wanted to say was lost in the roar as the crowd cheered
and Robbie and I raced back to the bleachers to hug the stunned girl.

   We were balanced on the bleachers in a group hug that would have done
the last episode of Mary Tyler Moore proud.  Robbie, Tami, and me at the
center.  Mikee, Peter, Darlene, and Allie plastered on the outside.  I
barely heard Mr.  Reed as he said, "And the final vote for the play
contest, by an overwhelming majority, Zoe's Song."

   * * *



   I realized I'd missed the extra point and had to look at the scoreboard
to see we'd scored.  Then I realized that Mikee and Darlene were standing
between me and the field.

   "We've got a message," Mikee said.

   I was surprised, but nodded.

   "Don't!" they said in stereo.

   "Don't?"

   "Play your game," Darlene started.

   "Not theirs," Mikee finished.

   I love Tami cause she makes me better than I am, but I really would have
loved to clothesline the S-O-B.

   I nodded and the two girls ran back to the other cheerleaders.

   I looked back at the bleachers.  Tami was watching me, sitting between
Robbie's dad and her sister Samantha.  I gave her a quick salute with just
my forefinger.

   The coach signaled kickoff and I ran onto the field.  Robbie was running
off and our shoulders smashed together, though nether of us flinched.

   Mark kicked off, a beautiful shot that came down on their twenty.  Paul
Nettles and I were leading the pack down the field.  We both eluded several
blockers and focused on number sixteen who had the ball.  From the corner
of my eye I saw a Legionaire blocker intercept Paul, but I had a clear
field.  I launched myself catching sixteen around the waist and we went
down together.

   As I rolled off him, I saw the ball loose on the field, then Paul
streaked forward and scooped it up, heading for the goal line with nobody
in front of him.

   Go!  Go!  I heard a whistle behind me, but ignored it as I watched Paul
sprint over the goal line and throw the ball to the ground.  I turned
grinning, then saw the ref pointing at me, his flag on the ground.  I
watched as he signaled face masking.

   "Face mask?" I yelled.  "How the hell could I tackle him at the waist
and get his face mask?"

   "One more word and you're gone." I considered several words that I
thought were appropriate for the idiot, but turned and walked back to my
team, while the ref called back our touchdown and added fifteen yards to
the Legionaries first down.

   Mark ran out and tapped me on the shoulder, nodding his head toward the
sideline.

   I nodded.  "Watch those face masks," I warned him.

   "He must have been wearing it on his knees."

   I nodded again and trotted toward the coach on the sideline.

   "Cool off," he said without taking his eyes of the field.

   I started to protest that I wasn't hot but realized he was right.  I
walked over to the cooler and got a cup of Gatoraide.  I drained my cup in
one gulp and got another.

   "Face masking.  I thought I taught you better than that," said a voice
from behind me.

   "Heard about the new half-time show?" I asked without turning around. 
"I put a red-headed quarterback over my knee and spank her on the fifty
yard line."

   "Think you're up to it?" she challenged.

   I turned and looked her in the eye.  "At the moment, yeah."

   Robbie grinned and hugged me.  "Apology accepted," she said and walked
over to the coach.

   Damn!  I didn't remember apologizing.  And what the hell did I have to
apologize for anyway.  I wondered how simple my life might have been if
Robbie's mother could have kept her pants on.

   I looked back at the game.  Six plays and the Legionaries made eight
yards.  But add that to the thirty yards the ref gave them and they were
second down on our seventeen.

   "Hey, Myron," I yelled.

   Myron Austen ran over, struggling with a large video camera.  It
occurred to me that names were powerful.  Want your baby to grow up and
play football, then name him John, Tony, Mark, or even Mike.  Want him to
grow up and be president of the audio-visual club, Myron.

   "Do me a favor.  Keep the ref, the guy in the white cap, in the picture
as much as possible.  And what he's looking at."

   Myron smiled.  "Robbie told me that after the second play."

   I nodded, unsurprised.  "Thanks, buddy."

   * * *



   "You have to come.  We're celebrating."

   Cody looked unsure, "Well..."

   Robbie smiled.  "What are we celebrating?  Tami's nomination?"

   "The win?" Mikee added.

   "Paula being queen?" Traci suggested, hanging on Peter's arm.  A group
of us were standing near the stage as the dance broke up, Tami, Robbie, and
Mikee still wearing their princess tiaras.

   "Much more important than that," I said pompously.

   Paula and Tami both slapped the top of my head before I could duck.

   Robbie stepped forward until we were nose to nose.  "And just what is
more important than Tami being nominated for another national award."

   "Or Paula being Homecoming Queen," Kelly added.  She'd come to the dance
with a freshman named Ryan.

   "But we're talking history here.  I talked to Dad for a few minutes
after the game, according to him, not only did I get a personal best, but I
got more penalty yards tonight than in my entire career."

   Robbie grinned.  "You're right.  That we have to celebrate."

   I looked at Cody.  "What do you say man?  Coming to the Three Blondes to
celebrate with us?"

   "How can I say no."

   I smiled but wished he'd found a way."

   * * *



   "I was proud of you."

   That felt even better than the coach giving me the game ball in the
locker room.

   There was some mist hanging in the air as it tried to rain, but Tami and
I were walking the park anyway.  Peter and Traci tagged along a few yards
behind, their heads together in quiet conversation.  I grinned knowing that
Tami and I looked like that more often than not.

   "You played your game, not theirs."

   "It was hard," I admitted.

   "How close did you come?"

   "In the first quarter, I was thinking about clotheslining their
quarterback till I got your message."

   "And later?"

   "Well, if that damn ref had gotten a little closer to the play, I could
have accidentally tackled him.  Probably taken out both knees."

   "Tony!"

   "Can't I have my fantasy?"

   Tami smiled.  "Till tomorrow, then get over it."





   Chapter 42



   "I have a lot to be thankful for.

   "I think foremost I'm thankful that I have a very understanding mom
since this started as a quiet dinner for four, and I kept inviting people."
I smiled and looked around the table.  My mom and dad sat at one end of the
long table while Robbie's dad and Tami's mom sat at the other end.  I stood
in the center of one side, Tami and Traci on either side of me.  Peter sat
next to Traci and Mikee and Kelly next to Tami.  Across from me was Robbie.
Bobbi Bradley and her parents were on her left.  Her other adopted sisters
on her right.

   "I'm also thankful there's no kids table, 'cause I'm pretty sure Mom
would have banished me there."

   "You got that right," she said with a stern look that only lasted a
second.  "Next time you can cook for seventeen people."

   "I'm also thankful my mom is a good cook, and that Mr.  Tate let us
borrow his house and kitchen when I crowded us out of ours."

   Thanksgiving had started with just the family, though no one was
surprised when I invited Tami and her mom.  Since Robbie and her dad were
planning dinner alone--her sister had gone back to New York--I invited them
too.

   Then things got interesting.  Mrs.  Temple told me that she and her
husband were going to Green Hill so they could have Thanksgiving with
Kenny, so naturally, I invited Kelly and Mikee to join us since I knew they
wouldn't want to go.  A day later Peter decided that he'd rather join us
than have Thanksgiving with his brother.

   That's when I got the brilliant idea to move everything to Robbie's
house.  Robbie's dad had no problem with it, and Mom, after some initial
grumbling, loved the idea when she saw the huge kitchen that had been
remodeled shortly after Robbie and her dad moved in.  Then I had my second
brilliant idea.

   "I'm thankful that the Bradleys could join us and that they have a brand
new house and, hopefully, fire insurance.  And that Mr.  Bradley could stay
here and be with his family."

   "I'm thankful for the best foreman I've ever had," Robbie's dad added.

   "Then you should give him a raise," Bobbi blurted, then looked
embarrassed.

   Robbie's dad smiled.  "You're right, I should."

   The look on Robbie's face when they showed up had been more than worth
the bruise she left on my shoulder.  "And I'm especially thankful that I
got to see Robbie's face when she opened the door.

   "I'm sorry that Darlene couldn't be here with us but thankful that she's
having dinner with her family, and I hope it can lead to more."

   "Amen," Mom said softly.  I think it was harder on Mom than any of the
rest of us seeing Darlene living away from home.  Darlene's mother had
invited Darlene for Thanksgiving dinner, and Darlene said no.  Then her
mother called my mother, and my mother talked me into talking Darlene into
at least giving it a chance.

   I didn't think it would help, but I've seen too many happily-ever-after
Christmas movies not to want to try.  Robbie let her drive her Rodrigo so
that she could make a quick getaway if she had to.

   "I'm thankful for a little sister who decided that brat wasn't her true
calling."

   Traci stuck her tongue out.

   "And that she's found a very special friend who keeps her out of my hair
when they're supposedly doing homework."

   Peter turned bright red, and Mom hid her giggle behind a napkin.

   "I'm thankful for friends too numerous to count, especially my best
friend." I grinned at Robbie, and she grinned back.  Then I rubbed the
shoulder she'd punched, and she shrugged.

   "I'm thankful for the new cousins we met this summer.  Along with
adopted cousins and cousins-in-laws, both present and future." Mom had
gotten a kick out of my stories of Wynter and Jimmy, who seemed just as
destined for each other as Tami and I.

   "I'm thankful for Tami, the love of my life.  I'm thankful that I found
her early, 'cause she makes me be a better person whether I want to or
not."

   Tami's hand was on the back of my knee, and she gave me a squeeze.

   "And I'm thankful for a Mom who's finally stopped cringing when I say
the L-word."

   Mom smiled and gave me a small nod.

   "I'm thankful for a mother-almost-in-law who's been like a second mom,
and who's just as accepting.  I'm thankful that we're all healthy and that
those who aren't here with us tonight--my grandparents, Tami's dad, Mikee,
Kelly, and Peter's mom and dad and brother--are safe and healthy too.

   "And finally, since Mom always said I only used to be thankful for
football and baseball, I'm thankful that the Rebels are on their way back
to the Tacoma Dome for the state semi-finals.

   "It seems like every time that I think 'life is good' that fate drops
something on me, but I have to say, I've got a good life and I wouldn't
trade it for anyone else's.  Happy Thanksgiving."

   * * *



   Robbie and I were in the side yard working a passing drill.  Mostly we
were working off dinner.  Tami had thrown the ball with us at first, then
retired to a lawn chair to watch.  The idea was simple.  We started about
five yards apart, and each of us threw the ball to the other.  If we both
caught it without taking more than one step, then we both moved back a step
and did it again.

   We were on our third round.  Robbie had lost the first one with a bad
throw from about thirty-five yards.  And I'd messed up at thirty the second
time around.  Now we were in the rubber match and nether one of us wanted
to lose.  Robbie dropped one into my arms from about fifty and we both
stepped back.

   Fifty-one.  The good news was the side yard only had about seventy yards
of open space.  If we got that far, we had to call it a draw or move to the
road.

   I took a deep breath then drew the ball back by my ear and launched.  I
let out the breath as the ball spiraled right into Robbie's arms.  She
looked annoyed.

   "In the spirit of the day, you could call it a tie," Tami suggested from
her chair.

   Robbie ignored her and sailed a perfect pass right into my gut.

   We took another step back.

   I took another breath and threw again.  Right on the money.

   Robbie shook her head and adjusted her grip on the ball.

   "Wait!" Tami yelled.  She got up and stepped to the front corner of the
house looking down the road.

   I couldn't see the road from where I was, but I could see the dust
rising and knew somebody was coming fast.

   "It's Darlene," Tami said, and I heard the car pulling into the driveway
way too fast and screeching to a stop.  I walked up next to Tami in time to
see Darlene burst from the car and run to the house, not even closing the
car door.

   Robbie had walked closer.  She underhanded the ball to me.  "I'd
better..."

   "No!" Tami said firmly.  "Tony."

   Robbie nodded.

   * * *



   As I climbed the stairs I wondered what it would be like to be shallow
and not have to worry about anyone else's problems.

   I sighed.  I knew that wasn't me.

   Darlene had taken the room next to Robbie's.  I hesitated outside the
door, then reached for the knob without knocking and opened the door. 
Darlene was face down on the bed they'd gotten her.  From the small
convulsions, I knew she was crying.

   I stepped in, closed the door behind me, walked to the bed and sat down
beside her.

   "Go way!" she mumbled, her face pressed into a pillow.

   "Not happening," I said softly.

   Darlene rolled onto her side, raising her fist to hit me, but then she
pressed against me, holding on and sobbing.  "Oh, Tony.  It was so wrong."

   I held her for a long time.

   * * *



   "It started so good," Darlene said as we walked down the road that led
to the highway.  "Mom hugged me like she hadn't seen me in a year.  Steve
said it was good to have me back."

   Darlene hugged my arm as if it was a lifeline as we walked.

   "Mike and Steve were in the living room watching football.  I stayed in
the kitchen helping Mom.  The rugrats floated in and out.  It was like a
family.  A real family.

   "We sat down to dinner and Steve gave a nice blessing.  Then we each
stood and said something we were thankful for.  Teresa, my sister was
thankful she'd passed her BIG test, though I don't know what it was.  Dana,
my step-sister was thankful that some boy named Reese didn't like some girl
named Winnie any more.  Mike was thankful the Rebels made the semi-finals
again."

   Thankful for football.  The nerve of some people.

   "We started eating and Mom asked about the play.  Then Steve asked if
they needed to take me to the doctor.  'Why?' I asked.  'Well, you spent a
week in Tony's bed,' he said so smugly.

   "'Not the first time Sims has had a cheerleader in his bed,' Mike added.

   I looked at Mom.  She just sat there, looking down at her plate."

   We got to the highway and turned around.  I pulled my arm free and
wrapped it around her shoulders.  Then I took her hand in my other.

   "Then Steve stopped laughing and said he was glad this nonsense was
finished and I was back home where I belonged." Darlene started to cry
again.  "My mom just sat there.  She didn't say a word.  That's when I got
up and left.  I don't know why I thought today would be any different."

   "Do you remember when we were first staging Zoe's Song?  The meeting we
had where we talked about the characters and their motivations?"

   Darlene looked up at me, nodding slightly and looking confused.

   "Robbie called her character 'the bitch from Hell'."

   Darlene nodded again.  "And you said she wasn't.  She was a mother in an
impossible position."

   My turn to nod.  "Your mom is kinda in the same place.  She has a
beautiful intelligent daughter who she loves very much." I kissed Darlene
gently on the tip of her nose.  "But she also has a new husband that she
loves." Though Lord knows why.  "And she doesn't want to choose between
them."

   "So what do I do?"

   I kissed her again.  "I think you've done it.  You're living your own
life.  Robbie and her dad are happy to have you.  Just keep going, one day
at a time.  Don't burn any bridges.  Keep living your life, talk to your
mom when you can.  Try not to put her in the middle."

   Darlene pressed her lips to mine.  The kiss lasted a long time.  "I
couldn't have made it without you."

   "That's stupid, and you know it.  You're stronger than you think, and
you have a lot of friends.  Besides..." I grinned and kissed her again. 
"Mike was right.  I just like having cheerleaders in my bed."







   Chapter 43



   I looked at Peter, curled up in his sleeping bag on my floor almost like
a puppy.  I think he really missed his mom and dad today, though being a
grown-up freshman he couldn't show it.  But on Thanksgiving even grown-up
juniors feel just a little closer to their families.

   Peter and Traci had taken to following along when Tami and I took our
walks.  Not intruding, but creating their own little ritual.  I wondered if
they'd last.  They were awfully young.

   Damn, now I knew what Mom felt like when Tami and I talked about being
in love.

   Still, I could do worse for a brother-in-law.  Peter was good people. 
And that'd make Kelly and Mikee sisters-in-law, or sisters-in-law once
removed.  I wasn't sure.  And Alana.  I'd be related to Alana.  Since she
was a goddess, I wondered what that made me.  Out of luck, probably.  Alana
had decided not to go back to school, at least not this year, and was in
New Zealand doing a lingerie photo spread for Vogue.  I made a mental note
to pick up a copy.

   Maybe I could get Robbie's sister Samantha to write Alana.  She seemed
to combine modeling and school and had a lot of fun doing it.

   Of course, that would make Kenny a relative too.

   I sighed, 'cause I knew I was stalling.  Tami and I had talked about the
letter on our walk, but now...

   I swivelled in my chair and looked at the blank screen on my computer.
It would only take a few minutes, and I needed to do it.

   I had a little extra money saved up.  I could log onto Buy dot com real
quick.  Check out their specials.  They had some great buys.  Maybe I could
pick up one of those flat LCD's.  I'd have so much more room on my desk. 
Or...

   I was stalling again.

   I put my hands on the keyboard and started typing.

   * * *



   Mrs.  Morganthal.



   I'm tempted to write, "Hi.  How are you?  I'm Fine.  Tony "



   This is one of those times that there's so much to say and no words to
say it.  But I'll try.



   I've been thinking a lot about Zoe lately.  No, that isn't true.  I
think a lot about Zoe everyday.  She was an amazing girl and made an impact
on me and everyone who knew her that can't be measured.  But lately, she's
been even more on my mind.



   You may remember that last year, just after you moved here, the high
school had a play contest.



   We performed three plays, then sent the winner, Leslie Villier's Inherit
the Wind, to the state competition, where she won.  Our group performed an
original musical that came in second.  Zoe talked a lot about going to all
three and the differences in how we staged them.  She loved the theater,
and it's too bad we didn't know or she could have been part of our
production.  She also told me that she voted for Leslie's play, but I never
held that against her.  It was better.



   This year, our group again put together an original production.  A
musical drama called Zoe's Song.  We won.  Not so much because we were
wonderful or anything, I think mostly we won because it reminded people of
Zoe.



   I'm enclosing a video cassette of our performance.



   This is not Zoe's story.  This is Zoe's tribute.



   The girl in the play (played by my sister Traci, you may remember her)
isn't Zoe, and isn't supposed to be.  She's a girl like Zoe who's going
through something that Zoe had to go through.  The character's mother
(played by Robbie Tate) isn't you, and isn't supposed to be.  But she's a
mother in the impossible position of watching her own daughter die a little
every day.  And finally, the boy (played by Peter Temple, I don't think you
ever met him) isn't me.



   Like I said, this isn't Zoe's story.  This is Zoe's tribute.



   I wrote it after Mikee suggested it.  And I think that in writing it I
understood a little more who Zoe was.  And who you were.



   I hope that being back in New York has helped.  Zoe loved New York and
talked about it endlessly.  I almost feel like I know the city myself, and
I've never been east of Wyoming.  I know being closer to family and old
friends has.  Zoe told me enough about her aunts, uncles, and cousins that
they feel like family to me.



   Remember that she'd want you to be happy.  She loved you very much.



   Tony

   Who knew her too short a time.

   * * *



   I sat back and looked at the screen.  It wasn't perfect, but I hoped it
would help her know how much we all cared about Zoe without opening any new
wounds.  It was important that she saw the play.  But it was more important
that she realized that we didn't think of her as, like Robbie once called
the character, the Bitch from Hell.

   I printed the letter, then put it and the video cassette into a padded
envelope and sealed it.  I couldn't remember if there was mail service the
day after Thanksgiving, but Mom would know.





   Chapter 44



   Since there was no school Friday after Thanksgiving, Coach Vickers made
it very clear that everybody had to be in the parking lot for the bus by
ten.  No exceptions.  Still, he didn't sound very surprised when I called
and said that Robbie and I were running late, and since we didn't want to
hold everybody up, we'd drive ourselves.

   "My Tony, who doesn't lie," Tami sighed from the seat next to me as I
put my cell phone back in my pocket.

   "I didn't lie.  There's no way we can make the high school by ten." It
was ten till now, and I was just getting back on I-90.  We'd stopped for
breakfast in Ellensburg.

   "Of course if we hadn't left my house at eight..." Robbie suggested from
the back seat.

   "Look who's come up for air," I said sarcastically, more to change the
subject than anything else.  Robbie giggled, and in the rear view mirror I
saw her lips mold themselves to Cody's again.

   "Eyes front," Tami said softly, and I focused back on the road in front
of me.  I drove for several minutes, then smiled.  "What?" Tami asked
suspiciously.

   "I was just thinking that if I was a crook, I'd be planning to heist the
whole town tomorrow."

   Tami smiled and nodded.

   I wondered how many people would actually be left in town tomorrow. 
Mom, Dad, and Traci were driving to Tacoma later this afternoon, bringing
Kelly and Peter, too.  Mikee would be on the team bus with the other
cheerleaders.  Robbie's dad drove over yesterday after Thanksgiving dinner.
He had some kind of meeting today.

   Last night when Tami and I had been taking out evening walk, with Traci
and Peter trailing a few yards behind--somewhere along the line they'd
become our shadows--we'd met Dan Boyd, the deputy who lived in the park. 
He'd said that almost every cop in the county--city police and sheriff's
deputies--was conniving and scheming to get this Saturday and next Saturday
off to get to the game.  The ones who didn't have kids in school were
football fans.

   "You have a criminal mind," she accused.

   "Thank you."

   "Maybe I better have Daddy run a background check before you propose
again."

   I grinned and kept driving.

   * * *



   We'd been relaxing in the indoor pool for almost three hours when the
team showed up.  We'd checked Cody and Tami into their rooms--Robbie and I
were supposed to check in with the team--and I'd asked the front desk to
let us know when the rest of the group got there.  A housekeeper stopped by
to tell Robbie just as Tami and I came out of the sauna and jumped in the
pool.

   We toweled off quickly and were standing in the lobby as the team came
in.  Some of the looks Robbie got in her bikini were a hell of a lot more
than team comradery.

   "Tate, Sims," the coach greeted us.  "I thought you were running late."

   "Tail wind," I said.

   "I don't even want to know how long you've been here, do I."

   It wasn't a question, so I decided to do the smart thing for once and
keep my mouth shut.

   * * *



   "Poor Peter," Tami said, then moaned.

   "Poor Peter?" I asked, pulling my tongue from Tami's pussy and looking
up her body.  "Woman, I'm trying to work here." I gave her a lick from the
bottom to the top of her slit.  "And why poor Peter anyway?"

   "You're doing a good job.  Two, three more hours and I'll be all relaxed
from the long drive."

   "I do what I can."

   "I was just thinking of Peter.  You and I have each other.  But Peter
has to sleep all by himself."

   I laughed into her pussy.  Tami must have liked that, 'cause her back
arched and her pussy tried to swallow me.

   "What's so funny?" she asked as I scooted up and lay next to her.

   "I kind of screwed up."

   "You?"

   "Yep.  It happens, you know.  Actually I screwed up twice."

   Even in the dim light of the room I could see the suspicion on her face.
Or maybe I just knew her so well that I knew it would be there.

   "And just how did Mr.  Anthony Marion Sims screw up?  Twice?"

   "Well, I volunteered to make the hotel reservations for Mrs.  Hancock."
Mrs.  Hancock was the president of the PTO, the Parent-Teachers
Organization.  "I got all the team rooms on the same floor except two."

   "Would that be the room that you're supposed to be sharing with Mark at
the moment?"

   "Yeah," I admitted.

   "And Robbie's room?" \ "You should be a detective.  That's pretty good."

   "And that was your two screw-ups?"

   "Nope.  That was just one." I grinned.  I knew even if Tami couldn't see
it, she'd know it was there.  "I also volunteered to make the reservations
for Mom.  Somehow, I got one room on the second floor and one on the
fourth. They were supposed to be adjoining."

   "So your parents are down on the second floor, and Traci, Kelly and
Peter are up here with us?"

   "Yep.  Traci and Kelly are supposed to share one bed and Peter gets the
other."

   "And your mom bought that?"

   "They're just kids.  What could happen?" I said and pressed my mouth to
hers to end the discussion.

   * * *



   "You've got to be kidding!"

   I don't lose my temper often, but I could feel my blood getting hot,
though I knew I had to be in control.

   "You're here to play football.  Nothing more.  Teams don't pick their
officials."

   "But..." I stopped and counted to ten under my breath.  "It's just our
school has lodged a formal protest against him.  I don't think it's
appropriate..."

   "You think guilty until proven innocent is more appropriate?"

   "No, but..."

   "Dan Blakeman is one of the most senior officials in this state." The
guy smiled, one of those painted on politician type smiles.  "Your school
filed a protest, as is it's right.  The WSAA is investigating.  Until then,
Blakeman is still on the roster and he's earned this game." His tone was
the same as he'd use on a first grader.

   "He could do the second game," I suggested.  The two semi-final games
were today at the Tacoma Dome.  Ours was first.

   "Scheduling is not your responsibility.  You play football.  Or forfeit
and go home.  I think you have some experience in that area."

   Tami said that Wasay wasn't happy with me.

   The man turned and with his two flunkies started to walk away.  I
wondered what the penalty was for clipping the president of Wasay.

   The president--I'd already forgotten his name--had come to the locker
room to wish us luck.  As one of the captains, I'd followed him out into
the corridor, and he'd given me the Grizzlies' official roster and the list
of officials.

   I wondered how bad Robbie was going to hurt me when I told her as I
looked down at the offending paper in my hand.  A familiar voice brought me
back to reality.

   "Mr.  Trout?"

   I looked up.  Tami was standing by the door to the field.

   "Young lady, you're not supposed to be down here."

   Tami smiled.  I decided that smile was part of her arsenal of weapons.
It could disarm anyone.  "It's okay, I have a pass."

   "A pass?"

   "A press pass.  Here." She handed Trout--that was the honcho's name--a
laminated card.

   He looked at it, then handed it back.  "I'm impressed.  What can I do
for you Miss Sharp?  I'm in a little bit of a hurry."

   "I've got a story that's going in tomorrow's paper.  I was hoping to get
a comment." Tami handed him a sheet of paper.

   What story?  What was Tami up to?  I moved closer, then heard the locker
room door open.  I motioned Robbie to join me, and we hovered about ten
feet from the group.  I handed Robbie the papers I was holding, and she
spotted Blakeman's name immediately.  At least today he was head linesman
instead of referee.

   I could feel Trout tense up as he read.  "You can't print this."

   Tami smiled again, not disarming this time; more like a shark might
smile at a salmon.  "My editor's already approved it.  It's running
tomorrow."

   "This is lies.  This is slander."

   Tami smiled a third time.  This time I was reminded of my third grade
teacher when she used to correct my English.  It was...  was condescending.
"We're going to print it, so it would be libel, not slander.  But if any of
the facts are wrong, please tell me.  We checked carefully, but we might
have missed something.  We'll also add a paragraph or two about today's
game, if it applies."

   "So that's what this is about.  You're trying to blackmail me."

   Robbie and I looked at each other, mouthing the word, "Blackmail?"

   "Blackmail?" Tami said in complete innocence.  "All I want is a
comment."

   One of the flunkies was trying to read over Trout's shoulder.  He
crumpled the paper into a ball.  "I suppose if I pull him, you won't run
this?"

   Him?

   "THAT story is running tomorrow in my column.  All we need is your
comments and today's results." Her voice was hard as granite.  Mental note:
NEVER, repeat and underline, never get on Tami's bad side.

   Trout threw the wadded ball on the floor and brushed by Tami and out to
the field.

   I started toward the ball of paper.

   "Never mind, Tami said, her real smile back on her face.  "Here's your
copies."

   Robbie finished reading before I did.

   "She's too good for you."

   * * *

   A Question of Facts

   by Tamerone Sharp



   Fact 1: The Rebels accumulated a total of three hundred and fifteen
yards of penalties in last Friday's game.



   Fact 2: The Rebels previous high for a single game this season was
thirty-five yards.



   Fact 3: The Rebels had accumulated one hundred and seventy-five yards in
penalties during the entire 2005 season (seven season games and one
play-off).



   Fact 4: Three hundred and five yards in penalties were assessed by one
official (Referee Dan Blakeman).



   Fact 5: The Legionaries accumulated a total of thirty yards in penalties
in Friday's game.



   Fact 6: The Legionaries previous low for a single game was fifty yards.



   Fact 7: The Legionaries have incurred at least two penalties for rushing
the passer in every game this season, yet on Friday had none.  (This
penalty is usually assessed by the referee.)



   Fact 8: Referee Dan Blakeman went to school with Alan Rich, head coach
of the Lake High School Panthers.



   Fact 9: Alan Rich was best man at Referee Dan Blakeman's wedding.



   Fact 10: Alan Rich has been embarrassed by the reactions caused by his
remarks about girls in sports.  The first reaction was the Rebels refusing
to play the Panthers.  Several other schools have refused to play Lake in
other sports, and the district Girl's Swimming Championship was moved to
North Lincoln High School after protests.  There is a petition circulating
the Lake district for Rich's dismissal.



   Fact 11: Dan Blakeman was originally scheduled to officiate a different
play-off game, but he was changed to the Rebels/Legionaires game the day
before.  Washington School Activities Association (WSAA) had no comment as
to why.



   Fact 12: A protest has been lodged with WSAA over Blakeman's game
conduct, yet he is still scheduled to officiate a game in the state
semi-finals.  A game with the Rebels.



   Fact 13: Dan Blakeman is married to the former Julie Trout, sister of
WSAA president Bill Trout.



   Those are the facts.  You can add them up any way you want, but as
anybody who's ever watched an episode of Perry Mason, Matlock, or one of
the CSI's knows: the facts don't always add up to the truth.



   So what is the truth?  Decide for yourself, but I know what I think.

   * * *



   When Robbie and I went out for the coin toss, the referee explained
there was a change from the officials roster we'd been given, and that Dan
Blakeman would be head linesman in the second game and James Pickett would
move from that game to ours.

   He didn't explain why.





   Chapter 45



   "Feel like we've done this before?"

   After the referee flipped the coin, I was shaking hands with the Grizzly
quarterback.  "Now that you mention it, it does feel familiar," I said with
a grin.

   "Yeah, but last time was just a bad dream.  This time we'll get it
right."

   I shrugged.  "I thought it turned out pretty good last time." Last year
we'd met the Grizzlies in the semi-finals and beaten them, though all the
sportswriters had predicted they'd have an easy game.  This year, we were
the favorite.  I hoped that wasn't a bad sign.

   He gave me what I assumed was a Grizzly growl, then walked back to his
sideline with his co-captain.

   "Stirring up the natives?" Robbie asked as we walked back.

   "It's a gift."

   * * *



   The ball sailed through the air.

   "It's yours!" I yelled to Robbie, then moved in front of her to
intercept the Grizzlies heading our way.  Robbie caught the ball on our
five yard line, then fell in behind me.  We fought our way to the forty
using what any good Roman would recognize as a phalanx, but then it started
falling apart as Grizzlies broke through.

   Robbie dodged one and leap-frogged over another.  Then she was clear
and, in a burst of speed, headed toward the goal.  I blocked a Grizzly who
was trying to catch her.  There was only one defender with any chance, and
he was coming from the side.  He launched himself at her legs, but they
weren't there as she jinked out of the way.  I watched in amazement as she
almost glided the last twenty yards to the end zone.

   I knew she was good, but sometimes I forgot how good.

   Coach Vickers pulled us for the extra point, but Mike sailed a perfect
pass into Luke's arms to put us up by seven less than a minute into the
game.

   "Missed by two," I said as I pulled my helmet off.

   "Two what?" Robbie said, pulling off her own headgear.  She shook her
head, and I again missed her long hair.

   "Two yards.  The record for a kickoff return in the play-offs is
ninety-seven.  You got lazy and only made ninety-five."

   "It's not about records."

   I cocked my head and looked at her as our team set up for the kickoff.

   She shrugged.  "Okay, records are nice.  What did you want me to do,
take two big steps backwards before I started running?"

   I grinned.  "Maybe we can talk to the Grizzlies about kicking harder."

   * * *



   "You know what I hate about being on the team?"

   "I know I'm going to hate myself for asking, but what?" Robbie asked
with a hint of a smile as we walked toward the locker room.

   "I always miss the cheerleaders' halftime show."

   "Poor baby," Robbie said with a laugh.

   "But they have short skirts and they kick so high."

   Robbie looked like she was debating where to hit me, so I changed the
subject.  "How's the elbow?"

   "Sore." She'd banged it pretty good against a Grizzly helmet halfway
through the second quarter.

   Robbie had taken them by surprise on the kickoff, but the Grizzlies were
a good team, better than last year, and they made us fight for every yard.
Mike and Luke were on fire, and we'd come within five yards three times,
but the Grizzlies fought us back.  The Grizzly offense had scared us a
couple times, but hadn't penetrated our ten.

   "Settle!" Coach Vickers yelled as we got to the locker room.

   "Good first half," he said as we all found spots on the benches. 
"Robbie, great job on that kickoff." He looked around at us.  "There isn't
much for a coach to do.  The offense is working great."

   I couldn't argue with that.  Mike was really in the zone with his
passes. He'd completed about fourteen out of twenty attempts.  He probably
had a good two hundred yards in the air and another forty or fifty on the
ground.  Robbie had completed six passes out of seven attempts, and Luke
was looking like the star he thought he was.

   "Defense," he continued.  "You're looking like a wall.  The Grizzlies
can't get around you."

   I stood.  "On behalf of the defense, I thank you," I said with a half
bow.  "We will be wanting to renegotiate our contracts before the next
game. We feel we don't get the appreciation and accolades that the offense
does.  We want more accolades."

   "I don't know what an accolade is, but I'm with Tony, I want more,"
David Jackson said.  If anyone deserved them, he did.  The junior who'd
been on second string until this week was having the game of his life. 
He'd racked up an interception and a fumble recovery in addition to a half
dozen bone-crushing tackles.

   The coach laughed.  "We'll worry about dividing the accolades after the
game if you don't mind.  Everybody relax for a minute, then let's see if we
can't get a few more points on the board." He walked toward the door, then
paused.  "And somebody get David a dictionary."

   * * *



   The third quarter followed the same pattern as the first half, except
the coach pulled me off of defense and started rotating me with Luke. 
Though he'd never admit it, I knew Luke was taking a beating out there and
needed the breather.

   We almost scored once on a Mike-to-Luke pass that got called back on a
penalty.  The defense, even without me, managed to keep the Grizzlies
outside our ten.

   With seven seconds left in the third quarter the Grizzlies tried a field
goal from the fifteen, but it hit the crossbar and bounced back just as the
clock ran out.

   * * *



   "Get the fuck off him now!"

   Robbie grabbed a green jersey and pulled.  I was several yards away but
ran up and grabbed another jersey and pulled another player off the pile.
By then the refs were helping untangle the dog pile.

   I searched the look on Robbie's face.  "What's wrong?"

   "When he went down, I thought I heard...  I mean...  I..."

   I ran for the sidelines and one of the medics.  Robbie without words
wasn't a good thing.  Not now.

   * * *



   "For Mike," I said simply in the huddle.  We clapped and ran to the
line. I stepped up behind Jeffrey at center and looked around.  I nodded to
Luke.  I leaned forward, my hands between Jeffrey's legs.

   "Seventeen!  Fourteen!" I looked at the chainsmen on the sidelines. 
Fourth down with twelve to go.  "A smart quarterback would punt.  "Seven!
Hut!"

   Jeffrey snapped the ball back into my hands.  Luke was in motion.  I
slapped the ball into his stomach but didn't let go.  I took a step back
after Luke passed, brought the ball up by my ear, and fired it to Robbie.
Robbie pulled the ball in tight, making a third tit, and somehow slipped
between two hurtling blockers.  She weaved around another and made fifteen
yards before they brought her down.

   "For Mike," she said as she came back to the huddle.  We had our first
down.

   It was nobody's fault, just one of those things, but on the last play,
three of the Grizzlies had managed to slip through the line and all hit
Mike at the same time.  I don't know if Robbie actually heard the bone in
his arm snap, but as the medics led him off the field I knew his season was
over.

   The coach decided that I was fresher than Robbie and put me in the worry
seat.

   "Good job," I said back in the huddle.  "This is Mike's drive ,and we're
going to score." Everyone nodded.  I didn't like Mike, especially for the
way he treated Darlene, but he was my teammate, and he'd played his heart
out for the Rebels.  "Same play, flip side."

   We clapped and took our place on the line.  I wiped my hands on the
towel that was draped behind Jeffrey.  "Seventeen!" I shouted and took a
quick look at both sides of my line.  "Fourteen!  Seven!  Hut!" The ball
snapped into my hands.  I took a step backwards.  Luke was in motion.  I
slapped the ball into his stomach.  Then he was past me, and I faded
further back, bringing my empty hand up by my ear to pass an air ball to my
best friend.

   Luke found a hole in the line and surged through, making several yards
before the Grizzlies realized he had the ball.  Two defenders tackled
Robbie, not realizing that she didn't have the ball.  Then the Grizzly
monster back brought Luke down on their twenty.

   "Okay, can't let Luke and Robbie have all the fun.  Twenty-nine right,"
I said back in the huddle.

   "For Mike," Robbie added, and we all nodded.  As we walked back to the
line, I brooded.  I knew half-a-dozen colleges at least were looking
closely at Mike.  I hoped this didn't ruin it for him.  Sometimes it was
hard to accept: one bad hit and your life changes.

   "It's no one's fault," Robbie said, snapping me out of it as she stepped
next to me.

   I smiled.  "Tami been teaching you to read my mind?"

   Robbie grinned.  "She didn't have to." She slammed her open palm down
hard on the back of my shoulder pad.  "Now throw the damn brick, and let's
go to state."

   I called the count, took the snap, then backpedaled looking for Kelly,
but he had a Grizzly all over him.  What the hell, time to get dirty.  I
squeezed the ball into my side and plunged through the line.  A Grizzly hit
me, and I smashed sideways into Jeffrey but managed to stay on my feet.  I
got five more steps before two Grizzlies hit me at the same time and
brought me down.

   "Having fun?" Robbie asked back in the huddle.

   "God, yes!  Maybe we can cancel basketball and do it all over again."

   "Works for me."

   "Okay, guys," I said to the team.  "We're going to try it again.  Kelly,
if you can't get clear this time, I'm siccing her on you," I said hooking
my thumb at my pal.  Kelly nodded.

   "For Mike," someone said and we broke the huddle.

   This time as I found the threads on the ball I saw Kelly streaking
toward the end zone several steps ahead of a lone defender.  I sailed the
ball straight toward the goal post, Kelly snatched it out of the air, the
Grizzly leaped, but Kelly nimbly avoided him and danced into the end zone.

   Touchdown.

   For Mike.

   * * *



   The coach had shooed the press out of the locker room.  For the moment
it was just team, cheerleaders, Tami, and parents.  Technically Tami was
press but the coach knew she could draw a line between reporter and
girlfriend, or maybe he was afraid Robbie would hurt him if he tried to
eject her best friend.

   "Great game!" he shouted to get everyone's attention.  Most of the team
surrounded him and Mike.  I stood with my arm around Tami's shoulders next
to Robbie and the Darlene.  The other cheerleaders stood behind us.

   "For anyone who hasn't heard, Mike's arm IS broken, but it's a clean
break and should heal good as new." He clapped his hand on Mike's shoulder.
Mike's arm had already been cast, one of the benefits of playing in a
stadium with a fully equipped medical room.

   "This is one of my favorite parts of being a coach.  The presentation of
the game ball to the player who best encompassed the spirit of Rebel
football.  I don't think there is any question who that's going to be, and
not just because he sacrificed an arm for the team.  Mike completed
twenty-two passes, one short of the state play-off record.  I don't think
there's any question that he would have broken the record if his arm had
stayed in one piece.  The most valuable player for today's play-off game,
Mike Reed!" He handed the ball to Mike to loud applause.

   Mike took the ball in his good hand and looked at it.  I noticed Steve
Reed in the crowd of parents behind him looking proud to the point of
bursting.  I was glad I wouldn't be having dinner at their house tonight.
Or any night for that matter.

   Mike looked at the ball for a long time.  Then he looked around the room
until his eyes locked on me.  He looked back at the ball.  "This is almost
worth breaking my arm for." A couple people chuckled.  "But if this is
supposed to represent the spirit of Rebel Football, I think someone else
deserves it more."

   I wondered if Mike had gotten a crack on the head when he broke his arm.

   "I think today, the person who most encompasses the spirit of Rebel
football--and if somebody found that dictionary for David, he can look up
encompasses too--is..."

   With his left hand he underhanded the ball toward me.  Then I realized
it wasn't for me.

   "...Tami Sharp."

   Tami caught the ball, looking stunned, and I wondered if just maybe
there was more to Mike than I thought.





   Chapter 46



   "How did he...?  Why did...?"

   They were almost the first five words Tami had spoken since the scene in
the locker room.  I treasured them.

   "Did you say something?" I asked to tweak her.  In the two hours since
the game ended, she'd been absorbed in her own world and ignored me.

   Our original plan had been to stay and watch the second game so that I
could size up next week's competition.  In fact, my plan involved staying
at the motel another night, though the team was driving back after the
second game.  But after Tami had caught the game ball, I changed my mind.

   We were zipping homeward down the freeway slightly faster than the law
allowed.  I'd packed for both of us while Tami stared at the ball.  Robbie
and Cody would ride home with her dad.

   Tami looked up from the damn ball and at me.  "How did he know?"

   I grinned.  No, I beamed.  "Tami, you're a hero.  You didn't think your
best friend would spread it all over the locker room?"

   "Robbie?"

   I nodded.

   "Not you?"

   I nodded again.  "I was in a dilemma.  On the one hand, I knew you'd
rather stay in the background.  You were a journalist just reporting the
facts.  But on the other hand, I was so proud of you I wanted to shout it
to the world.  So, I played King Solomon.  I kept my mouth shut but didn't
encourage Robbie to follow my example."

   "They all know?" she asked, still dazed.

   "Every last one of them.  By now, all their parents know too.  Girl, by
Monday everybody in school will know who the real hero of the semi-finals
was."

   "But I..."

   "Don't kid yourself.  Without you, our season would probably be over. 
Blakeman couldn't be as obvious as last week, not with all the cameras and
a complaint already attached.  But the Grizzlies were a tough team.  A
couple of penalties at the right time could have swung the game their way."

   Tami looked back at the ball in her lap.  "But Mike.  Why would he...?"

   I shrugged, then pulled into the left lane to pass three
tractor-trailers that seemed to be running in convoy.  "Good question.  I
can give you three possible answers, but I don't know what the answer
really is."

   "What are the possibilities?" she asked as a large rain drop splashed in
the center of my windshield.  It was joined by friends.  I flipped on the
windshield wipers.

   "In order of increasing probability, one, he broke his arm in the game
and realized just how close he came to ending his career.  The shock may
have turned him into a human being.

   "Two," I continued.  "Last year Coach Branson and this year Coach
Vickers have told him a lot that he's a great quarterback, but that his
leadership skills need some work.  This could be Mike working at being a
leader."

   I was quiet for a few seconds as I maneuvered around another pair of
trucks on a road that had gone from dry to water-logged in a heartbeat.  Ya
gotta love Washington Rain.

   "And the third possibility," Tami prompted.

   "He thought it would look good in his biography."

   * * *



   "Think Cody got lucky?"

   "Arrrggghhhhh!" I yelled.

   Tami looked down at me quizzically.

   "No, I don't think Cody got lucky," I said after a long silence.  "And I
really wouldn't care if Cody got lucky.  And if by some miracle I cared, I
wouldn't care right now."

   "Touchy, aren't we?"

   "Tami, my darling.  We came home early and discovered that your mother
had decided to go to Wenatchee for the weekend.  We have the house to
ourselves on a Saturday night.  Just you and me..."

   "And Big Tony," she added, raising then lowering herself on my pole.

   "Just you and me," I repeated.  "We are here in your room, making a
connection.  And..."

   "We're connected all right," she said, moving up and down on Big Tony
again.

   "AND right now, Cody is not part of that connection."

   "It was just a question." She leaned forward and kissed me.

   "But you stopped what you were doing to ask it.  And I kinda liked what
you were doing." She had a kind of up and left then down and right rhythm
going while I toyed with the top of her slit with my thumb.  "Besides,
talking about another guy while fucking is cheating."

   Tami leaned back and cocked an eyebrow.  "What if I'd wanted to talk
about Robbie or Mikee or Kelly?"

   "That's not cheating, that's stimulating."

   Tami laughed.  "Sez who?"

   "A Guy's Manual for Relationships.  Atypical Edition."

   "Atypical?"

   I grinned up at her.  "I was afraid that if I said abnormal, you'd hit
me.  I have enough bruises already."

   "You think our relationship is abnormal?"

   I pulled her down against me and kissed her.  "Tami, our relationship is
many things." I kissed her again.  "Eternal." I kissed her nose. 
"Passionate." I kissed her forehead.  "But it is not now, nor has it ever
been, normal."

   Tami giggled.  "You..." she kissed my forehead.  "Got..." she kissed my
nose.  "That..." she kissed my lips just barely.  "Right!"

   I kissed her hard, then rolled over so that I was on top of her and
finished what we'd started.

   "So why don't you think that Cody got lucky?" she asked a few minutes
later.

   "Mostly cause Robbie told me he didn't," I said, lying on the bed and
watching Tami get dressed.

   "She did?"

   "We were on the sidelines talking, and she made a joke about wanting to
come see me after kicking Cody out about one in the morning.  She said
they'd been making out hot and heavy."

   "Dinner's in five.  You going like that?"

   I looked down at my naked body.  Big Tony was trying valiantly to take
the stage again.  "Mom knows we got home about two hours ago.  Think she'd
be surprised?"

   "Tony, be nice," Tami admonished sharply.

   "I am nice.  I'm just not sure that Mom's suppressing the truth in her
head is healthy." \ Tami grinned.  "So Cody didn't get lucky.  Think Peter
did?"

   "No!" I said firmly.

   "I was talking to Kelly during the game, and she said..."

   I stood and bowed.  "Point taken," I said as graciously as could.  "A
little suppression can be a good thing."

   I dressed, trying to convince myself yet again that my baby sister was,
always had been, and always will be a virgin.

   Evidence to the contrary not withstanding.

   * * *



   "That was great."

   I leaned back in my chair and thought about loosening my belt.  Hell, I
thought about lying down on the floor and taking a nap.  My plate was clean
except for one last piece of meat that seemed to be staring at me.

   "Daddy does the best prime rib," Robbie said from across the table.

   "I always thought my dad did the best prime in the world, but right now,
I'd have to call it a toss-up."

   "I thought it was awesome," Tami said beside me.

   "I did the yams," Darlene piped up.  She was sitting at the foot of the
table.

   "That's okay.  Cheerleaders are decorative.  They're not supposed to be
useful too."

   A pea bounced off my cheek.  I hadn't seen who threw it, though I had a
good idea despite the look of innocence on Robbie's face.  Or maybe because
of it.

   "I don't usually like sweet potatoes, but these were great," Tami said.

   "I got the recipe from Good Eats."

   "You watch Alton Brown?" I asked Darlene, surprised.

   "You know who he is?" she asked, even more surprised.

   I shrugged.  "I was flipping channels one day and ran across his show. I
got hooked." "A cooking show?" Tami and Robbie said together.

   "It's more than a cooking show," I said in my defense.  "Alton talks
about the science of cooking.  And uses strange props to illustrate his
points."

   "Remember when he got trapped under the giant popcorn kernel?" Darlene
asked with a giggle.

   "How about when he lost his memory and..." I looked around the table at
the strange looks on Tami, Robbie, and her dad's faces.  "I guess you had
to be there."

   "Just when you think you know a guy," Robbie muttered.  A pea glanced
off her forehead.  I hadn't thrown it and didn't know who did.

   We were just finishing a Sunday dinner that had been a true community
endeavor.  In addition to the prime rib and the yams, Tami had made the
peas, Robbie the biscuits, and I had made the salad.

   Her dad stood and started gathering plates.  I speared the last piece of
prime off mine just before he took it.  "Tony, since you and Tami are like
family, I think we can tell you one of our deep dark secrets.  We'll just
send Darlene to her room."

   "Daddy!" Stereo again, though this time Robbie and Darlene.  When had
Darlene started calling him Daddy?

   Mr.  Tate grinned and took the dishes to the kitchen.  He returned with
a pie and five small plates.

   "None for me, thanks.  I'm full," I said, patting my stomach.

   "Robbie made this," he said, setting it down.  "Coconut cream.  Won a
blue ribbon in the state fair when she was ten."

   "Talk about not knowing someone," I said.

   "And not in the children's division either.  She beat the grown-ups."

   "Why am I not surprised," I muttered.

   Robbie had turned a pretty shade of pink.  "The secret's the coconut
rum. And I didn't learn that from Eldon Blue."

   I didn't bother correcting her.  "So is that your deep dark secret. 
That Monster Girl bakes."

   "No I thought you'd like to hear about Beaver's first football team."

   Two "Beavers?" blended with a "Daddy!" I grinned.  I'd known Robbie's
family nickname, but apparently, Darlene and Tami hadn't.

   "Would you prefer Roberta?" her dad asked.  The look he got back was
less than daughterly.

   "Beaver..." Robbie cringed.  "...grew up watching football.  Her mother
had four brothers, and they all played college ball."

   "Uncle Tom went to Oklahoma.  Uncle Vince UCLA.  Uncle Mark was at
Florida, and Uncle Jason was an Aggie," Robbie said, ticking them off her
fingers.

   I was impressed.  They were all good football schools.

   "Jason was the runt of the litter at six-one and two hundred pounds. 
Anyway, on weekends they'd get together and watch all the games on TV.  It
made quite a picture, these four huge guys crowded together on a couch and
Robbie squeezed into the middle."

   "Enough reminiscing," Robbie pronounced.  "Nobody wants to hear it
anyway.  Tami, I almost forgot: your mom called while you and Tony were
upstairs, uh, talking."

   Darlene giggled.

   "What'd she say?" Tami asked without a trace of embarrassment.  Tami's
mom had gotten back this morning.

   "She said your editor called and won't need a column for Tuesday."

   "They won't?" Tami seemed surprised.

   "She said he said they had something else running.  But it's back to the
grindstone for Thursday and Saturday."

   "Okay." Tami sounded a little insecure, so I reached over and squeezed
her knee under the table.  I knew that sometimes she couldn't believe she
had her own column at her age and half expected someone to come to their
senses and yank it away.  I knew they wouldn't.  The great thing was, the
paper didn't treat is as a student column, or a high school column.  They
treated it like a regular column.  And though Tami wrote about high school
life most of the time, she'd done columns on everything from the war in
Iraq to the president's disregard for the Bill of Rights.

   "So how did Beaver's uncles get her into football?" Tami asked and stuck
her tongue out at Robbie, letting her know her change of subject hadn't
worked.

   "Well, you know how shy Robbie is?"

   Darlene, Tami and I nodded, and Robbie turned pink again.

   "Her uncles would boisterously discuss formations, tactics, and
penalties.  By the time she was seven, Robbie was in the thick of it,
arguing right back."

   "So her uncles talked her into playing?" Darlene asked.

   "No.  I think they were more surprised than anyone when she started. 
After all, she was just a girl."

   "And wouldn't want to be anything else," Robbie added.

   Her dad smiled and nodded.  "Anyway, when she was nine she told me that
she was going to play football.  The youth league the Parks and Recreation
ran was just getting started for the year, so we signed her up."

   "As Robbie Tate," I suggested.

   "Well, nobody ever called her anything else.  Anyway, I don't know if
it's the same everywhere, but in our town the youngest division for
football was the ten and eleven-year-olds, though they took nine-year-old
with special wavers.  So we showed up at tryouts and..."

   "I made the team and the rest is history.  Anybody for some ping pong?"

   We all ignored her and looked at her dad.

   "We go to tryouts and naturally the first thing anyone says is 'she's a
girl'.  So I pull out their rule book, and nowhere did it say anything
about boys or girls, it just says players.  So the big cheeses huddle and
decide that they have to let her try out.

   "So, they run Robbie and about a hundred boys through four hours of
drills.  Passing, catching, tackling, running, the works."

   "And Robbie was best in everything," Tami piped up.

   "Not the best, but top five pretty much," Mr.  Tate explained.

   Robbie's pink had gotten a shade or two darker.

   "The way Parks and Rec had it set up, everybody tried out and got a
t-shirt, then they picked enough of the best ones to make four teams. 
After the tryouts, assistants handed the t-shirts while the mucky-mucks
huddled again and picked the teams."

   "Un huh," I mumbled, nodding, sensing what was coming.

   "So, we're all standing around the field, parents and kids.  Most of the
kids had put on their t-shirts, though Robbie hadn't."

   Robbie smiled.  "The honchos came back and made a long speech about how
hard everyone tried, and how hard it was to pick, and it was too bad that
everyone couldn't be on the team.  The usual BS.  Then they read a list of
names, and mine wasn't there."

   "So Robbie and I went up to the man in charge and asked why she hadn't
been picked.  He looked down at her and said, "I'm sorry, you just weren't
good enough, honey.' "

   I cringed.  I knew the honey comment had not gone over well.

   "So, I told him my lawyer would decide if she was good enough."

   "Daddy was great.  The guy said there was nothing for a lawyer to
decide. Daddy said he was sure his lawyer could make a case out of it and
not to lose or destroy their data sheets, and meanwhile a restraining order
would put Parks and Rec out of business until a court decided if they
discriminated or not.  I was so proud of my daddy that day for sticking up
for me."

   Father and daughter traded smiles.

   "So, I looked up at this guy, who'd turned a little green around the
gills, and asked him who was better than me.  He pointed at this kid
Howard. He was eleven and had a face like a hound dog.  He'd been the best
in just about everything.  I had a football in my hands, so I yelled, "Hey,
Dog Boy!" and threw it at him.  He caught it, and I tackled him."

   There was a long silence around the table while we processed that.  "Did
he get to play that year?" I asked finally.

   "No, he had a broken collar bone," Mr.  Tate explained.  "He played in
the twelve-year-old league the next year but he was never quite the same."

   "I walked back to the man and asked who else was better than me."

   "So Robbie made the team," Darlene said softly.

   "Well, there WAS an opening." Robbie shrugged.  "I didn't mean to hurt
him, but it wasn't fair."

   "I don't know if they were afraid Robbie was going to take out everyone
who was ranked above her, or my threat of a lawsuit, but Robbie made the
team."

   "Man, am I glad I helped you get on the team in eighth grade," I said
with a grin.  "I like my collarbone."





   Chapter 47



   "Uh, Tony...?"

   I'd been sitting in Dad's chair, staring at the television without a
clue what I was watching and hadn't even heard Peter come in.

   It had been a brutal day.  I'd had tests in calculus and A.P.  history,
and Mr.  Calloway evidently took the advanced part of advanced placement
seriously cause the test was a killer.  Then Mrs.  Connors played lightning
round in debate, and it seemed like she wasn't giving us our usual three or
four seconds to think about the question.  Football had been worse.  I
couldn't seem to hold onto the damn pigskin.  I fumbled five times and
completed one pass out of a couple dozen attempts.  Another day like this
and Coach Vickers would trade me back to the middle school.

   Play practice didn't improve things.  Our timing was off, and it seemed
like everybody was stepping on each other's lines.  Then the final insult:
with a house empty of parents-- Mom and Dad had gone to Denver for a couple
days for some conference of Dad's--Tami was over at Allie's working on some
project.

   I shook my head to focus and looked at him.  "Huh?" Okay, not my best
line, but at least I acknowledged him.

   "Traci sent me out." Peter and Traci had been in her room studying, or
at least that was their story while I chaperoned from my chair.  "She,
uh..." Peter was turning pink.  "She said to ask you..." The pink was
spreading.  Not just his cheeks, but his whole face, his neck, even the top
of his chest.  "She said you would, uh, that is..."

   "You want a damned rubber!" I snapped, jumping to my feet.

   Peter looked like he was ready to emigrate to somewhere safer, like
Iraq.

   I shut my eyes and counted to ten.  First in English, then Spanish,
French, German, Russian, Swahili, Chinese, Hebrew, Dutch and Navajo.  I
opened my eyes.  "Peter, sit."

   Peter almost ran to the sofa and sat down.

   "Sorry, I didn't mean to make that sound like an order.  And I didn't
mean to snap at you.  This hasn't been one of my best days."

   "I understand," he said nodding.

   "I'm not sure you do.  I guess I'm a hypocrite 'cause you know I've been
having sex, but I really really don't want my little sister to."

   Peter smiled, then hid it, probably afraid it would set me off again.

   "But if Traci's going to have sex, I'm glad it's someone like you."

   "You are?"

   "And even more glad that you're getting protection first."

   Peter blushed again.  "Traci said that you and Tami don't use them."

   Okay, first I have to deal with my baby sister having sex.  Then I have
to deal with her telling her boyfriend about my love life.  This is not a
good day.

   "We don't, but Tami has the patch.  It's like the pill."

   I could see the wheels going around in his head and waited.  "Do you
think that Traci can get the patch?"

   I smiled.  "Tell you what.  If you or Traci decide to ask Mom that
question, let me know first.  I think I'll visit my cousins in Colorado
that week." Hopefully there were enough mountains between here and there to
protect me from the blast.

   Peter nodded.

   Thinking about Cinnamon and her dad, I wondered if my parents would be
able to get over there to visit while they were in Colorado.

   "Now, I'm going to get you a couple of rubbers.  And I'll show you where
I keep mine.  If I'm not here and you need..."

   Peter nodded again.

   "Down the road, if you and Trace aren't seeing each other and you need
some, don't be afraid to ask." Peter nodded a third time.

   "But if you ever want to cheat on Traci, I wouldn't advise trying to
make me an accomplice."

   Peter turned deep red.  "I wouldn't," he stammered and I believed him. I
had a feeling that Peter was a one girl at a time kind of guy.

   * * *



   "Does she know?"

   "Does who know what?" I asked as I settled into the desk next to her.

   "Does she know?" Robbie's eyes flicked to Tami, who was in the front of
the room talking to Mrs.  Connors about something.

   "Know what?" I asked innocently.

   "Sims!" she hissed.  "I'm going to tackle you so hard..."

   I grinned at her.  "Too bad today is one of my gymnastics days, and I
won't be at practice." Though Lord knows, the way I practiced yesterday, I
needed it.

   "Tony?"

   I took pity on her since it looked like Tami and Mrs.  Connors were
almost done.  "I don't think so.  How'd you find out?"

   "I've gotten in the habit of stopping by the library before sixth
period."

   I nodded as Tami walked over and sat on the other side of me.  Mrs. 
Connors took her place in the center.  "Today we're going to settle the
immigration problem.  Tony, is our immigration policy racist?"

   Damn.  I'd thought she was going to start on the other side of the room.
"Yes."

   "Tami, do you agree?"

   "No."

   "Looks like we have the start of a debate here.  "Tony why?"

   "Because the biggest category of potential immigrants are Latin
Americans.  The second biggest are Asians.  Both are categories that have
traditionally been looked down upon."

   "Tami?" Mrs.  Connors prompted.

   "It doesn't matter how potential immigrants are.  The law's the same for
everyone."

   "Being the same for everyone doesn't make it fair," I argued.

   "Yes it does."

   I looked up at my teacher.  "May I use an analogy?"

   She nodded.  We had to be careful of using analogies 'cause Mrs. 
Connors said they were overused by a lot of debaters.

   "I've just drafted a new law.  It says that employers may pay employees
up to fifty percent less if they are liable to need pregnancy leave."

   "You can't do that, it's sexist," Mary Abbott, a senior on the other
side of the circle, exclaimed.

   "Sure, I can," I said smugly.  "It's a fair law.  It applies to
everyone."

   "But only women get pregnant," Robbie pointed out.

   "Not my problem.  Besides, anyone who doesn't like it can get fixed."

   "That's..." Mary exploded.

   "Enough," Mrs.  Connors said forcefully.  "Tony's being deliberately
provocative, but he's making a point.  A law can be balanced and apply to
everyone but still not be fair.  So the question becomes, if our
immigration policy is in fact racist, is it wrong?" The debate moved to the
other side of the room, and I wondered why I hadn't taken a nice easy study
hall.

   * * *



   "I say we kick back and read the paper while Traci makes dinner."

   "The paper?"

   The day was winding down.  Gymnastics had gone smoothly, and Robbie said
they had a great football practice.  Then play practice looked like we
actually knew what we were doing.  All in all, not a bad day.  Now, Tami
and I were sharing the sofa while Traci called Pizza Hut.

   "Here, I'll take the front page, and you take the editorial section," I
said, splitting the paper.

   Tami gave me a long look as I pretended to concentrate on a story about
a bar fight.  Then she started looking at her paper.

   "Tony, what did you do?"

   * * *



   Heroes



   While the town goes nuts after yet another Rebel victory,

   I think we need to focus on the real heroes.  I don't mean

   Neanderthals who just like to hit things, or studly cro-mags

   who think being able to throw an air-filled leather bladder

   fifty yards entitles them to a Nobel prize.  But real heroes.

   Everyday heroes who do what needs to be done without

   the benefit of rally girls in short skirts or cheering mobs

   packed in the bleachers.



   Heroes like the girl who usually writes this column.



   Tamarone Elizabeth Sharp is a sixteen-year-old girl

   who not only goes to school and gets A's and B's, but

   gives up twelve weeks of her life to coach middle school

   gymnastics.



   She is also a member of the cast of Zoe's Song,

   the play chosen by the high school as the local

   entry in the Prentiss Foundation's statewide play

   contest.



   AND she gets out three columns a week for

   this paper.



   Sharp also writes several articles each week for

   THE REBEL YELL, the school paper.  One of

   those articles, ZOE: PORTRAIT OF A FRESHMAN

   has been nominated for the Bothwell Award, a

   prestigious national award for high school journalists.

   (The finalists for the award will be announced in June.)



   Sharp is the first student in the thirty-one year history

   of the award ever nominated for the award twice.  Her

   essay MY DAD HITS MY MOM was first runner up

   her freshman year when Sharp was the first (and so far,

   only) freshman ever nominated.



   And all without cheerleaders.



   Tony Sims, co-captain

   Rebel Football

   * * *



   "So which are you?" Tami asked, a tear in the corner of her eye.

   "Which what?"

   "A neanderthal who likes to hit things, or a cro-mag playing with your
air-filled bladder?"

   I kissed her gently.  "I'm the missing link.  A little bit of both."

   Tami stared down at the paper for a minute.  "You were wrong you know. I
do have a cheerleader.  Even if you don't wear a short skirt."

   * * *



   "You don't like him, do you?"

   I smiled to myself and, without missing a step, shifted my hand from
Robbie's shoulder to her hip.  "You're not as good at it."

   "Not as good at what?" Robbie asked defensively, her competitive nature
taking center stage.

   "The questions.  Tami either asks awkward questions at inconvenient
times or questions without any context at all.  I know what you're talking
about."

   Robbie leaned up against me as we walked.  "She does," she agreed.  We
kept walking around the park.  Robbie was keeping me company since Tami was
at Allie's again.  The girl had no priorities, thinking that a school
project was more important than my walk.

   Robbie glanced back.  "Our shadows have disappeared.

   I looked back.  Traci and Peter weren't behind us.  Either following
Robbie and me just didn't feel the same as Tami and me, or they were taking
advantage of a parentless house.  Maybe both.  "You ready for tomorrow? 
The big pep rally and long bus ride to Tacoma." The coach had made it clear
that anyone missing the bus this time would not be playing.

   "Then Saturday, the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat." Robbie
added.  "But, Mr.  Smart Ass, you never answered my question.  You don't
like him, do you?"

   I sighed.  I'd hoped that I'd slipped that one past.  "No, I don't.  And
before you ask, I don't have a reason, just a feeling.  Cody seems like a
nice guy, a good guy.  But, I guess our chemistries just don't mesh."

   "Jealous?"

   "Could be," I admitted.  "But I've liked your other guys."

   "But you knew my other guys.  In most cases, even longer than I did. 
You didn't know Cody."

   "Maybe that's it.  I don't know."

   "He likes you."

   I grinned.  "That's a given.  Everybody does."

   * * *



   "That's love."

   I looked up from my book and out the window Mark was staring at.  Tami,
driving my Mustang, was pacing the school bus.  I waved, Tami honked, then
pulled ahead.  Traci and Kelly shared the passenger seat.

   "Letting your girlfriend drive your baby.  That is true love," Mark
said, settling back into the seat in front of me.

   "Said the Oracle of Romance," I said sarcastically.  "Your longest
relationship was what, two weeks?"

   "Naw, but I made it to eight days once back in sixth grade."

   I shook my head and went back to reading.  I'd just gotten hooked on
Stephen Frey's stuff and was reading his latest, The Chairman.

   The pep rally at school had been fun.  Then we'd climbed on the bus for
the long ride to Tacoma.  And long was right: we were only about halfway
there.  I just hoped I didn't run out of book too soon.

   * * *



   I stepped off the bus and stretched.  It was the same motel we'd stayed
at last week, and I knew they had a sauna and a spa, I hoped to take
advantage of one or both in the near future.  Then I smiled as I saw Tami
in the lobby, waiting with Kelly and my sister.

   I stepped forward and hugged her.  My mouth covered hers, and my tongue
moved in for a long visit.  I heard Traci giggle.

   "Tony, My da...." Tami started a couple minutes later.

   "Quiet, I'm schmoozing here," I said as I looked up at the big man
behind her.

   "Schmoozing?" Tami repeated.

   I held out my hand.  Tami's dad looked at it for a second, then grasped
it firmly as we shook.

   "Thank you," he said quietly as he let go.

   I slipped my arms around Tami and Kelly and steered them toward the mob
at the desk.  "Let's see where I'm staying.  Then we can all change and hit
the spa while Traci carries in all the luggage."

   "I heard that."







   Chapter 48



   "What are you grinning about?"

   I climbed back to my feet.  It felt like every Tiger in the stadium had
piled on me after I ran back the kickoff to the fifty.

   "I was thinking how nice and peaceful it was to just be playing
football."

   "Peaceful?" Robbie asked, cocking her head.  Then she got it and nodded.
"Maybe we can do a double or triple overtime so you can stay out here."

   "Please."

   * * *



   "I talked to the coach, and he said it was okay."

   I looked blankly at Tami.  "Coach?  Okay?"

   "Instead of going with the team, you can have dinner with me."

   I grinned, remembering last year when Tami and I had a quiet dinner
together while the rest of the team invaded a Sizzler.

   "Outback?"

   "And Daddy," she added, dropping her eyes to the floor.

   For just a second I hated her and remembered last year again, when she'd
set up a meeting for me with her Dad.  But I also remembered how he'd
brought her to Tacoma and how I'd slept in her arms.  She wanted her dad to
be part of her life.  And right now, hopefully forever, I was her life. 
But even more, she was my life, and if that came with baggage, I just had
to deal.

   "Cool," I said with a smile.

   Tami's head snapped up and she looked at me.  "You mean it?"

   "Could I lie to you?"

   Tami smiled.

   "Tami, he's your dad.  I may not like some of the things he's done... 
hell!  I hate some of the things he's done, but he's your dad and I need to
accept that.  He and I probably won't ever be friends, but I guess I can't
just ignore my father-in-law." No matter how much I might want to.  It
helped having a cousin who knew police, who knew other police, who said
that he was still in counseling and seemed to be taking it seriously.

   Tami threw herself forward into a kiss that knocked me backward onto the
bed, which could have been a lot of fun if Traci hadn't been lying on it.

   * * *



   "Punt?"

   "Punt," I agreed.  We'd just barely managed a first down last time.  Now
we were fourth down with twelve yards to go on the Tigers' forty-one.

   Robbie took the snap--she'd started at quarterback--and booted the ball
deep into Tiger territory while the rest of us raced after it.  Our first
drive had been shut down by the Tiger defense, but we were only four
minutes into the first quarter.

   * * *



   "Tony, thanks for coming."

   I grinned.  "Thanks for inviting me," I said as the three of us sat down
at a table." Tami and I had taken the motel shuttle, and her dad had driven
over from his hotel.  He'd booked his reservation too late to get into
ours. I can't say I was sorry that he wouldn't be in the next room while
Tami and I...

   "No, I mean it.  I know you and I started off bad."

   You threatened to shoot my kneecap off, slick.

   "I appreciate you giving me another chance."

   "Like I told Tami when she asked me, I'm part of her life, you're part
of her life, we have to learn to deal."

   "You're a pretty sensible young man."

   "Tami slaps me upside the head if I get too far out of line."

   He smiled.  "I have a feeling she doesn't have to do that too often."

   "You might be surprised."

   "Ever think of becoming a cop?" I must have made a face, 'cause he
continued, "You don't like cops?"

   "I try to be open-minded.  I know there's a lot of good cops out there.
Dan Boyd, my neighbor back home is a good cop." I decided not to mention
that he'd met Dan, since Dan had been pointing a gun at him at the time. 
"But unfortunately, there are as many mediocre cops and bad cops."

   "Like me."

   I hate when I feel like the quicksand is starting to give way beneath my
feet.  "When I first met you, I didn't think much of you as a cop or
anything else." He dropped his eyes down to the table, and I took that as a
good sign.  "But I've got some friends in Colorado, and they're in pretty
good with the police in their town, and of course their cops know other
cops.  I had you checked out, and you seem to be a pretty good cop.  I'm
reserving judgement on the anything else."

   He lifted his head and looked at me again.  "I guess I can't ask for
anything more."

   I grinned.  "You could ask, but that's what I'm prepared to give right
now.  And I think we should change the subject before Tami throws her neck
out." Tami had been doing the ping pong thing as she looked at her father,
then me, then back again.

   "That was an exciting game last year.  I was glad I came.  Going to be
just as good this year?"

   "Most of the sportswriters have picked us to win."

   He smiled again.  "These the same sportswriters who said you didn't have
a prayer last year?"

   I shrugged, then brought the conversation around to Tami's column and
her nomination.  As she became more a part of the conversation, I sat back
and listened.  When the food came, I just concentrated on my steak.

   * * *



   'Oh shit!' I thought as the Tiger halfback sprinted along the sideline.
He'd gotten past our defense, and there was no one between him and the
goal. No one but me, and I was too far away.  As I tried to pick up speed,
I thought about Cinnamon's dog.  Ghost seemed to have the ability to stop
being in one place and immediately be somewhere else.  I wondered if he
could teach me.

   The gap between us seemed to be getting smaller, but it was taking too
long.  Way too long.  I could hear others chasing us, but no one was in a
position to intercept.  The space between us got smaller: ten feet, five
feet, three feet, but he was too close to the goal line.

   Hero or goat time.  I launched myself.  I'd look like an idiot if I
missed.  The gun for the first half went off as I was in the air.  I
landed, my arms around his legs.  He was down!  There was mud in my eyes. I
couldn't see.  Had he crossed?  Had he crossed?

   I let go of his legs, rolled onto my back, and wiped my eyes with my
sleeve.  The first thing I saw was the referee waving his arms.  No
touchdown.  I'd stopped him.

   The first half was over.  The Tigers hadn't scored.  But neither had we.

   * * *



   Some of us actually learn from our mistakes.  This year, I set the
alarm.

   Traci, Peter, and Kelly had hung out until almost ten, overstaying their
welcome by a couple of hours, but we had fun anyway, and at least Peter
hadn't asked for a rubber when they left.

   I set the alarm, and Tami and I climbed into bed.

   Sleeping in Tami's arms was still magical.  Waking in them--even to the
blare of an alarm--even more so.  We looked at each other and smiled.

   "You know, if someone hadn't forced me to rejoin the team, we could stay
like this."

   Tami leaned forward and bit my nose.  "If you hadn't rejoined the team,
we'd be at home, each in our own house, and you'd be listening to the
pre-pre-pregame show on the radio."

   "How'd you get so wise?"

   "I used to have a boyfriend who read."

   "Whatever happened to him?"

   Tami grinned.  "He was late meeting his coach in the lobby, and I think
he's still running laps."

   I looked at the clock.  Damn, where did the time go?  I jumped up,
dressed, and headed for the door as Tami blew me a kiss.

   * * *



   "This is the year!"

   I rolled off the Tiger I'd tackled and watched as Robbie, who'd scooped
the ball he'd lost, streaked toward the end zone.  Just before the line, a
Tiger launched himself like I had, but he wasn't as lucky.  Robbie jinked
to one side, then sailed across the line, holding the ball over her head.

   Now this was the way to start the second half.  Kickoff to the other
team, force a fumble, and score.

   * * *



   "Sims!"

   I'd swiped the keycard, the light had turned green.  So close.  I looked
down the hall.  Mike was standing there.  We'd just gotten back from the
same athletic club we'd gone to last year.  No Seahawks this time, but
half-a-dozen other pro athletes to do the meet-and-greet.  Tami and the
younger ones had met us in the lobby as we came back, and I'd managed to
get rid of Traci, Peter and Kelly for a half-an-hour so that I could have
some time alone with Tami.  Now...

   "Sims!" he repeated.

   I looked at Tami, and she nodded without the need for words.  I swiped
the keycard again and opened the door.  "Come in Mike.  Let's talk."

   Tami kissed my cheek, then headed down the hall.  I figured I'd find her
in Traci's room.

   "Sims..." he said again after I'd closed the door behind him.

   "How's the arm Mike?"

   He held it up in front of him and turned it a couple of times.  It was
still in a cast from his elbow to his wrist.

   "Doctor says I'll be throwing again by January.  Good as new by March."

   "That's good to hear." I couldn't muster a lot of enthusiasm, but I was
glad his career wasn't over.  "Scouts still looking?"

   He nodded.  "Sims, uh, Tony, I wanted to say..." He looked all around,
scuffing his foot.  "Well, I really want us to win.  I want that trophy.  I
know it won't be mine, but..."

   "Don't be stupid," I snapped.  "If we win, it's as much your trophy as
anyone's.  Your arm got us here.  At least when it was in one piece."

   Mike half smiled.  "I've always liked that about you.  You're all about
the team."

   I grinned.  "Don't try to make me a saint.  I like the hero bit.

   "Yeah, but you're for the team at the same time.  I try, but..."

   Damn.  I almost felt sorry for him.  "Mike, I'll bet all your life
you've had coaches and everybody else telling you how special you were. 
And giving you special treatment.  Sometimes it's hard to keep your head on
straight."

   "You're almost as good as me.  You've had that too."

   I liked how the word 'almost' came so naturally to him.  "I had an
advantage.  I had a mom who understood athletes, and especially talented
athletes.  She made sure I didn't get special treatment."

   "What about your dad?"

   "Dad's a great guy and I love him, but he couldn't even make the chess
team."

   Mike laughed.  "My dad..." he stopped, probably remembering the problems
his dad and I had.

   "Your dad is your greatest fan.  He supports you and pumps you up. 
That's what's important." It would be nice if he did that for the rest of
his family.

   "Dad was a pretty good ballplayer in high school, but couldn't make the
cut in college."

   That explains a lot.  Mike's his second chance.  "Like I said, he
supports you and pumps you up, and that's what's important."

   Mike stepped toward the door.  "I'm glad we had this talk."

   I clapped him on the back.  "You know, Mike.  So am I."

   He opened the door, then stopped.  "Do you think we could have been
friends?"

   I thought about it.  I'd moved in the seventh grade, but after football
season, so I'd known who Mike was but didn't know him.  When football
started again, I was an eighth grader and he was a freshman, and that was
like two different species.  Then Robbie and I joined the team as freshmen,
but Mike was accepted by the juniors and seniors and we were outsiders. 
Then last year...

   "Stranger things have happened, Mike, stranger things have happened."

   * * *



   We stopped another Tiger drive as the third quarter ended.  Robbie
slapped me on the back.  "Sorry, Tony, you may not get your overtime." We
were still up six to nothing.

   "But the real world's out there.  I don't want to go."

   Robbie shrugged.  "Maybe you can hide behind the trophy.

   * * *



   "Uh, Tony?"

   "What are you doing up here?" I said, looking over my shoulder.

   "Robbie said you were up here.  I, uh, wanted to talk." I'd been
standing on the top deck, looking down on the field and the rapidly filling
stadium.  I decided I owed Robbie something.  Maybe I'd set her up with
Kevin Murphy.  Nice kid, but he had acne that would make a leper cringe.

   "What do you want Luke?" I asked without turning around.  The field
looked so pure.  So...  so fresh.

   "I just...  I just wanted to say thanks.  For letting me play.  For
everything."

   Damn.  I missed the old world.  Where the good guys were good, and the
bad guys were bad, and they stayed that way.

   "You didn't need me.  You got yourself straight, and you stayed that
way." Down below, a lone person was walking across the field.

   "I thought you should know I was talking to this guy from Oregon
State..."

   Coach Branson.  I knew.  He'd talked to me and Robbie about Luke first.

   "He said if I hadn't tested every week, he probably wouldn't have been
interested.  I'm pretty sure most of the other scouts feel the same way.  I
wanted to say thanks."

   "Don't bother.  I didn't do that part for you, I did it for me.  For the
rest of the team.  All you owe me, all you owe us, is a good game.  Your
best game."

   There were four guys in the middle of the field now, discussing
something.  I watched.  After a minute Luke left.

   * * *



   I took the hike and faded back as my line became a wall.  I looked for
Zach.  He was covered.  I found Robbie in the open.  I pulled the ball up
by my ear and let it sail.  She was on about the fifteen.  It looked like
we were going to get some insurance.

   Suddenly a kid leaped into the air and snatched the ball.  Test that boy
for steroids, or testosterone.  Hell, test him for flubber.  Nobody should
be able to jump that high.  I recognized him.  It was the damn halfback I'd
chased halfway down the field.

   I glanced at the clock after Mark brought him down just short of the
fifty.  Two minutes.

   * * *



   "Sims!"

   Damn, my name was getting a workout today.  I turned and looked down the
tunnel.  "Mr..." Something fishy.  Mr.  Salmon.  Mr.  Carp.  Mr.  Herring.
Mr...  "Trout."

   "I hope you're happy."

   "I'm in a pretty good mood.  I don't know if I'd go so far as to say
happy."

   Trout glared.  "You and your girlfriend should be happy.  Dan Blakeman
has agreed to a three year suspension.  You've ruined him."

   What did he expect, guilt?  "Maybe he should have thought of that before
he cheated."

   Trout kept glaring.

   "Don't bother coming in to wish us good luck.  We don't need your kind
of luck."

   * * *



   I watched from the sideline as that damn halfback found another hole and
plunged thru to our seven.  First and goal with thirty-three seconds on the
clock.

   * * *



   "You know, life would be so much easier without people," I said in the
locker room as Robbie and I psyched ourselves up for the game.

   "But not half as much fun."

   * * *



   I felt so helpless as I watched from the sideline.  At least Robbie was
in the game.  The quarterback took the hike, faded back and handed off to
the halfback.  The halfback was sprinting toward the right sideline. 
Robbie was shadowing him.  That's when I realized the quarterback still had
the ball.

   "The other side.  The other side!" I shouted.

   I don't know if Robbie heard me or just sensed, but she reversed and
headed toward the other side of the field.  The quarterback launched a
short pass.  The end grabbed it and turned.  He was only four or five yards
away.

   Robbie was closing in, but she'd never be in time.  I hadn't heard the
gun.  She launched, hitting the kid just as he stepped over the line.  If
the ball came loose there was a chance...  Robbie and the kid went down.  I
waited, then the whistle.  The referee standing there, both arms in the
air. Touchdown, Tigers.

   I looked at the scoreboard.  It had stopped with four seconds left.

   I weighed the options while the two teams lined up for the extra point.
If we blocked the point, we went into overtime.  If the point was good, we
had four seconds.  Which meant, we had to score on the kickoff.

   The ball was hiked, the quarterback spotted it, kicker in motion.  It
almost seemed like slow motion.  The kicker connected, and I watched the
ball sail through the uprights.  They should have made a video of the play.
It was textbook.

   I grabbed my helmet and ran onto the field, yelling instructions and
encouragement to the players coming with me.  We took our positions.

   "Sorry!" Robbie yelled

   "Nothing to be sorry about," I yelled back.  "Eighty, ninety yards and
we win."

   The Tigers kicked.  I heard the gun before the ball came down.  Luke was
camped under the ball.  I moved forward to block for him.  The Rebels moved
up the field.  The Tigers prepared to meet us.

   I blocked a Tiger.  He went down to the side.  Robbie took out another.
Luke shifted, crossing to the other side of the field.  A Tiger broke
through.  Luke was across the fifty.  The damn Tiger halfback angled toward
him.  I dropped my shoulder and hit him hard.

   Luke was at the forty.  He shifted again, up the middle now.  A Tiger
broke through and went for the tackle.  Luke pirouetted out of his grasp.
The thirty.  Luke twisted out of another Tiger's reach.  Then...  three
tigers dove, one getting Luke's legs.  Luke tried to pull away, but another
Tiger hit him and he went down.

   Only twenty-three yards short.



   Chapter 49



   "So how does it feel to have lost another one?"

   I glared at Traci, but she felt safe sitting between Peter and Kelly and
grinned back.

   "It feels..."

   "I can think of ways to make you feel what we're feeling," Robbie said
with just a touch on menace."

   "Sorry," Traci mumbled dropping her eyes.  "I was just teasing."

   My sister was more afraid of Robbie's revenge than mine.  I wasn't sure
how to take that.

   "Amy Long's German shepherd just had puppies.  Can we trade her in on
one?" I asked with a straight face.  "I know Dad's allergic, but we can get
him a surgical mask to wear around the house."

   "Children, behave," Mom said with mock severity.

   "That's what they say when we're together," Robbie and I sang together.
Robbie giggled, catching my eye from the other side of Tami, so I
continued, "And watch how you play..."

   "You two are weird," Mikee said, shaking her head.  "What was that all
about?"

   Mom set a huge plate of waffles on the table and sat down between Dad
and Mikee.

   "It's an old Tommy James song, I Think We're Alone Now," Robbie
explained, reaching out and spearing the top waffle.  She was sitting
between Dad and Tami.

   "It starts out 'Children behave', I guess the song popped into both our
heads at the same time," I finished, scooping scrambled eggs off a platter
and onto my plate.

   "Do you two know every song ever written before I was born," Kelly asked
picking a piece of bacon off her plate.

   "Just the good ones," we said together.

   After the championship game, Tami and I had stayed over and come back
this morning.  Now we were having a family brunch.  I'm not sure when
Mikee, Kelly and Peter joined the family, but it seemed perfectly natural.

   "Just out of curiosity, how old is that song?" Traci asked between
bites.

   "Let's put it this way.  They played that song at my senior prom," Dad
said, then grinned.  "Along with some other moldy oldies."

   "Sixty-eight or sixty-nine," Robbie supplied.

   There was relative quiet as we all concentrated on our food.  Mom had
gone all out: waffles, cinnamon rolls, and french toast along with eggs,
bacon, sausage and country potatoes.  I think she was trying to cheer me
up, I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't depressed.

   "So how was your trip?" Tami asked, pushing her plate away from her.

   "Pretty good, all in all," Mom said, following Tami's example of pushing
her plate away.  "The conference was long and boring, and I could have
learned just as much from a two-page memo."

   "I liked it," dad said.  "I sat around the pool and relaxed.  Then I
went shopping.  I found the most darling..."

   Dad really should have expected that elbow.

   "What did you think of Mitch, Rosita, and Cinnamon?" Robbie asked,
working on her third waffle.

   "Well the conference ended Thursday afternoon and we drove to a little
place in Idaho Falls.  What was the name again?"

   "Miner's Pick," Dad mumbled around a mouth of cinnamon roll.

   "The Miner's Pick.  It's a quaint little bed and breakfast.  I needed to
unwind."

   Dad opened his mouth, thought better of it, and took another bite of
cinnamon roll.

   "Then Friday morning, we slept in till almost ten, then finished the
drive to Mitch's.  We met them for lunch at..."

   "The Harbor Club," Dad said before popping the last of his roll in his
mouth.

   "It's the marina right on the lake.  They had a very nice restaurant,
and the view was magnificent."

   Dad made a show of leaning back in his chair and pulling at his belt. 
"We'd planned to have lunch and visit awhile.  Then drive back to Denver
about four, which would have gotten us to the airport by six and still left
plenty of time for all the fun and games it takes to get on an airplane
these days."

   "Somehow..." Mom started.

   "And I'm still not sure how or when," Dad added.

   "We wound up spending the night and flew out in the morning."

   "Cinnamon!" said every voice at the table under twenty except Peter.

   "Your cousin was very nice."

   "My cousin is a scheming, conniving..." Tami's hand had been stroking my
leg and now she squeezed the pressure point just above my knee.  "...little
angel," I finished.

   Tami smiled, leaned over, and kissed me on the cheek.

   "So what did you think of everybody?" Traci asked.

   "It's hard to believe that Mitch is a doctor, let alone a member of my
family.  He seemed so, so full of life."

   "And it's obvious he's very much in love," Dad added.

   "What did you think of Cinnamon?" I asked.

   Mom hesitated then nodded.  "Cinnamon seemed very nice.  She was polite
and very intelligent.  I was so glad she could get out of school to have
lunch with us."

   "I think she could give Tony a run for his money," Dad said with a grin.

   "You got that right!" Traci added, matching his grin.

   I glared at her.

   "Don't glare at your sister when you know she's right." I didn't have to
look at Robbie to know her grin was just as big.

   I leaned back, imitating Dad, and patted my stomach.  "I think I could
keep her in check, but we'll never know.  I think Cinnamon's life will go
in a very different direction from mine.  For one thing, I can't see her
playing much football..."

   Robbie giggled.  "Can you see her trying to stuff those melons under
some pads?"

   Mom gave her a reproachful glare, then hid her own grin behind a napkin.

   Cinnamon' sweren't all that big.  About the same as Robbie's, but she
was short enough that they looked bigger.

   "So what do you see her doing?" Dad asked.  "I assume, you're still plan
to coach?"

   I nodded.  "Well, Robbie called her the future leader-of-the-free-world.
I'm not sure that's far from wrong.  Which means those two can butt heads,
not me.  I'm pretty sure that Robbie was planning to be the first empress
of the world.  Cinnamon's also really into music, so the redheads can
battle for the top of the charts before they take on the world."

   I expected a sarcastic retort, but Robbie looked thoughtful.

   "And you'd be content to let one or both of them run the world?" Mom
asked.

   I stood and bowed to my mother, then Tami, then Robbie.  "Mom, between
you, Robbie and Tami, I've never had a chance to run my own life anyway,
let alone the world.  You can't miss what you've never known.

   Dad looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind,
stood, and bowed to his wife, then Traci.  He looked at me.  "Tony shall we
do the dishes before we get finagled into doing them anyway?

   I grinned, nodded, and started picking up plates.

   Chapter 50



   "Yes."

   "Yes what?" Tami asked as my hand sank into the back pocket of her
jeans.

   "Yes is the answer."

   "What answer?" Tami asked a little over loudly.  Behind us, I saw Traci
and Peter come out of their own world to look.  It was the Sunday night
after the brunch, and we were talking a walk around the park even though it
was misty.

   I smiled.  Turning my head, I nibbled on her earlobe.  "The answer to
the question you're going to ask in about twenty or twenty-five minutes."

   "What question?" she asked.  Tami had a way of sounding like she was
stomping her foot without physically doing it.  "And why would I ask it in
twenty or twenty-five minutes."

   "Because my love, in about ten minutes, my parents, wonderful creatures
that they are, are going to collect our shadows and take them to a movie,
then they are going on to dinner with friends at the Holiday Inn.  Ergo..."

   "Ergo?"

   "I'm trying to class up my act here.  Ergo, in about fifteen minutes you
and I will enter a totally unchaperoned house complete with beds.  So,
twenty to twenty-five minutes from now would be an inconvenient time to ask
a question, so you will." I turned my head and grinned at Tami.

   "Who says I want to be unchaperoned with you anyway?`

   I kept grinning.

   "Maybe I want to go to the movie with Peter and Traci and not ask you
anything inconvenient."

   "First of all, my beautiful little minx..."

   Tami giggled.  "I thought you gave up on the pet names."

   "It seemed appropriate.  First of all, I'm not sure my sister and her
boy toy would appreciate a chaperone of their own."

   "And second of all?"

   "You can't resist me."

   "You are so full of it."

   "True, but you still can't resist me.  Besides, you want to know the
question to my answer."

   Tami pouted as we kept walking.

   * * *



   Tami lay on the bed, her legs wrapped around mine as I drove my cock
deeper and deeper within her.  I knew her body so well that I could
literally feel the orgasm building within her.  I slowed my strokes, trying
to stave off the explosion that was coming.  I was close, too.  A last
push, and I released my pent up seed, mentally thanking her aunt who kept
her supplied with birth control patches.  Tami shuddered, and we clung
together in the afterglow of our sex.

   "I wonder if Co..." I grinned down at her.  "Damn you," she said without
spite, then laughed.

   I rolled onto my side, pulling her with me.  "As I said about twenty
minutes ago.  Yes, I think Cody got lucky."

   "Have I mentioned I hate you?"

   "Once or twice."

   "I could cut you off.  No more nookie for Tony."

   I kissed the top of her breast.  "You know, I was thinking just
yesterday that I haven't been spending enough time with Mikee and Kelly. 
Or Paula.  It's been a long time since I gave Paula the attention she
deserves."

   "I hate you."

   "You said that," I reminded her, and started kissing the valley between
her breasts.

   "Paula wouldn't have you.  She's hot and heavy with Josh Lindsay."

   I shook my head, my nose brushing against her tits.  "Not anymore.  He
dumped her on Friday."

   Tami sighed.  "She has the worst luck with guys.  Maybe I should send
you over."

   I made as if to get up.  "Your wish, etcetera, etcetera."

   "Not right now." She pulled my face back between her tits.  "You're
being punished."

   "Why?" Not that I minded.  "You've been reading my mind for almost four
years.  Just because I get one right now and then..."

   "It's the principal of the thing.  So you think Cody got lucky?" she
added, changing the subject.

   I lifted my head, laying it on the pillow next to hers.  "Robbie didn't
say so, but she was pretty bummed after the game.  I'm guessing she let
Cody console her."

   "Is that what I was doing in the motel last night, consoling you?" Tami
asked with a wicked smile.

   "Nope.  We were celebrating."

   "How come you were celebrating and Robbie needed consoling."

   "'Cause she's a wee bit more competitive than I am.  I saw us as being
the second best team in the state of Washington two years in a row.  She
saw us as losing for the second time."

   "So how come you didn't console her?"

   "'Cause I'm not a very good friend.  I was busy celebrating with you."

   "It was a pretty good celebration too."





   Chapter 51



   As soon as Tami and I got to school, three basketball players grabbed me
and started carrying me around the halls.  Mike, Luke, and Robbie were
getting similar treatment.  And it didn't stop when the bell rang.  Not
that the teachers tried.

   We'd had an assembly scheduled for second period, but with most of the
student body roaming the halls chanting, clapping and stomping, Mr.  Reed
moved it up.  I was carried triumphantly into the gym.

   Mr.  Reed caught my eye and tilted his head to the lectern that had
already been setup in front of the bleachers.  I nodded with a grin.  The
basketball guys set me down.  I decided that I could get used to treatment
like this.  Maybe I could get the wood shop to build me one of those chairs
that Roman lords used to ride around in.  Of course, I'd use basketball
players instead of slaves for propulsion.  I walked over to the lectern
while teachers tried to get everybody else settled into the bleachers.

   I switched on the microphone.  "I think somebody forgot to tell you." I
paused as the last few stragglers found seats.  "We lost." There was a
stunned silence for a second, then somebody laughed.  Then everybody
laughed.  "Again," I added.

   I looked around the bleachers when they finally quieted.  "Varsity, get
your butts down here!" The team started working their way out of the
bleachers and forming a line behind me.  I glanced at the side of the gym.
Mr.  Butz was standing next to Mr.  Reed, and from the look on his face,
didn't appreciate my choice of words.  It's not like I said, 'Get your butz
down here.'

   I smiled.  "J.V., what are you waiting for?" I spotted some junior
varsity players.  They looked confused but gradually got the idea and came
down and joined the varsity.  "Freshmen, what, you need an invitation?"
Looking surprised, members of the freshmen team moved quicker than the J.V.

   "And cheerleaders.  We need cheerleaders." The varsity cheerleaders
started down out of the bleachers.  Knowing how my mind works, Paula
signaled the J.V.  and freshmen squads to come down, too.  By the time
everyone was standing behind me, it was a pretty good sized mob.

   "These are all the people to blame for us losing," I shouted, not being
able to hide my grin.

   Somebody in the stands booed, and a couple more joined in.  I held up my
hands, and they quieted.  "Actually, I'm pretty proud of our loss.  For the
second year in a row, we're the second best team in the state." Scattered
applause.  "To some of you, that may not mean much, but it means a lot to
me.

   "Last year, Pasco beat us.  Barely.  This year, they didn't even make
the playoffs."

   "Go Rebels!" someone yelled.

   "This year, the Tigers beat us..."

   "Barely!" half a dozen voices yelled from the bleachers.

   "But last year, they got put down in the first round of playoffs.  But
the Rebels made it all the way to the championship two years, and we're
going to do it again next year!"

   "Rebels!" a lone voice called out, then the whole bleacher was chanting,
"Re-bels, Re-bels, Re-bels!" As they stomped and clapped, I wondered if the
bleachers could take it.

   "There are a lot of people down here with me," I said when it finally
quieted.  "That's because it takes a lot of people to go all the way to the
championships three years in a row."

   I looked back.  "Freshmen, take a couple of steps forward." When they
had, I continued.  "This is your freshmen football team.  They were seven
and one this year, one of the best records the freshmen have ever had. 
Because they were so good, the J.V.  played harder, 'cause nobody wanted to
lose their spot to some snot-nosed freshman." I grinned at the group and
waved them toward the bleachers.

   One ran over to the microphone.  "And we're not going to the
championships three years in a row, we're going five!" Tanner Boyd the
freshmen captain yelled, then sucker punched me softly and joined his team
back in the bleachers.

   "J.V.," I said over my shoulder, and they moved forward in a mass. 
"This is your Junior varsity squad.  Six and two for the year, a pretty
good record.  There's a lot of talent in this group.  They played hard, and
they made us on the varsity play harder to keep our spots."

   The J.V.  players formed a circle and started chanting, "J.V., J.V.,
J.V.," about a dozen times, finishing with a loud "Rebels!" and jogging
back to the bleachers.  I grinned at their backs.

   "You may think this is all political correctness, but in sports, knowing
there's someone good behind you makes you push that extra little bit.  Luke
Hastings, who the smart money says will be all-state, worked a little bit
harder knowing that Jack Hild on the second string and Brian Donaldson on
the J.V.  wanted his spot." Okay, truthfully, Luke probably didn't even
know who they were, but he should.  "Mike Reed pushed a little harder
knowing that Monster Girl and I both wanted his, but we had to work that
much harder 'cause Jason Greene from the J.V.  wants to show us all up. 
The freshmen and the J.V.  are as much a part of our season as we are."

   Somebody started clapping and the applause lasted several minutes.

   "Something else that can make you give that extra ten percent, to play
better than you are, is when the crowd gets behind you.  And these ladies
really know how to work up a crowd."

   The cheerleaders, none in uniform, waved.

   "Of course, beautiful girls like these can get the male part of the
crowd worked up just by breathing..."

   Robbie stepped forward and slugged me in the arm.  Several girls in the
bleachers applauded.

   "I was going to add it's nice when the female part of the crowd gets
worked up too, but I think I'll stick with, 'Ow.'"

   When the laughter died down, I continued.  "I know there are some of you
who think cheerleaders are old fashioned.  Even sexist.  That they present
the wrong image for modern women.  But let me tell you that all these girls
are real athletes.  If you don't think so, try doing what they do.  And
while me and the other wimps on the football team get to rest during
halftime, these ladies work even harder.  Your Rebel Cheerleaders!" I
yelled and waved my arm back at the girls.  The applause was loud and long.

   "And while I'd like you to believe--especially if you're cute and
female--that the Rebels went seven and one in the regular season, ten and
two overall, because of my incredible talent, the truth is, there are some
people who know even more about football than I do.

   "For the freshmen, Coach Allen and Coach Bales."

   The two coaches walked over, waving.

   "For the J.V., Coach Henley and his assistant Coach Croft."

   The next two coaches came over and waved.

   "And for the varsity, Coach Vickers and his assistant, Coach Sharpski."
I'd thought about adding something about Parker, but it didn't seem the
right time to trash him, and I just couldn't bring myself to say anything
nice.

   I yielded the microphone to Coach Vickers.  "Those of you who are
religious may want to acknowledge a miracle.  Tony Sims admitting that his
coaches know more than he does."

   "I didn't say they knew a lot more," I added, leaning in from the side.

   Coach Vickers is a better man than I am.  He did say something about
Parker and made it seem like he contributed.  Then he handed out
certificates for participation, then for the school, district, and state
records we'd broken.  Then awards he and the other coaches had selected. 
Everybody got something: most improved, most inspiring, that sort of thing.
Robbie and I shared one as the heart and soul of the team.  It probably
would have hurt my macho image if I cried.

   Robbie got MVP again, the award voted by the team, and this year it was
unanimous.  Maybe Mike was growing up.

   Robbie handed out the awards that she and I had created.  Mark got
Best-Kicker-in-the-State-Wearing-Clown-Shoes.  We gave Mike
Most-Likely-to-Make-Bad-Action-Movies-After-Football and Luke
Most-Likely-to-Go-to-Mike's-Movies.

   When there were two left, Robbie grinned over at me.  "Last year Tony
got voted Most-Likely-to-be-Traded-by-Every-Team-in-the-League," she said,
picking up a certificate.  She created my award, and I'd made hers.  "But
since we wouldn't trade him for anything or anyone, Tony Sims,
Most-Likely-to-be-a-Rebel-Forever."

   Someone started clapping, and a few seconds later, everyone was on their
feet applauding.  It almost made me sorry for Robbie's award.  Almost.

   Robbie picked up the last certificate as the applause died down and
started reading.  Then she turned red.

   "You have to read it," I said.  "It's your job as captain."

   Robbie shot me an unfriendly look.  "And last, Robbie Tate,
Most-Likely-to-be-the-First-NFL-Quarterback-on-the-Cover-of-Sports-Illustra
ted's-Swimsuit-Edition," she announced, turning redder with each word.

   Mark yelled "Monster Girl!" and the chanting began.  "Monster Girl,
Monster Girl!" Tami had been sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers. 
She stood, walked over, and grabbed me by the ear, twisting it and pulling
me toward the door like a teacher with an errant six-year-old.

   "Was that really necessary?" I asked when she released me at the door.
Mr.  Reed had moved in front of the bleachers and was trying to send kids
back to class.

   Tami grinned.  "You're still breathing aren't you?"





   Chapter 52



   "Take five!"

   "But, we're..."

   I took a couple quick steps and jumped up to the stage.  "We're taking
five," I said firmly.  I took Robbie's hand and pulled her toward the exit.
Outside, I took a deep breath of the cool night air, then pushed Robbie to
sit on the low concrete wall by the door.  "Want to talk about it?"

   "There's nothing to talk about."

   "Okay." I sat next to her, taking her hand again.

   We sat like that for several minutes.  Robbie tried to stand, but I held
her in place.  "Can we go now?" she asked in exasperation.

   "Are you over it?"

   "There's nothing to get over!" she snapped.

   "Then we can't go now." I squeezed her hand.  She tried to pull it away,
but I held on.

   "There's nothing wrong, and if there was, what makes you think it's any
of your business?"

   I sighed.  "What you're feeling is none of my business if you don't want
to share." Robbie looked satisfied and tried to stand up, but I still held
her in place.  "But that's my sister you're jumping on.  And my friend
Peter you sniped at.  And my girlfriend.  And..."

   "I...  Have I really been that bad?"

   "Yes," I said simply.  I could have softened it, but this is what she
needed to hear.

   Her hand relaxed, and I let go.  "I'm sorry."

   "I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

   "I didn't jump on you?"

   "You took some shots, but I've been tackled by you, I'm not going to get
hurt by some words.  Do you want to talk about it?  Is it the game?"

   "No.  I don't want to talk, and it wasn't the game.  I'm over that."

   "Really?"

   "Mostly.  The assembly today helped.  I liked when you pointed out that
Pasco and the Tigers were one year deals, and we keep coming back." She
leaned over and laid her head on my shoulder.  "I wanted to win, but we
played hard and did our best, I'm happy about that."

   "So you're not bummed about the game.  You're a little stressed about
the play on Saturday, but it's more than that.  What is it?"

   "It's noth...  Okay, I'll deal with it." She stood, and this time I
didn't try to stop her.  I follower her back inside.  Tami was running
Peter and Traci through one of their scenes.  I replayed the day in my
head. I couldn't think of anything that had happed, but it occurred to me
that maybe something was missing.

   * * *



   "Your best friend is going to get her head slapped off."

   I looked closely at Tami to see if she'd been replaced by an evil twin.
"MY best friend?"

   "Yeah.  At the moment, I ain't claiming her."

   I sighed.  It had been a rough couple of days.  Robbie had been down on
everyone.  In fact, I knew a couple of teachers who wanted to trade her to
North Lincoln.  Even Mr.  Reed had looked like he wanted to strangle her.

   "Any idea what's bugging her?  And how long it's going to last?  It
ain't her time of the month."

   I sighed again.  "A small one, not a clue, and I know."

   Tami cocked her head.  "So are you going to tell me?  Or is it one of
those secrets that aren't yours to tell."

   I looked at my watch.  We had about ninety seconds before debate. 
"Close your eyes," I said putting my hands on her shoulders.  "Now
visualize Robbie for the last three days."

   Tami nodded, eyes closed.  "Okay.  It's Robbie, ready to kill or maim
for any reason."

   "Now think about your question Sunday night and put that with your
vision."

   Tami's eyes popped open.  "What happened?"

   I shrugged, put my arm around her, and started us toward debate. 
Neither of us put into words the question of the day.  Where was Cody?

   * * *



   "Do you think there's any question that I could squish you like a bug?"

   Luke Reese looked up at me.  He'd been sitting on a bench in front of
his P.E.  locker, tying his shoe.  He glanced around and realized that we
were the last two in the locker room.

   "I...  you wouldn't do that," he said.

   He was right, but I wasn't going to tell him that.  Luke had been my
best friend the first year I'd moved here.  Though Robbie replaced him as
number one, we were still friends, but that didn't mean I wasn't above a
little intimidation to get what I wanted.  "Are you sure?"

   "Uh, you don't have a reason." Luke didn't look sure at all.

   "Luke, all day you and almost every other guy in this school have been
giving me looks.  I'm tired of it and I want to know why."

   Luke hesitated, then he stood up and closed his locker.  He looked at
me, but couldn't hold my eyes and looked down.  "I guess...  I think we
need to talk."

   The bell rang, but I ignored it.  "So talk."

   "Not here." To emphasize his point the door slammed open and
half-a-dozen freshmen rushed in, already starting to strip off shirts. 
"Meet me on the stage in five minutes."

   I nodded and grabbed my stuff.  I hoped Mr.  Walker wouldn't be mad
about my missing journalism.

   * * *



   "First, promise that you'll remember I'm just the messenger."

   We were sitting in the Zoe's bedroom set for the play.  Luke sat on the
bed, and I was in the desk chair.  "What?"

   "Look, Tony, I know you weren't going to beat me up down in the locker
room.  But I also know how you feel about promises.  So promise me."

   I wondered if I was supposed to stand and put my hand on a bible.  We
had one.  Robbie, as Zoe's mom used it in act two.  "Luke, I promise I'll
remember that you're just the messenger."

   Luke looked relieved, and suddenly I wondered if I really wanted to hear
this.

   "I know Robbie's been sleeping with Cody." Luke didn't meet my eyes as
he said that.

   "How would you know that?" I snapped.

   Luke pointedly looked down at my hands, at my fists.

   I uncurled them.  "Reflex action," I apologized.

   Luke nodded but didn't relax.  "I don't want to get between you and
Cody."

   "Cody?  Why would you get between me and..."

   "Cody's been telling anybody who'd listen about nailing Robbie Saturday
night."

   I looked down where my hands had curled back into fists.  I flattened
them.  "There's more?"

   Luke nodded, the look on his face said he'd rather be in a Kansas
cornfield trying to hold back a tornado than be talking to me.

   "Luke, you're my friend, and I appreciate you telling me this.  If you
want to go, we're still friends.  But Robbie's my friend too.  If there's
more, it'll help me to hear it."

   Luke nodded again, looking not exactly relaxed, but resigned to his
fate.

   "According to Cody, he fuc...  he had sex with her Sunday too, at her
house.  He said she fucked...  she did sex good, but now he was ready for
some fresh meat."

   Now it was my turn to nod.  Cody wasn't the first guy I'd known who was
all about the conquest.  "Thanks Luke.  I know you didn't want to say
anything, but..."

   Luke had stood and headed for the door of the set.  He stopped and
turned around.  "There's more."

   "More?"

   "Cody's got a list.  He's doing it by categories."

   "I don't get it.  Categories?"

   "Like I said, he's got a list.  He's done cheerleaders, ballet students,
softball players, thirty-five different categories.  Now the bottom of his
list says quarterback."

   I felt numb.  "Thanks, Luke.  You'd better get to class."

   Luke left without another word.

   I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes.  I wished I was eight
again.  When the hardest thing I had to handle was remembering I before E
except after C on the spelling test.

   * * *



   "How about Christmas in Jamaica?"

   "Jamaica?" Tami asked as I swung into the seat beside her.

   "Yeah mon," I said in a bad Jamaican accent.  "Dad still owes me a
couple of thou.  You and me and some white sandy beaches until the New
Year."

   "It's Robbie isn't it?" Tami asked without hesitation.  I nodded.  "Why
Jamaica?"

   "'Cause if we time it right, by the time we come back the body will be
buried and the whole thing forgotten.





   Chapter 53



   "Are you planning to be a playwright?"

   I smiled and shook my head.  "Robbie may make me write one more, but
after that I'm done.  I'm just a dumb jock."

   Janet Martin smiled back.  "That's like saying Albert Einstein counts
good."

   "Where is Miss Tate?" Robert Annoly asked.

   "She, uh, wasn't feeling good.  She went home after the curtain," Tami
said.

   Before the play, Robbie had apologized to everyone for being a bitch all
week, then after the last curtain, had snuck out as fast as she could. 
Cody's sitting in the third row with Anna Bolan, the captain of the
swimming team, hadn't helped.

   "That's too bad," Janet said.  "We remember her from last year."

   The Zoe's Song cast was sitting down backstage with the judges from the
Prentiss Foundation.

   "We appreciate that you were able to move us to the bottom of the list,"
Tami said.  The foundation had rescheduled our performance so that we were
the last play they saw before announcing the regional winner.

   "Normally we try to keep the performance schedule completely random, but
Mr.  Reed explained that your school had some injured students, and their
play dropped out, and you were trying to stage yours in a hurry," Robert
Annoly, the chairman of the committee said.  "Tony, I understand you outdid
yourself."

   "Sir?"

   "Well, last year Mr.  Mulino told us how you and your group put together
a show in a week.  Mr.  Reed says you did this one in a night."

   Mr.  Reed was standing behind us.  I looked back at him.  "Tami told
me," he said with a shrug.

   I looked back at the committee.  "I don't know if he told you, but we
had a real friend named Zoe who was the inspiration for this.  She died
last year.  We originally submitted a different play, a comedy/drama called
The Basement, and lost out in the selection process.

   "Afterward my sister, that's Traci," I said pointing at the squirt,
"suggested that we should have stuck to a musical 'cause that's our
strength.  Then Mikee," she was sitting next to me, and I reached over and
squeezed her knee, "suggested Zoe as the basis for a new story, and I got
inspired."

   "My sister and I were spending the night with Traci, and he totally
ignored us," Kelly added.  She was sitting on the other side of her sister,
so I couldn't smack her.

   "Toby and Sally had the hard part.  They wrote the music," I said
acknowledging our musical component.  "Anyway, we put it all together,
planning to do it next year.  Then the car accident, and Mr.  Reed called
and said we could go for it, and the rest..." I waved my arms to encompass
the set.

   "So, you think you're good enough for Seattle?" Tom Baxter spoke for the
first time.

   "Tony didn't even think we'd get here," Tami said.

   "He thought we'd get beat by Romeo and George," Traci added.

   "Romeo and George?"

   "It was a play based on a short story on the net," I explained.  "Romeo
pretended to like Juliet but was really in love with her brother George.  I
thought it would appeal to the student body's prurient interests."

   "So you don't think you're going to win?" Annoly asked.

   I shrugged.  "In the school I had the advantage of seeing both of the
competition plays, and I was still wrong.  For the region, I know North
Lincoln did Midsummer Night's Dream, but I don't know what the other
schools did."

   "That's a good point," Janet said.  "Next year we should send a list of
each school's entries to the other schools." The other two nodded.

   The committee stood up.  "We enjoyed the performance, and we enjoyed
talking to all of you," Annoly said.  "It was too bad we missed Miss Tate.
The official announcement is next week, so of course we can't say
anything."

   Janet Martin winked.  "But you might not want to make any plans for the
second week of January."

   Tami and I exchanged looks.

   Silly me.  I kept thinking that life would get simpler.





   Chapter 54



   "Have you talked to her?"

   Beside me, Tami shook her head.

   "Damn!" I said as I pulled my car into the middle school parking lot.  I
parked next to the gym.  We got out and headed inside.  I hadn't seen
Robbie since the play Saturday night.  She'd missed three days of school,
which was one more than she'd missed in the last three years.  I'd called
several times, but her dad said she wasn't feeling up to taking calls. 
This was not Robbie.  "So who goes over tonight and barges in, you or me?"

   Tami hesitated.  "Maybe we should just give her some space."

   "Okay, me."

   Tami shot me a dirty look.  In the gym, the girls were stretching, so I
pulled Tami back out the door.  "You're the one with telepathy, so you tell
me.  But right now I think she needs a good kick in the ass, not space."

   Tami opened her mouth, then changed her mind and nodded her head. 
"Maybe you're right.  Mind reading only works on you, so I'm just
guessing."

   "I'm guessing too.  But I think right now Robbie's hurting and doesn't
know how to deal with it."

   "Robbie?  Not know how to deal."

   I nodded.  "Robbie's so damn good at everything she does that she's
never really had to deal with failure."

   "But she's lost before.  You've lost football and baseball games.  We
lost the play last year."

   "That's losing.  Yes, she's lost before, but football and baseball,
that's part of a team.  Even the play was part of a team.  When she's by
herself, she likes losing even less.  Monopoly doesn't bother her much,
'cause she knows how much of it is luck.  But watch her when she loses to
me in chess.  You can see her going back over the game, figuring what she
could have done different.  She hates it, but she accepts it, eventually at
least, figuring she lost to a superior player."

   "Mr.  Superior."

   "Sometimes.  But it's still losing.  But there's a difference between
losing and failing.  In Robbie's mind, a big difference."

   "You think she sees this as a failure?"

   I nodded.  "Depending on how much she's heard, either she failed to hold
onto him, or she failed to see him for what he was."

   * * *



   The girls were just finishing their stretches as Tami and I walked back
in.  "Vaulters!" I yelled and pointed toward the end of the vault runway.
We were in a lot better shape than last year.  We had at least six girls in
every event, which meant we could compete the girls who were doing the best
that week.  It also meant that in the meets, we'd be able to drop the
lowest score.

   Nine girls lined up at vault.

   I set the springboard on its side next to the runway, about ten feet
from the vault, then walked back to them.  "Ladies, sprints!" The girls
took turns standing at the end of the runway, then running toward the
vault. "That was pathetic," I said when they'd all finished.  "My
three-legged dog runs faster than that."

   "You don't have a dog," Kelly pointed out, "three-legged or otherwise."

   "You've never had a dog," Traci added.  "Dad's allergic."

   Mental note: never coach neighbors or relatives.

   "I was trying to make a point here."

   "By lying?" Kelly asked.  "I don't think you're setting a very good
example for impressionable young minds."

   I aimed a swat at her butt, but she jumped out of the way.  Kelly and my
sister stood just out of my reach, grinning at me.  I grinned back.  "Who's
that hottie you two are always whispering about?"

   Both girls turned red.

   "The one you said was the sexiest in eighth grade," I prompted.  "Funny
name?"

   "You mean Casper Portwood?" Susie Calloway asked.

   "That's the one.  Okay, ladies, I want you to imagine that superstud
Casper is down by the vault and you want to be first to ask him to the
Sadie Hawkins Dance.  Go!"

   Susie was first in line and took off like a shot.  That boy must be
something.  One after the other, the girls took off, all of them shaving
time off their first sprint, even Kelly and Traci who took time to give me
dirty looks before starting.

   "That's what I'm talking about," I said when they'd all come back.  I
walked down the runway and set up the springboard.  "Okay, straight jumps.
Explode and stick." Susie was first again.  She ran down the runway, hit
the board, and exploded into the air, her body straight and tight.  As she
landed, she flexed her knees but didn't take a step.

   "Beautiful.  Now you see why she's my favorite." Susie turned red but
grinned.

   "I thought I was your favorite." Kelly said with a whine.

   "Can you do that good?"

   Kelly nodded, turned, and ran.  Her straight jump was just as high and
tight as Susie's, and she stuck her landing.

   "I guess I have two favorites." A few minutes later, I had nine.

   "Okay, here's the drill.  Everybody's doing five vaults today.  You're
all starting with handsprings."

   "But I..." Susie started, and I noticed Kelly's mouth open to voice her
own appeal.

   I leaned down until I was nose to nose with Susie.  "I don't care what
vault you competed before or what you think you're doing this year. 
Everybody's doing a handspring first, then I'll tell you what vault I want
next.  Any questions?"

   Susie shook her head, her nose bumping mine in the process.  I grinned
to myself as I jogged toward the vault.  A handspring is a pretty easy
vault.  Basically you run, jump, land in a handstand on the vault table,
then pop off and land on your feet on the other side.

   "Marissa!" I yelled.  Marissa Lind had been watching Tami work with a
girl on the beam.  I pointed at a folding chair I'd set up a few feet from
the vault.  "Sit, watch."

   Susie Calloway was up first.  The blond eighth grader had grown about
two inches since last year.  She was planning to compete bars and vault
this year.  Her vault was explosive, but she took a step on the landing. 
"Half," I told her for her next vault.

   Kelly was next, one of the three girls who wanted to go all-around.  Her
vault was just as explosive as Susie's.  "Half."

   Brianna Lane, the third of my six eighth graders was next.  Brianna only
competed vault.

   Traci was fourth.  Hard to believe the brat was an eighth grader now. 
Last year she'd competed vault, bars, and beam.  This year she'd hinted she
might try to add floor and go all-around.

   Cheyenne Morris was fifth, another eighth grader.  She hadn't competed
for us last year 'cause she lived in Iowa.  My second all-arounder, her
biggest problem was that she knew how good she was.  She was competing
level seven at the club in town, and I'd had a few problems with her there.

   The last eighth grader was Rachel Clark.  She didn't vault and was
working with Stephy on the floor.

   Cassie Williams was the first of my seventh graders.  She was doing
vault and bars.  She had short red hair a little darker than Robbie's.  As
she ran I admired a major set of tits as they bounced.  I remembered a
cartoon of a girl doing high jump or pole vault or something with big
floppy tits and the black eye she had for the punch line.

   I motioned Cassie closer.  "Are you wearing a bra?"

   She turned deep red.  "What business is it...?"

   "Put one on.  And if I have to have Tami or Stephy check you every time
before we vault, I will." She stomped off, hopefully to put on a jogging
bra.

   Abbie Hart was next.  A blond seventh grader though she looked about
nine.  She was a level five at the club and wanted to go all-around.

   Taylor Brent was my eighth vaulter.  Another blond and another seventh
grader, she'd been a level six when she was nine, but then dropped out
after breaking an arm.  Bars was her other event.

   Miranda Caster was my last vaulter.  Also seventh, she had long black
hair that was fun to watch as it steamed behind her when she ran.  She was
planning to do vault and floor.

   Three more seventh graders made up the team.  Holly Vickers on beam and
floor.  Mari Byers just on floor.  And Marissa Lind, who wanted to compete
but didn't know what she wanted to do.  Marissa had been a level five until
a couple years before.

   The nine girls ran through four more vault each, Kelly and Cheyenne
finishing with Tsukaharas, a vault where the girls did a half twist before
landing on the vault in their handstands, then a back flip off. 
All-in-all, it was going to be hard to pare the nine down to six girls for
competition.

   When the others had finished and gone off to other events, I brought
Marissa over and ran her through some vaults.  She'd vaulted as a level
five, and it all came back quickly.

   Correction: it was going to be hard to pare the ten girls down to six
for competition.

   * * *



   "Sorry, Tony, but she doesn't want to see anybody right now."

   "Then you'd better call the sheriff 'cause I'm going up, and I don't
think you can stop me." Robbie's dad looked almost relieved when I wouldn't
take no for an answer.  I pushed by him and headed up the stairs.

   Outside her door I took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob.  I
didn't knock.  Why bother?  She'd just tell me to go away.  I opened the
door.

   Robbie was sprawled on her bed wearing one of the rattiest bathrobes I'd
ever seen.  The stereo was playing...  Donna Summer.  Disco!  Things were
worse than I thought.

   "Robbie?" I said softly.

   Robbie spun, and suddenly I wondered if this was such a good idea.  Tami
said she needed space, and the look on her face at the moment encouraged me
to give it to her.

   I heard something behind me and looked over my shoulder.  Darlene was
standing there.  I mentally kicked myself.  I had a spy in the household
I'd forgotten all about.

   "Go away," Robbie said, her voice somewhere between a whine and an
order.

   Darlene retreated.  I stayed put.  Mental note: check for genetic mental
defects before kids with Tami."

   "I'm not going anywhere," I said quietly.

   "I don't want to talk if that's why you're here."

   "Naw.  I just want to hang out.  I missed you." I smiled.  "That robe
sure has seen better days."

   "It's the only thing I have of my mother's."

   She's wearing her mother's bathrobe and listening to disco.  We might
have to find a priest for an exorcism.

   "Cool.  But when I'm depressed and wear my mother's bathrobe, people
laugh."

   For just a second the corners of her mouth turned up; then it was gone.
"I don't need you making lame jokes and trying to cheer me up.  I'm not
depressed."

   "What do you call it?"

   "I'm...  I don't have to explain anything to you."

   "Probably not," I agreed."

   There was a long silence between us, broken only by another disco song I
didn't recognize.

   "You're not going away, are you?"

   I smiled again.  "Not anytime soon."

   She stood and faced me.  "Now what?"

   I shrugged.  "You got me.  I haven't got a plan, I'm just playing this
by ear."

   "Tony, the white knight."

   I nodded.

   For a second I thought she was going to tackle me, and I was conscious
of the railing behind my back and the twenty foot drop into the dining
room. Then she was in my arms, crying.  It seemed so unnatural.

   "I've been such an idiot," she said between sobs.

   I decided the only thing to be gained by agreeing were bruises and
broken bones, so I just held her tighter.  In my mind's eye I saw two tall
pine trees bent almost double, the tops of the trees tied to the ground. 
Cody between them, a rope around his waist tied to one, a second rope
around his balls tied to the other, and me with an axe to release the
trees.

   * * *



   "I guess it wasn't enough."

   Tami laid her head on my shoulder as we walked.  It had rained earlier
and probably would again, but we managed to get our walk during the lull.
"You thought you'd have your talk with her last night, and today she'd be
back in school just like always?"

   "Something like that."

   "Tony, Tony, Tony," she said sadly.  "You forgot to tell her the most
important part."

   "What?"

   Tami told me and I decided that checking for the genetic mental defects
was a priority.  Couldn't have my kids growing up as stupid as I was.

   * * *



   "Get dressed," I ordered.

   Robbie had been lying on her bed looking out the window.  At least the
disco was gone.  The stereo was playing something classical: Liszt, I
thought.  Robbie's dad had gone to work, so I'd let myself in and come
upstairs.

   "You can't just come in here and order..." she said, rolling over to
look at me.

   "There's something you haven't thought about."

   "I've done too much thinking," Robbie said, rolling away from me again.

   "Well, I've got one more thing for you to think about; then I'll go wait
in car for you."

   "It could be a long wait."

   I stood watching her back and waited.

   "What?" she asked finally.

   "This is all a game to Cody.  How many girls can he get in their pants?
Can I do a softball player, a swimmer, a girl from the chess club, THE
quarterback."

   "So?" she asked without turning.

   "Like I said, it's all a game to him.  And every minute you're up here
pouting or sulking or whatever the hell you're doing, he wins." I turned
toward the hallway.  "I'll wait in the car."

   I didn't think I'd have that long to wait.

   * * *



   "You're a bastard."

   I didn't think it was the right time for my standard comeback that I'd
seen the paperwork on my parents' marriage and my birth certificate and
done the math.  We were in my car speeding toward second period.

   "Sometimes I have to be."

   * * *



   "I'm looking forward to your song tonight."

   Robbie stared at Mr.  Wade's back as he walked down the hall.  "What's
he talking about?  I'm not in the concert, I didn't sign up."

   I tried to look innocent as she turned back to me.  "Did I forget to
tell you?  They cut two of my songs yesterday, so I signed you up."

   "Why'd they cut your songs?" Tami asked to break the rising tension.

   "Apparently Parker said something to Butz about me trying to monopolize
the show, Butz remembered, and when he saw I was doing three songs..."

   "But Mr.  Wade asked you to do three."

   I shrugged and opened my locker.

   "So what song is Mr.  Wade expecting me to do?" Robbie asked calmly.

   I pulled out my MP3 player, found the song in the library and handed it
to her, along with a sheet of lyrics.  "Toby and Sally already know it."

   Tami arched an eyebrow as she read the title on the lyrics.

   I shrugged.  "It was that or I Will Survive, and I figured she'd had
enough disco."

   * * *



   The spotlight focused down on me.  "I know a lot of you are tired of me
dedicating songs to one certain girl, so I won't even bother.

   Toby started the melody and Sally joined in with just a tambourine.



   "I hear some people get married in the park on Sunday afternoon, And all
their friends bring pretty flowers while the band plays a happy tune. Now
do you want me, do you need me, Do you love me like I love you? Ooo

   What are you doing Sunday baby?  Would you like to marry me? What do you
say now?  If it's a nice day now. What are you doing Sunday baby?  Gee, I
wanna marry you. Oh, what are you doing Sunday afternoon?



   Somebody started clapping along, and quickly the whole auditorium joined
in.  It was an old Tony Orlando number and could be a little infectious. 
Tami was in the first row and grinning up at me.



   Maybe we should wait 'til night to join hands 'neath the stars above.
And we'll be kissing our first kiss by moonlight as we vow eternal love.
Now do you want me, do you need me, Do you love me like I love you?

   Ooo

   What are you doing Sunday baby?  Would you like to marry me? What do you
say now?  If it's a nice day now. What are you doing Sunday baby?  Gee, I
wanna marry you. Oh, what are you doing Sunday afternoon?

   Now do you want me, do you need me, baby? Love me like I love you?

   What are you doing Sunday baby?  Would you like to marry me? What do you
say now?  If it's a nice day now. What are you doing Sunday baby?  Gee, I
wanna marry you."



   As the music ended, I waved at the crowd and jumped off the stage to hug
Tami.  I'm sure Butz was around there somewhere thinking dire thoughts
about public displays of affection.

   * * *



   "Let the sun refuse to shine"

   Robbie's voice sounded plaintive and sad as she sat on the high stool
looking out at the audience.  She sang softly.  Toby had switched from his
keyboard to a piano.

   "It won't be long before the days are brighter.

   If every step's an uphill climb, Oooo,

   Carry on until they feel much lighter.



   For all the clouds up in the sky, Ooo,

   For all the teardrops in our eyes.

   It can get only get better.



   Be still my heart,

   It can only get better.

   We've come this far,

   It can only get better.



   I know it hurts,

   For what it's worth,

   It can only get better.



   If he should ever come our way,

   Dry the tears and look somewhere above him.

   Might be easier to say, than to do,

   But just pretend that you no longer love him."



   Robbie let her voice get stronger, more confident.  As her voice got
stronger, the music behind her--Toby's piano--seemed to get fuller.  The
whole effect worked to create the sense of a girl getting the strength to
move on.



   "When your back's against the ropes, Ooooo,

   When you miss someone the most,

   It can get only get better.



   Be still my heart,

   It can only get better.

   We've come this far,

   It can only get better.



   I know it hurts,

   For what it's worth,

   It can only get better."



   Toby and Sally gave her a brief musical bridge, then,



   "I know it hurts,

   For what it's worth,

   It can only get better.



   I know it hurts,

   For what it's worth,

   It can only get better."



   As Robbie let her voice fade out there was an almost stunned silence
about the auditorium, then someone clapped, then everyone was on their feet
applauding.  I would have been offended--they clapped for me sitting
down--but I was applauding as loud as anyone.

   * * *



   "Am I forgiven for sticking you with a song hours before performance?"

   "No," Robbie said with a smile that made her words a lie.

   Tami slipped her arm around me, her hand sliding into my back pocket. 
"It's not like Robbie would ever do that to you." Tami slapped her forehead
with her other hand.  "Oh, wait, she did." She looked Robbie in the eye. 
"Eighth grade year, end-of-school talent show."

   "Yeah but that was about getting Tony to open his eyes to..." Robbie
grinned.  "Message understood."

   "You sang the song, now live the song," I suggested.

   "Robbie, that was incredible," Cody gushed as he walked up to us.  "I
never knew you could sing like that.  Maybe we could..."

   "Tony, the song was right," Robbie said, slipping her arm around me. 
The three of us turned away from Cody and headed for the parking lot.  "It
can only get better."