A shy high school senior jock and a closed-off girl battling an immune disorder fake a relationship to win a social media contest.
Being shy isn't easy, especially when you're the new kid at school. Scotts Valley's football program is subpar compare...
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Honest truth: I missed my brother. Ellie made him, Mom, and me breakfast in their tiny apartment, and he gave me a locker room tour before an ear-splitting, incredible game. The stadium was electric, exploding with each scored touchdown to the win. I'd thought high school football was a big game, but college was incredible. My skin tingled long after the win.
The trip and our time together were way too short.
"I miss him already," Mom confessed with a sniffle. "He took the news about your dad as well as can be expected."
Bringing up Dad put as much hurt in Logan's eyes as I felt inside, but just like in high school, I envied him. He knew what he wanted and set his life to make it happen. The weekend gave me a lot to think about, but no answers on my college situation.
Mom and I returned to a mailbox stuffed with distractions, including my court date reminder. Scotts Valley coming into the Santa Cruz game 5-0 for the first time in thirty years created the most pregame hype so far. The 'battle of the undefeated' and 'Scotts Valley's Cinderella season' doubled the number of newspaper articles taped on Mom's fridge.
At school, everyone was talking about the game. My locker got decorated, and I couldn't use the bathroom without attention.
Monday, Coach Walters called me to meet with the coaching staff. They wanted to pick my brain for any advantage, frowning at my sarcastic answer.
"There isn't any." I crossed my arms and leaned back. "They've been training two weeks longer and are better at every position."
"Including yours?" Patel's eyebrows raised, and his eyes filled with skepticism.
"I can't win an entire game, especially if they double-cover me with Jones and Hernandez. Which they will."
Coach's eyes skimmed through a playback. "They play opposite sides."
"Normally, but they'll double-team me. I'd make them if I was Coach Sal. Neutralize the only threat with your fastest backs." I shrugged. Having one game off didn't sit well with me because great players triumphed over adversity, but I was no help on defense. "Their left tackle Alvarez is a beast, but a slow beast. Nico won't be able to squeeze by him."
"Can you beat him if you line up right?"
Facing my previous teammates on the practice field a hundred times more than a single game didn't matter. Coach must have understood because he dismissed me back to class.
Film study painfully reminded me what I'd left behind and not because Santa Cruz was a better team. On all sides of the ball, they were loaded with talent. Their third linebacker had more tackles than Isaiah, our leading back. As much as I wanted to study the defense, watching my number eighteen play in the Cardinals' red and white last season was surreal.
My production numbers last year were lower than this season, but we had an amazing run straight to the divisional championship and state finals. All sides of the team clicked, and our celebration was wild. The Cardinals' jerseys weren't just opposing numbers and positions; they were former friends. Or, so I'd thought.
