Crossing the Barrier by Martine Lewis

Had her father still been alive, he would have attended every event she was participating in. Now that he was no longer with them, Charlie wanted to be there as much as his workload allowed and that meant attending the games, parades, and competitions.
    “I’m glad you came anyway,” she repeated.
    “Okay,” Charlie said with a chuckle. “Now, I think you need to go back. I see the other football team coming out, and it’ll be our time soon.”
    “See you after the game?”
    “Okay.”
    Lily descended the row of benches and took her position next to Sandra just in time to play the fight song for the players.
    It took every ounce of restraint Lily could muster for her not to put down her clarinet and shout Malakai’s name at the top of her lungs.

 
     
    Chapter Twenty-One
     
     
    MALAKAI
    Malakai had been looking forward to the first game of the season since the end of the season the previous year. His hands were now shaking so hard and were so sweaty under his gloves he didn’t know how he would manage to catch the ball. It was also the first time the sergeant attended the first game of the season, and knowing he was in the stands compounded Malakai’s nervousness.
    Five minutes into the game, Malakai’s nerves and his unresolved conversation with his father concerning the military academies were getting the best of him, something that hadn’t happened in two years. He shook his head, disgusted with himself and mortified he had dropped the last pass and had a false start.
    He was letting his team down. He was letting the crowd down.
    Lily…
    He hoped against hope no one from the universities was present as he feared the word of his abysmal performance would get out, and South Texas would reconsider their offer.
    He had to get a grip and fast.
    Reaching the sideline, he looked at the rest of the team. Luis, one of the other wide receivers, was stomping toward him like a bull that had been jabbed with an electric prod.
    “Dude, your head, in the game,” Luis yelled, grabbing his face mask and shaking Malakai’s head firmly three times. “You’re not listening. You went for the wrong play. What the hell’s wrong with you?”
    “The sergeant’s in the crowd,” Malakai mumbled, doubting Luis heard him or understood what he meant.
    “Why should you care?” Luis yelled. “The field is the field. The crowd is the crowd. He’s a face among hundreds. Stop focusing on the crowd and focus on the game,” he added, knocking on the side of Malakai’s helmet, hard.
    Malakai looked at Luis, grateful he had someone to drill some sense into him.
    “Yeah. Okay,” Malakai said. “Remind me if I forget, will you?”
    “Yes, I will,” Luis said, punching down on Malakai’s shoulder pads with both fists. “Now stop being an idiot. We don’t need you to turn into a chica .”
    They had scored twenty-one points by the end of the first quarter while the other team had scored fourteen. The next quarter, they scored seven and so did the other team. Halftime was stressful in the locker room, to say the least. They were all eager to win, and they were having a run for their money.
    “Dude, your head still in the game?” Luis asked, walking to him.
    “Yeah. Hard to concentrate some, however. I mean, my dad’s here. That doesn’t happen often.”
    Luis gave a firm and serious nod. While they didn’t know his family situation, his teammates had figured out long ago they had never seen his mother, and his father showed up only rarely. David was the only one Malakai had told, and he wouldn’t have if they hadn’t spent so much time together during the summer.
    “We can do this, Malakai,” Luis said fervently, shaking his fist to emphasize his point. “We have to do this.”
    Malakai gave him a firm nod, then they were ready to go back to the field.
    By the end of the game, they had won by twenty-one points, and Malakai was floating on a cloud as he made his way to stand in front of the waiting band with the