Chapter Three: Marcus
Well, today is the first day of school, but I've already been back a month because of football practice. I'm a freshman on varsity. That's pretty impressive if you ask me. I have to be honest, I thought coach Dell was going to ask me to be on the team after the season I had last year in middle school. I ran a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash, and I was the starting wideout. My favorite play is the end around. Once I juke my way past the linebackers, the next stop is the end zone. Not even the corners can keep up with me. And the safeties are trailing way behind.
I'm planning on getting a college scholarship to a D-I school like Alabama or one of the other SEc schools or maybe a Big 10 school. I think I can be ready for the NFL after my third year in college, but if it takes four I can handle that. I'm 6-foot already and my brother Joshua is a junior and 6'4" and the starting tight end on the team. So I see myself being at least as tall as him.
I really look up to Joshua. He's got a smoking hot girlfriend, Jordan, who's also a junior. Joshua said that we could double date some this year with the first time being Homecoming in October. I haven't been on any dates yet, but Mom and Dad said I could this year if I get a girlfriend.
That shouldn't be too hard. I've got a half dozen girls already hitting on me, smiling and flirting and flipping their hair. Jordan told Joshua that some of the ninth graders in her neighborhood are already asking if I've got a girlfriend. Look, I know I sound cocky, but I've worked long and hard to get to where I am. I ran sprints and distance all summer and then I cooled down by lifting. I feel really good about myself and how I look and feel.
Mom and Dad said they would buy me a car after I pass my driver's license test next year. They said that was only fair because they gave Joshua one when he was a sophomore. Dad runs an insurance agency and Mom makes good money as a real estate agent, so we're doing okay. Joshua got a new car when he started driving, so I think I will deserve one, too. I don't want some four- or five-year-old piece of junk to drive around girls and my friends in. That would be embarrassing.
The house we're living in now was one that Mom was going to try to sell, but she thought it was perfect for us and we bought it. It's on five acres with a pool and an indoor tennis court. The setup is great for Mom and Dad throwing parties, and they said Joshua could have a party this fall if he wants to. But with both of us on the varsity football team, and chances are that we will be going to regionals, Joshua thinks we may have to wait until wintertime to throw a big bash. That makes sense.
My schedule says I've got Ms. Hawk for first period English 9 Honors, then math, history, lunch, biology, art, and gym. coach Dell fixes it so that his players have easy classes the last two periods in case we have to travel to a Friday game.
I've always done pretty good in school, I usually get a B or a C in all the core classes and ace the elective stuff. I just want my grades to be good enough that when I get offered a D-I football scholarship, no coach is going to have any concerns over my grades. I don't really have a favorite class, and I don't have to do much studying to make good grades. Just listen when the teacher thinks she's talking about something important, then cram the night before a big test. It's a good system.
I'm going to major in sports medicine or sports journalism or something like that in college. I'd like to go into TV or work for ESPN when my pro football career is done. I could see myself being a color commentator or something like that. They hire a lot of ex-players for those jobs.
I like to dress sharp. I like it that Coach Dell requires his players to wear a nice shirt and tie on game days and wear a blazer on road trips. I think the girls like to see us looking sharp, not decked out in steel-toe boots and a camo shirt like those redneck country boys did in middle school. They look even more ridiculous when they wear their hunting jackets during deer season. I bet their fashion sense won't have improved when they hit high school.
They're not my competition for girls or sports or anything else anyway. I don't have any competition. I'm competing against myself to get bigger, stronger, and faster this year. It's like Joshua says—when you can walk the walk and talk the talk and look the part, you're not bragging. You're telling it the way it is. It's going to be a great year.