CHAPTER 8
Andrew’s afternoon didn’t go well. At one point during government class, Logan had to kick his foot to wake him up. The teacher nearly caught him sleeping.
“You’re never going to make it through the whole game,” Logan said as the two boys got changed into their uniforms after school. “Maybe you should tell the coach you’re sick. You can go home and get some sleep.”
Andrew stifled a yawn. “No way,” he said. “I haven’t been running and working on my speed just to go home and sleep.”
Logan shrugged. “Okay,” he said. “But I have a feeling you won’t be moving too fast out there today.”
Logan slammed his locker shut and headed out to the field. Andrew grabbed his helmet and sat on the bench.
“I have to get some energy,” he said to himself. “I can’t let one bad night’s sleep ruin the game for me.”
Andrew nodded to himself and closed his locker. “I can do this,” he said. Then he headed out to the field.
As soon as he started running, Andrew knew he was more tired than he’d thought. The first quarter was really tiring.
During the second quarter, Carlos called a passing play. Andrew would have to sprint about fifteen yards off the line, then cut to the right.
“Hut, hut, hike!” Carlos called, and the center snapped the ball. Carlos drew back, and Andrew took off from the line.
Carlos released the ball perfectly, but when Andrew cut to the right he lost his footing and slipped. The defender, who had kept up with Andrew easily, snatched the ball from the air.
“Interception!” Carlos called out.
The other team’s player ran along the sideline for ten yards before being forced out of bounds.
“Look alive out there, Andrew!” Coach French called from the sidelines.
Andrew pulled off his helmet and headed to the bench with the rest of the offense. “Sorry, Coach,” Andrew said. He dropped onto the bench.
Carlos stood in front of him. “So much for having a receiver as good as Marcus,” Carlos said. “That was awful.”
Andrew glared up at him. Carlos just shook his head and walked off.
At halftime, Andrew headed to the locker room. Marcus was waiting for him. Andrew’s brother grabbed his arm. “Just a second, little brother,” Marcus said. “I want to talk to you.”
“What?” Andrew said. “I can’t stand around out here. I’m not exactly popular on the team right now. If I miss the halftime huddle, I’ll probably get expelled from school.”
“I just need a minute,” Marcus said. “You look pretty tired out there.”
“Yeah,” Andrew said. “I got up early.”
“Dad told me,” Marcus said. “He said you jogged to school today, too. Good for you.”
Andrew shrugged.
“But you’re making the same mistake I made at first,” Marcus said. “It took me weeks to figure it out, so I’ll let you in on my secret. Schedule.”
“Schedule?” Andrew repeated.
“Simple, really,” Marcus said. “But I failed a math test and got a D in Spanish before I figured it out. Dad was threatening to pull me off the football team.”
“What did you do?” Andrew asked.
“I looked at my whole day,” Marcus said. “I made choices. For example, I used to have lunch with some friends of mine. We’d take the whole half hour, goof off, sometimes start trouble in the cafeteria.”
“Yeah,” Andrew said, smiling. “That’s what Logan and Carlos and I do.”
“But I bet you get some homework in the morning, right?” Marcus asked.
“Sure,” Andrew said. “I always do.”
“You could have all that homework done by now if you worked while you ate, instead of goofing off,” Marcus explained.
“I see what you mean,” Andrew said.
Marcus patted him on the back. “Okay. Now get into that halftime meeting before they send you off to play for the other team,” he said.