By Valor and Arms.

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Soapy
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Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:42

By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 29 Nov 2022, 07:55

Chapter Two: Marred by Blood and Dust

James clapped his hands together and patiently waited as the pigskin drew closer to his finger tips. He flipped it around in his hands before getting a good grip, tightening on the laces before slinging the ball across his body, remembering to follow through. It was a relatively cool summer night but no matter how often James wiped his face with his towel, he would be drenched in sweat within moments.

The band had arrived and was now getting the crowd into it even though kickoff was still a few minutes away. With each passing taps on the helmet and the shoulder pads, it got more and more real for James. He had attended countless games as a kid, watching his dad from the stands and eventually the sidelines, even dressing out for the past three seasons but this was different. He was now the man in the arena, who face would soon be marred by blood and dust.

"Quick and decisive, calm and collected. Take what they give you and when they don't, you go get that shit. It's simple as that," his dad muttered to him from behind as they completed warm-ups, "By valor."

"And arms."

"Love you, boy."

...

"Folks, it is a beautiful night here in Shaw, Mississippi in what promises to be a tightly contested game between your East Side Trojans and Shaw High School."

"Don't let last year's score fool you folks as even with an 0-2 start last season that included a 63-12 loss to the Trojans at the beginning of the season, the Tigers made it all the way to the state championship game last year, rattling off twelve straight wins before losing in the final."

"They return a lot of starters while the same can't be said for East Side who has a brand new quarterback in James Earl Little Jr, a name that is familiar to most fans but unproven."

"The son of legendary coach James Earl Little Sr. but he will be making his first start and his first varsity appearance period tonight so a lot of question marks on offense. Coach Little hired Carl Harrison three seasons ago to modernize this offense and it's worked so far but with a new quarterback, it'll also be a real test for Harrison to see if he's able to keep it going after having such great success with Roger Burton for the past two seasons."

...

"Let's get him going early," James Sr. pulled his offensive coordinator and former quarterback Carl Harrison to the side, "How are you feeling about the first fifteen?"

"If the line holds up?" coach Harrison swayed his head from side to side, "If not, we'll still get it done."

"He can tough out some runs," James Sr. reminded his play-caller, "Don't be scared to run him now, he might be little but he ain't no bitch."

...

"Twins Pro Left X Curl Y Flat," James kept muttering to himself as he jogged onto the field before joining his men in the huddle who awaited him with beady eyes, "Twins Left Pro X Curl..."

"Twin Pro Left," his center, Jarvis, corrected him.

"Right, you know the fucking play, we've been practicing it all week. On two, on two, break!"

James tried to calm himself down as he walked up to the line of scrimmage. It didn't help that Shaw lined up in an odd formation with just three down linemen and three linebackers that just kept floating from inside the box before jumping back outside.

"Ready, ready! Black 30 trap, black 30 trap! Down, set, hut! Hut!"

He got the snap and was slightly flustered as the defense dropped into zone coverage, causing him to panic and escape a clean pocket before dumping it off to his tight end on the flat which picked up a few yards.

"That's a clean look! Stay in there! You're good in there!" his father barked from the sidelines.

...

"Another quick pass to Husein and it's another first down for the Trojans as the passing game is working tonight."

...

"Little drops back, finds his target and it's a pick up of six yards on the play."

...

"Another check down for Little and so far, no answers for this passing attack."

...

James was gaining confidence as the first fifteen scripted plays were working to perfection with quick plays to the slot and the flats where James felt comfortable. Sticking with the curl flat concept, coach Harrison dialed up another one and the team hurried to the line of scrimmage, beaming with confidence. Shaw was showing press which was a favorable matchup for the Trojans with James fully expecting their corner to be in his Craig's inside hip as he comes out of his break with James planning to place the ball right on his outside shoulder, just as they had drilled for months.

When the ball was snapped, Craig struggled to get off the press, causing James to fall out of rhythm with his drop as he continued to stare down Craig who he fully expected to get open any time soon. Just as Craig got off the press, James released the ball only for the trailing corner to turn his head around and pluck the ball from the sky.

"Fuck!" James yelled to himself as he jogged to the sidelines.

He was greeted by coach Harrison who advised him that it was a good read and just a great play by the defense while his father didn't mutter a word but his eyes said plenty enough. The rest of the team tried to pick him up but he couldn't help but notice the roll of the eyes and the shaking of the head by some of the defensive players that jogged onto the field. They had gotten the best of James throughout the off-season and through one series, so were opposing defenses.

...

"Mann takes it in from two yards out and Shaw jumps out to the early lead."

...

The Trojans went back to their bread and butter, their quick passing game which centered around their all-district tight end Michael Weisbecker, one of the few white players on the team who was known by all as 'Baby Gronk', an ode to the New England Patriots all-pro tight end Rob Gronkowski.

With the running game starting to get going, coach Harrison dialed up the final play in his scripted first fifteen.

James stuck the ball in Alex's belly before pulling it out, using his smaller stature to his advantage as he hid the ball and himself behind his offensive line before popping up and throwing a dot to Michael on a flag route who had no problem barreling his way into the end zone.

James did his best to hide his emotions as he jogged off the field, holding back tears as the traveling band went into their routine. After all those years, it was finally happening.

"Keep it going," his father greeted him on the sidelines, "Great fucking throw."

...

"Little hands it off the Howell whose going to score! East Side responds to take the 14-10 lead here in the second quarter!"

...

Shaw responded with a touchdown and after modest pickups on their first two downs, the Trojans were faced with a third and two on their first set of downs as they approached the line of scrimmage with a pass play dialed up. Shaw lined up with six man in the box, prompting James to motion his right hand across his neck in a slashing motion.

"Kill! Kill!"

He audible to a run play and got under center, handing it off to Alex who got promptly stuffed to bring up the punting unit.

"Run the fucking play!" James Sr. yelled towards his direction as James came off the field, still believing he made the right call.

...

"It's another third and short here for East Side and it looks like Little Jr. is making some calls at the line of scrimmage as they change formation with him going under center now. He hands it off to Howell whose going to be stopped well short of the first down, punting time again."

...

"I don't need another fucking offensive coordinator!" James Sr. was losing his mind on the sidelines, "I need a fucking quarterback, run the goddamn play!"

"Why even have fucking kill calls then? There was nobody in the box!" James defended himself and the call, "We work on that shit just not to run it?"

"It's alright, we're good. Come on," coach Snoop Mitchell, the long time offensive line coach, tried to calm both sides down.

Snoop was practically James' uncle and James Sr's best friend, serving as the best man at his wedding and the godfather to all of his children. He was actually supposed to take Leanne on a date Saturday afternoon but he broke his foot the night before at the football game and couldn't make it so he sent James Sr. instead out of respect for her time with the rest being history.

"Just run the fucking play," James Sr. told him in a more calm manner, "You ain't no Einstein."

It was a decision of no real consequence as the defense held, giving East Side the ball back which they had no problem driving down the field using the quick passing attack and a running game that was now getting online. Faced with another third down, this time near the goal line, James stuck with the called passing play despite the light box and completed the touchdown pass to Alex to extend their lead with 44 seconds left in the game.

Even before they were done celebrating on the sidelines, the offense was right back on the field as the defense forced a turnover to get them the ball near the goal-line with 9 seconds left, enough for one or two plays.

"Gun Trips Close Right 800 Z Spot," coach Harrison was very deliberate as he dispatched the play call to James who wouldn't have imagined three first half touchdown passes in his wildest dream.

He rolled to his right as the play intended and right away spotted that Husein was breaking free from his man on his corner route. James fully expected the outside defender to come crashing down hard on Michael's flat route to the nearside pylon only for him to stay neutral, allowing him to fall back into play and intercept the pass intended for Husein.

As James came crashing down to the grass, he could hear the opposing sideline erupt into cheers. He slowly got himself up off the ground, staring into the heavens once more as his near perfect half was now becoming a nightmare.

"You need to beam that shit bro," Husein complained to James as the team walked off the field and headed towards the makeshift visitors' locker room, "That's six right there."

"You left them off the hook," James Sr. told the team, specifically his son as they got to the grass area that separated the track around the field from the outhouse, "That's chicken shit football right there."

...

"It's another completion for Little Jr. and just like that, from a drive that started near their own endzone, they're near midfield."

...

"The defense has no answers for Michael Weisbecker as the senior tight end picks up another first down."

...

"Howell dashes through the defense and you know it folks, first down!"

...

"Little drops back, nothing there, rolls to his right and he's going to try to get there and touchdown! The senior quarterback punches it in himself from eight yards out!"

...

"Another long drive to East Side as they try to put this game away, up 27-24 with a little over a minute remaining in the third. It's third and one and they come out in the gun, oh wait, looks like James Earl Little Jr. is going to change the play and they go under center."

"He's done that a few times tonight."

"It's the right call as he hands it off to Alex Howell whose having himself a night, goes over a hundred yards and gets the first down."

...

"The field goal is no good and the score stays the same!"

...

"This is a big drive here, up three points with a chance to put this game away but it's 3rd and twelve with seven minutes left. Little drops back, looks deep and finds Craig Ostrander for a pickup of 20-yards!"

"They haven't connected often tonight but they'll need to get it going as the season gets going because Craig must just be their best outside receiver."

...

"Third and goal here from the one-yard line, five minutes left in the game, this might be the game."

...

"Trips Close Right 800 Z Spot, from under center this time, you got it. Forget about last time. It'll be there," coach Harrison instructed his quarterback, using the opportunity to both calm his nerves and waste some time.

A former quarterback himself, Harrison knew the importance of going back to a play that a young and inexperienced quarterback had issues with before. From James' perspective, he was fine if that play never got called again for the rest of the season.

With James under center, he was tempted to audible it to a quick run play up the middle as they had the numbers with Shaw being forced to deploy defenders on the outside to contend with the two receivers and Michael at tight end on the right side. He bit his tongue as he began his cadence.

"Ready, ready! Red 80! Red 80, set!"

The ball being snapped caught James by surprise as he had been focusing so much on the play that he forgot the cadence that he had called out. With the ball secured, he rolled to his right and coach Harrison, ever the genius, was right as James had his pick of open receivers with Husein breaking free and Michael being left open as the defense crashed inside to the defend the run and then Craig's spot route inside.

Overwhelmed by his options, James tucked it and sprinted into the endzone as he was too scared to even attempt a throw and potentially miss a wide open receiver. Even with the touchdown that sealed the game, he wasn't free from criticism from both his huddle and the sideline.

"I'm wide fucking open," Husein held his hands up as the offensive line ran past him to celebrate with James.

James tried to seek him out on the sidelines to reason with him but was soon met with his father who shook his hand and brought him in closer, "Good play, you need to make that throw though."
........

 
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 08:51, edited 1 time in total.
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mvp
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By Valor and Arms.

Post by mvp » 29 Nov 2022, 09:50

Kill! Kill!

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By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 29 Nov 2022, 17:02

mvp wrote:
29 Nov 2022, 09:50
Kill! Kill!
whoa settle down buddy

Topic author
Soapy
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Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:42

By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 29 Nov 2022, 18:05

Chapter Three: Beers and Bats

"It's going to be there on that over route," James Sr. kept stopping the tape, rewinding it back before replaying it again, the only way he knew how to break down film.

"Especially if we keep hitting the flats," coach Harrison quipped from the couch, tilting his head back to down another set of sunflower seeds, "They were open all day, last night."

"There's another play," James Sr. looked down in his notes as he fast-forwarded through the game, "Craig needs to press this more inside, he got lucky on this one."

James couldn't help but smirk as he watched the replay of perhaps the best throw of his career, an eighteen-yard corner route to Craig on a third and twelve to keep the eventual game clinching drive alive. So much of his work that night had been between the hashes but on this one, he got to show off an arm that he thought many underrated due to his slight frame.

"On the money too," James Sr. commended his son, "That's a Power 5 throw right there, I'm telling you."

"Robert can't make that throw," coach Harrison added, providing some much needing soothing for James after the earlier tongue lashings.

With the two interceptions occurring in the first half, it was a tough early watch of the tape with coach Harrison and James Sr. taking their turns criticizing his misses. The tone changed in the third quarter and with that came James Sr. skipping more and more plays, only highlighting and watching the down and distances he had noted down in real time.

He had been the head coach at East Side for nearly two decades and never called a single play as he felt that a head coach's job went beyond that. Instead, he spent Friday nights with his patented mini notebook, jotting down notes as the game unfolded. He tried to have James Jr. and then Joshua scribe them afterwards so he could keep a collection of them on his computer and phone via the cloud but deciphering them was nearly impossible for the untrained eye and once Joshua floated away from the game of football, the man they called Big Bear Earl returned to the simpler times of just reading his handwritten notes as he re-watched the game and got ready for the next week of practices.

While James Sr.'s eyes darted across his notebook, James' eyes were constantly wandering over to his phone as the group chat blew up and the minutes went by.

"Appreciate X getting this to us so early," James Sr. had finally gone through the game and was satisfied, standing up from his oversized lazy boy that dominated their living room.

"You can keep it," coach Harrison turned down James Sr's offer of the physical CD, "I already made a few copies before heading over here, I'm dropping it off to the other guys so we can get a jump on Simmons."

"They scored what, twelve points?" James' perked up, as highly anticipated as the night before was, it was dawning on him that another game would be on the horizon before he knew it.

"They're a solid squad," coach Harrison reasoned, "I didn't think they'd get blown out but they're always going to be a tough out."

"He's just saying that because his behind almost went there," James Sr. teased his former three-year starter, "Ain't you glad your momma talked you out of it?"

"First of all," coach Harrison laughed as he gathered up his thing, "If I recall correctly, you came begging to my door at the eleventh hour talking about you needed me."

"And we did," James Sr. playfully tapped him on the arm, "I got a couple league titles that shows that you needed us too, goddamn it. You sure you don't want nothing to eat?"

"It's getting late," coach Harrison instinctively rubbed his stomach.

"I know she ain't feeding you," James Sr. shook his head, "She too pretty to be cooking, I know that for damn sure."

"She's gotten better," coach Harrison defended his long time girlfriend, "She just got nervous when y'all came over."

As their conversation continued, James ducked off into his room, throwing a hoodie on and slipping on his silver and white Nike Roshe's. He waited for the sound of the conversation trailing off into the garage before stepping out, taking a final look before he exited through the backdoor. He wasn't exactly sneaking out but his moment of fun had been delayed long enough.

....

The surprisingly chilly night was the perfect excuse for Anabelle to cuddle up next to James as they hung out by their lonesome near the dugout while the rest of the vagabonds continued to cause ruckus on the baseball pitch. Even the girls were on a bit of wild streak, taking turns throwing the empty bottles as far as they could into the stands.

James had been nursing his Captain Morgan bottle throughout the night but had hit often enough to catch a bit of a buzz, that sweet spot when your head starts to float just a little bit. He'd offer Anabelle a sip every now and then but she had done plenty of drinking before James' arrival. 

It had become a bit of a tradition for the group of now high school seniors -- James, Anabelle, Michael, Alexis, Jarvis, Summer and Rose -- to hang out at the youth baseball field on Saturday's. It was within walking distance of all of their homes and there was a nearby liquor store where if Anabelle, Alexis, Summer and Rose showed just the right amount of cleavage and legs, they wouldn't be carded, dating back to when they were just sophomores.

It had also became tradition that if James' father could get his hand on the previous night's game film a bit earlier than expected that James would be running late, as was the case that night. By the time he showed, they were all sauced up, especially Mike who was celebrating yet another slew of scholarship offers.

"How far is Mobile?" Anabelle asked, her voice getting a bit sleepy.

"I don't know," James shrugged, "We went once to see some Civil Rights shit when I was younger but I don't remember, a couple hours. Why?"

"Nothing," she sighed, "It's just that Mike was talking about some schools down there offering him a scholarship last night and how they liked you too."

"Mobile? I don't know any schools down there," James tried to hide his excitement, "I didn't talk to anybody last night but you know with Mike, every fucking school wants him so they're probably just saying that."

"I don't know," she sat up from laying on his shoulder, "It sounded like they were actually trying to get in contact with you and stuff."

"Mike's too wasted to remember," James played it off, "Besides, if it was serious, they'd have just let my dad know."

"And if they did?"

"If they did what?"

"I just want to make sure you're still...that you still want to go to Delta with me. If you don't, it's fine, I get it, I'll just need to start applying to oth...."

"We've talked about this," James assured her, "Nothing's changed, I just have to go through the motions to get my dad off my ass."

"You could always play for them," she suggested, "They have a football team, right?"

"Barely," James scoffed, "I told you already, I'm done with this shit after this season. If I didn't think he would drop dead from an aneurysm, I would have pulled a Josh and quit already."

"That wasn't pretty," Anabelle had the unfortunate privilege of being in the house when Joshua, the middle son, announced to the whole family that he had quit football, among other things.

"He'll flip out anyway," James added, "But I'll be on campus, in our little dorm and everything will be straight."

"I don't think they do co-ed," she corrected him.

"I know," James snuggled up with her, "That's why I'm going to need you to kick Alexis the fuck out of the room, she can bunk with whoever the fuck my roommate ends up being."

"The fucked up thing is she probably would like that," she bursted into laughter as they continue to cuddle and laugh the night way.
 
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 08:57, edited 1 time in total.

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By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 29 Nov 2022, 20:19

Chapter Four: So You Want To Be a Commodore?

As Alex trotted into the endzone, James could physical feel the weight being lifted off of his shoulders. The dream start to his senior season nearly turned nightmarish but the East Side Trojans were able to hold off the Simmons Blue Devils' thunderous comeback effort thanks to a stop by the defense in the fourth quarter and Alex's touchdown which put the game away at 38-24.

Through two games, James was off to an historic start, throwing for a school record 426 yards in his second career start. The 391 passing yards he had thrown in the opener was also a school and league record for most passing yards in a season opener and most passing yards in a varsity athlete's first career game or start.

While the numbers were gaudy, everyone in the stands and on the sidelines knew that the credit belonged to a son of the town, offensive coordinator Carl Harrison who was the first ever starting quarterback under James Earl Little Sr, leading the Trojans to a league title as a sophomore and once more as a senior, ending the eight-year drought that preceded James Sr's tenure.

Harrison brought the Trojans offense to the modern age of football as Harrison ended his college career, following a stint at Mississippi Delta Community College, with the Kentucky Wildcats as a backup quarterback under offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. In a region where Wing T football still ruled the day, the Trojans proved to be revolutionary in the recent years and with Harrison entering his third season as play caller, it was starting to lap the field.

As James Sr. led the team in prayer following the conclusion of the game, James took the opportunity to take his pads off. The offensive line had kept him clean most of the night but his body was still getting used to the inherent physical toll of the position. The prayer ended and the players rose up, milling around as friends and family joined them on the field.

James' eyes wandered as he tried to find who he was looking for but instead found Michael, continuing the trend of the night.

"You fed him, what, ten balls tonight?" Michael's father congratulated James, "I know you've been waiting for this son, I'm really proud of you."

"He makes it easy," James pointed to Michael who, despite his outsized physical attributes and play on the field, was a rather timid individual.

"We're just clicking right now," Michael nodded, the eye paint on his face starting to wear off.

James spotted Anabelle walking across the field but being that he was in mid conversation, he tried to alternate between looking Michael's father, Arthur, in the eyes and keeping track of where she was.

"You should have heard them up there," Arthur smiled, "They're all looking around like who the heck is this kid? This skinny boy just slinging that thing around, finding his receivers right as they come out of their breaks. You just watch, they're going to be breaking down your door trying to get you signed by the end of this season, you just keep focusing on school and football and it'll all come to play."

James politely nodded, wanting the conversation to end so he could find his girlfriend and get the fun part of the night started. Within limits, of course, as she was the choir director's daughter after all.

"It's one coach that was real excited about you," Arthur struggled to remember his name, "Gates? He just talked to you a few minutes ago, the black fella from that school up in Tennessee?"

"I think his name is Gattis," Michael corrected him, "He coaches the receivers at Vanderbilt, he was telling me that he likes me at receiver actually and he was talking you up too, asking me if you're a senior and stuff."

"There he go," Arthur pointed him out as he was talking to coach Xavier, coach Harrison's younger brother who was also East Side's receiver's coach.

Before James could even turn his head, Arthur had already screamed out for him, drawing coach Gattis' attention. Coach Gattis was confused at first and judging by the look on his face, slightly irritated. Once he saw who Arthur was standing next to, particularly Michael, his face changed. He quickly excused himself from coach Xavier and hurried over, shaking hands once more with Michael before introducing himself to James.

James had met plenty of coaches over the years while attending coaching clinics with his father when he was younger but this was different. He felt nervous as coach Gattis shook his hands and his mouth felt dry as he forced the words out, "Nice to meet you, coach, I'm..."

"James Earl Little Jr," coach Gattis cut him off with a smile and a laugh, "I heard that name all night, almost got tired of hearing it. You threw for about, what, 400 tonight?"

"I haven't checked," James lied, it was the first thing he asked one of the trainers as he came off the field following Alex's touchdown to seal the game, "Just making the plays that coach dials up."

"Loosen up," coach Gattis patted James on the arm as he was visibly nervous, "I came out her to check out a couple receivers but I might have just stumbled myself into a quarterback. I'd love to get a chance to chop it up with you some more and get you in contact with coach Rahne, he's our quarterback's coach, played the position at a high level, he's going to love this."

Yeah, this was definitely different.
...

 
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 09:00, edited 1 time in total.
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By Valor and Arms.

Post by djp73 » 30 Nov 2022, 11:50

Ostrander da goat

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By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 30 Nov 2022, 15:51

Chapter Five: Church Roads

"I don't know," Leanne opened the top drawer, "Tennessee seems awful far away."

"We're just talking," James rolled his eyes as he continued to smash the buttons on his PS3 controller.

"Your dad seemed excited," she neatly transferred his clothes from the laundry basket into the wooden drawer adjacent to his bed, "He seems to think you got a really good chance of them folks offering you a full ride. I do want you guys to get out there but, you know, not everything out there is good for you."

"I know," James replied, he had overheard similar warning two years ago when it was time for his sister to make her college decision.

Like many of the graduates of East Side that actually qualified for further education, she ended up staying close to home and going literally across the road to Delta State with the compromise being that for her sophomore year, she'd get to live on campus as it was paid for by her academic scholarship and financial aid.

James' plan of feigning interest in playing football beyond the high school level sole for the sake of his father was getting more complex by the day and they were only two weeks into the season. His love for the game had dissipated over the years, especially after what happened to his younger brother Joshua.

He was fully prepared to go through the motions one final time before his father named him the starting quarterback. After the initial jolt of surprise and excitement wore off, James was convinced that his playing days were numbered and it would all be over soon but as he continued to play, the coaches kept calling, asking for more film only to be told that these were his first starts which only seemed to pique their curiosity even more.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you guys all went there?" Leanne stopped what she was doing to day dream, "We'd be able to come to all of your games, y'all would have each other to lean on."

It amused James that his mother, who never stepped foot in a classroom passed the tenth grade, had so much to say about the college experience and the outside world but he kept his comments to himself as she finished tidying up his room.

"Don't forget those applications," she told him as she got ready to leave, "Can't have all your eggs in this football thing, no matter what your father says. Your sister will be over tomorrow night, make sure she don't leave without y'all starting on that, I've been on you about it since the summer and you ain't budge yet."

...

Over the years, James had taken her angelic voice for granted but every once in a while, typically during one of the rehearsals where everyone was quiet except for her, he'd fully appreciate just how talented of a singer she was. He didn't care much for gospel songs but when it emitted from her voice box, it was just as good as milk and honey.

"We're going to need it just like that darling come Sunday," Cecille complimented her daughter, "I said I was going to get y'all out of here before sun down but..."

Cecille could feel the energy being sucked out of the room so she quickly corrected herself, "On second thought, I think we're just about ready, what you think Mr. James?"

"Sounds great to me," James flashed a smile which pleased Cecille but perhaps more importantly the rest of the choir as they shuffled around, gathering their things in hopes of getting to the door before Cecille changed her mind.

James waited patiently in the pews as Anabelle and Cecille appeared to be sharing notes from the session.

"I would just do four," Anabelle suggested with a slight shrug, "We don't want people sneaking out towards the end like last Sunday."

"That was real shameful," Cecille said just lough enough for James to overhear them, who was among the group of men that skipped out on the last portion of Pastor Matthew's sermon in order to be home in time for the slate of NFL games.

"He had no business being up there for that long," James teased which drew a reluctant smile from Cecille who could never resist James, stemming from when he was knee high, "I'm just saying, it's only what, eighteen Sundays out the year with the playoffs and everything?"

"You sound ridiculous," she sucked her teeth, "At least you showed up, I haven't seen Joshua in ages."

"Mom," Anabelle sent her a stern look.

"What? You know Pastor Carl didn't mean nothing by that," Cecille waved her off, "He knows that, right?"

"He's just sorting things out right now," James said of his brother's absence from the church ever since a very poignant sermon delivered by Pastor Carl on Valentine's Day in which he strongly addressed what 'true love' was and what a family should look like.

"Now, Pastor Carl didn't go about it the right way but the word is word. Ain't no going around it," Cecille quipped, "I'm just saying, Joshua a good boy, a real good boy and I'd hate to see him get lost out in that world like that. I know it's eating your mother up, God bless her soul."

"Come on," Anabelle nudged James away from the conversation, "I'll catch you later tonight, mom."

"You take care now," she hugged James, squeezing him for a moment, "I'll see you on Friday night after you give them boys the business."

Anabelle grabbed her stuff and they headed their way as it was just a mile and a half walk to her house, just a mile if you cut across the park which they were prone to do. It was on those walks that they had gotten to known each other over the years as James and Joshua once belonged in the choir and was tasked with walking the girls home after practice. Anabelle lived the furthest away so at the end, it would just be them three with James eventually bribing his younger brother to go kick rocks so it'd be just the two of them.

It was a slow burn through middle school before James finally got the courage to ask her out or rather she asked him how come he hadn't asked her out. She was a relatively popular girl while James, with his middling athletic success, was far from that. It didn't help that growing up in an household with two strong personality women made him terrified of the fairer sex, especially the ones that garnered as much attention as Anabelle did.

"Ms. Williams had like an HBCU presentation today," she mentioned, "I had no idea that Alcorn State was an HBCU, my daddy almost went there."

"I never knew your dad went to college," James was surprised that were was anything in Anabelle's life at this point that would be a surprise to him.

"He didn't," she explained, "Not really, he got accepted, signed up for classes and everything but never went. Anyway, when I told him I wanted to go to Delta, he asked about Alcorn State and how I should apply to a bunch of schools just in case."

"Did you?"

"I was going to but once Delta accepted my application, I didn't feel like just going through the motion for the sake of it."

"Is that shade?" James joked, drawing a light elbow from Anabelle to his rib cage, "Oww, that's your starting quarterback you're hurting, you know that? Damn traitor."

"It wasn't shade," she laughed, "I don't know, I just thought it was interesting. Like we finally get out of here only to go to another place full of niggas?"

"You're literally going to a school down the street," James shot back.

"It's not the same and you would know that if you went on that visit with me."

"I've dropped my sister off a bunch of times," James defended his decision, which was a hot button issue at the time, "I wasn't going to spend one of my few off-days in a library, fuck that."

"Y'all make that football shit sound like slavery," she teased, "Massa work me so hard but massa good today, massa let Kunta rest today."

"That shit ain't no joke," James tried to stifle his laughter as she was right, "I'd like to see your ass out there during this Jim Crow ass heat in the summer."

"I bet you all would," she was never one to shy away from good she looked and how good she knew she looked, "Speaking of..."

"Yeah?"

"My dad's working on his truck again tonight," she turned around to face James, grabbing his arm right below his elbow as she began to lead him towards her approaching house.

"Come on," James scoffed, "Ain't your brother still in there?"

"So what?" she dismissed it, "He'll be in his room anyway."

"Your mom will be in there any moment," James stalled.

"We don't have to like do anything, not like all the way. We can just...hang out or cuddle or do something, shit."

"I don't know," James played with his outgrown hair, "I need to get going anyway, my dad's probably going to be blowing up my phone in a minute."

"Whatever," she dismissed him, "Let me just get your jersey."

"You're really getting mad right?"

"It's fine," she sighed, "I mean football clearly is more important to you even though you claim to hate it."

"It's not even about that," James shot back.

"You're right," she sized him up, "Wouldn't want you embarrassing yourself again."

She snatched the jersey from his hands before disappearing into the house.
 
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 09:59, edited 1 time in total.

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By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 30 Nov 2022, 19:57

djp73 wrote:
30 Nov 2022, 11:50
Ostrander da goat
holding folks down since 2013, a legend

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Soapy
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By Valor and Arms.

Post by Soapy » 30 Nov 2022, 21:38

Chapter Six: Road Dogs

Using the bench that was in front of him, James pulled himself up to his feet, taking a breather once he got all the way up. The locker room had mostly vacated with just a few of the junior varsity players hanging around after they were done cleaning up the floor. Moments prior, it was littered with athletic tape, socks, dirty uniforms and discarded helmets and pads while the ruckus group of high school kids celebrated back to back road wins before their rivalry game against the school across the tracks.

Like a lot of rivals, they were more similar than different but the ways that they differed separated them by galaxies. Cleveland High was a mostly Black school while East Side, well, East Side was Black with less than half a dozen non-black students, all of which were on the football team as all of the White kids that were simply too poor to afford to go to the surrounding private schools, which were essentially all White schools of course, went to Cleveland High in order to be less of a minority.

While it had its cosmetic issues, similar to East Side, its proximity to Delta State always gave it a bit of a flair and its academic prowess was well reputed throughout the state as one its the better public institutions, which admittedly wasn't saying much. The house negro vs. the field negro analogy would be a lazy one but it would also be fitting.

Defending district champions in their own right, James knew he would have his hands full come next Friday so he got a jump start on his recovery process, heading towards the athletic trainer's office to grab an ice pack.

"I'm surprised you're still in here," Alyssa, the head trainer, noted as she appeared to be closing shop, "The way everyone stormed out of here, you'd think they were giving away money outside."

James politely smiled as he went into the cooler and was dissapointed to find it empty.

"I can fix you one," said one of the trainers as she appeared from the closet, "We ran through them."

"Looked like a physical game," Alyssa added, "Them boys from West were about big as hell."

"I don't know how you guys do it," the student trainer continued to talk around James who simply leaned up against the training table, "I was near the sidelines for a play and man, it all happened so fast. I don't remember my brother's games being like that."

"It doesn't seem that fast when you're in it," James downplayed it.

At times, the game certainly slowed down for him but early on in the games, everything was happening all at once. He reckoned that it would have subsided by his second or third start but even against West Bolivar, after three straight dominating performances, it still took a couple of throws for him to settle in.

"Here you go," she handed the newly crafted ice pack over to James. It wasn't pretty but it was going to get the job done as he pressed it up against his shoulder, "I could wrap it up for you."

"It's all good," he waved her off, eager to head home, "Thanks, to both of you, we appreciate everything y'all do for us."

"Just beat the crap out of Cleveland," Alyssa smiled.

He started walking towards the locker room when he spotted his dad coming out of it, carrying both of their bags over his massive shoulders, "Come on now, we gotta get up outta here."

"Thanks," he muttered as he grabbed his bag and winced.

"You're getting in that cold tub tomorrow morning," James Sr. shook his head, "You lucky I don't feel like stopping at the gas station tonight, you need to start taking that shit serious."

If it wasn't bad enough that he was hurting physically and beefing with his girlfriend, he had a nice and painful cold tub to look forward to on Saturday morning followed by chaperoning Elijah to his football game and being the team's eye in the sky from the sidelines along with his dad who didn't hesitate to suggest schematic changes to the coaches, something he would have hated if a parent did to him.

"I just got off the phone with Jeff Brohm, remember him?"

"The USFL quarterback?"

"It was the XFL," James Sr. corrected him, "But yeah, he's coaching now up at UAB, he's on Garrick McGee's staff. He was the Black coach from Arkansas that was kicking the tires on Roger last year, came to a game and everything but never pulled the trigger."

"Yeah?" James was growing with anticipation. He had started receiving letters of interest from Southern Miss, Vanderbilt, South Alabama and Troy but whenever he heard about coaches actually talking about him, it excited him, even if nothing materialized as was the case with coach Gattis who stopped responding to his texts in the past week.

"He offered you," James Sr. said flatly, "Right there on the phone, I was looking all around for your ass in the locker room since he wanted to talk to you."

"Holy shit," James was genuinely shocked, "Sorry, I mean, wow, that's...wow."

"Don't get too excited now," James Sr. warned him, "It's just a verbal offer on the phone after he watched your tape and got excited. It's probably not even a committable offer so just take it in stride, be proud, I'm happy for you but the journey ain't done yet."

"Yeah," James nodded along as he continued to beam with joy inside.
 
Last edited by Soapy on 25 Sep 2023, 10:03, edited 1 time in total.
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By Valor and Arms.

Post by mvp » 01 Dec 2022, 08:39

nothing worse than throwing a pick in the end zone :rolleyes:
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