Catching Jordan

talking about his feelings is the day I’l run to a nuclear fal out shelter and pray for my life.

About halfway across the field, JJ, Carter, and Henry jog up behind me. Henry throws an arm around my shoulders as he pul s off his helmet, shaking his curly blond hair loose. He wipes a few curls off his forehead and whispers, “So Coach is letting that Ty dude on the team?”

“Yup,” I reply, straightening my jersey.

“That’s bul shit,” JJ replies, cracking his knuckles.

“What’s his story?” Carter asks.

“No idea,” I say, but I’m dying to know. I start wiping the dust from my hands and off my footbal pants. Henry looks at me and whispers, “You sure you’re okay?”

“Total y.” I hear my voice wobble.

“That guy’s got nothing on you,” JJ adds, looking over his shoulder at Ty, who’s talking to Coach.

“We both know that’s not true. Did you see his footwork? Ty’s incredible.”

“Yeah…incredible,” Henry says, closing his eyes, pul ing me in closer to him as we approach the girls’

locker room.

Yanking the door open, I say, “’Kay, Henry—see you in a few,” leaving him outside. He swings his helmet back and forth like a pendulum, staring at me as I let the door slam.

I walk through the white concrete locker room, which is covered with old red and black checkered carpet. I take a seat on a bench, then yank off my practice jersey and pads and walk into the showers. The cold water feels great, and final y, I cool down. When I’m finished, I pul on a pair of mesh shorts and a T-shirt before walking back into the locker room. Parading around in my plain white underwear in front of cheerleaders isn’t my idea of fun.

I hear the giggling when I’m stil ten yards away from the other girls. Shuddering, I head to my locker, open it, and yank my bag out.

“I think JJ wil tel me he loves me soon,” Lacey says to Kristen.

“He definitely wil ,” Kristen says. “I can tel by the way he looks at you.”

I force myself to cough so I won’t laugh. JJ stares at Lacey the way he stares at every single one of the Titans’ cheerleaders. It’s the same way he stares at cheese fries, for that matter.

“Hey, Jordan,” Lacey says, brushing her brown hair. Must she stand around in skimpy black underwear?

She’d get more coverage wearing a spool of thread than those things.

“Hi,” I say, focusing on packing my bag and getting the hel out of here. I ignore my wet hair; brushing it wil take too much time.

“When’s the last time you shaved your legs?” Lacey asks.

I bite the inside of my cheek. Sometimes Lacey makes me feel so shitty. I mean, what if Ty notices I haven’t shaved in, like, a week?

“So, um, has JJ mentioned me lately?” Lacey says. You mean, besides to tell me you guys slept together in the back of your mom’s car last night? I’m stil trying to figure out how JJ could fit horizontal y inside the back of a Ford Taurus, but I’l take his word that it actual y happened.

“Nope,” I say. “Hasn’t said a word.”

Lacey slams her hairbrush into her bag.

I try to cobble together a sympathetic look, but it’s harder than I thought it would be.

I’ve never told anyone this, not even Henry, but one time I overheard Lacey and Kristen talking bad about time I overheard Lacey and Kristen talking bad about me in the bathroom…

I remember hearing Lacey whine, “I don’t understand why JJ hangs out with her so much. It’s not like she’s cute—she’s huge!”

“I dunno,” Kristen had replied. “Sam Henry fawns over her too, even though she’s a dyke.”

“JJ promises me that he’s not sleeping with her…”

“Maybe she’s sleeping with both him and Henry.”

And that wasn’t a one-time diss. Kristen’s a repeat offender.

Right then, Marie and Carrie, Henry’s ex, come in through the locker room door.

“Sam Henry asked me out,” Marie is saying to Carrie, who purses her lips, biting them. “Do you mind if I say yes?”

“No…I’m glad,” Carrie says, focusing on me, and then she motions for Marie to fol ow her.

They head straight over to my locker. “Who’s the new guy?” Carrie asks me.

“His name’s Ty Green,” I reply. “He just moved here from Texas.”

“He looked pretty good out there,” Lacey says. “I mean, in terms of footbal obviously.”

I snort. Like Lacey knows anything about footbal .

“Jealous?” Kristen asks. “He seems just as good as you.”

“No. I’m glad to have a great backup,” I respond, grabbing my bag. “He plays quarterback like me—you know, it’s a position in this game cal ed footbal .”

Kristen rol s her eyes and goes back to staring at herself in the mirror. “Why’s your face al red?”

I jet for the door.

the great donovan woods

I walk back across the field toward my truck, and on the way, I spot Coach Mil er talking to Ty. Coach is frowning and scratching his chin, his glance alternating between Ty and the ground. They stop talking and, like me, Ty heads toward the parking lot.

“Hey,” he cal s out, jogging toward me. My hands fly to my wet hair, and I try to smooth it and get some of the tangles out, but I’m sure it looks like knotted yarn. God, I’m as bad as the cheerleaders.

“Hi,” I reply. Suddenly we’re walking right next to one another.

“You’re amazing,” he says.

“Excuse me?”

He clears his throat. “I mean, you’re a great quarterback. I haven’t seen any guys our age as good as you.”

I nod as I approach my truck, my Dodge Ram, a sixteenth birthday gift from my dad. I throw my bag into the truck’s bed.

“Hot ride,” Ty says, smiling and patting the side of my truck.

“Thanks.” I turn away from him. His smile is a virus. A virus sweeping through my body, rendering it useless.

“What do you drive?” I ask.

“Nothing. No car,” he says. But he doesn’t seem embarrassed. Crossing his arms, he leans up against my truck. “So what’s your first name?” he asks. “I hope it’s not Woods.”

“Jordan.”

He nods. “You related to Donovan Woods?”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “He’s my dad.” I start peeling the label off my Gatorade bottle.

“That explains your style and mechanics.”

Damn, he must’ve been watching me pretty closely.

“You a Tennessee fan?” I ask. Maybe he was into the Oilers before they moved from Houston to Nashvil e. He laughs. “Of course not. Cowboys al the way, man. I remember watching your dad play for my team back when I was a little kid.”

My dad is the last thing I want to talk about right now. When people meet me, that’s al they think of—the great Donovan Woods, two-time MVP of the NFL Twotime Heisman Trophy winner. The great Donovan Woods, surely a first-round Hal of Fame selection. The great Donovan Woods who doesn’t believe in me or my dreams of playing bal at the col egiate level.

“I’d better get going, Ty. Nice work today. I’m glad you made the team.” I’m keeping it smooth and professional. “If you don’t have a car, how’re you getting home?”

He shrugs. “Walking, I guess.”

I gasp. “No one in Tennessee walks—sidewalks barely exist here. You’re not walking.”

He’s a teammate now, and teammates take care of each other.

I scan the parking lot. Henry is the only guy out of the locker room so far—he’s talking to Kristen and Marie. What the hel do the guys do in there anyway? How could it possibly take me less time to get ready than them? “Henry,” I cal out.

Henry abandons the cheerleaders and jogs over, then steals the Gatorade bottle from my hand, takes a swig, and hands it back to me while staring Ty down.

“Make sure Ty gets home okay,” I say.

“What about our plans?” Henry asks. He cradles the back of his neck with a hand and smirks at Ty.

“I don’t feel wel ,” I reply, touching my stomach. I just need to be alone right now, so I can think about what’s need to be alone right now, so I can think about what’s happened today—how this guy swooped in to steal both my position and my cool.

“That’s al right,” Henry says, but he looks hurt.

“Kristen and Marie just invited me to study anyway.”

“Can you take Ty home first?”

“Why can’t you take him home?”

Um, because he’s driving me nuts? “Take him on your study date. It’l be good for him to meet some of the local bimbos.”

Ty smiles.

“Fine, but I get Marie. Give me just a sec, Ty.” Henry puts his arm around me and leads me away from Ty.

“What do you mean you aren’t feeling wel ? Was it the hit you took?” he whispers.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Guess I’m not coming over for dinner then?”

“Just go have a nice time with Marie, okay? I want you to date someone who makes you happy again.”

Henry nods and rubs his chin, looking up at me, staring right in my eyes. Ever since Carrie dumped him, he’s seemed so sad.

“Thanks, Woods. Maybe we’l catch up sometime soon,” he says, giving my shoulder a squeeze before he walks off. “Ready to go, Ty? I think you’l like Kristen.”

Ugh. Kristen has the same IQ as a tree stump. I’ve gotta get out of here before I punch her or something. I climb into my truck, lean my head out the window, and smile. “See you tomorrow, guys.” Through my rearview mirror, I see Ty staring at me as I drive away. Why didn’t I just offer him a ride?

I know why.

I have to focus. I can’t risk my season. I can’t blow it again this year. I need to get a footbal scholarship. And to do that, I have to win the state championship.

Walking in the back door of my house, I drop my bag on the floor. I have a date with my bed: hiding beneath my pil ow and listening to some Guns N’ Roses. That’l make me feel better.

I go through the kitchen, grabbing a banana and Gatorade on the way to my room, and run into my brother, Mike, and his friend Jake, who’s an awesome wide receiver. Like my bro, Jake also plays for the University of Tennessee at Knoxvil e. Jake is original y from California, so he’s spent most of his summer living here so he can be closer to school for footbal practice.

“Hey, sis,” Mike says, giving me a side hug. “Mom said you took a bad spil at practice. You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“How’s it goin’, Jordan?” Jake says, eyeing me up and down. Remember how I said that guys are interested in me? Yeah, he’s one of them. I think Mike would kil him if he tried something, though, and I wouldn’t want Jake to go after me anyway. He’s hot, but he seems like one of those guys who’s been with about a hundred girls.