Touchdown / / Shance

It had already been a rough three years of high school. Lance's family was struggling financially, and he couldn't even manage to find a job to support them. Still, they had him enrolled at the best high school in the state. It was for talented kids- the kids that stood out among the crowd. Kids ready for pro football, Broadway performances and and rocket science for NASA. But Lance, he just didn't fit in. His grades were fine, but his classmates were always better. And he didn't have his own car, so he'd have to wait for Veronica to pick him up. And she was in marching band, and they had practice after school till seven at night. And it was too far to walk home. So while the football players and marching band practiced till after the sun went down, Lance waited inside the school doing homework on the floor. As if that wasn't bad enough, the bullies were just ruthless. They could find him in the same spot everyday at four, working on worksheets and assigned readings- like he was waiting for them. Lance would be shoved in one of the bullies' lockers, and locked inside. And every night at five, the security guard used her key to get him out. He didn't resist anymore, hoping they'd lose the fun in it. But they just didn't. No one else stayed after school in the building that late. The band just practiced in the Senior hallway, and the football players were in the gym. At four, the bullies found Lance again. They were dragging him to a locker when one day...