8. Will
CHAPTER 8
WILL
Y ou have to be fucking kidding me. I know it’s not the most profound thought, but it’s all I can think as I watch the Mills Corner defensive lineman punch my player in the face.
I’m on my feet before I can think, grabbing the boys on the sideline who are ready to charge the field and pointing them back towards Theo, gesturing for him and the other coaches to get the rest of the team the hell out of there.
“Get your asses to the locker room, or you’ll spend the next week doing as many conditioning drills as I can think of, understand?” I bellow.
I know they want to defend their teammates, but shit’s gonna get a lot fucking worse if half our starters are benched a couple weeks before the playoffs.
The Mills Corner sideline is completely empty now except for the coaches, who are just standing around doing jack shit to stop their players from beating the hell out of my team. I shouldn’t be surprised since their head coach is an asshole and has always been known to play dirty, but this is another level.
I sprint across the field and manage to grab my kicker and two of my linemen who are attempting to avoid the Mills Corner players and gently shove them toward Jason, who followed me into the chaos. The other eight are trying to defend themselves the best they can, but I can already tell that there’s at least fifty guys coming at them. Fuck, this is gonna be a damn mess.
Jason and I divide ourselves between the two biggest fights while the refs take on some of the smaller scuffles. After a few minutes, I start to feel like we’re making progress, and I am pretty sure we finally get the worst of it under control when one of the Mills Corner players comes out of nowhere and lands a punch straight to my right eye.
“Fuck,” I mutter before whirling around and gesturing to the opposing coaches. “Are you gonna get your asses over here and stop this or not?”
The bastards roll their eyes at me, but finally start moving to get their players off the field. I can feel my eye starting to swell, but I try to ignore it as I search the sea of players in front of me to make sure all of mine have made it to the safety of the locker room. On the sidelines, I notice that the Mills Corner fans are standing, only being held back by a few police officers who happened to be in the crowd.
“Refs, we’re done, right? I need to get my boys the hell out of here before this turns any uglier,” I yell at them over the growing noise.
“Yeah, Mills Corner will be disqualified. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from the AHSAA this weekend. Get your fans and your team out,” one of the refs calls back.
I nod and turn back to the stands, grateful when I see that Hannah and Caroline already have the cheerleaders and the band on the buses. I yell to the parents that we’ll all be on the bus and to meet us back in Springside before finally walking toward the guest locker room.
Before I get there, Hannah comes running over from the direction of the bus, the concern obvious on her face. “Oh my God, Will, that was freaking wild! Are you okay?”
I can barely see out of my right eye at this point, but I can still hear the Mills Corner fans yelling behind us as Hannah continues talking.
“I mean, your eye looks pretty bad. Why the hell didn’t you duck?” she asks, and I feel my temper snap.
“Hannah, I don’t have time to fucking chit-chat with you right now. You need to get on the bus so we can all get the hell out of here. You can make whatever smartass comment you want about my reflexes when we’re back in Springside,” I tell her, stepping around her and rushing toward the locker room.
Damn it, I didn't mean to snap at her, but the idea of some of those crazy ass fans starting another brawl with her in the middle of it has my temper even shorter than usual.
Finally making it inside, I find the team sitting quietly, waiting for me. “Okay, boys, you all okay?”
I hear a chorus of “Yeah, Coach,” before looking around and taking inventory of their injuries. The boys that were on the field when the fight broke out have a few scrapes and bruises, and Blake’s eye looks about like mine but other than that, everyone looks okay. I blow out a relieved breath before nodding my head at my assistants.
“Great. We’re going straight to the bus. You can take your shoulder pads and other equipment off when we get on the road. We don’t have time to kill. Grab your stuff and let’s go. It’s gonna be a long ride,” I say before grabbing my backpack and heading toward the door.
“Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you,” I say into my phone. “Thank you for your help, Principal Hale. I will let them know.”
It’s Sunday afternoon, and even though the week hasn’t started yet, I’m already exhausted. I’ve spent the last two days handling the fall out from Friday’s fiasco. Thankfully, the parents weren’t an issue—they’d seen everything play out and knew that there wasn’t much we could do, but the questions from the state athletic organization, the media, and the district have seemed endless over the last two days. I know there will be an official discussion with AHSAA later, but from what I’ve just been told, we shouldn’t have to worry about any official blowback.
The other coaches are spread out across my living room, waiting for me to press play on the film we’re supposed to be watching. It’s become a tradition for us to get together on Sunday afternoon and get our game plan together for the following week. The four of them look at me expectantly, waiting for me to tell them what Principal Hale just said.
“He talked to his guy at the state, and they think we’re in the clear.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, Marcus, Kent, and Jason let out whoops of excitement while Theo just nods his head at me.
“Anyway, he said it was clear as day that we didn’t do anything. The state is pushing for Mills Corner to be out for the season. But even though we didn’t do anything, those fuckers put a bit of a target on our backs. He asked me to talk to the team and make sure we don’t do anything to increase the chances of this happening again,” I say before blowing out a breath.
“Hell yeah! So we’re on to the next one, huh?” Marcus asks, standing and grabbing a beer out of my fridge.
“Yep, we’ve got the Brookside Bulldogs this week, and it’s also Homecoming. So we all know what that means,” I say with an eye roll.
The other coaches nod at me except for Theo who sits up a little bit straighter. “Wait, I don’t know what that means. What’s special about Homecoming?”
We all chuckle before I respond. “Well, it means that all week our players will be out all hours of the nights rolling our yards for the unofficial Homecoming war. We pray no one rolls an ankle and try to keep them focused with all the bullshit events the school tries to cram in. And on Friday, we’ll have a bunch of alumni coming in and talking shit about how we don’t know what we’re doing since we’re all under forty, despite the fact that we’re sitting at six and oh for the year.”
Theo gets a look of horror on his face. “What do you mean they’ll be rolling our yards? Why the hell would they do that?”
“It’s a tradition for the juniors and seniors to roll each other’s houses with toilet paper during the week of Homecoming, but they also like to team up and go after the teachers and coaches too. Officially, the school doesn’t condone it, but as long as they behave and keep it to just toilet paper, we let them have at it. Between both you and Caroline, I feel like they’ll get you pretty good,” Kent explains while Theo’s face becomes more and more concerned.
“God, this fucking town,” Theo says with a groan, causing us all to grin before turning our attention back to the film.
We settle in, turning our attention to the television. We’ve been watching the footage from Brookside’s last game and taking notes for at least thirty minutes before Marcus asks, “So, Theo, have you and Caroline set a date yet?”
“Not yet. She wants to get married in the spring, so it’ll be sometime next year," Theo replies, and it’s hard not to notice the way his scowl lifts for a moment when thinking about his fiancée.
“Gotcha. Well, I’m happy for you. I keep thinking it might be time for me to settle down. I’ve been thinking about asking Hannah out,” Kent says.
I’d been halfway through a sip of my beer, but after hearing that announcement, I choke and sputter on the liquid. I wait for him to laugh or give us a hint that he’s not serious, but it never comes. “What, why would you do that?”
“Um, man, I know y’all hate each other, but in case you haven’t noticed she’s a damn bombshell. Plus, all the kids love her, and I think we’d have fun together,” he says with a shrug.
“I think it’s a terrible idea. She’s insufferable. Plus, you can’t date her even if you wanted to because of the rule at the school,” I say with a frustration I don’t understand at all.
Why do I care if he wants to take her out? It’s none of my damn business anyway.
“Well, technically, I’m not employed by the school district anyway,” Kent reminds me, and I try to ignore the way the pit in my stomach sinks a bit lower. But he’s right. Since Kent owns his family business and only comes in to coach during the season, he isn’t really a South Springs County employee.
“Well, she’s still insufferable. You’d be miserable with her,” I insist anyway, unable to let the topic go. Kent is a nice guy, and I’ve known him for years, but all of a sudden, at this moment, I can’t stand him. I’ve heard the girls in town calling him one of Springside’s most eligible bachelors, but I still can’t picture him and Hannah together.
“Actually, she only acts that way with you, Will. I think she’s a lot of fun,” Marcus interjects, and Jason nods in agreement.
Theo just listens, but I practically see the thoughts running through his head from here. If I’m not careful, I’ll have Caroline calling me before the day’s over wanting to know why I care about who Hannah goes out with. And to be honest, I wish I had an answer to that question myself.
“Okay, do what you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anyway, what’s our game plan for this week?” I ask, thoroughly frustrated with myself and the way this afternoon went.