GUTTER GIRL

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Jace

I hurdled the guy William laid out and clutched the football close to my chest.

My legs burned as I turned on the speed. I zeroed in on the goal. Fifty yards to go. From my left, Ryan, the second stringer from the scrimmage team, charged at me. He was a fast sophomore. He might be a problem.

I juked left, then quick-stepped to the right. The second before impact, I spun, holding the ball to my chest with both hands.

"Shit!" Ryan flopped to the ground, having totally missed me.

"Go Jace! Go!" the cheerleaders screamed from the sideline.

It was just a scrimmage game, but the cheerleaders had shown up to practice some of their cheers, too, so it almost seemed like a real game.

My blood felt like it was on fire, coursing through me like raging rapids. On my right, another second-stringer was making an effort to catch me. He wouldn't.

I veered left. The crack of two helmets clashing behind me told me one of my teammates took down someone who might have stopped me.

Come on, Jace. You got this!

I pumped my free arm as I sped toward the goal. Ten yards. Only ten more yards and we'd nail this scrimmage.

My legs burned.
My lungs screamed for air.
My heart hammered.

This was what it was all about. Right here. Besides writing, football was my escape. My friends, my teammates, the cheering... On this field I could be open; I could be me. Fast. Powerful. Athletic.

If only I could be this open with my writing.

From the left, out of nowhere, someone leaped at me. I jumped up, narrowly clearing him, then tucked. I flipped over one revolution, then my feet landed on the ground and I fell into a somersault.

"Yes!"

Kyle landed on top of me, screaming. Beckett and Joel were next. Dang, you would have thought this was the final game in the state tournament for how happy they were.

Kyle grabbed my face mask, pulled my head forward slightly, then knocked his helmet against mine and yelled, "Dude! That was epic!" He fisted his hands in my jersey and hoisted me to my feet.

The team crowded around, even the scrimmage team, which was mostly JV players with a few varsity players thrown in there to make it more of a game. It helped us practice some of the new plays Coach had us learn, though, so it was great.

Gretchen and Harlow worked their way through my sweaty teammates, cheering and celebrating. The next thing I knew, Gretchen had her arm around me. "Nice job, Jace."

I shifted, trying to ease away from her, but there wasn't much room. What the heck was she doing clinging to me like that?

"You guys are ready to face off with Woodhaven this Friday!" Coach clapped and waved us to the sidelines.

That gave me the chance to escape Gretchen's clutches.

We circled him as he talked strategy. What caught my eye, though, was a flash of pink just past Coach's shoulder.

Beside the bleachers, where some of the students normally hung out and watched practices, McKenna and that guy Ernie she was always hanging out with stood, side by side. She wore her standard-issue black jeans and shirt— hell, even her nails were black, but that hair. So bright pink, it went completely against the dark colors she wore.