Chapter Six: Relationship Waters

****Trev****

"Come on guys! We're only behind by fourteen!" I clapped my hands and tried to encourage the offense as they ran off the field, but my efforts didn’t do much good. Every single guy that walked past me looked like a beaten down dog; none more so than Ryan.

"Shit!" No matter what I do, what we try, we can't get a guy open in the end zone; not that it matters since I can't seem to keep from throwing interceptions!" I knew exactly how he felt and would’ve reacted the same way if I’d thrown even one interception, but I also knew that if he focused on his mistakes, his confidence in himself would falter even more and lead to other missteps.

"Don't beat yourself up." I gave his back a couple of hard pats. "It's pre-season, they've got one of the quickest defenses, and we're only down by two touchdowns. We'll get another chance when we get the ball back."  Most would consider it a miracle that we weren’t trailing by more. Our opponent was the Pleasantville Panthers who were considered the team to beat that season and early predictions had them as a shoo-in for the Super Bowl. Any team would have a hard time beating them, even one that had a solid starting quarterback.

Not that Ryan wasn’t good. He’d started all three of our preseason games and played great during the first two, but the Panthers were on a whole other level and would’ve rattled most veteran quarterbacks. His inexperience and lack of confidence in himself didn’t help him and even though I wanted a chance to play, I found myself trying to help him. It was an unusual situation that gave me conflicting feelings; one moment rooting for him as a mentor and coach, and then the next wishing that I was the one on the field. But until Coach White made that decision, I set my mind to helping Ryan and the team.

I walked over to the bench with him to talk about some adjustments that he could make, but stopped at the sound of Coach’s voice. "Trev!" My gut sank knowing that more than likely Coach was coming over to tell him that he wasn’t going back in. "You still feel warmed up?" I nodded.

He thought for a moment and even though the sound of the crowd, pads hitting on the field, and guys on the sidelines talking should have been deafening, they all seemed to fade away as I anxiously waited for Coach to make a decision. The slow nod of his head signaled that he had. "Get your helmet; you're going in.” He finally spoke the words that I longed to hear and my sigh of relief was met with a disappointed one from Ryan. The reversal of roles brought a new set of conflicting feelings; excitement over being the chosen quarterback but also sympathy for Ryan for becoming the one that stood on the sideline.

He gave me a faint smile when I patted his back one last time and I darted over to the bench where my helmet sat. As my hands grasped the facemask, the crowd let out a big roar and the defense celebrated the fact that they kept the Panthers’ offense from scoring any points. Right before I turned to go on the field, Ryan gave me two big pats on the back and we exchanged a smile. It partially surprised me that as I ran up to the guys on the field, the crowd began to cheer and I let myself feel the excitement of it for a moment; the hard, fast beating of my heart, the surge of adrenaline that pumped through my body and gave my muscles a burst of energy. . .I had missed it more than I had let anyone know.

As I approached the guys, I took several deep breaths and tried to center the surge of energy the crowd gave me. After two plays, we had only gained two yards and as I looked up at the clock and saw the last four minutes start to tick down, I knew we needed to do something unexpected and called a timeout.

"This is fucking insane!" Tiny complained as we stood on the sidelines with Coach White and Ned. "We can't do shit against them."

I looked around at the frustrated and disappointed faces and got pissed. "You're right, not with that kind of attitude!"

"Spare us the sunshine speech, Davila." Brewster rolled his eyes.

Happy Holidays from Trev and Pamela!!

Chapter Five: Enjoy Seeing Her Smile

****Pam****

"Trev! Why don't you get out there and run the next set?" Coach White's voice rang out over the field and all of the reporters turned their attention to the sideline where Trev stood, including me. I watched with the other reporters as Trev snapped the strap on his helmet and ran out to the field as Ryan ran off, and as they crossed paths, Trev and him slapped each other on the arm. They had been switching on and off for three days, each time showing the same sportsmanship. All of the media had noticed and it was a popular topic of conversation among the many watching from the press area.

The other popular conversation topic was who would be named the starting quarterback. Everyone had their opinions and they usually swayed towards Ryan. It was a topic that I had gotten tired of talking about but my colleagues started up again as Trev took the field.

"There's no doubt that he looks better than he did, but anything would have been an improvement." I heard Victor comment and I inwardly cringed at his implications about Trev's previous condition.

"Is it enough though? I mean Ryan’s looking pretty good and has gotten some experience from having to fill in for Trev during last season. Maybe they should give Ryan a chance." Barry offered and I sighed, causing them and several others to look at me and I cursed under my breath for directing attention to myself.

"Your dad coached both of them, what do you think, Pamela?" Victor asked and I wished I could hide. I didn't want to give my opinion for the very reason that he had just stated; not only because of my dad but because I knew both Ryan and Trev too.

I shrugged. "Who am I to say. It's been six years since Trev played at ASU. . ." I told the truth, technically; they didn't need to know about the extra help Dad had given unless Trev or Dad let it be known. "And I wasn't there when Ryan played."

"Oh come on Pamela. . .You have to have an opinion on it. . .which one do you think they'll pick?"

 

I looked back at Trev playing and sighed as I did. "I'd be shocked if they don't give Ryan a chance to start during the preseason games." Most of the other reporters smiled and nodded their heads and turned their attention back to the practice, thinking I was done. "But. . ." They slowly turned back towards me. "I wouldn't count Trev out; in fact, I think Trev is going to surprise a lot of people this year." I walked away so I could escape answering anymore questions and continued to watch the practice, thankful to be left alone with my own thoughts and observations.

At the end of practice, some of the players remained on the field to answer questions including Trev and Ryan and the inevitable competition questions started.

"Trev, you and Ryan seem to not have much animosity toward each other, even though you're both vying for the same position.  Will that continue once one of you is named the starting quarterback?"

Trev chuckled as he looked over at Ryan, who returned the chuckle with a knowing grin. "Tom, I'm getting tired of answering the same question that's worded differently. Maybe one of these times you guys will believe me. Do I care about being the starting quarterback? Yes. Do I want the job? Yes. Will I be disappointed if I'm not? Yes. Will I stomp around the field and throw a temper tantrum like some other players might? No. I'm a team player, I've always been one and if me not starting is better for the team, then I'll accept it. The fact that it could be Ryan makes it easier. He's a nice guy, a team player, and he's a good quarterback. So yes, the lack of animosity will continue even if he's named as starting quarterback."

Ryan motioned to Trev that he wanted to add to what Trev had said, and he nodded. "I'm in complete agreement with Trev. We've both answered this question an insane number of times and I'm not answering it anymore. We've told you how we both feel so let's move on to something else."

"Is it true that you're both going to ASU this weekend to help train the quarterbacks?" Another voice shouted through the crowd.

Ryan nodded. "Yes, although I wouldn't say we're going to help train them; more like interact."

"Coach Haines asked if both of us could find a weekend to stop by and talk with some of the players." Trev further explained.

"Knowing him I wouldn't be surprised if running plays fits somewhere into the itinerary." Ryan joked and I found myself chuckling with them which again caused several reporters to look at me.

Several tamer questions were asked before the players headed to the locker room and I was then being pressured from other reporters. "You must have some kind of inside information, Pamela. . .they're both going to work with your Dad this weekend." Victor accused.

"They can do that without me knowing more than any of you." I offered but they weren't going to let me off the hook that easy.

"Right. . ." Barry smirked and I rolled my eyes at him. "You did say something earlier about not counting Trev out. . ."

I turned and glared at him. "Yes, I did, because of what he's shown on the field the last several days. He's more relaxed, has better accuracy, and looks better than he has in years. You'd have to be a complete idiot to not see it and I know for a fact that Coach White and the rest of the coaching staff are not idiots. They'll give Trev his chance, he may have to wait for a bit, but he'll get it."

"He'll probably choke." Tim scoffed and I whirled around to face him. I scowled at him for his stupidity and wanted to tell him how much of an idiot he was for believing that, but that would tip them off since I had never stuck up for Trev before, and that would lead to even more questions being asked.

"I guess we'll see." I offered instead and walked away with thoughts of what I wished I could have said running through my head. 

By late Friday afternoon I arrived at the ASU house and I was even more irate about the whole situation. As I entered the front door, Dad and Mom greeted me and immediately noticed how disturbed I was.