Can't Stop the Questions

Chapter 1: Game Day

October 2029, Venomous Agendas High. The football team's offensive players are arrayed in the locker room, looking at video footage of the past game from this week's opponents. They do so prior to boarding the bus for their game against the Washington-Marion Charging Indians in Lake Charles. Pablo, the starting tight end as a sophomore, watches intently as the VAs are in a tight football spot, unlike in mathletics or quiz bowl. The TV screen is also next to a board full of Xs and Os for various plays.

"Going into this game, we sport a three-five record, and we have two games left to play. If we're lucky, we can get into the playoffs as a wildcard, but we must start winning games for even that to be a reality!" the football head coach warns his team.

"Pablo, the opposing strong safety can put you in a world of hurt, so be careful when tackling him on the rush. Be ready to close in on the offensive linemen if that happens" the offensive coordinator tells the tight end.

I don't need to be reminded of my role on the passing play: protect the wide receiver, or step in if he can't catch the pass, Pablo keeps to himself before the coach introduces the main points to watch out for from the Charging Indians' defense.

And, as per usual, while his teammates blast music on the bus to Lake Charles from their phones, several of them attempt to do what homework they can with the limited time they have on the bus to do these. And it's not always obvious with the volume of the music being blasted on the bus to do so.

By and large, the players take turns to blast the music, and the football players who actually blast the music have varied tastes. However, the coaches, irritated by the players blasting the music a little too loudly, start resenting the players as the bus enters the Lake Charles' city limits:

"Enough! Please have a little respect for those players who study or do homework on the road!" the head coach screams in the direction of the players who blast the music at the back.

"Don't we have the rest of the school year to study, after the season ends?" the player blasting the music, a defensive tackle, retorts.

"Yeah, we only have one week left to our season!" Finn, a defensive end, joins the chorus of arguments.

"Did you guys forget about the need for us to get good grades to get even the slightest shot at football scholarships?" Pablo counters, as he is about to finish one problem set.

"Pablo's right. Even one quarter can mean the difference between getting a scholarship and not!" the offensive coordinator retorts to Dayton, the defensive tackle blasting the music.

"Exactly! The odds of getting even a Division II scholarship are long, and even then you will need to play the best football of your lives for the rest of your high school careers!" the defensive coordinator adds to the comment on academics.

The defensive coordinator lays down the facts regarding the odds of getting a football scholarship, as per usual for when players disrupt their teammates' studies when riding the bus from and to games.

"Even if you were good enough as players to make it to college football, there remains the matter of being academically eligible to play, as well as get into college! This is where grades come in, guys!" the head coach screams after the defensive coordinator rattles off the stats.

By and large, NCAA course requirements overlap with TOPS ones, the head coach muses while he deals with the unruly players who blasted the music. Once that is done, and the VAs' bus is parked in Washington-Marion's parking lot:

"The Charging Indians may think that, because of our three-five record to their six-two one, we're weak, but we must exploit their overconfidence and win this game on the road!" Pablo tries to rouse his teammates before they get dressed to play the game.