Page 5 of Most Valuable Player
Coach Barnett tips his head back like he’s casting a silent prayer to the Heavens Above, then walks to the bench and fumbles through a bulky tote bag. He pulls out a manila folder and tosses it into my lap. “I was planning on pulling you aside after the game anyway,” he says darkly. “Even before you decked another kid in the face.”
I flick open the folder and find my transcript staring up at me.
Health Science—C
English 12—D
Precalculus—F
World History—C−
Independent Reading—D
Gym—A
“Notice anything?” Coach Barnett asks.
“Crushing it in gym,” I say, grinning in triumph. “Hell yeah.”
Coach pinches the bridge of his nose. “Morelli,” he says, slow and deliberate, “you don’t meet the minimum-required GPA to play on the team anymore.”
He may as well have just spit directly into my mouth. “What thehell?” I snarl, shooting to my feet and causing my helmet to roll onto the field. “The year just started!”
“Yet you’re already failing courses. And now you’ve punched a person.”
“Again, he called me a bitch,” I point out, huffing. “I had to prove I wasn’t a bitch.”
Coach Barnett swallows another deep breath, like my mere presence is suffocating. “I can’t ignore this, Morelli. The school’s rules apply to everyone, even our leading quarterback. There needs to be a change, or this is your last game.”
The weight of his words comes crashing onto my shoulders, causing my knees to wobble. Everything inside me screeches to a stop—my heartbeat, my blood flow, my breath. “W-Wait,” I croak, raising my hands defensively. “I don’t understand. That scout is going to be here in a few weeks. If I don’t play, my chances of being recruited…”
And getting a full ride…
I realize my fingers are trembling and my voice is hitching around my words. The confident, indomitable Cam Morelli isn’t supposed to snivel.
So I lower my palms and level my face.
“That’s why you need to get your act together,” Coach Barnett says, stroking his gray goatee in solemn thoughtfulness. “You’re a late bloomer in the recruiting process, so this is your only chance to grab his attention now that you’ve met his height and weight requirements.You’ve worked hard over the last couple years to get to this point, Morelli.Veryhard. It would be a shame if the reason you didn’t get an offer is because of your transcript.”
I resist the urge to flop onto the turf and start writhing in frustration. He’s not wrong. I’ve been working overtime, particularly this past year, to bulk my body and perfect my skills through training and conditioning. If only I’d thrown myself full force into this sport freshman year, maybe I’d already be verbally committed to Alpine University. Or maybe another few scouts would’ve taken note of me, and I’d be exploring my options.
But I didn’t. Because it hadn’t been my plan, up until sophomore year.
“I’m ordering you to get a tutor,” Coach Barnett continues, oblivious to my mental anguish. “And a therapist. God,pleaseget a therapist.”
“A tutor?” I croak, ignoring the other sentences.
“Yes. A person who helps with schoolwork and—”
“I know what a tutor is.”
“Well, I can never be sure with you.” His bushy eyebrows tent with sternness. “Preferably a straight A honors student with a willingness to tolerate bullshit.”
To my utter horror, his attention turns to Mason Gray. I snap my head around so quickly that my neck cracks. Mason offers a timid wave and says, “Coach Barnett asked me about it before warm-ups. I’m happy to help.”
So he knew.
This slimy bastardknew.
