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  Daniel came back onto the field after the touchdown for a one-point conversion. Jason had wanted to go for a two-point conversion, as it was more challenging to score this way, and thus more impressive, but Coach Logan had wanted to play it safe and overruled him. Daniel took several steps back from the ball and then, running at it at full speed, kicked it. The ball went through the uprights, scoring Tallis another point. Boisterous support came from the Tallis side of the stadium.

  Another ball was put in front of Daniel. The rest of the special team gathered around him, as he was going to attempt another onside kick. What had worked so wonderfully the first time failed this time, because City was ready for them: one of their kick returners caught the ball and managed to evade the gunners targeting him for nine yards.

  Coach Logan’s eyes flared when he realized how far City had gotten. He called Chris Trevino, the varsity starting middle linebacker, over after the play.

  “Did you see how far that son of a bitch got?” Coach Logan was spitting, he was so angry.

  “Yes, I—” Chris tried to answer, but Coach Logan talked over him.

  “Did you see how far he got?” The coach repeated, his stout face turning beet red as he spoke. “That can’t happen again. On the next down, I want you to have Addlestein and Stevenson focus like a fuckin’ sonar missile on James, so when that son of a bitch throws, they can intercept or tackle whoever the hell he throws the ball to. And I want you to have the rest of the guys do a blitz on James. Got it?”

  “Got it, Coach.” Chris nodded and then left to assemble the other defensive players in a huddle.

  On the next play, the City center passed the ball back to Allen, and as soon as he did, several Tallis players sped toward the quarterback. Allen barely had time to throw the ball before he was tackled. The ball landed in the hands of a wide receiver. The wide receiver took off, but Addlestein leveled him a yard later.

  “Yes! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Coach Logan roared.

  The game raged on, and the City Tigers proved themselves formidable adversaries: there was now only two minutes left in the final quarter, and City was leading Tallis by four points. The coach and the team were worried, but not Jason. He knew that no matter how many points City was up by, his team was still going to win, because he always won.

  Tallis had control of the ball. Jason consulted with the coach, and they decided on an I formation: Jason lined up behind Aries for the snap, and Jackson and Dwayne Roberts, the varsity starting fullback, lined up behind him. The tight end, the guards, and the tackles were on the same line as Aries, and there was a wide receiver on each end.

  Aries passed the ball to Jason. Jason turned and pretended to hand the ball to Jackson. Jackson, after clearing five yards, was tackled. He had pretended to throw the ball to Andy before the opposing player had made contact. Andy dodged a tackle and ran, drawing City’s players toward him. The rest of the Tallis team moved in on City to protect Andy. While all of this was going on, Jason, who actually had the ball, was galloping down the field. He was a hair’s breadth from City’s end zone when he caught sight of one of their players diving toward him. Jason leaped as high and as far as he could, and the player missed him by a whisker, allowing Jason to score another touchdown, his third for the game.

  “And that’s another touchdown for Tallis by Pruitt, the team’s quarterback,” the game’s announcer reported, amid thunderous applause. “Tallis is now up by two points with thirty seconds left. Pretty nice comeback for the home team.”

  “Do it, Pruitt!” blared from the Tallis side, deadening the boos from the City fans.

  Jason did his victory dance in the end zone again. Once he was finished, he tried to head back to his side of the field, but he was grabbed from behind and pulled to the ground. The City High player Jason had eluded earlier to make his game-changing touchdown spat on him and kicked him all over his body. Jason grabbed the guy’s foot and shoved him backward, knocking him on his ass. Jumping to his feet, Jason stalked toward the player for some retribution, but the referee, the City High coach, and several City High players got in between them, barring Jason from getting to him—an act Jason realized, now that he was starting to calm down, benefitted him more than his opponent: if he had gotten to the guy first and issued some much-warranted payback, then he would have been in trouble, too, possibly even kicked out of the game, and with Hoates there to see it.

  “You okay, man?” Andy was running up to him.

  “Yeah, it looked like that douche really wailed on you, J,” Eric said, arriving a second later.

  “I’m fine,” Jason assured them as he resumed his journey to the Tallis side of the field. That was mostly true, though there was a throbbing pain in his ribs and in his lower back—where most of that motherfucker’s blows had landed—but he had suffered worse, and the pain was starting to dissipate.

  “What a fucking pussy,” Eric said. “What kinda man attacks somebody when his back’s turned? Did you at least get a few licks in?”

  “No, but it’s okay, though. When we win this game, that’ll be all the licks I need.”

  “Not me. I’m gonna catch his ass later and give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  “Lerman has been thrown out of the game for a personal foul on Pruitt, and the City Tigers have been hit with a fifteen-yard penalty,” the announcer informed the audience. “With only thirty seconds left in the game, they’re gonna need a miracle to defeat Tallis.”

  The coach greeted Jason when he, Eric, and Andy made it back to their side of the field. “How you feeling, son?”

  “I’m fine, Coach. Ready to win the game.”

  “Glad to hear it.” The coach started to walk away.

  “Coach, I think we should try for a two-point conversion this time.” The coach had shot Jason down earlier when he had suggested it, because it had been too big of a risk, but with thirty seconds left on the clock and a two-point lead, that should no longer be a hindrance. The worst that could happen was they didn’t gain the extra two points if they failed (and that was a big if with Jason leading them) but would still win the game. If they succeeded, they would increase their lead by four points, and they would pull off an impressive feat that would make them look like gods and City look like chumps. (Plus a two-point conversion—unlike a one-point conversion—allowed Jason to be on the field for the final play.) He was about to explain all of this to Coach Logan when the coach told him to go for it.

  Jason called a huddle for the offense and told them they were going to do a quarterback sneak for the last play: not only was it a good tactic but it also ensured Jason all the focus and attention when the team won. And when he scored those final points, he’d wow Hoates and cement his legend status at school.

  The Tallis Eagles faced off against the City Tigers on City’s three-yard line. Aries snapped the ball back to Jason. Jason accelerated forward and ran toward the end zone while the rest of the offensive line rushed forward to protect him. One City player tried to block Jason, but Jason bulldozed him out of the way and leaped into the end zone, scoring two points and winning the game.

  “Do it, Pruitt!” Tallis fans chanted one last time.

  The guys on Jason’s team hoisted him up onto their shoulders. The announcer was saying something, probably declaring Jason’s victory, but Jason couldn’t hear a word he said, for compliments and praise surrounded him, and it was all for him. Everything that had taken place that day was all for him. Though he knew it was pointless, Jason looked around the stadium once more for his parents. He didn’t see them.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jason rose from bed on Saturday morning, surprised he was still smarting from his fight with the City High player. After suffering through all the beatings he had gotten from his father, he would’ve thought his tolerance for pain would’ve been much higher. Maybe Eric had had the right idea about catching that jerk later on for some payback. It would have to be after today, though. Today Jason had big plans, starting
with renting a tux. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and freaked when he saw the time: it was one o’clock in the afternoon! Damn! He knew he had slept in, but he didn’t know it was by that much. He threw on the first T-shirt and pair of jeans from his closet he could reach and flew down the stairs, not even bothering to shower.

  Jason opened the door to the garage and saw that both of his parents’ cars were gone. Good. He didn’t want to see them today, not after what they had done last night, or rather what they hadn’t done. He had come home last night, still on cloud nine after winning homecoming king and defeating City in the homecoming game, and he had wanted to share the good news with his parents. He had gone into the den, where they had been watching television, to do just that, but they had shown no interest: his mother had given him nothing more than a blithe That’s nice, honey, and his father had given him nothing at all. It was bad enough that they didn’t come to his games, but they could at least show him that they were proud of him and his achievements, or at least pretend to be if they weren’t.

  Jason listened to his voicemail messages on his way to pick up his tux:

  “Wake up, sleepyhead!” Emily squealed through the phone. “It’s homecoming. I hope you remembered—”

  (He deleted the message. It might have been after one in the afternoon, but it was still too early for Emily’s bullshit.)

  “Hey, Jason, it’s Dave. Didn’t get a chance to talk with you last night, but congratulations on another win, buddy. Hopefully, you can keep up your winning streak when you attend Ohio next year. Left you a little something in your account. Talk to you later.”

  (Ah. It was good to be king.)

  Jason picked the first black tux he found that was in his size and that didn’t have a bowtie (he hated those things) and returned home. He checked his phone: it was now two o’clock. He didn’t have to start getting ready for the dance for another four hours, so he decided to occupy his time with a few rounds of Halo Four until then.

  The party bus came to pick Jason up at seven thirty for homecoming. He, his friends, and their friends all chipped in for the party bus. The plan was to spend about an hour at the dance, so everyone would have time to take pictures and Jason and Emily would have time to have their dance as homecoming king and queen. Then they’d all go back to the party bus to continue the real celebration.

  Jason checked himself out in the hallway mirror before he went out to the bus: his tux wasn’t tailored to perfectly fit him, but it might as well have been, as good as he looked. He grabbed his homecoming sash and crown off the table by the front door and stepped out.

  A Justin Timberlake song was blasting on the bus’s speakers when Jason climbed aboard. The bus was so saturated with the smell of cigarettes and pot that Jason considered taking his own car instead to homecoming, but he didn’t act on that thought, because he didn’t want to miss out; it wouldn’t be a celebration if he were alone.

  “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Homecoming King, gracing us with his presence!” somebody said.

  “Not to mention Mr. Quarterback,” another person chimed in.

  The entire bus gave Jason a round of applause.

  As a lark, Jason removed his crown, bowed, and said, “Thank you, my humble subjects. Your king greatly appreciates your admiration,” though he really did enjoy the attention and praise.

  “Shut up, you douche!” Eric said. He threw a balled-up napkin at Jason.

  “Hey, don’t be throwing your used cum rag on me, fag,” Jason retorted.

  “Over here, babe!” Emily hollered. She waved her arm in the air to make herself distinguishable from the crowd.

  Jason followed her swaying arm all the way to the back of the bus, but there were no free seats.

  “We can share a seat,” Emily said. She hiked up her dress, so she wouldn’t step on it and then stood up from her plushy black leather seat. “I can—oh no! Your tux!”

  “What? What’s wrong with it?” Jason asked, checking his tux to make sure there were no rips, tears, or stains on it. If there were, he would have to pay to fix them, and he didn’t want to shell out any more money for something he was going to wear for only one night.

  “It’s black. You were supposed to find a powder-blue tux to match my dress,” she reminded him.

  “I know, baby, but I couldn’t find one in my size. You know how muscular I am.” (Jason heard someone—probably Eric—snicker.) Jason had actually forgotten all about finding a blue tux—not that he had ever cared to find one in the first place—but he could see that Emily was pissed, and he didn’t want to make her anymore upset at him than she already was. He did want to have sex tonight. “Forgive me?” he asked, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes.

  “Yeah. I guess it won’t be that big of a deal if we don’t match. And at least you got my corsage.”

  Damn. He had forgotten about that too.

  “You did, didn’t you? You got my corsage?”

  “Baby—”

  “Ooh, somebody’s in the doghouse!” Eric teased, following it up with a couple of howls.

  “It’s fine,” Emily said through clenched teeth. She sat back down. Jason wanted to ask her whether they could still share a seat, but he knew what her answer would be.

  “Jason, you can sit over here, man,” Collin offered.

  “Collin!” Amy squeaked as Collin picked her up and sat her on his lap, so Jason could have her seat.

  “Thanks, man.” Jason sat down. He saw Amy glowering at both him and Collin out of the corner of his eye, and he saw Emily glowering at him from across the bus. He fucked up. He fucked up royally, and he knew it. Fucking whomever he wanted, whenever he wanted, however he wanted had made Jason rusty when it came to the finer points of dating, such as caring what a girl thinks and paying attention when she talks. He needed to make a bold, grand gesture to fix this mess, so he could have a good homecoming, and he had to do it quickly, but what could he come up with on such short notice that would have even a snowball’s chance in hell of working?

  The school gymnasium, where the homecoming dance was being held, had been decked out with streamers and balloons in the school’s colors. An iPod attached to surround-sound speakers was the musical entertainment in lieu of an actual DJ or band, although the school’s marching band would play for the homecoming king and queen’s first dance.

  “Baby, I really am sorry,” Jason said as they entered the gym, trying to apologize for the umpteenth time for his absentmindedness, but Emily was not in a forgiving mood. It’s fine, she’d say every time he expressed regret for his transgressions, but her face and body language said it was anything but fine. Under normal circumstances, if a girl tried this shit with him, he’d just say, “Fuck it,” and move on, but he still needed Emily for his perfect homecoming.

  “Look, there’s some punch. You want me to get you some punch?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  “There’s only two couples in line right now for pictures. You wanna go get our pictures taken?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Ugh! Being attentive and sweet wasn’t getting him anywhere, and it wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He needed that bold, grand gesture, but he couldn’t think of anything. Until he saw the band setting up their instruments for the first dance of the homecoming king and queen, that was.

  “Excuse me, baby.” Jason left Emily’s side and made his way over to the band. “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey!” they all said.

  “Great game last night, my man. You owned those City High guys,” one of the trumpet players said.

  “Yeah, I really loved that move you did in the end where you pushed one of the City players out of your way, he went flying, and then you jumped to make the last touchdown,” a saxophone player enthused.

  Jason smiled. He loved meeting his fans, even if they were band geeks.

  “Thanks, guys. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. It’s about the homecoming-king-and-queen dance. I wanna do something special for Emily.
”

  “Yeah, sure, anything,” they responded.

  “It’s time for the homecoming-king-and-queen dance,” Ms. Kallens announced via microphone, twenty minutes later. She was standing on the stage. Jason and the band stood behind her. “But our homecoming king has something special planned for our queen.” She handed the microphone to Jason, prompting a round of applause from the other students, and left the stage.

  “Can we have Ms. Bulstride, our beautiful homecoming queen, come up to the stage, please?” Jason entreated.

  Emily walked timidly to the stage, a mousy look on her face.

  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” Jason teased.

  The other dance attendees laughed, and Emily laughed too, although hers appeared to be out of nervousness rather than amusement like everyone else’s.

  When Emily made it to the stage, Jason glided to her, took her hand in his, and gave her his best puppy-dog eyes as he said, “I know that homecoming hasn’t been everything you hoped it would be and that it’s my fault, so I hope this makes up for it.”

  The band began playing “The Look of Love.” When the time came, Jason added his off-key vocals. He danced with Emily, who was laughing at him—as was everyone else—but he could tell by the look on her face that his gesture touched and impressed her. To further reel her in, he whispered, “I love you, Emily,” in her ear after he finished his song. Girls always fell for that shit, and the expression on Emily’s face demonstrated she was no exception to the rule.

  Emily kissed Jason, motivating the crowd to say, “Aww!” and cheer. Emily’s lips tasted like cherries.

  “Well, we better get our pictures taken before we go,” Emily said, smiling. She took Jason by the hand and led him off the stage toward the other side of the gym, where the photographer was taking pictures. There were four couples in line, but they let Jason and Emily cut to the front because of the great game Jason had played last night and the grand romantic gesture he had just made on stage, and because they were homecoming king and queen.