Midnight Creek Tales

#2. The Mirror's Image / Chapter 5

Game time came sooner than I expected, and with it being a state final the bleachers were filled to the max! Scouts were everywhere, and the crowd roared in a wave of blue and yellow! "GO STALLIONS! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

We had news coverage; kids filled all around the field, the best food court in the county! It was panning out to be perfect!

When the whistle blew, the game started and I began to cheer my heart out for Tony! To the side of the front row bleachers, I could see Alicia also cheering on Billy and the rest of the team. It was a shame she chose drama over cheer, but what can I say? Like I needed more competition? While Billy and Paul were also on the field, everyone wasn't paying attention to the team. Instead, they were focusing all their attention on Tony because before we knew it, he scored a touchdown within the first fifteen seconds!

The stands shook and exploded with excitement! And soon the score began to pile up and up! It was a royal beating, and by halftime, it was a remarkable score of 56-0! McMaynerberry kept fumbling the ball and was giving horrendous plays. None of them had the strength or speed to take down Tony, and he was dominating the field!

As the football players began to go into the locker room, the media flocked to where they were walking! Billy came towards Alicia and me, as Paul and Tony followed the team to outside the locker entrance.

The scouts were quite impressed, with many pulling out their phones and contacting important people.

"Look I can't stay for long! But Tony is killing it!" Billy said screaming over the crowd.

"Rumor has it that if he keeps this up, he'll get the most points in a state final! It'll be a world record! And maybe he won't even go to college; he'll be guaranteed an NFL spot in 3 years time!" Billy said munching on some popcorn.

"Holy shit he's going to get everything a football player dreams of!"

"Oh damn, I forgot to tell you! Did you hear about the grand theft on the news?" Alicia said in shock.

"What grand theft?"

"Supposedly someone stole 15 billion dollars from the U.S Mint! And they tracked the criminal right to this town! They're cops all over the place!"

I felt a chill go up my spine... 15 billion dollars exactly! I flaunted my money around like nothing, and everyone knew about it! That's where Jasmine had gotten the money, from the U.S Mint! I wondered if anyone was starting to suspect if I stole it...

With the last few mere minutes passing, the third quarter began abruptly, and I found myself scrambling to get back onto the field.

"Good luck Amanda, and even more luck to Tony! The guy's on fire!" Alicia chanted to me as she raised her Fiji water in the air like the State Champions Trophy.

I smiled back, but deep down inside I was scared shitless. Tony and the other players assembled onto the field, and all I could do was pray that the game would continue to go well. If Tony could beat the record, he could get me the best damn lawyer in the state!

The 3rd quarter was getting very intense, and as word spread on social media about Tony's performance, the bleachers and streets were now clogged up with reporters and football fans from around the area watching greatness in action. By the end of the quarter the score was 84-0, and the game was now being recorded live from every news and sports station you could imagine!

And with all the publicity, meant that there'd be more undercover cops watching us all. If Tony got recognition, they'd find out I have money, and they'd want to interrogate me!

After the game, I knew I would have to tell Tony the truth and then he'd have my back 100 percent! Or just use my last wish to ward off the police! But something needed to be done, and fast!

The whistle blew to start the 4th quarter, and I made sure to keep an eye out as I cheered because I felt a creeping presence rushing through my body like a ticking time bomb.

The game approached its end with the score at 98-0. To break the 100 mark we needed just one more touchdown or a field goal, but at this point, no one wanted a field goal. We all wanted one last work of magic from Tony!

With the clock winding down and 5 seconds left in play, our team used a time-out and gave us cheerleaders a break from screaming, "This is it! His beginning to stardom!" Exclaimed some of the girls on the bench. "Can you believe this is the first time were going to win states in the last 30 years? What a way to win!"

Everyone was chanting 'Over 100 let's go! DUN DUN DUN!

The referee blew the whistle to end the timeout, and the players got back onto the field.

"GO Tony!" I shouted over the booming field.

The whole town and school were behind him.

The whistle blew, and my heart rushed as the last play was in order. The quarterback handed the ball to Tony, and he began to run it in from the 10-yard line!

Every player on the field went for Tony, and immediately he dived into the end-zone! With all the players on him, it didn't matter! He got the touchdown and HE WON THE GAME!

The bench ran onto the field and started to scream and cheer emphatically, with the entire school and community following behind! Confetti blew from the stands and kids roared as if they were in an actual stadium!

Media reporters cluttered up the field, running eagerly to await their chance to speak with Tony! But then I realized there was something wrong.

When all the players from the other team got off of Tony from the final play, Tony was on the ground lifeless with the ball still in his hands.