Class 11A

Chapter 6: The Weight of Leadership

Lin sat near the window of the school bus, staring out at the city speeding past him. The chatter of students filled the bus, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. His teammates' faces flashed in his head—Isaac, Harland, Rodey, and the others. None of them had any serious football experience, and yet, he had promised Coach Davis that they would be ready for the tournament. The task felt monumental, almost impossible.

"Hey, Lin, you listening?"

Lin snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Sally sitting across from him. Her bubbly energy and bright smile were a stark contrast to his own brooding mood.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, not realizing she had been talking the entire time.

"I was saying," Sally rolled her eyes playfully, "I just started watching this new series on Netflix last night. It's called Knightwatch. You ever heard of it?"

Lin tried to focus. "Nah, what's it about?"

"It's about this secret society of knights in the modern world, and they have to protect the city from ancient evils that are waking up," she explained, her voice brimming with excitement. "It's super cool. The fight scenes are amazing, and there's this one character who's this loner, kinda like you—he's always stuck in his head, trying to figure out how to save everyone."

Lin chuckled weakly, but he didn't feel much like laughing. "Sounds fun..i guess."

Sally gave him a knowing look. "Alright, something's up. You're way too quiet today. What's going on?"

Lin hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to unload all the stress he'd been carrying. But Sally wasn't just some random person—she had always been a good friend.

"I'm just... thinking about football," Lin admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I've got this new team. Coach is counting on me to get them in shape, but none of them are really into it. I don't know how I'm gonna pull this off."

Sally nodded thoughtfully. "That's a lot of pressure."

"Yeah, it is," Lin sighed. "And the tournament is coming up fast. These guys don't even know what they're getting into. Isaac and Harland just want to mess around, and the others... they're not exactly excited about playing either. But I can't lose this tournament. I just can't."

Sally tilted her head, her eyes softening. "You don't have to carry everything on your shoulders, you know. Why don't you get the team more involved in the training? Make them feel like they're part of something instead of just dragging them along."

Lin thought about it. She had a point. Maybe if he could get them to care—really care—about the tournament, it wouldn't feel like such a one-man battle. But how was he going to get Isaac and Harland to focus? They only cared about fucking around in school, not football.

"I don't know, Sal," Lin said after a moment. "It's not just that. Kelly's mad at me for even putting this team together. She thinks I'm using the new kids just to win."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Kelly, huh? She is the one you have this massive crush on right?"

Lin's stomach twisted at the mention of Kelly. He had blown things with her last year, and now she barely looked at him unless she was mad.

"Yeah, no. She's still pissed about everything," Lin muttered.

"Well, maybe fixing the team is the first step to fixing things with her," Sally suggested. "If she sees you're doing this for the right reasons, maybe she'll come around."

Lin leaned back in his seat, trying to relax, but his mind wouldn't stop racing. How was he going to train this team of rookies? The day stretched out before him like an endless obstacle course.