After months of therapy, Garrett Delko is still struggling to cope with his brother's suicide. The only time he finds peace is on the pitching mound and with a mysterious girl he's been obsessed with since the first week of college. One night, he se...
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Garrett stepped out of the early morning sun and into the jungle. Or at least that's what the locker room felt like since news of Gus getting called into Coach's office had spread. The team knew he was in trouble, but no one could confirm what exactly he'd done, or why a member of the disciplinary board was with them.
As he buttoned up the white and orange uniform, Eli came over. "Saint, you have any idea what's going on?" He lowered his voice to a barely-there whisper. "I tried talking to Jordan, but his lips are closed tighter than a virgin's—"
"I get it," Garrett cut him off, but before Garrett could come up with a response, Coach walked in with Foley right on his heels. The noise settled as their stern expressions registered throughout the room.
"I know there's been a lot of talk," Coach started, his voice reverberating so loud even a mouse could probably feel it. "But I'm only going to say this once, and then I never want to hear about it again, okay?" He waited until the players voiced their agreement. "When you play for this team, you represent not only Eason University but every man in this room. And when you disrespect one of us, you disrespect all of us."
Worried glances passed between players. A few mouthed, "What happened?" to each other while others shrugged in bewilderment.
"Gus, unfortunately, forgot that golden rule. I don't want to go into details, but he crossed a line that he can't come back from and because of that, he's no longer a member of this team."
Low murmurs rippled across the locker room. Garrett had to force himself not to look around. Partly, because he was afraid other players would figure out his part in the whole debacle, and partly, because he was afraid to see blame blazing in Jordan's eyes. Jordan hadn't said anything last night, but then again, he probably never imagined Gus getting kicked off the team. What if Jordan regretted telling Coach?
Coach held up a stack of papers. "I thought it was understood that when you signed up to be a part of this team, you promised to be on time, to show up at every practice and game, AND—" He handed the stack to Coach Foley who proceeded to pass them out. "—you promised to act befitting of the uniform. It kills me that I even need to do this, but before you place a foot onto that field today, you need to sign this and give it back to Coach Foley. It's a morality clause. Read it, live by it, because if you don't, I'll kick you off the team. No ands, ifs, or buts about it. Are we clear?"
Like everyone else, Garrett took a copy from Coach Foley and read it over. It was very explicit about what was expected of players and what wouldn't be tolerated.
"I said, are we clear?" Coach asked again.
"Yes, Coach," Garrett chimed in with the rest of the team. He took a pen from his duffle bag and signed it in big, loopy letters. He handed it back to Coach Foley, who patted him on the shoulder.
"How you feeling?" Coach Foley asked in a low voice. "You ready for today?"
Garrett wetted his lips. "I got this, Coach." After practicing with Jordan, he'd spent the night meditating, clearing his mind of all the bullshit, and visualizing his pitches. He didn't have a nightmare either, sleeping through the whole night, which was a victory in itself. He was learning to celebrate the small things and not obsess over what he couldn't control. He'd fuck up, of course, that was human nature, but as long as he kept reminding himself to take it day by day, he'd be okay.
