FACE YOUR FEARS

After all those rounds of baconball, I was ready for some bacon of my own. Dinnertime! And let me tell you something—Flip’s parents know how to eat. I had two burgers, extra bacon, and thirds on cole slaw, corn bread, and chocolate pudding after that. It was awesome.

That night, we slept downstairs in the basement and talked for a long time. Flip told me about how he had to take medication for his ADHD. I told him about how I got kicked out of HVMS the first time, and basically flunked out of art school after that.

I didn’t mind telling him some of my secrets. Just not all of them. Not the most embarrassing ones—like how afraid I was of Miller, or how I still hung out with my imaginary friend. Maybe I’d tell him all that sometime, but not yet.

Then, after midnight, when his parents went to bed, Flip told me there was one more part of my training.

“Football is all about facing your fears,” he said.

“What’s that mean?” I asked him. He reached under a couch cushion and pulled out a box. When he held it up, I saw it was a movie.

“Hideous 2,” he said. “If you’ve got the nerve.”

“I never saw Hideous 1,” I said. “My mom doesn’t like me watching R-rated movies.”

“Same here,” Flip said. “So we’ll keep the sound down low. I mean… unless you’re afraid.”

Yeah, right. Like I was afraid of a dumb movie about people being possessed and turning into sizzling piles of acid when they were exposed to sunlight. I wasn’t afraid. No way.

I mean, not until the movie really got going. But I wasn’t going to admit that to Flip either.

So trust me on this one. If you’ve never eaten cold leftover burgers in the middle of the night while watching the scariest movie you’ve ever seen with your new best friend and your dog, then you’re missing out.