Page 30 of Quarterback Crush
“Listen,” Mom soothed. “If you’re creating new recipes, Penny would be fantastic. She’s written several cookbooks, you know.”
It was true, Savannah’s mom had published a book called Comfort Desserts that had done pretty well. But I wasn’t falling for it.
“You just want me to get back with Savannah.” I crossed my arms over my chest in defiance. “Not happening, Mom.”
Mom sighed. “Actually, Ollie, I’m not. But this idea of yours is intriguing. And fabulous. I’d love for you to do well. Penny would be an excellent mentor.”
My throat tightened. Savannah’s mom owned a successful restaurant and her food was delicious. But having to deal with Savannah would be a nightmare, and that would be inescapable if Penny mentored me.
But wait—if Penny Adlam mentored me then I’d cross paths with Savannah more—which meant I’d have to keep dating Maya. And that was a prospect I didn’t mind at all.
“Okay,” I said.
“Okay?” Mom eyed me with suspicion.
“Yeah, can you ask Penny? I really want to do well in this project.”
Mom’s smile beamed brightly and she patted my shoulder. “Sure, Ollie. I’ll ask her.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
And for once, I was keen to get back to my school work. And I couldn’t wait to see Maya again.
I’M THINKING IT WASdesperation that caused Coach Gregor’s superstitions to resurface. Yes, Coach was a creature of routine, but in the final training sessions he became a little crazy. He wanted us to reenact the previous week in every aspect. Every player had to do exactly what he did last week when we got the win against St. Martin’s. If we could replicate the same training,eating and sleeping patterns, we would take the win. Oh yeah, same clothes too.
“Wear your lucky underwear!” He sounded like a madman with his irrational orders. And he was making a lot of kids nervous.
“Mom hasn’t done the laundry this week,” Jon said, to which Coach growled, “Do it yourself then!”
“And I ate nachos last night at my grandma’s house,” Darwin said. “I didn’t do that last week.”
“I missed yesterday’s gym session because I went to the dentist,” Troy bemoaned. “Have I jinxed us?”
“Hey, I’m sure it’s fine,” I said, trying to calm the boys. “I’m sure a pair of boxer shorts isn’t going to lose us the game.”
“I always wear my Spiderman ones,” Darwin said, playfully raising his eyebrows, “they’re my lucky ones.”
“Didn’t need to know that,” I quipped. “Hey, whatever works for you, but just make sure your hands are in good form.”
“You throw it, I’ll catch it,” Darwin said.
“That’s what I wanna hear,” I said, slapping his back. “We don’t need any superstitious babble. It’s not luck that wins the game. It’s skill, hard work, determination.”
“Definitely.” A chorus of boys chimed in. “Absolutely!”
As the team’s offensive captain, I couldn’t let Coach’s bizarre beliefs jeopardize the team’s chances. That nonsense could filter through the team and take away the belief we had in ourselves. Yeah, blaming someone’s underwear or Grandma’s cooking could take away the focus of how we played the game.
On Friday, the whole school was pumped and the pressure was building. I embraced it, but for some it was anxiety inducing, and I sympathized with Hendrix who puked in the locker room before we headed out.
As we loaded our bags onto the bus, I searched around for Maya. I hadn’t seen her since I’d given her a ride home onTuesday. And that had nothing to do with Coach Gregor trying to make us replicate the previous week. Maya had met up with her friends on Wednesday and on Thursday, her mom had waited for her. I’d texted but it had only been to say hello and ask about training.
Ignoring the call for everyone to jump on the bus, I bustled through the crowd of kids, spotting Maya thankfully standing far away from Savannah. Knowing I didn’t have much time, I strode straight up to her.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said, looking a little surprised. Her eyes darted around, like she was nervous or uncertain. “Shouldn’t you be on the bus already?”
“I don’t think they’ll leave without me,” I said with a laugh. “Just wanted to say hi and hope you have fun out there.”
