Will and Eloy lost their matches.

Eloy made some good moves and scored a few points. He seemed pretty focused, considering.

Will wasn’t.

Good wrestling was as much about brains as brawn, and his brain kept telling him there were ants in his singlet and showing him Darryl’s face.

Tonight was Will’s first match as a varsity wrestler. It was Eloy’s first match, ever. Their families were there. Their coaches and team were watching.

Darryl knew what wrestling meant to Will, this year in particular. What he’d done was a kick in Will’s face. Getting Eloy, too, was only a bonus for Darryl. He hadn’t gone crazy because of “some Mexican.” He’d lost it because Will hadn’t gone along with him. Apparently in Darryl’s world, friends weren’t allowed to disagree with him or have different opinions about people.

After the meet, after the guys told them they’d done a good job and the coaches said they’d kept it together despite the circumstances, Will said to Eloy, “We’re going to make Darryl pay.”

Eloy finished putting on his shoes before looking up. “The coaches will take care of it.”

“Are you crazy? I know Darryl. If we don’t do something, he’ll just keep at us, pulling crap like this all the time.”

“What he did sucked, but you know why he did it.”

Will wondered if his clenched jaw looked as square as Eloy’s. “You’re mad, too.”

“Yes.” He looked at the fists on his knees and unclenched them. “Yes, but like you said, you know Darryl. You’re friends, and yet he could do something like this to you?”

“Oh, we’re not friends anymore.” Will slammed his gear into his duffel bag and wished he had a locker door to slam, too, but they only had cubbies. He gave one of the benches a kick, enjoying the squeal as it slid a few inches across the floor.

“Cool it,” Randy said.

“Coach will take care of it,” Max said.

They gave Will and Eloy thumps on the back as they headed out, most of the others on their way, too.

“Listen,” Eloy said. “Guys like that don’t listen, and they don’t change. You just have to walk away. As much as I’d like to do something, it’s pointless.”

Will glared at Eloy. Walk away? What if Will had walked away when Darryl gave Eloy crap that day in the library? “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t stood up for you, and now you’re saying you won’t stand up for me?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Whatever.” Will slung his bag over his shoulder. Eloy wanted him to walk away. So he did. Alone.