"What the hell is going on out there?"
Grunting, I slam my helmet against the locker room bench. No one answers me.
"You're playing like a bunch of babies fresh out the womb. Correction, my baby sister came out the womb with more fight than you pathetic losers and she was a preemie!" I shout. "We should not be losing this game. We are undefeated. If we lose to this team, we will run 'till Sunday!"
"Meyers, Anderson, what the hell are you two doing out there? Picking daisies." I turn to my wide receivers, interested to know why they're shitting the bed.
Suddenly they find it interesting to look anywhere but at me.
"Pitiful." I mutter. "I hate to say it, but our quarterback is working his ass off. Michaels can't do shit if you losers are too preoccupied with smiling at the cheerleaders!"
"Just because a cheerleader broke your heart doesn't mean we can't enjoy the view, Rhodes." Daniel Anderson spits, trying to overcompensate for the fact he's sucking.
The comment stuns my fire momentarily. "A cheerleader didn't break my heart, but I'll break more than that if you don't get your head out of your ass."
That shuts him up.
"We are a team. We are winners. We will go out there and recover from whatever nursery rhyme playbook we used first half and we will win. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes!" They begrudgingly echo.
"Alright, son, I'll take it from here." Coach claps my shoulder and I use his ass chewing as an opportunity to get some water and calm down.
It's just a game.
Heading back down to the field, Coach offers one last order. "Meyers, Anderson, on the bench. Rhodes Two and Three?"
"Yes, coach?" The twins stand at attention, Sterling accidentally dropping his helmet.
"You're in."
As coach walks down, they stare at me.
"Did he–" Sterling starts, fumbling for his helmet.
"Just say–" Silver picks up the thought.
"We're playing?" They conclude together.
"Yeah." I grin, slapping both of their heads. "Don't screw this up, boys."
Laughing, I watch Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum trip over themselves as they rush to warm up. Trying to give Scar a heads up, I'm unable to find her. What I do find is Chloe Hale sitting in the top corner of the bleachers, writing in her notebook.
What a weird person.
Scar appears by the bathroom and I wave her down. Sending two thumbs up and a praying motion, her eyes widen in understanding. Somehow, we've established our own secret language.
Getting back to the field, I block out the world. God, please don't let them get hurt. That is not what I need in my life right now.
*****
Miraculously, after a long two quarters, we won the game.
After changing, I barely make it out of the locker room before I'm bombarded.
"We played." Sterling cheers.
"On varsity." Conner wonders. Coach must've been feeling generous because he even put him in for the last quarter. That or desperate.
"We kicked ass." Silver grins, shaking me.
Laughing, I hug them. "I'm proud of you losers, now head to the car. We might have to celebrate."
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Life in Hiding
قصص المراهقينBook 3 in the "Life in-" series Sage Forest Rhodes thought his entire life was planned out. That was before the love of his life flew home from college, slept with him, and then dumped him on his front doorstep at 2 a.m. Now he's alone, somethin...
