Change Your Ticket

I thought I’d be okay when I got back to school on Monday. I was wrong. Apparently my absence from practice didn’t go as unnoticed as I had expected. I had been in my dorm for no more than three minutes before Derrick came barreling through the door.

“Where were you this weekend?”

“I flew home to see my girlfriend’s homecoming game.”

“Cheerleader?” he asked, smirking at me with approval.

“No she actually plays,” I said. “It’s a long story.”

“Right. So anyways, Steve’s pretty pissed at you for missing. Just wanted to give you the heads up, see ya later,” he said.

Great, just what I needed. I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I hardly did anything at practice anyways why did it matter if I missed one Saturday? The clock on my nightstand chirped, signaling I had class in fifteen minutes. I was exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep but I knew I had to go to class.

School usually wasn’t a problem for me. I did fairly well for myself in high school but much like everything else, college was a lot different. As hard as I tried to focus I couldn’t help my eye lids from fluttering shut. By the time I woke up the class was emptying out and the white board was erased. My blank notebook sat in front of me, mockingly. Fuck. I packed up my things hastily and made my way to the exit. Just as I was about to leave I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Here,” a girl said, thrusting her notebook into my hands.

I stared at the notebook dumfounded. Why was she giving me her notebook? Was this some kind of college flirting thing? I managed to look up, our eyes meeting momentarily before her lips tugged up into a smile.

“They’re notes. I figured you need them.”

“Uh thanks,” I said. I tossed the notebook into my backpack before adjusting it on my arm. I wasn’t sure if it was safe to walk away so I stood there, rocking back and forth on my feet.

“No problem. Us spirit girls always protect our boys,” she winked. She pushed passed me to head out the door. Her skirt swaying with each step she took.

Well that was weird. In all my years of playing football the cheerleaders were only good for one thing, hooking up with football players. I knew from experience that the mysterious red head did not care about my noteless notebook. I made a mental note to stay away from her, continuing on to my next class.



Derrick was right about Steve, he was pissed. He didn’t scream at me, quite the opposite. See on the field being yelled at was usually good news, silence meant trouble. Steve ignored me the entire two hours practice. Only acknowledging my presence to tell me to keep running laps. It was the worst practice I had ever had in my nineteen years of life. Typically running didn’t effect me, but after running for two hours I felt my stomach cramping. Sure enough the contents of my lunch was extracted from my stomach.

“You better not be throwing up on my field, Daniels,” Steve growled.

In some way I knew my punishment was fair. If I had pulled this shit at Mass High Coach would have benched me indefinitely. Since I was already benched the next best alternate was making me run, so I continued on. Heaving every couple of miles but controlling myself enough to not get sick. I was so grateful that practice was over that I hardly realized Steve was motioning me to follow him.

Instead of heading to the locker room for a cold shower, I hustled after Steve. I was so dehydrated that my steps were sloppy causing me to almost fall multiple times. When we finally reached Steve’s office I collapsed into his chair, panting to try to catch my breath. Thankfully a cup of water was forced into my hand. The small cup shouldn’t have made me feel better but it did. My body screaming for more though I dare not ask for another glass.

“Do you know why you’re on this team?” Steve asked. He sat behind his desk with his hands folded shut. His eyes beating down on me, assuming his dominance.

“Because I got recruited?” I said.

“Right. The rest of the coaches and I saw you play back in Massachusetts. They thought you were such a hot shot. Me? I thought you were overrated. Do you know which one of us was right?”

I figured Steve had called me in his office to yell at me, not do whatever he was doing. I didn’t like head games. I gulped, “uh no.”

“Neither of us were right. You’re a good player Daniels, you got a lot of heart. Well, you did. I saw you play a few more high school games than the rest of the guys and I saw what they saw. You had a spark in your eyes like you loved it. I haven’t seen that once here.”

“It’s only been a couple weeks, sir.”

“And in those couple weeks I haven’t seen the drive you had in high school. That’s why you’re not first string quarterback even though you should be. My suggestion to you is to leave high school in the past and start focusing your attention to this team.”



“So he said you’re the better player but he still won’t play you?” Josylne asked.

I had seen here twelve hours ago and I already missed her like crazy. The minute I got to the dorm I skyped her to tell her what Steve had just said. She was just as confused as I was. Her face scrunching up in disgust.

“Can he even do that?”

“He can do whatever he wants, it’s his team,” I sighed.

“Well the situation is bullshit Parker, but he’s right about something. You do need to focus on that team. If you want to play college football you’re going to have to leave high school football in the hands of Max and I,” she smiled.

I knew they were right. Josylne had been telling me this for weeks now. Letting go of the past was a lot easier said than done. As mush as I wanted to be a great college player there was always a doubt in my mind. High school might be the best I’m ever going to have and somehow I was okay with that.

“Hey I gotta go. Lex is crying and I think Cass is in the shower. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Tell Lex I said hi.”

The dim light radiating from my laptop disappeared as the call ended. And just like that I was alone in my dorm room again. How was I supposed to let go of last year when this is what I had now. Empty dorm rooms and second string sports were nothing compared to last year. Instead of making myself feel better I felt worse. Each fleeting moment passing with an equally amazing memory flooding my brain. It was too much for me to handle.

The dirty clothes lining my floor provided me with the distraction I needed. I hadn’t done laundry since arriving at school and I forgot to take it back with me this weekend. I piled the clothes into my basket before heading down to the basement where the machines were. I walked into the room expecting it to be empty, only to find the same red haired girl from earlier. This time she was wearing even less clothing than last time, the missing articles appeared to be in the washing machine.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Parker Daniels,” she purred.