QB Sneak

Chapter 1: Anticipation

Ugh.

 I hated Mrs. Atkinson's class. Every day she droned on and on making health class seem four times as long. I kept scribbling in my notes, occaisionally stopping to sneak an excited glance at Alex Iglesias, my best friend. Thinking the same thing, Alex flashed me a grin.

Since 5th grade,when I came to Meadows Ridge, I've been Alex's understudy at the quarterback spot, but that and the fact that he's a year older than me has hardly stopped us from being best friends.

Finally, as Mrs. Atkinson got ready to pass out homework, the bell rang and Alex and I nearly sprinted out of the door, almost forgetting our carefully (ha!) written notes. Naturally, our lockers were next to each other so we both walked to the same spot in the hallway. 

If you didn't think we were both psychologically tied enough, we were both thinking the exact same thing.

"I need to find Coach."

We were both thinking this for different reasons, that being my rib brace we ordered in week 2 finally came in, and that Alex's knee was sorer than a tackling dummy after Knox's rep.

I put my health notebook inside of my backpack and lugged it out of my locker, bonking into an underclassman nearby. Alex and I made our way across the school to the football locker room, briskly chatting, where we were intercepted by DeeDee Brazen, the team's star wide receiver and four-star Notre Dame commit. 

"Sup, my guys?" DeeDee greeted us. "Ready to go tonight?" We both shook our heads no. He had his lettermans jacket draped over his #17 jersey, and was stepping down the hallway as if the floor were hot coals. 

We rolled into the locker room, where Knox McCourty, our resident bone-crunching junior fullback and 6'7 behemoth of a man, chatted with Miles "Sure Thing" Horford, our sophomore kicker. Standing at 5 foot 6 and 99 pounds, he was the complete opposite of Knox and built like a twig, so it was a given all he did was kick the ball. 

Passing Knox and Miles, who were heatedly discussing which animals Knox could beat in a fight, I walked over to my locker and whipped out my jersey. Not surprisingly, it was black, with a white number 5 sewn on it. Coach came in and clapped his hands, stoking the mood of the already electric locker room. 

"Big game tonight, men! Let's head out on the practice field and put some work in!" We all headed out to the practice field in our shiny game helmets, stretching and warming up. 

I proceeded to my spot over by Alex and stood behind the first play. Listening into Alex's play call and the way DeeDee was grinning, he was getting ready to run a route on our best defensive back, Darius Butler. 

"Alright, alright! Sluggo Tight Seam! Sluggo Tight Seam, HB Valve. On one, on one, ready, break!" Alex called the play. We had all seen this movie. DeeDee was going to act like he was running a slant, then just when Darius commits to the movement and flips his body, DeeDee suddenly goes vertical, cooks whoever was tasked with guarding him, and makes a house call. Nobody runs a Sluggo better than DeeDee.

"Ready! Lucky 22! Lucky 22!" DeeDee tapped his back foot. "Let's go!" Alex received the snap and faked a handoff to Knox. He dropped back into the pocket. A defensive lineman shoved the blocker out of the way and punctured through the line. Alex took off running. Even though he isn't fast, fortunately, defensive linemen aren't exactly trackstars. The defensive lineman was left in the dust as Alex gunned a cross-body throw to DeeDee. DeeDee caught it right in his chest as he crossed over the middle of the field, Darius in hot pursuit. DeeDee was too fast, though, and blew away Darius for a touchdown. The coaches whooped. If this concept could beat Darius, it could beat anybody.

"Your turn, Paddock. Call it in the huddle!" Coach blew the whistle. 

"Get the lead outta yer socks, defense! Line back up!" The defensive coordinator shouted to the defense. The offense huddled around me as I anxiously selected a play. 

"Uh, Hitch N Go." I decided. The short huddle meeting adjourned and, like soldiers, the team snapped into ranks. I called the signals from behind my meat shield of an offensive line. 

"Alright, alright! Green, ten! Green ten! Sego!" I took the snap and dropped back. The defensive tackle, who I recognised to be Bryce Ennis, charged at me again, trampling the left tackle. Terrified, I sprinted. Bryce caught up fast. As Bryce caught me, I desperately heaved the ball to Knox, my safety valve. He hauled in the ball at the line of scrimmage. A linebacker approached. Knox dropped a shoulder and trucked the linebacker, before 2 more swarmed in and finally brought him down. 

The rest of the practice kinda went like that, with Alex playing like a D1 recruit and me playing like, well, a backup. Finally, after seemingly endless walkthroughs and play calls, coach blew the whistle, and, as if on cue, the whole team popped our helmets off and trotted inside. 

We went into a classroom, where Coach went over our plays. Even the dumbest freshman (which, in case you're concerned, is DEFINITELY Marcus Kidworth) knew that West Bridge was a tough defense to beat. DeeDee was grinning, but even he was nervous. A defense has gotta be good if DeeDee's shaking. Finally, we heard the rumble of the bus. WEST BRIDGE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS was on the side of the bus. Here they come. We immediately began cursing at them out the door. Then, the bus opened, and out walked somebody I had hated my entire life.