connection

chapter one

noah looked at the sign that read: football tryouts today! in the back field after school from 3:30 - 5:30pm.

"gosh, i hope we find a new wide receiver that's actually good this year." noah sighs.

"me too, man," maverick, noah's best friend replies. "me too."

they were standing outside their lockers between passing periods. on their way to 5th period, the last class before school ends.

"last season sucked with that one senior receiver who couldn't get open for shit, and used his age to stay on the team." maverick continued, as they started walking to chem.

"i know," noah replied. "i wish coach would've booted him anyway. i hate throwing to people like him."

the last wide receiver was a senior, and used the excuse that it was his last season to gather sympathy from the coach and the rest of the team to stay on the team. he wasn't good, but no one else would try out for the position knowing that the senior would paint a target on them if they tried to take his spot.

the team ended up losing that season 2 - 8. they only won the two out of the ten games they played because they used their kicker, the only person able to score those games. he was a senior too, and has now graduated. so unless the team finds a new wide receiver and kicker, they're screwed again. set up for another humiliating season.

"well, at least tryouts are today. so we will find out soon enough if we have a chance this season." maverick says, as they walk into the classroom.

they find their seats in the middle of the room, and then wait until the bell announces their dismissal.

as noah sits in his desk, absentmindedly tapping his pen against the edge of his notebook, his mind drifts.

i really hope we find a good wide receiver in this years tryouts. i mean we had plenty last year, but the best one was that senior, and he wasn't even good. our tight end is decent, and our running back is fine, but we need a star receiver. someone i can connect with on the field. then maybe we can finally win somethi-

the bell rings, taking noah out of his thoughts.

noah and maverick head out of the classroom and walk to the locker rooms to get changed for tryouts. technically they aren't trying out since they're already on the team, but they still need to be there so the coach can select the players that have the best chemistry with the existing team.

noah and maverick are seniors this year, and the majority of the newcomers will be incoming freshmen, or transfer students.

the school has three teams: freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity. they all tryout together so the three coaches can select the people that have the right skill level for their team. varsity is mainly juniors and seniors, with a few freshmen and sophomores that are good enough to make the team.

noah has been playing his whole life. he made varsity freshmen year. he didn't play much because he tried out as a quarterback and the team already had a quarterback, but whenever they needed a sub he was ready to go. his sophomore year the previous quarterback graduated so he was in the starting lineup. the rest is history.

maverick is one half of the varsity teams best safety players mountain view high school has ever seen. the other half is charlie, a junior, and noah and maverick's other friend. they are what make mountain view's team proud. if only they had a reliable offensive line.

noah and maverick make it to the locker rooms and quickly change before heading out to the backfield. coach jennings and the other two coaches are already out, barking warmup orders for the people at tryouts to follow.

it seems there are about 40 new kids out on the field trying out. everyone else is from last year.

noah and maverick head over to the group of boys off to the side of the field that are unmistakably their team mates.

"hey guys!" a curly blonde headed boy shouts as they approach, turning away from the conversation he was having.

"hey charlie!" maverick responds with the same enthusiasm, bee lining for the blonde. noah follows after him. maverick, a tall-ish lanky boy, with shaggy brown hair, was really noah's only friend on the team, besides charlie.

"hey charlie." noah says when they get closer to the blonde.

"hi noah!" he replies cheerily, slinging an arm around maverick. "i was just telling carter here how i'm really hoping we find a good kicker today."

carter was short and thin and one of the other wide receivers on the team, besides that senior boy. he was decent, but he didn't have that connection with noah that noah was looking for.

"me too." noah responds looking between the two boys. charlie was generally nice to everyone, but when he was on the field he wouldn't hesitate to tackle you. he was one of the most competitive people noah had met, besides bringing a smile to everyone's faces, he also brought a unity to the team, reminding everyone to keep their heads in the game.

"hey guys! coach is calling us over!" ty, the team's running back called. ty had blue eyes and light brown hair and a muscular build. he was a glue to the team, and kept everyone under check. the mountain view high varsity team didn't have captains or anything like that, they preferred just having each other. they were all good friends, and just kind of fell into a natural rhythm with each other. ty was a goody two shoes and was usually the one who relayed coaches' calls, charlie kept everyone on their a-game, and noah, the quarterback, helped lead them on the field. they were a well oiled machine, ready for the season to begin.

oh my gosh. this was so stress relieving to write. i'm so excited for this story and i have so many ideas. i haven't looked over for any spelling errors or anything like that, so let me know if you find any :) also i know noah isn't really described yet, but he will be eventually... probably. ahhhh!! im so excited!!