“David, Lily, I’m glad you guys could join us,” Tracy said, shocking Lily because she didn’t know Tracy even knew who she was. “I want to make sure everyone knows each other. This is Sammie Goudy, Kim Sun, Mona Wingman, Mike Herndon, Tim Foresee and Jake Holcombe. Gang, this is David Dawson and Lily Harris.”
Mike gave me a big grin.
“Hey Bemoc, glad you could make it.”
I gave Tracy a dirty look and she shook her head that she didn’t put him up to it, so I just grinned.
“Let me guess. First week of school Tracy tagged you with the nickname?”
“How did you know? I’m hoping to pass it along.”
Tim came to my rescue.
“Sorry, man. You can’t give your mantle away. Plus, I shudder to think what your new nickname will be once Tracy gets done with you.”
Mike looked aghast.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
We had a good time until Tracy asked Lily how she knew me.
“David saved my life.”
“Seriously?” Mona asked.
“Oh, yes. I was at a party where someone gave me a spiked drink. I passed out and almost choked to death on my own vomit, when this guy saved me. I guess when I was turning blue everyone else bailed on the party and left me to die. David even took the fall for the party to keep everyone else out of trouble.”
A COUPLE OF THINGS changed when I joined the varsity football team. The first was in PE. I was given a trainer who monitored my conditioning and weight lifting. I met Jill Kim after lunch. The first day was mainly getting a baseline as to where I was physically. We then went outside and she had me run some drills. She pointed out I was having the typical problem boys have when their growth spurt sets in: I had coordination issues.
We both agreed I needed to bulk up some to take the pounding at the varsity level. She proposed I work on conditioning in the mornings Sunday through Thursday. She would assign me a running partner who would meet me at my home the following morning. I would alternate days between lifting and working on improving my speed. I would lift Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. I would do speed training Monday and Wednesday.
The only strange thing she had me scheduled to do was Pilates. There was a Saturday class with the park district I had to sign up and pay for. She explained Pilates was the fastest way I could build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance. The emphasis was on developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance. We had a game Saturday, so I’d start next week.
The second was I was assigned a tutor. In middle school, I was an A/B-average student without cracking any books, so I wasn’t too worried about my grades. I made a commitment to improve my grades this year. Our school counselor insisted I have a tutor. She explained that if I wanted to get into a good college, I’d need grades as well as my football skills. She went on to explain that the pressure of being a freshman playing varsity ball might be overwhelming.
I had study hall as the last class of the day. Instead of going there, I was told to go to one of the tutoring rooms. They were soundproofed because they were also used as music practice rooms. These were small rooms with a desk, two chairs and a computer. I showed up a few minutes late because I wasn’t sure where it was. When I walked in, I was blasted.
“You’re late!”
I stepped back and saw my tutor was Suzanne Ball, a.k.a. the Ice Princess. I smiled. I guess she really was going to teach me things. She looked pissed, which confused me. Then I remembered she was a cheerleader and word was out Tracy was interested in me.
Cindy warned me off by telling me something was up with Suzanne. If it weren’t for that, I’d make a serious play for her. Of course, we had the usual issues of her being in the social elite and a senior. Both seemed like insurmountable obstacles in creating a relationship. The final hurdle was the Ice Princess had been asked out by the best looking, most confident guys around, and she had turned them all down. I didn’t stack up to that kind of competition.
“What are you mad about?”
“You’re late.”
Every guy knows the first thing a girl throws at you when they’re pissed is usually not the real issue.
“Okay, I call bullshit.”
Now that was probably not my wisest move.
“What do you mean, bullshit? I take being a tutor seriously. If you’re not going to respect my time, I’ll find someone else to tutor you.”
“Whoa, I was late because I didn’t know where the room was. I called bullshit because that isn’t the real reason you’re mad.”
“All right, wise guy, why am I mad?”
I try never to ever fall for that one. I’ve had my mom pull it on me way too many times. She was the champion at this. I wouldn’t confess to stuff she hadn’t thought of. Suzanne was a lightweight compared to my mom. I gave her a small smile.
“Suzanne, I would never presume to tell you what you are or aren’t mad about. I just know you aren’t mad about me being late. Irritated, yes, but you’re mad about something else.”
“So you don’t think I could be mad about you being late?”
“Of course you could. But let’s be honest, is that really why you’re mad?”
“No.”
Now we’re starting to get somewhere with this.
“Care to share, so we can work this out?”
“I’m not sure I want to work this out.”
“Fair enough, would you prefer to yell at me and get it out of your system?”
This one took her back. Mom has used this technique on me, so I knew its effect. It made me take a step back and decide what I really wanted to do. Sometimes I did just want to yell, so I waited patiently while Suzanne figured it out. I wasn’t expecting her to giggle, but that’s what she did.
“You dork. I have no idea why I can’t stay mad at you. I’d gotten myself all worked up so I could blast you.”
“Tracy?” I guessed.
“Yeah, I figured if I came on tough I could smack you around and help you see she’s not the right girl for you.”
“I agree. Tracy isn’t the best match. She’s way out of my league, but I need to start with you. Are you comfortable being my tutor? If not, that won’t affect our friendship, but I know we have a little more between us than a normal tutor and student would have.”
“No, I really am fine with teaching you. Like I said before, what we did was a one-time thing.”
“Well good; well, not really good. I’m glad you want to be my tutor. I have to say, you’re one sexy lady and I’m a teenage boy. I get what we did was a one-time thing. But I can fantasize, can’t I?”
I finally got a big smile out of her.
“Only if I can fantasize too,” Suzanne stated.
“Who am I to stop you? So, here’s the deaclass="underline" you smacked me around and got me to see the light. I’ll get my head out of my backside and at least talk to Tracy about whatever it is she has planned. I’ll fantasize about the sexiest woman I know. You get to fantasize about the cutest freshman you know. Do we have a deal?”
“Well, I don’t know about the sexiest woman part, but deal. Now get your books out and let’s see what we need to work on.”
Yeah, she thinks I’m the cutest freshman. Hey, you have to take your victories where you find them.
I found that Suzanne was a big help. My biggest problem had always been organization. I always waited until the last minute to write a paper or to study. She sat me down and taught me how to use my tablet calendar app to plan my days.
MY FIRST DAY OF VARSITY football was, let’s say, interesting. I got my head handed to me. I was no longer the strongest or fastest, but I held my own. Word had gotten out about what I’d done in my first game, so the defense decided they needed to prove a point and put me in my place. Towards the end of practice, Coach Lambert called the offense and defense together to scrimmage goal-line plays. This drill could be brutal. Both sides wanted to prove who the best was.