Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2023 11:18:44 -0400 From: D Dragi Subject: The Courage to Care. Chapter 7 Please donate to Nifty. Support this super site so the stories keep coming. I'd like to thank those who wrote to me. Your words really make my day and I am most grateful. Please keep the emails coming. Your words are my inspiration. My email address is tughill1383@yahoo.com Look forward to hearing from you. I promise to write back. Chapter 7 Hail the Conquering Hero. Christmas break came to an end and I was a little nervous about going back to school. School meant seeing Melanie and I didn't know what I would do when I saw her. Tuesday was the big game against the Emereson Eagles for first place in the conference. I also couldn't stop thinking about Connor which confused the hell out of me. I went downstairs and Brad had breakfast ready. Matt came in and poured himself a cup of coffee. Matt asked "How do you feel about going back to school today?" "You ok." I'm fine I said. I said in a snarky tone, "Some big redhead told me to be myself and that's what I'm going to do." Brad laughed and Matt smiled and said smart ass. Brad drove me to school and said have a good day and I'll pick you up after practice." He drove away and I took a deep breath as I was headed into school. When I got to my locker Ashley's friend Alison was by my locker. She said good morning Jake how was your holiday." I said good and yours?" She said good. She said she was going to the game Tuesday and said she planned to cheer extra loud for me. I said thanks and the bell rang. Alison said good bye and she'd see me at lunch. I said see you then. Before I got to class one of the cheerleaders Angela said hello and blew me a kiss. I just shook my head realizing everyone knew Melanie and I broke up. Was it going to be like this all day. Was Connor right that there were lots of girls who wanted me. The morning classes were uneventful. The next hurdle was going to be lunch. When I got to the cafeteria and sat down Vic, Connor, Mikhail, Ashley Morgan and Angela were at the table as well as some of Ashley's other girlfriends. I was scoping out the cafeteria and looking for Melanie and spotted her sitting with her girlfriends at a table in the back. I quickly turned my head and joined in the conversation I was worried about the next class which was Chemistry because Melanie was my lab partner. When I got to class Melanie wasn't there and Mr Bryant said Vic would be my new lab partner. It seems Melanie changed her schedule. The rest of the day went off without a hitch and I didn't run in to Melanie. When school ended I went down to the locker room and got ready for practice. Coach pushed us hard again and after practice he told us to take a seat on the bleachers. Coach said that playing at Emerson is a hostile environment. Sometimes it can get rough there. He said he wanted us to keep cool and stick to the game plan. I don't care what they say or do. I want you to ignore it and focus on the game. You understand. We all answered yes and we headed to the locker room. I went in to the shower and Connor was there. He said you're going to see first hand how rough it can get. Coach isn't kidding. Last year they booed every time we got to the free throw line, chanted Watson are wussies, and yelled a personal derogatory remark about every player. It just wouldn't stop. I said I'm not going to let it bother me. Just ignore it like coach said. As we headed out of the showers Connor grabbed a towel and whipped it so it hit me in the ass. I yelped and said knock it off moron. He tried to hit me again and I grabbed a towel and got him on his ass. We were running around the locker room naked trying to hit each other with the towel. Coach came in and said knock it off ladies. We went to our lockers and when I looked down I saw my dick was semi-hard. I quickly put on my clothes to cover up. I was worked up about running around naked with Connor and was confused about how I was feeling. I tried to block it out of my mind. Alison and Angela were outside the locker room and both offered me a ride home. I thanked them and told them my dad is picking me up. As I got in the car Angela blew me a kiss and Alison was waving with her fingers. Brad asked who were those two girls. I told him Angela and Alison. He said they don't waste any time do they. When we got home Brad prepared dinner and said he would call Matt and I when it was ready. As we sat down eating dinner Matt asked how my day go. I told him about Angela and Alison and he asked if I was already looking. I told him I wasn't and just wanted to take it slow. Matt then asked if I was nervous about the game tomorrow. I told him I was fine. He told me that Emerson is a tough place. He said when he played there the elbows were flying and it was a physical game. He told me to watch my back. Brad said he was excited about going to the game and that he and Matt would be in the stands cheering me on. After we finished dinner I said I was going upstairs to finish some homework then going to bed. When I got to school Tuesday it was blue and gold day, the schools colors. Students, faculty, and staffed were decked out in blue and gold. The talk around the school was about the game. Game time was 730. Many students were going to the game because Emerson was only 10 minutes away. I had trouble taking it all in. Students were giving me high fives, wishing me luck, and saying give them hell. The intensity in the school was surreal. Connor came up behind me slapped me on the back and said you ready to kick some Eagle ass tonight. Afternoon classes were canceled for the pep rally. The band was playing, cheerleaders were doing their routines and coach gave a speech. The students were revved up into a frenzy. All of this for one game. I did get pumped with my teammates and I couldn't wait for the game. We got on the bus and when we were pulling into the Emerson parking lot there were students holding signs, shouting obscenities, and making gestures. When we got off the bus we went to the locker room to get dressed. When we walked out on the court for warm ups the gym was packed to capacity. Connor came over to me and said pretty intense. The Emerson band was playing "We Will Rock You" by Queen the crowd was chanting and stomping their feet on the wooden bleachers. The noise was deafening. We continued our shoot around getting a feel for the court and basket. Finally the buzzer sounded and we went to the bench took off our sweats and headed onto the court. Mikhail won the jump ball and Connor grabbed the ball and started dribbling down the court. When Connor passed me the ball the Emerson student section started to repeatedly chant Fag Dads. Every time I touched the ball the chant started. The chant unnerved me and I was wondering how they knew about my home life. Coach called timeout and asked if I was OK. I'm told him it didn't bother me but it did. I was taken aback, embarrassed and then I got pissed off. I was wondering how Matt and Brad were doing up there in the stands. The play on the court was physical and the refs lost control of the game. Rebounds and drives to the basket were met with hard contact and few fouls were called. The Emerson player guarding me said how do you like taking it up the ass from your daddies faggot. I said your mom still whoring herself out for $10. Halftime arrived and the score was tied at 38. As I was walking to the locker room students were calling me faggot. When we were in the locker room Coach said to stick to the game plan and don't take any of their shit. Just stay focused and beat the shit out of them. We went back out on the court ready to resume the war. We were up by five at the middle of the third quarter when Connor was knocked over. When Connor was down on the floor one of the Emerson players stomped on his ankle. I saw it and pushed the Emerson player and I said you want a piece of me. The refs came over to break it up. Vic our trainer came out to the court and helped Connor get on his feet and head back to the bench. Connor was limping and Vic was wrapping his ankle. I took the free throws for Connor and made both of them. We were now up by seven. When I inbounded the ball and it was tossed back to me I was doubled team. The ball was stolen resulting in an easy lay up for Emerson. With Connor out the Emerson defense had their sites on me. I learned playing street ball and how to handle a double and triple team. I also learned how to play rough on those New York City courts. The game was close and went back and forth. I was making every shot I threw up. We got to the fourth quarter up by one. We maintained our slim lead through most of the quarter. Emerson got the ball with thirty seconds down by one. Emerson wound down the clock and there center made an easy lay up. Emerson led 70 to 69. Coach called time out with eight seconds left in the game. Coach Drew up a play and I was to take the shot from the corner. I inbounded the ball and ran around the court until I got to the spot. The ball was tossed to me and as time expired I was knocked down when I put up the shot. The ref called a foul and there was no time left on the clock. I approached the foul line and Emerson called timeout to freeze me. When I got to our bench Coach looked at me and said you got this. When the buzzer sounded I walked slowly to the foul line. When I was at the foul line the chant Fag Dads started only much louder. That term rang through my ears and I was thinking about Matt and Brad. I bounced the ball a few times and took the shot. Nothing but net. After it went through I yelled that was for my dad Brad. The score was now tied. Before I took the second shot I yelled and this one is for my dad Matt. The ball went through the net and my teammates and the Watson students stormed the court. My teammates picked me up, put me on their shoulders and carried me to the locker room. Final score Watson 71 Emerson 70. We were hooting and hollering it up in the locker room. I went over to Connor and asked how he was doing. He said just a sprain I'll be fine. He said you were amazing man. He hopped on his feet and gave me a big bear hug. Matt and Brad were waiting outside the locker room. Mrs. McBride came over and said I'm Meaghan McBride Connors mother and this is my husband Jim. I'm Matt McNulty and I'm Brad Petereson. We're Jake's parents. They all shook hands. Mrs McBride said well didn't Jake show those assholes. Damn punks. Mrs. McBride was a tough liberal Irish Catholic who was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen on the west side of New York. She was the Democratic Party chairwoman in Watson and knew everything about everybody. You didn't mess with Meaghan McBride. Matt said I hope Connor is alright. Mrs McBride said just a sprain. He'll live. She went on to say she admired what Matt and Brad were doing and admired their courage. Matt said thank you. Mrs McBride said Jake is a good kid. You're doing a good job. It's not easy raising a teenager. I know I got four boys and Connor is the oldest. The four of them continued talking and you could see they were becoming fast friends. They were laughing and joking and you could see they were comfortable with one another. Connor and Jake came out of the locker room and Connor was on crutches. Brad said there he is the hero of the game. Mr and Mrs McBride congratulated me on a great game. Connor said what about me. What about you said Mrs McBride. Jake had to do it all on his own while you were on the bench. Jake said Connor was great until he got hurt. Give him his props. Mrs McBride smiled and said did he pay you to say that. Jake said no he's my bud and I got his back just like he got mine right Connor. You know it buddy. Will you look at these two. Thick as thieves Mrs McBride said jokingly. Jake said they needed to get on the bus and they would see them at school. They got on the bus and headed back to Watson High. The McBride's, Matt, and Brad headed to their cars. Mrs McBride asked if Matt, Brad and Jake would like to come over for dinner on Sunday. Nothing fancy just good old Irish stew. Matt said this Irishman loves a good Irish stew. Mrs McBride said you got it. See you at 2. As they got in their cars Matt said thanks for the invitation. They drove off heading back to school. When we got back to school there was a large crowd out in front. When they saw the bus they started cheering. When we got out of the bus they were shaking our hands and patting us on the back. It was wild trying to get through the crowd and when I got to the door Angela came up to me and gave me a big kiss. Connor joked look at you stud. I said shut up. We got in the locker room put our stuff away and headed outside. The crowd was still there and more handshakes and pats on the back. I got in the car and Brad said so how does it feel to be a local celebrity. As we were driving home Matt said that was really something you did out on the foul line. Brad said I was bursting with joy. Matt said you got Brad to cry again. Brad said I was just so proud. Matt asked why I did it. I said I didn't want those assholes to get to me and I wanted everyone in that God damn gym to know you were my dads and I loved you. Brad started to sniffle and Matt said not again. Matt said he also had trouble holding back tears and he too was bursting with pride. That was such a courageous thing to do. I was never more proud of you then at that moment. Brad and I will never forget it. Brad turned to the back seat and said you are so dear to us you are really something special. When we got home I went upstairs to my bedroom and got changed. I threw on a pair of sweats and t-shirt and went downstairs. I wanted to see the late night local news. When it came on the opening story was the game. The anchor said a momentous battle tonight as Watson went to Emerson pulling out a one point thriller. I saw myself at the foul line and then being carried off the court. Watson was led by point guard Jake Pennington who sunk two clutch free throws with no time left on the clock. Pennington led all scorers with 38 points. Quite a performance for Watson's new point guard. With the win Watson takes sole possession of first place in the conference. Matt and Brad were watching with me. Brad turnrd to me amd said "Well look at you. The leading story on the news. Can I have your autograph." He then tussled my hair. Matt said it's time for bed you got school tomorrow. I hugged them both and said I'll never forget this night. Matt said neither will we. I went upstairs and collapsed on the bed replaying the game in my mind. What a night.