That Football Player

chapter 7

"Are you ready to beat the mustangs?" coach Kemp asks the school. Everyone goes crazy. "Now a few words from you co-captions, Zack and Dylan." First Zack takes the mike from coach Kemp.

"I'm Zack one of you co-captions, and I plan standing next to Dylan and leading this team to victory!" the crowd go wild. "Who's going to win?"

"Ravens!" they chant our mascot.

"Alright, alright, calm down. Now let's hear from Dylan." Zack says and everyone becomes quite. He hands me the mike.

"Hi, I'm Dylan." I say.

"You are a girl!" they yell.

"Girls can't play football!"

"We are going to lose because of her!"

"Don't let them get you down." Zack whispers in my ear.

"I won't." I whisper back.

"I might be a girl," I say into the mike, "but have faith in me. All I have ever wanted was for y'all to have just the smallest sliver of hope towards me." I say. But they continue to say negative things at me.

"I knew this was a mistake." I say to Zack and give him the mike back. I walk out the gym.

I set against a tree that is at the back of the school property. I pick up a dead leaf and start to pick it apart. Why do they hate me? I pick up an acorn and throw it as hard as I can towards a tree that is off the property. Why can't they accept me? I pick up another acorn and throw it.

"Dylan?" someone says.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you okay?" I look up to see Zack.

"Not really." I say. He sets down in front of me.

"After tonight they will never think that because you are a girl you can't play football."

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"Because... I was one of the ones who thought the same thing. But the first time I saw you throw that ball my opinion totally changed." He says.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah. And as much as I hate to admit it I was jealous that you were a better quarterback than me."

"You think I'm a better quarterback?"

"yes." He says with not looking at me.

"Thank you." I say.

"You're welcome." He says.

"Not just for that but for everything. I might still be in that locker if you hadn't found me." I say. He smiles and that makes me smile.

"Come on we should start heading to the bus." He says. "Captains set together." He says.

"okay." I say and we are the last two to get on the bus. The captions set in the first set, coach Kemp is setting behind the bus driver, and Chance is setting behind the captions set.

It was about a forty minute ride to the game.

"Ready to prove everyone wrong?" Zack asks me.

"Ready as I will ever be." I say.

"Everyone get your game faces on!" coach Kemp yells.

I will ether prove everyone wrong or prove everyone right. This is my only chance for people to except me.