It was game time for the Dons. Every time game day rolled around for Ty nowadays, it felt like the most important game of his life so far; this one certainly was.
Yet the rest of the world turned as if it were just another Saturday.
He said goodbye to Meg. Again, she was sorry she couldn't come, but promised to ask their parents for a lift. Again, Ty was doubtful they'd listen to her request, let alone grant it.
Mother wasn't even home—she hadn't been since the previous night. Father was passed out in his chair—even when he woke, he'd have a hell of a hangover to battle.
Both their older siblings were missing as well. Ty told himself he didn't care. Meg already had her hands full with the twins, and she knew better, both Devon and Victoria would show up after the weekend, and get in a yelling match with either of their parents about where they'd been, yet even at the end, no one would be any closer to the answer.
Ty left and didn't look back. He arrived at the school parking lot in record time, one of the first players to show up, even beating Coach Norman there.
After handing over his bag, he climbed onto the bus. He had it all to himself for a moment, but still sat at the front, thumping down heavily. Sitting at the back wasn't worth the trouble. They were all the same, anyway.
He stared out the window, though he wasn't watching the world, he was lost in his own. He was too absorbed to notice as the others piled onto the bus.
But when someone sat next to him, he was pulled from his thoughts. It was Bella. His brow knitted together, asking the question for him: "What do you want?"
She smiled. 'You ready?'
He turned back to the window. The question was so dumb he didn't even want to answer it, but he eventually did, looking at Bella's reflection in the window. 'Of course.'
'Great!' Her smile widened, and she settled into her seat. Ty frowned and looked at her. She didn't move. The bus jerked into motion and turned onto the road, beginning its journey towards Chino Hills, the neutral destination for the day's game. Bella was still next to him.
He tried to figure out why, then concluded: 'You're worried about the game,' he said it more like a statement rather than the question it was.
'Worried? Why would I be worried? You told me you're ready and you're going to win. You wouldn't let me down, would you?'
'Let YOU down?' And people called Ty arrogant. 'Why would I be letting YOU down when I'm the one who's been working towards this all year? Me and everyone else on the team.'
'Am I not a part of the team?'
'Are you? Do you even have an actual position within the staff, or are you just here as the coach's daughter? You're not the one pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into this. … Maybe you have cried like the others, but that's not the point.'
Her smile only grew. It was shocking and disarming. Ty couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand HER.
'I'm glad you're so fired up, Ty. This way I know we're going to win.'
Ty shook his head. At least football was never that confusing. You always knew where you stood on a football field, especially with the way he played. People were so much easier to read out there on the grass.
At the back of the bus, Deshaun was still riding the high of his scholarship offer. And despite the Dons heading towards their greatest challenge yet, he was the most carefree he'd been all season.
'Damn, someone's happy, huh? You finally get laid, Dee?' Stephen said. A few others around them laughed.
'Haha! Good one, big guy. But, let me know when you actually get a girlfriend. I still think the Cowboys have a better chance of winnin' a ring than that happening.'
Only two of the seniors crowded at the back of the bus didn't join in with the laughter—even Jay, who was pretending to sleep, laughed—one was Chris, whose knuckles were white as bone as he gripped the headrest in front of him. The other was JJ.
'Knock it off, guys,' JJ said. 'This ain't the time for jokes.'
The others quietened but gave him a few concerned looks. Jay tipped his hat up, eyes bright and alert. 'Everything alright, El Capitan?'
'I'm fine. We just need to focus.' He sat, staring ahead, one leg bouncing rapidly.
Jay looked across at Stephen and Deshaun, Deshaun looked at Benny, who looked at Cole and Cameron, who looked at Chris. Chris was too focused on his own issues to notice the look or what was going on with JJ. The others, however, knew JJ to be a truthful and honest man, but they also knew the burden that was on him in this game. He always carried the greatest burden each game, but this one was different. This time, he was going up against Denzel, someone he and they hadn't bested for years.
There were a few Dons who had similar jitters, and Ty was one of them. Bella noticed his hands shaking. They had been since she sat down, and they didn't stop throughout the entire trip, short as it was. It felt twice as long with those quiet, shaking time bombs at either end of the bus.
Elsewhere, the Bears were on the march as well. The King sat at the front of his huge, long chariot, eyes forward as he charged towards the battlefield in the hills to meet the Dons. He was unblinking, staring towards his goal.
The front of the bus was quiet and hot, a simmering fire waiting to erupt. Not even Denzel's friends dared speak lest they sparked the fire into an inferno. Chatter and laughter filled the middle, but at the far end, it was quiet again, quiet and isolated.
Number 14 sat alone, without his number. His broad shoulders were perfectly still, his head tilted back against the seat. He barely even breathed as he slept. And with the chill that seemed to radiate off him, one could've mistaken him for a frozen statue. It was a mystery if such a slumber produced dreams.
The drive was a little longer for the Bears, but was over in a flash. They had nothing to be nervous about; they were going to crush the Dons. Nothing would get in their way of a State championship.
The Dons arrived at a nearly empty parking lot. No other bus arrived with them, and as they alighted from their own, still no other bus came.
After Coach Norman handed Ty his bag, Ty waited, watching the far entrance of the parking lot. No matter how long he stared and waited, no bus appeared on the horizon.
'Get moving, Samuels. You can have a stare down with your boyfriend for the day later,' Coach Hoang said, speaking jovially rather than harshly.
'Huh?…' Ty looked at him as if he'd spoken in Vietnamese. '…Boyfriend?'
Coach Hoang laughed. 'You heard me, so what are you confused about? You're actually probably MORE intimate and obsessed with your opponents than people are with their partners.'
Ty tried to blink the clarification into reality, but it just wouldn't compute in his mind. 'That doesn't make sense… of course I need to be focused on my opponents.' His confusion turned to anger as he gnashed his teeth.
'See, that's the difference between Corners and Safeties. You don't have a man, you just watch the field and the ball and you react. But Corners, we have to get INSIDE our opponent's head and know what move they're going to make before they even think of it.'
Coach Hoang's smile flipped as Ty took the joke for a personal attack. Misunderstanding or not, he wouldn't take that kind of smack from one of his players 'Alright Samuels, you have fun figuring it out whilst you go run some laps for me.'
Ty was about to say that, of course, Coach Hoang needed others to run laps for him, but he bit his tongue and held the venomous words at bay.
Still, as if Coach Hoang could read his mind, his eyes narrowed. 'You know what, make it five laps.'
Ty's nostrils flared, but he took a deep breath and turned away. He dumped his bags on the bench, then set off on the first of his laps.
By the time he was finished, the Bears had arrived.
Denzel was at the head of the column, before even the coaches. He strode along the field with his massive shoulders pushed back, chest puffed out, his gold chain glittering in the afternoon sun. He looked even bigger than he had during their last encounter.
His buddies were right behind him, mean-mugging the Dons, who stopped and stared at their foes.
Denzel looked across the Dons, but his gaze rarely lingered. He glossed over them all, as if they were insignificant … all but one. His gaze stopped on JJ. His eyes hardened, and he snarled, gold tooth catching the light as well.
JJ didn't blink. He stared back at Denzel, watching him the entire way. The fire Denzel saw in JJ's eyes infuriated him. How dare a peasant look at their king in such a way. Before the game was over, he promised he'd stamp that fire out and scatter the ashes so far it'd never burn again.
Number 14 was at the tail end of the Bears' procession. He ambled along, arms behind his head, eyes closed. He didn't make eye contact with any of the Dons, though Ty was the only one watching him. Even so, Ty could've sworn he saw those lips twitch into a smirk.
Coach Hoang saw the way Ty looked at number 14 and muttered to himself. 'Need to find me a girl who looks at me like that.'
Only one other person watched the Bears with as much intensity. Their penetrating gaze made the hairs on the back of the boys' necks stand up. Denzel looked towards the sparse crowd. The stands were yet to fill, and only a few people were finding their seats. Jameis Kingston stood out like a black sheep in an empty field.
He stood in the middle of the stands, hands on his hips, eyes locked on only Denzel.
Denzel nodded towards his father, but Jameis didn't react. Under that ever-watchful eye, Denzel always played his best. Today would be no different.
The Bears soon began their warm-ups, and noticing the way the new arrivals distracted his team, Coach Long called the Dons together, then ushered the boys to the Locker room. 'Everybody get ready. Time to lock in.'
The Dons marched off the field, staring at the Bears as they walked by. Only a few of the Bears stared back, Denzel chief among them. He and JJ locked eyes until JJ stepped into the tunnel leading to the locker room.
'Don't worry about that lil bitch, Zel,' Derrick said. He came up behind Denzel, massaging his shoulders.
Denzel shrugged him off. 'I ain't worried. I'm gonna crush ALL those bugs.'
The others laughed and sneered at the Dons, watching them leave the field.
Deshaun came up to JJ, arm around his shoulders, hand on the back of his neck. 'We gonna beat the smug look off of all those assholes' stupid faces,' he said.
JJ nodded. 'The "King" will be the one kneeling today.'
Ty captured Denzel's eyes next, but Denzel's scowl turned into a sneer at that. Ty's hands stopped shaking for the first time since he'd gotten on the bus, then curled into fists.
Their biggest test yet, the last thing holding them back from State, was staring them right in the face. But Ty knew they were ready, and he was gonna rip that sneer right off of Denzel's face along with his heart.
Number 14 watched the Dons leave, saw Ty and Denzel's stare down, and grinned. A spark of excitement shot through him. Maybe this game wouldn't be as boring as their first battle.
Coach Long watched his boys gear up for war. It could be their last—every battle could be their last now—but he knew this one wouldn't be. He felt it in the air. They were scared, but they were determined. The jokes had stopped, not because of their fear, no, they would've been laughing to suppress the fear. They were locked in, perhaps before he even told them to.
He had no words for the moment, there weren't any words needed. They all knew what was at stake, they knew what to do; they were ready.
He raised his fist; they joined him. No countdown was needed. In perfect unison, they cried out: "Family!", then they marched back out to the field, ready for war.