The Seventh Grade Wars

CHAPTER 14: JK

Crickets in the air vents. Kind of genius, really. Why hadn't I thought of that? It was a pretty good prank, though. C Side really outdid our bug spray joke. Jessica seemed a little mad, but I forgot about that once we got onto the field. We were planning to play some more football today. It was going to be just us...until the other Sides showed up.

First was B Side. We were just getting our gear on when they showed up. 

"Who's those kids?" Alfonzo demanded. He was here...again. 

"You think we know, Alfonzo?" said Ryan.  

A tall, tanned boy stepped forwards. He looked so perfect I was sure he was a chick magnet. 

"Hi," Chick Magnet said. "We're here to challenge you guys to a football match."

"Who the heck are you guys?" Thomas asked. 

"B Side."

Thomas looked around at the rest of the A Siders and grinned. "Okay. We accept your challenge. But just know that you all are going to get totally beat."

B Side split to get their gear, and Jessica dashed over. 

"What's going on?" she asked. 

"B Side wants to play," Thomas said. "So I say, let them play! We're going to win, anyway."

Danny hurried over. "Any chance I could play today, guys?"

Jessica reached over and grabbed him by the sleeve. "Nope. You are going to keep score. Make sure you give us a couple extra points, okay?"

Danny shook his head. "I'll keep score," he said, "but I won't cheat."

I felt bad for the kid. He was always stuck working behind-the-scenes at Jessica Malboy's command. That was enough of a horror for anybody. 

Just then, some more kids thundered through the gate. 

"Oh, come on," complained Ryan. "Don't tell me you're C Side."

"We are," said shaggy-haired boy in the front. 

"And don't tell me you're here to play football?"

"What else, jock?" said a curly-haired boy in the back. He then pointed at me. "And don't tell me you've got an eighth grader on your team.  That's unfair, man!"

I groaned. "First of all, I'm a seventh grader. Second of all, yes, I am here to play for A Side. Take it or leave it?"

The shaggy-haired boy muttered something to the boy in the back, and he shut his mouth. "Fine," he finally said. "We'll play. Do you got any more gear?"

"In the supply closet," Thomas directed. "B Side's already there, so grab what ya can. Might be low on helmets."

Alfonzo turned to Danny. "Hey, shrimp. Can you go to the deli and get some sodas for us?"

"Don't call him a shrimp," I said. 

"Sticking up for him, JK?" Alfonzo taunted. 

"No," I said quickly. 

Ryan slugged him in the arm. "Shut up, Alfonzo," he said. 

The first round would be against C Side, since B Side told us they wanted some more time to "strategize."

To be honest, C Side wasn't too good. Their best player was that shaggy-haired kid, who seemed to be their leader. B Side, however, was great. They had that tall Chick Magnet boy and this blond guy named Hudson. I knew Hudson played a lot of sports last year, that must be why. They had C Side beat in almost no time. 

"They're gettin' us good, you guys," Ryan said, as we prepared for our final round against B Side. 

Jessica marched over. "What do you mean, they're getting you good?" she demanded. "You have to beat them! Make up for how we got pranked by C Side."

"All right, shut your pie hole, Jessica," I said. "We're trying."

"Try harder!"

"Okay, fine," Thomas said quickly. "Um, why don't you go back to Danny, Jessica? Keep an eye on him?"

Jessica left.

Chick Magnet walked over. "Are you ready for the final round?" he asked. 

"Quit eavesdropping on our plans, dude," said Alfonzo. 

"Sheesh, I was just asking if you were done. It's been long enough."

"Give us a minute," Thomas said. After he turned and went, Thomas went through a quick plan with us and assigned us the positions. Then it was time.

We had to win. This was War. 

As it turned out, we won. We won by two points, but we still won. B Side left the field in a huff, and we headed to the deli to celebrate. The deli had become our local hangout nowadays. 

"Good job today, guys," Jessica said. She was the only girl in the group, but that didn't seem to bug her. She was overwhelming enough. Even Alfonzo did what she said. 

"Hey, you guys," I said, as I finished my hoagie. "Where's Danny?"

"He went home," said Jessica. "Whatever. He brought his poster with him."

"Didn't you tell him we were coming?" 

"Why? He never really does anything, you know?" Jessica absentmindedly took a sip of her Diet Pepsi. 

"Of course he does," I said. "You let him into the team because he's smart. And he kept score for us today."

Oscar shrugged. "Forget about it, man. Danny wouldn't have wanted to come anyway."

I felt like I was the only one sticking up for Danny. Which I was. 

When I went home afterwards, my mom was already there, making dinner. 

"How did the job interview go?" I asked, knowing she'd had one today. 

"I didn't get it," she replied. 

"Again?"

"It's kind of hard when you didn't actually go to college, Johnson," she said. 

I didn't say anything. 

"So. Where have you been?" she didn't sound mad, just curious. 

"Playing football with some other guys," I said. "It was pretty cool, Mom."

"I'm glad you're making friends this year," she said. "But make sure you do your homework tonight. Studying should always come first."

"Got it," I said, and headed upstairs.