Explosions of Grandeur.

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Caesar
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Caesar » 17 Jul 2019, 11:32

Oh, he a woman beater. :smh: Had high hopes for the lad.
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Captain Canada
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Captain Canada » 17 Jul 2019, 12:41

Damm, what a character shift.

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Soapy
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Soapy » 17 Jul 2019, 14:03

"I don't even remember them tackling you," Cam said with a look of disgust as he examined James' face, particular the scar under his right eye.

"It probably was under a pile or something," James kept his face fixated on the board for the first time seemingly all year, "You know how them little bitches be."

"I don't like that word," Vanessa commented, shifting her body to now face James, "I don't know, the scar is kind of hot."

"I'm pretty sure I've heard you say bitch before," James said incredulously.

"Mr Jackson," Dr. Gotti stopped what he was writing on the board, "Language, please."

James held his hands up, quietly apologizing before shifting his attention to this phone. He scrolled through a few notifications but didn't see the one he was waiting for. It had been a few days and outside of a 'did you get home' text the next day, it had been radio silent on that front.

'can we talk'

James grew inpatient as the seconds went into minutes and the minutes into an hour and eventually the bell rang. He sleepwalked through lunch and to classes, constantly checking on his phone. He'd look at the time on the giant clock that was in front of every classroom and play of game of not checking his phone for the next five minutes. Nothing worked and he finally grew impatient.

'meet me before practice'

....

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."

James simply held up a bouquet of roses although calling the collection of the $2 flowers he picked up on the way here a bouquet was a stretch. Realizing that wasn't enough, he also lifted up the box of Lil Caesar pizza that was in his left hand high enough so she could see it through the peephole.

The door swung open and James slowly walked in. Beck didn't wait for him as she quickly walked back to her desk and sat down, "I'm studying, I've got exams coming up."

"I know," James put the pizza next to her desk but she did not look up from the set of binders that were in front of her, "You always struggled with the sciences."

"What are you doing? Did you come here to win me over with pizza and some funky ass flowers? That was your plan, really? Have me running back to you after that shit you did?"

"No," James said sheepishly, "You shouldn't get back with me, shit, you should have even been with me to begin with."

"James."

"It's true. You're like super smart, even with the sciences and shit. I don't know what you saw in me or kept seeing in me after my whole fucking gimmick that I put on got revealed to you a few times. You deserve better, you deserve the life that you're starting to build here. Maybe that's why I snapped. I saw that you finally started having people around you that were good for you, made you better. I was scared of losing you but I should lose you. I never deserved you."

"You came out all this way to break up with me?" she scoffed, "You've got some fucking nerves."

"I don't know," James plopped down on the bed, "I never thought we would even make it this far so I don't know what to do."

"You're not getting rid of me," she got up and walked towards James, pressing her cold hands against his cheeks.

"I'm not trying to.....I don't want to."

"It was a stupid fight," she sighed, "I was drunk, you were drunk. Everyone else just made it bigger than it was. It's not that big of a deal."

"It is," he cleared his throat, "After last time, I said I wouldn't do it again and now this shit? I don't ever want to hurt you but I just get so angry and I..."

Beck pressed her lips against his, running her hand through his hair, "You're not going anywhere. We're not going anywhere."

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Soapy
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Soapy » 17 Jul 2019, 14:03

Caesar wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 11:32
Oh, he a woman beater. :smh: Had high hopes for the lad.
Captain Canada wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 12:41
Damm, what a character shift.
y'all disloyal if y'all ditch james after this.

Topic author
Soapy
Posts: 7013
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Soapy » 17 Jul 2019, 14:42

"Jackson keeps it for a gain of four."

....

"Jackson up the middle, gains about three yards."

....

"Jackson gets popped, completes the six-yard slant to Landing."

....

"Ready! Ready! Shift! Shift!

James took a few steps to the line of scrimmage before hurrying himself and getting under center. He looked to the left of the formation and moved Tyler off the line of scrimmage before looking to his right, making sure he was getting the look he wanted.

"Ready! Ready! Green 80.....Green 80....set!"

The ball was snapped and James faked the hand off to his right before looking over at Tyler who was wrestling with the corner to get off the line of scrimmage. Tyler was able to shove him off before he started to position himself to post him up at the goal-line. Just as James was ready to cock back, the defensive end got past the blocker and flashed in front of James' face. James faked the pass to Tyler, causing the defensive end to both jump and for the two linebackers to turn their heads. James tucked the ball and went under the arm of the defensive end who tried desperately to get down in time in order to tackle him.

James kept his feet under him as he felt someone swipe at his cleats. He stumbled forward a few more yards before diving into the end-zone where the aforementioned linebackers were waiting for him.

"Fuck!"

He didn't bother looking to see if he scored. He didn't care. He was more preoccupied by the pain he felt in his right leg, particularly in his knee. He desperately wanted to clutch at it but a pile had formed around his legs.

"Get the fuck off me!" James screamed out in agony.

The whistle was blown and players slowly peeled off the quarterback as he continued to scream in pain. Once everyone was off of his leg, the pain somehow got worse as James rolled around on the grass. A few of his teammates -- Iman being chief among them -- had been yelling to the sidelines for the trainers to come. They swiftly arrived with the head trainer taking a knee next to James.

"Breathe, Jimmy. Take a deep breath."

"It's my fucking knee, doc. It's my fucking knee!"

....

The mood in the locker room was somber as the sound of James' crutches echoed throughout the concrete room. They had lost for the first time in almost two months but what was on their mind was their star quarterback needing help to sit down as coach Butler got ready to address the team once they all loaded off the bus.

"We fought," coach Butler started, "You guys fought, you guys kept playing until the end and we had a chance to win it but we didn't. The season is over now, this is a brand new season now. We're in the playoffs. We have Serra Catholic this week. They've lost three games this year and two of those were to Mater Dei and Don Bosco and they lost another game by a point. They're coming here to kick your ass and have another crack at Mater Dei. Don't let them!"

....

“X-rays came back negative. It looks like a sprain, no sign of any structural damage and we can’t know for sure until we get those MRI results back but it’s looking good. Or at least a lot better than we had first presumed...”

James paid close attention, just hoping that the prognosis would be laid down soon enough. Lucky for him, coach Butler didn’t want to waste his time either.

“What kind of time table are we looking at?”

The bluntness of the question drew a raised eyebrow from Doctor Ruiz but after a deep breath, the doctor responded.

“It depends,” the doctor interlocked his fingers, “With an injury like this, it can go from a week to two months until he’s fully back, ready to perform. It all depends on that MRI and which grade tear this is. For an everyday person like me or even you, in about a week or so we’re good to walk again. But for an athlete like James, he’s going to put a lot more strain into that muscle than you and I. I’d say four to five weeks and then we reevaluate, see at what intensity level and motion range he has no pain.”

"Whose going to be paying for all these tests?" Tim asked.

"Don't worry about it," coach Butler scoffed.

The three of them continued to conversate while James had taken himself out of the conversation. He buried his head back into his phone, allowing his body to relax as he slid down the office chair. He had stayed off social media for as long as he could following the game. While the loss certainly showed James' importance to the team, it also provided a chink in the armor of what was turning out to be a Cinderella of a senior season.

“I'll give you a call when the MRIs return and take another look at that knee,” James was snapped out of his mindlessness when Dr. Ruiz extended him his hand and he shook it before exiting the office with his father and his coach.

“I guess we dodged a bullet,” Tim said as James rolled his one-legged scooter out of the building and into the sun-covered parking lot, “As soon as I heard there was an ambulance involved, I thought they were going to clean us out with that bill.”

"You'll be fine," coach Butler ignored Tim's comments and instead placed his hand on James' shoulder, "I had the same injury sophomore year at San Jose, came back stronger than ever."

"I'm playing this week," James quickly replied.

"Let's see what the results say."

"I'm playing," James stopped, "You better believe that."
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djp73
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by djp73 » 17 Jul 2019, 15:09

James got a long way to go to get back in my good graces, we'll see.
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Captain Canada
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Captain Canada » 17 Jul 2019, 15:28

Karma a bitch huh, beat your girl, get your knee trampled on.
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djp73
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by djp73 » 17 Jul 2019, 15:44

Captain Canada wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 15:28
Karma a bitch huh, beat your girl, get your knee trampled on.

:yup: :yep:
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James
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by James » 17 Jul 2019, 16:02

Coach Butler the real MVP.

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Soapy
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Explosions of Grandeur.

Post by Soapy » 17 Jul 2019, 16:07

"....I am very excited to offer you a full, athletic grant-in-aid to California State University, Fresno......"

James continued to scan through the letter, starting over from the top and reading it all once more. He put the first of many pages down and started to pace in the living room, running his hand through his beard. He sat back down and read the letter again, frantically this time. He went through the other pages this time and the accompanying memorabilia that was also in the package. There were a few t-shirts, some of them even had his name in the back and number in the front. He immediately grabbed at his phone.

"I was wondering if it got lost in the mail."

"Coach," James caught his breath, "You're for real, right now?"

"You're a trip," coach DeBeor couldn't contain his laughter on the other end of the receiver, "Don't sound so surprised, now. Moore League Offensive Player of the Year."

"I don't know," James joined in on the laughter, "You went quiet on me."

"Conference play will do that to you," he explained, "No excuses, though. I wanted to let you know we're still very much interested in you and figured that was the best way."

"Fuck," James muttered, "Sorry, I mean, thanks. It means a lot coach."

"No need to apologize, you'll be hearing a lot worse from my mouth. How's the knee?"

"Feeling better," James lied, he was barely able to walk yet alone run, "I'm definitely going to be out there, though."

"Flying out to Hawaii tomorrow so won't be able to make the game," coach DeBoer explained, "I'll be watching though."

"Good luck," James wished him, "Thanks again for the offer, though. I can't wait."

"Is that a commitment?"

James paused. Despite his success on the field this season, teams had slowly started to trickle in and contact him with what were at best lukewarm interests from the San Diego State's of the world to more direct contact with a few junior colleges and DII schools. Fresno State was the exception.

"Why not?"

....

"It will have to be a bowl game," Iman said dejectedly as he leaned up against his locker with his fingers scrolling through his phone, "Don't see y'all on any of our schedules."

"Congrats," a random player who James didn't even recognized came up and thanked him.

James simply nodded, "We play Arizona State my last year, I think."

"Y'all scared of some competition," Iman shook his head, "Oh shit, did you tell Beck?"

James hadn't and he shook his head. Given everything that had happened, he figured telling her that he was going to be moving five-hours away in just a few months could wait.

"When are you going to visit?"

"I don't know," James didn't know a lot of things. Unlike Iman, his mailbox wasn't flooded with letters. He had received a few camp invites here and there as a middle school but after freshman year of high school, they all sort of stopped.

"Are you playing this week?"

The interrogation continued, "I don't know, man. Damn, you're making me feel mad stupid right now."

"I'm just saying," Iman shrugged, "You've got a lot to think about right now. I ain't going to trip or even look at you different if you sit this one out."

....

"You going to college is an affront to secondary education," Vanessa scoffed, "I'm just playing, congratulations."

"If my limbs weren't literally dependent on your brother," James joked as he pulled out his lighter, "I would light your hair on fire. That shit is probably fake so it wouldn't even hurt you, now that I think about it."

"Your dumbness hurts my brain," she rubbed her temple, "This is all natural wavy hair."

"What else is natural on you?" James winked, drawing a groan from Vanessa and a laugh from Cam.

"You folded on me bro," Cam shook his head, "We're supposed to go to LBCC together, man."

"Enjoy the projects," James waved him off, "I might be in them PJs with you still, though. Apparently, I still need to like apply as a regular student."

"You are regular," Vanessa teased, "Below average, actually."

"Anyways," James used his hand to cover Vanessa's mouth, "I need to take them fucking tests, man."

"I can help you," Vanessa pulled James' hands away from her mouth.

"Nice try at attempting to sabotage the small chance I have."

"I'm being serious," Vanessa said, "I tutor people for the SATs."

"You're a senior just like us," Cam added.

"A senior whose already taken it three times," she shot back, "I'm teaching my brother now and one of his friends, Adrian."

"My dog," James laughed as he thought about his left tackle that had kept him clean for most of the season, "How much are you charging?"

"Put me down with Iman," she said flatly, "You guys are butt-buddies."

"He has a girlfriend or something like that and eww, no."

"Number 21 then," she quickly followed up.

"Jersey chase, huh?" Cam teased.

"They're just cute," she shrugged, "I saw him take his shirt off the other day when I was picking my brother up and my god."

"I don't think your brother would appreciate that," James groaned, "You being all lusty like that. You sure you're just tutoring Adrian?"

"I like them tall and skinny," Vanessa turned and looked at Cam, "Not that there's anything wrong with, you know, a big guy. Just not my thing although the few times I've..."

"Enough," James covered his ears, "Get me into Fresno and I'll tell...no, I'll command Tyler to take you to prom. Deal?"

"Deal."
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