500 x 50: Short Stories for a Fast World

The Option

The center, a junior who has a physics test tomorrow, snaps the ball. He does not consider the angle or velocity at which he drives the football back into his quarterback's hands. He simply pushes his arm, his hand, the ball backward and his feet forward.

By the time the ball touches the quarterback's palm, the center is two steps off the line. His shoulder is buried deep within a defensive lineman's midsection. The center drives the opposing player back, away from where he knows the ball will be three seconds from now. Each stutter-step of his cleats rips grass from the freshly mowed field.

The quarterback, ball in hand, retreats a step and pretends to hand off to his halfback. Both boys failed to secure parts in the summer play, a production of West Side Story, but their performance fools the defense. The backs bite on the fake handoff, taking a half- or full- step forward and to the right.

The quarterback tucks the football into his body, securing all five points of contact: bicep, forearm, palm, fingers, chest. He ducks and runs left along the back of his offensive line, most of whom are winning their battles with the opposition.

The left tackle, however, is losing his contest against the defensive end, the player with power to force the action. The end swims over the tackle's right side and breaks the line. Lean, tall, and ready to drive the quarterback to the ground, the end lowers his shoulders, puts his head up, and thrusts his arms back. He is a half-second away from connecting with the quarterback.

The quarterback looks behind him, to his left. His fullback is there, waiting for the quarterback to make a choice.

With the end through the line, there is no choice. The quarterback uncurls his arm and grips the the football's slight top. He flicks his arm and his wrist outward. The ball leaves the quarterback's hand and spins, end over end, into the fullback's waiting arms.

The defensive end runs through the quarterback, carrying him up, backward, and to the ground. But the end is too late; the ball is gone. And the fullback is already four steps downfield.

The fullback, whose only A is in gym, turns, squares his shoulders, and does what he does best. He runs, scanning the field as he goes. Most of the defensive backs, fooled by the fake handoff and subsequently swept up by offensive linemen, are too far out of position to catch him. Only the safety stands between the fullback and the endzone.

The fullback continues running, straight ahead. The safety runs at him. If neither boy were to turn or stop, they would collide at the 20-yard line. A yard out, the fullback throws his waist slightly right, knowing the safety has been trained to note and compensate for the movement. Predictably, the safety alters course, while the fullback continues straight on, grinning.

He runs until he hears the whistle blow.