Chapter 6 #2
“Muh-SKIES!” almost everyone in the crowd of faculty roared back in the same chant they’d done at every football game for as long as Levi could remember.
Everyone but Levi, Tommy, and he was pretty sure, Haddie. It had been so long since Levi had been a Muskie. Haddie had never been one. And Tommy… Well, he guessed Tommy was the only one to actively abstain despite the pride Levi knew he had for his school and the students he taught.
“After two more days of working in your classrooms, we welcome our students back on Friday morning not only to what I know will be an award-winning academic year, but also to our first home football game to kick off the season.”
Another chorus of “Muh-SKIES!” rang out, but this time the high school and middle school mascot’s name turned into a continuous chant, with Coach Crawford basking in the glory of the legacy he’d created.
Finally, Coach Crawford cleared his throat into the microphone, and the chant slowly faded until he had the auditorium’s full attention once more.
“It warms my heart to hear the spirit of our town so fervently displayed among the educators of our future leaders. If you’re new to Summertown, there are two things you should know.
One, our town lives up to its name. Its famous gardens and topiaries and, most recently, outdoor art installations bring visitors from far and wide to witness what some may call a spectacle but what we know as simply summer in Summertown. ”
Soft murmurs of laughter and recognition emanated from the crowd.
“But once summer ends, our little town’s sole draw is its unparalleled football team. For years, we were one of the best in the state…a few times, the best.”
Tommy raised his brows at Levi, indicating the role Levi played in Summertown’s football glory days.
“But…” Coach Crawford continued. Yet after his But, he paused long enough for Tommy to groan.
“It’s such a show,” he mumbled under his breath.
“What is?” Levi asked.
“You don’t remember?” Tommy asked. “Ah, that’s right. You’ve never seen behind the curtain.”
Before Levi could ask for more clarification, Coach Crawford began speaking again.
“We’ve been climbing the ranks for years,” he continued.
“But while we have easily risen to the top of our little pocket of Small-Town USA, in competing with the big-city schools in Chicago, with the affluent suburbs whose tax dollars fund things like new turf, uniforms, and elite training camps, Summertown is still a step behind. That means we need to consolidate our efforts…and our funding to truly put Summertown High School back on the map.”
“Muh-SKIES!” a few people chanted, and Coach Crawford let loose a deep, throaty laugh.
“Muskies, indeed,” he replied. “And I can tell by the spirit in this room that you all agree that we need to get behind our team…that we need to do what it takes to compete with the bigger districts, with the stronger teams that have been trying to push us out of our rightful place on top!”
“Muh-SKIES!” several more folks chimed in. But Levi couldn’t help a growing feeling of unease, like this was all leading to something that would pull the rug out from beneath them.
“And so I want to send you off to embark on this new school year knowing that my goal is for all students to thrive, from kindergarten on up to senior year. But I want this town to thrive as well, and that is why I will put everything I can into our team this year. Thank you in advance for your hard work today and the days to come as we kick off the new year. I’ll see you all back here tomorrow morning for a few quick announcements before cutting you loose to prepare for student arrival on Friday. All together now! One… Two… Three…”
“Go, Muskies!”
And with that, the crowd dispersed.
It wasn’t until they were outside, heading toward their cars, that Levi’s shoulders relaxed.
“That was weird, right?” Tommy broke the silence first.
“Thank you!” Levi replied. “I thought it was all in my head.”
“What do you mean?” Haddie asked.
They stopped beside Levi’s truck.
“So my dad has always had an unwavering love for the football team. That’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Tommy said.
Haddie grinned. “I’m assuming you played too?”
Tommy laughed. “I wore a uniform and rode the bench in ninth grade until I realized one very key piece of information.”
Haddie crossed her arms. “What’s that?”
“That I can’t stand football. Playing it, I mean.
I went to every game, supported my buddies on the team, but I had zero desire to be out there with them.
” Tommy shrugged. “And so goes the story of how Thomas Crawford the Second, the one and only child of a man who lives and breathes the game, turned out to be a bigger disappointment than anyone could have imagined.” He spoke the words in the exaggerated voice of a sports announcer, and again Levi felt like he’d been socked in the gut.
Haddie looked Tommy up and down. “Funny,” she told him. “You don’t look like a disappointment.”
Tommy laughed again, and Levi could tell that this time it was real and genuine. Not that he was surprised. Haddie seemed to bring out that type of reaction in people.
“Thanks,” Tommy replied. “I’ll remember that the next time my father tries to cut the debate team’s budget to pay for the football players to take a Coach bus to sectionals instead of a school bus if they make it this year.”
Haddie grimaced. “Yikes.”
“Tommy kicks some big-time ass as the head debate coach,” Levi added. “He did the same when we were students here. So, if you’re looking to lose an argument, look no further than this man right here.”
Tommy chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. Enough with compliments, all right? I know I’m hot shit.
Sometimes, though, it’d be nice for my old man to realize it.
” He shrugged. “Anyway…I gotta get home to the missus,” Tommy added with a grin Levi knew was the happiest smile he’d ever seen on his friend’s face.
“See you kids bright and early tomorrow.” He waved to both of them.
“Great to meet you, Haddie!” he called as he backed away, then spun on his heel as he headed toward his own car.
Levi tapped the bed of the truck. “Should we head out?” he asked.
Haddie was still staring off in the direction where Tommy had gone. Finally, she turned to face him again.
“You know, you can tell a lot about a guy based on his friends,” she told him.
Levi’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah? So what does the very little you know about Tommy Crawford tell you about me?”
She pursed her lips and tapped her index finger against them. “He’s self-deprecating, which is fine. You could have been the type of guy who leaned into his friend’s insecurities and piled on. I’ve seen guys like that…”
Levi leaned back against the bed of his truck, stretching his arms along the top of it. “I’m not that kind of guy, Haddie.”
She shook her head. “No…you’re not. You sang his praises like you actually meant it.”
His brows pulled together. “I did mean it. Does that surprise you?”
She stepped forward and cupped a hand to his cheek, giving it a soft, grandmotherly pat that did not register as such to his insides, his pulse quickening at her touch.
Just friends, just friends, just friends, he reminded himself.
“Lots of things about you surprise me each and every day, Levi Rourke.”
She dropped her hand, and he let out a nervous laugh. “In a good way, I hope?”
Haddie grinned. “So far, so good,” she told him.
Her stomach growled, and Levi laughed.
“You heard that?” she asked, hand flying over her belly.
“Everyone in the parking lot heard that,” he told her. “I guess we better get you home and fed.”
They tossed their schoolbags in the back of the cab and climbed into the truck. As Levi backed out of the parking space, Haddie’s phone chimed.
“Ooh,” she said, looking at her screen. “It’s an email notification from Principal Crawford. Subject line says, ‘Important News.’ Seems a little ominous, considering we just left a gymnasium where he could have announced important news to us directly, don’t you think?”
Again, Levi got that twisty feeling in his gut, but he pushed it away. What could be worse than being suspended from the job he loved and coming home with his tail between his legs to coach a sport he knew absolutely nothing about?
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Levi told her.
Famous last words.