Dillon, Texas. A tight-knit town, deeply rooted in tradition and devoted to its high school football team, the Dillon Panthers. It is a place where residents rally together every Friday night, filling the stadium with passion, pride, and unwavering...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Standing in the middle of the field, "keep it tight!" Maisy exclaimed as she launched the football from the throwing machine. She was leading the catching drill while Coach Taylor observed the overall practice. Assistant Coach Mac was working on tackles with the rest of the players.
"Stop with the butterfingers!" Maisy called out again as the ball slipped from one of the players' grasp. Ever since the incident with Jason, practices had been shaky, but the team seemed to be finding their rhythm again.
"Looking good, guys!" Buddy Garrity cheered as he entered the field, walking alongside someone that had been the talk of the town for the past 48 hours.
The entire practice came to a halt. Everyone looked around, whispering to each other. In that moment, the morale, which had been high, dropped drastically. Saracen appeared particularly disappointed.
"Maisy, take care of this boy, will you?" Coach Taylor instructed, waving her over. Maisy switched off the machine and put the footballs back in the bag before walking over to the new player.
"Maisy Coleman, student manager," she introduced herself, extending her hand for a shake. However, he didn't respond, refusing to shake her hand and instead giving her an evil look. Undeterred, Maisy tried to be helpful. "If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to let me know. I mostly handle behind-the-scenes tasks," she politely offered, but he remained unresponsive.
"Come on, get back to work!" Coach Taylor shouted, clapping his hands loudly. "Show him the locker room," he demanded. Maisy nodded and led the new player towards the building.
The two of them walked silently to the locker room. "There's a spare uniform you can put on," Maisy informed him, pointing to the locker, before leaving the building and returning to assist with the ball throwing on the field.
———
That night, as expected, Riggins decided to host another impromptu party. Curious as ever, Maisy entered the house and made her way through to the backyard via the sliding glass door.
To her surprise, she encountered Julie Taylor, who appeared completely lost.
"Julie?" Maisy asked. Julie smiled and nodded.
"I'm surprised to see you here. I haven't been to many of these myself. Come on, let's get you a drink," Maisy offered, hoping to get to know Julie better and have a friend in this football-centric world.
"Thats okay. I need to see if vomit comes out of suede" Julie commented, looking down at her shoe, rushing off to the bathroom.
