Texas Tea - Post Malone

First Punch

"Austin..." Indy shakes him awake gently. Poor guy had refused to go to bed while she has been sifting through Jeremy's work. He had fallen asleep on the dining room chair, she left him to sleep but she can see his neck has taken a beating by the way he rubs it now. "Sorry, darlin'," he mumbles still half asleep. "What time is it?" he asks.

"5 am."

"You have been up all night?"

"Jeremy is worth it and from what I have found...it was not a waste of time."

That wakes Austin up fully. He sits up straight and looks at Indy expectantly. She sits down next to him. "I have remarked all his work. Jeremy sits in the A+ category. Luke gave him false grades."

"Show me."

Indy reaches over and picks up a math test from the pile. She opens it on the page she had placed a green tag. "He got an F for this test. But see here? All these answers are correct...Luke marked them incorrect," she says pointing at the list of sums. "And this one," she says picking up a creative writing story and holding it up. "Luke gave him an F. But, his punctuation is perfect and so is his spelling. The story he has written is beautiful and well-planned. He deserved an A...an A+ even. I don't think Luke even bothered to read over it."

She starts picking up other tests and assignments pointing out Luke's blatant downgrading. Test after test. Assignment after assignment. Luke had not given him a single chance. Some tests are not even marked, there is just a big fat F on the front. "See here? He deducted marks simply because he didn't put his middle name at the top. That is not a thing," Indy points out one test that has a nasty message from Luke on it.

"Why didn't he tell me this was going on?" Austin mumbles to himself as he scans over the tests. "I suppose he lacked a little confidence in his ability. He felt he was letting you down and like he said - that is more devastating to him than not playing football. But, the harder he tried the more Luke pushed him down."

"I was too hard on him."

"No. This sits squarely on Luke's malicious shoulders. I knew he was a nasty piece of work, but even I did not think he was this cruel."

"I should have trusted Jeremy. I should have instilled...more in him."

"Are you serious? Austin. Luke is at fault here, not you. Jeremy...those boys. They are all kind, respectable boys. It took a lot of courage for Jeremy not to give up. It took a lot of courage for him to come here last night, to put his pride aside and beg you to hear him out. You heard him out because you do trust him and you are a compassionate fair man. The whole team was here, they never gave up and they stuck with him. You instilled those qualities in them. You taught them the importance of never giving up and sticking together."

Austin lets out a heavy sigh. "Where would I be without you, darlin'?" he whispers.

"I don't know. But, there is no use in wondering because that will never be our reality. Now go get ready. We have to see a man about a dog," she says gathering all Jeremy's things, but Austin stops her and pulls her into his arms. "Ask me how much I love you," he whispers. "How much do you love me?" she asks. "More than all the stars in the sky," he whispers then kisses her. Indy melts a little in his arms. This man has her whole heart.

Austin goes for his jog while Indy gets ready and starts on their lunches after Evelyn phones her. She gives Indy an update on her dress and says everything will be ready for the wedding that will happen in a few months during their next school break. It's all very exciting. She is still smiling about it by the time they leave for school. As they pull into the school parking lot Indy can see the girls in a group waiting for Lucky and the football boys all sitting on the front steps. There is an invisible black cloud hanging over their sullen faces. Austin is very quiet. She leans over and kisses his cheek softly when he parks. "I love you. We will fix this," she whispers. "I love you, darlin'," he mumbles then climbs out. Indy opens her door and hands Lucky to the girls, they are not as excited today as they give her sad little smiles. They are sad for their friends.