CHAPTER 5
At practice that afternoon, the team ran two laps together and did some wind sprints. After that, Andrew mostly ran up the field and cut one way or the other. Carlos threw passes to him exactly twice.
“I don’t know why I bother washing my jersey,” Andrew said after practice. He was walking back to the locker room with his teammate and friend Logan, a linebacker. “I never even break a sweat.”
Logan chuckled. “At least we have all the plays down, right?” he said. “The defensive line is really playing great. And the offense looked pretty good today too.”
In the locker room, Andrew peeled off his pads and his jersey, but he left on his football pants and sneakers. He shut his locker with a bang.
“Um, Andrew?” Logan said. He was tying his sneakers, dressed in jeans and a nice shirt. “Forgetting something?”
“What do you mean?” Andrew asked.
“I mean you’re still wearing half your uniform,” Logan said. “Are you going to ride the bus like that?”
Andrew shook his head. “I’m not going to ride the bus at all,” he said. “For me, practice isn’t over yet.”
He saluted Logan and headed outside.
The air was already cooling off after the warm fall day. The sun was setting behind Andrew as he jogged quickly along South Street toward his neighborhood.
“I can do this,” he said to himself between breaths. “If this is what it takes to be great, then I’m up for the challenge.”
At the corner of Ninth Street, he jogged in place for a minute. His backpack bounced on his shoulders as he waited for the light to change. When it finally did, he jogged on.
Soon, he spotted his house at the end of a long block and started sprinting.
When Andrew stepped through the front door, he checked the clock. 6:45.
“Not too bad,” he said, short of breath.
His dad stepped out of the kitchen. “‘Not too bad?’” he asked angrily. “Where have you been?”
Andrew tried to catch his breath. “I jogged,” he said. “I jogged home. I thought it —”
“You are home an hour later than normal, Andrew!” his dad said, interrupting him. “When I agreed to let you join the football team, you promised to be home for dinner every night and to do your homework the minute you got home.”
“I know, Dad, but —” Andrew started, but his dad cut him off again.
“Now you’ve missed dinner, and your homework still isn’t done,” Dad said.
Andrew kneeled down to take off his sneakers. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
Dad nodded. “Okay. Now get changed and washed up,” he said. “Then eat dinner. It’s cold.”
With that, Dad stepped back into the kitchen. Andrew heard his father’s chair scrape the floor as Dad sat down to finish his supper.
Andrew put his football sneakers in the front closet and peeked into the kitchen. Dad had his back to him. Marcus was quietly enjoying his spaghetti. He looked up and saw Andrew.
Andrew glared at him. Then he mouthed, “Thanks a lot.”
Marcus shrugged. “Not my fault,” he mouthed back.
Andrew shook his head and went upstairs to clean up.