Chapter 13

Jeff

At first I was angry. I go out of my way to bring this kid to a party and what does he do? He vanishes into thin air.

I was talking with some friends, having a good time. At some point, I stepped away from the conversation and looked around.

“What the . . . ?”

Then I was on the move.

“Have you seen Scooter?” I asked a few of the guys. They shook their heads.

The house was just one floor. It wasn’t like there were a lot of places to go.

“The guy who walked in with me—is he around here somewhere?” I asked someone else.

Maybe someone told me to check the porch. I can’t remember. Then again, I might have figured it out myself.

“You’re killing me, man,” I told him as I stepped outside. “Coach asked me to keep an eye on you, but how am I supposed to do that when you sneak off like this?”

I regretted saying this as soon as it came out of my mouth. I only said it because I was so frustrated.

I was just about to apologize when Scooter said, “Coach asked you to keep an eye on me?”

He should have been offended by this news—I would have been—but it didn’t sound like he was. In fact, I think he liked hearing that Coach was looking out for him.

“Why?” he asked.

It was the first thing he’d said to me in hours.

“I guess he thinks you have potential. That run today in practice was pretty impressive.”

He thought about that and nodded. “I’ve always been better at avoiding people than interacting with them.” He waved his phone at me. “Just trying to figure out the playbook. Maybe you could help me?”

I was pretty impressed. I bring a new guy to a party, and he wants to study the playbook? I guess his commitment to the team won me over a bit.

“I mean, you don’t have to help me right now. You should go back to your party. But maybe—”

“I have a better idea,” I interrupted. “Follow me.”

As it turned out, this was not a good idea at all. In fact, it was the second terrible decision I’d made in a couple days.