doesn’t understand that, they have no idea what they’re up against. They don’t understand the strength you gain from being left and showing up anyway.”
From under their helmets came a deafening roar.
Randy lifted an arm over the helmets and placed it in the center of the group. Gus followed suite as did the players.
“Who are we?” said Randy.
“Grover, Grover, Grover,” the boys chanted.
“Let’s do this for Holly,” said Randy. He looked up at his little sister and smiled.
“Holly!” the boys yelled with the zeal of the spited.
Holly took a step back in surprise, and let out a laugh of appreciation.
Randy walked out of the locker room and gave Holly a hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” Holly said.
Randy gave a quick nod. He turned his attention back to his players before they could see his eyes.
Two by two, the players walked out in silence. Only their cleats clicked against the asphalt. The enthusiasm of the past few minutes now bottled up inside them as they walked to the field.
Gus walked out last. He shared a fist bump with Otto, and waved to Sam and Layla, but what Sam noticed especially was the way Holly beamed at him, and the way this stopped him in his tracks.
In the distance the chants of the fans in the stands came to Sam’s ears.
Grover, Grover, Grover.
“You think they would’ve figured out how to get the guanacos part in there too,” Sam said shaking her head as they began to follow the team and walk toward the field.
“They could start making guanaco sounds. I’ve read they snort when upset,” she said.
“I’ll assign finding ways to bring guanaco snorts into our cheer for extra credit,” said Layla dryly. In the distance the crowd roared as the team took the field.
* * *
S am , Layla, and Holly entered from behind the bleachers at Otto’s urging, and a few students received the shock of their young lives. The teenagers were attempting to woo one another and steal kisses under the bleachers only to be interrupted by the voices of their principle talking to Ms. Carey, Mrs. Cooke, and Sam Henry, Mr. Harrison's new secretary who wore the cute outfits.
“I’m glad they’re young with strong hearts, we almost gave a few of those kids heart attacks,” said Sam.
“Striking some fear into their hearts is good for them. It’s better they believe I may be lurking around any corner,” said Otto as he led them up the bleacher steps. Sam gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.
The group clunked up the metal steps taking them from the darkness behind the bleachers to the silvery beams of the stadium lights. Sam quickly crossed her arms. She didn’t let her hands hang carelessly at her sides the way Otto’s did, waiting for the cue to grasp Sam’s hand.
She still wanted Otto to be her secret. No matter what was speculated due to the amount of time they spent at each other’s sides, she wasn’t about to give everyone the satisfaction of knowing she and Otto had something going on. Her body filled with fear.
She felt sick to her stomach. She was being cruel and she hated it. She just couldn’t bring her hand down to Otto’s. There were those who said people were too busy thinking about themselves to think too hard about you. Those people had never lived in Grover.
On the way to finding their own spot in the bleachers, the group bumped into some football parents who wanted to hold council with Otto. They were still wary about Gus’s coaching credentials. Gus had won over the town in general during the school board meeting, but there were always the skeptics. Ron Upton stepped into Otto’s path, and put his hand on Otto’s forearm in a forceful kind of handshake.
“Son, I’m sure you know I’ve gone over this with Randy, and well, he just can’t seem to get it through his head about Gus. We’re just worried Randy doesn’t have the experience when it comes to talking to recruiters. What experience does Gus have at all? We hear he used to be a ballet
From under their helmets came a deafening roar.
Randy lifted an arm over the helmets and placed it in the center of the group. Gus followed suite as did the players.
“Who are we?” said Randy.
“Grover, Grover, Grover,” the boys chanted.
“Let’s do this for Holly,” said Randy. He looked up at his little sister and smiled.
“Holly!” the boys yelled with the zeal of the spited.
Holly took a step back in surprise, and let out a laugh of appreciation.
Randy walked out of the locker room and gave Holly a hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” Holly said.
Randy gave a quick nod. He turned his attention back to his players before they could see his eyes.
Two by two, the players walked out in silence. Only their cleats clicked against the asphalt. The enthusiasm of the past few minutes now bottled up inside them as they walked to the field.
Gus walked out last. He shared a fist bump with Otto, and waved to Sam and Layla, but what Sam noticed especially was the way Holly beamed at him, and the way this stopped him in his tracks.
In the distance the chants of the fans in the stands came to Sam’s ears.
Grover, Grover, Grover.
“You think they would’ve figured out how to get the guanacos part in there too,” Sam said shaking her head as they began to follow the team and walk toward the field.
“They could start making guanaco sounds. I’ve read they snort when upset,” she said.
“I’ll assign finding ways to bring guanaco snorts into our cheer for extra credit,” said Layla dryly. In the distance the crowd roared as the team took the field.
* * *
S am , Layla, and Holly entered from behind the bleachers at Otto’s urging, and a few students received the shock of their young lives. The teenagers were attempting to woo one another and steal kisses under the bleachers only to be interrupted by the voices of their principle talking to Ms. Carey, Mrs. Cooke, and Sam Henry, Mr. Harrison's new secretary who wore the cute outfits.
“I’m glad they’re young with strong hearts, we almost gave a few of those kids heart attacks,” said Sam.
“Striking some fear into their hearts is good for them. It’s better they believe I may be lurking around any corner,” said Otto as he led them up the bleacher steps. Sam gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.
The group clunked up the metal steps taking them from the darkness behind the bleachers to the silvery beams of the stadium lights. Sam quickly crossed her arms. She didn’t let her hands hang carelessly at her sides the way Otto’s did, waiting for the cue to grasp Sam’s hand.
She still wanted Otto to be her secret. No matter what was speculated due to the amount of time they spent at each other’s sides, she wasn’t about to give everyone the satisfaction of knowing she and Otto had something going on. Her body filled with fear.
She felt sick to her stomach. She was being cruel and she hated it. She just couldn’t bring her hand down to Otto’s. There were those who said people were too busy thinking about themselves to think too hard about you. Those people had never lived in Grover.
On the way to finding their own spot in the bleachers, the group bumped into some football parents who wanted to hold council with Otto. They were still wary about Gus’s coaching credentials. Gus had won over the town in general during the school board meeting, but there were always the skeptics. Ron Upton stepped into Otto’s path, and put his hand on Otto’s forearm in a forceful kind of handshake.
“Son, I’m sure you know I’ve gone over this with Randy, and well, he just can’t seem to get it through his head about Gus. We’re just worried Randy doesn’t have the experience when it comes to talking to recruiters. What experience does Gus have at all? We hear he used to be a ballet
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