Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2018 03:43:13 +0000 (UTC) From: D J Subject: Grassy Hill part 4 Author's note: This story is a work of fiction, and the characters in it are not real persons. This work is copyright of the author and all rights are reserved. I hope you like it, and I appreciate all comments, praise, complaints, death threats or flames. Send them to Sahypo at dj92570j@yahoo.com. Thanks to everyone who has written to me; if you wish, please let me know a bit about you. I would like to know who my readers are, and what touches you about the story. Please donate to Nifty if you like the stories; your contributions provide this place and keeps it going. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html The Grassy Hill Part 4 Copyright 2018 By Sahypo Robby was in health science class when his teacher announced that he was circulating a sign-up sheet for track tryouts on Saturday. When the sheet reached him, he printed his name and father's telephone number in the spaces and handed it to the student behind him. He took one of the forms from the stack that came with the sign-up sheet and passed those back too. "Remember to bring the release forms, signed by your parent or guardian with you on Saturday. You will not be allowed to tryout if you do not have that form.... everyone got it?" the teacher asked. A hubbub of "Yes, Sir's" and head nods responded to him. Later in the hallway, the track coach caught up with Robby. "I was really surprised to see your name on the list...you changed your mind?" "Yes, Sir." "That's awesome, son. I'm glad you did. See you Saturday morning." The coach patted Robby on the shoulder, and headed on down the crowded hallway. "Yes, Sir" Robby replied. He walked home with Kevin and told him that he had signed up to try out for the track team, and they talked a bit about practices and keeping Robby's grades up. "You know I won't let you flunk or nothing." Kevin promised. "But you got to tell me if you need help, too." "Yeah, I know. I always do...I mean, I haven't gotten any F's yet or been held back, right?" "This is true...Thanks to your awesome tutor. Well, if you make the team, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone." Robby looked at Kevin quizzically. "We get our folks to take us out to celebrate....kinda like a double date...not that you and me are...you know." "I get it...I like it. Great idea." Robby admitted. They reached Robby's house and he went inside. Kevin continued on to the trailer. On Saturday morning, Robby got up early, being too nervous to sleep. He laid out his shorts, a tee shirt and a pair of socks, and got into the shower. He ran the warm water over his body and brushed his teeth. He dried and put the clothes on, and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. Robert came in moments later, and the pair hugged briefly. "Good luck, kid." "Thanks, Dad. Oh, you have to sign for me." Robby said, indicating the form on the table. Robert picked it up and read it. "Are you really sure you want to join the Marines, Robby?" his father deadpanned. "It does not say that, Dad!" Robby replied with a big smile. "Damn! I was so hoping..." Robert teased. "Seven more years, then I'm out...you gotta wait!" Robby said as he carried his cereal to the table. After he ate, he got up from the table and said "I gotta go...it starts at eight." "Hang on, Geronimo. I'm going with you." Robert said, as he scooped up his keys. "You didn't seriously think I wasn't going to be there to see this, did you?" "It's just a try-out, Dad...I probably won't get picked, even." Robby replied. "No one is going to get picked until the coach sees everyone run, so your chance at it is just as good as the other kids." The Thomas's parked under the trees at the high school athletic field, and they got out of the truck and Robby walked over to where a small group was gathered around the coach. Seven boys had signed up and showed this morning to try out for the sixth-grade track team, which competes next year. There would be practice over the summer when school let out in a few weeks. The athletic complex at the high school was new, very well equipped and used by all the schools in the district for athletic competition. It was still a few minutes early, and Robby walked over to the group and gave the coach his form. The coach glanced at it, and made a mark on his clipboard. "Thank you Mister Thomas...you are checked in.....are you ready to run?" "Yes, coach. Ready." Robby replied. He scanned the group and saw that it included Dexter, a quiet black kid about as tall as Robby, whose voice was changing, and a very short boy with dark hair and glasses whom was nicknamed "Millimeter". He was a pleasant kid, a bit of a class clown and wasn't offended by being called by his nickname. One of the remaining boys looked at Robby and made a dismissive smirking toss of the head, as if he was trying to psych Robby out. Robby ignored this. He looked back into the group and caught Millimeter's eyes. The short boy smiled and held up a fist to Robby. Robby bumped the fist back and smiled in response. The coach then began to give instructions. "Okay, boys. The first thing we'll do this morning is ten laps of the track to warm up. This is not a race, and it is not part of the tryout. We'll get to that after, but pace yourselves and warm up, not burn out. Got me?" All the boys nodded. "Hit it!" the coach said, and seven boys trotted over to the track and began to run laps. Of course, everything they did this morning was part of the tryout, and the coach watched the boys closely. He made notes of who was talking during the laps, and who was panting out of breath. He watched as Robby ran and spoke to the others except the boy at the back of the pack who had acted aggressively earlier. This boy was losing ground and breathing heavily. Millimeter kept up with the pack, but he had to work harder to do so, with his short legs. Several minutes later, the boys completed the ten laps of the 400-meter track, and Coach called them to the infield. Since the track had eight lanes, and the coach had seven boys this morning, he ran them against each other in a one-hundred-yard dash. Robby easily won the heat by about a 7-foot margin on the next fastest boy, Dexter. The loser was the surly boy who brought up the rear of the pack. He kept to himself, clearly not enjoying being there. Dexter and the other boys high fived Robby and each other, as the coach looked on and made notes. He could see who would fit in on a team, and who wouldn't. The boys did not know this, but the coach was not just looking for kids who were fast and had great endurance. He was looking at how the boys handled winning, and just as important, how they handled losing to someone else. Robby was fast in a sprint, but Dexter was a stronger boy, and as the heats went on, he won several sprints as Robby began to fade. Robby never let off and ran as hard as his body would go. Dexter teased Robby after the two almost tied in a dash. "I can't let off a bit with you behind me, dude!" Dexter grinned as he raised his hand. Robby high fived the hand and replied "It's takin' all I got to chase you, man! I'm going to pay for this tomorrow." "Just think of the shape we're gonna be in after the summer" Dexter replied. Soon, the tryout session was over, and the boys gathered their belongings and huddled around the coach. "Practice starts Monday, from last bell to 4:30 or so depending on how it goes, and how hot it gets. If it's over a hundred out here, we'll run laps in the gym. If practice is canceled or moves, I will get hold of you individually, got it?" "Yes, Sir!" "Showers are mandatory, and you'll have five minutes to dress out at beginning of practice and ten after. Does anyone here walk to school?" Robby and Dexter and Millimeter held up hands. "Does anyone here have transportation issues?" Three of the other boys shook their heads. The surly boy looked down at his feet, but didn't say anything. The coach looked at the kid, then the others and said, "You are dismissed, have a good weekend and I will see you here Monday afternoon." Robby and the others walked off, the six boys in a pack mumbling to each other- did this mean they made the cut, or what? They were beginning to bond and gel as a team, with the sole exception of the last boy who hung back and talked to no one. Three boys who had rides home got in cars and were soon gone. Dexter and Millimeter walked Robby to the gap in the fence and said "Well, this is where we go our way, which way do you go?" Robby pointed in the opposite direction "Four blocks over, and make a left, go two more blocks. Mine is the only two story on my side of the street...can't miss it. Where do you guys live?" "Um, three blocks past Michy's over on 3rd street." Dexter said. "Millimeter lives across the street from me." "Really, that's too cool!" Robby replied. "Been best buds forever, right?" Millimeter squeaked. Dexter nodded and said "Yup...speaking of, I'm surprised Kevin didn't try out for track, too." "Sometimes I have to work on him a bit!" Robby said, as they exchanged waves and goodbyes. Robby went over to the truck and waited for his father to walk back from the shade of the trees on the edge of the parking lot. Soon the field was deserted and quiet. The coach looked over his notes and went to his office in the gymnasium to file the permission and parental consent forms. He looked at each one briefly, but the one the surly boy Simon brought with him caught his eye. All the writing on the form was done by the same hand, in the same ink. Simon had clearly forged a parent's printed name and signature on the form. The coach looked at the form. Legally, the school couldn't be held liable even if the form was forged; the fact that the form was returned meant that the school had followed policy, and the burden of ascertaining the veracity of the form fell on whomever challenged it, not the school. I should say something, the coach thought to himself. But it won't be on a Saturday morning. He could take this up during the staff meeting before school on Monday. When Monday came, the boys still had no clue if they had been picked or cut from the track team. Coach was keeping his cards closely guarded and hadn't made his cuts yet. He had run the question of Simon's forgery attempt past the superintendent, who had shrugged and suggested that Coach should avoid running the kid to death, or any other such dire outcome. Coach rolled his eyes. "You're a great help, Sam" the coach said. "I know, I do what I can with what little I have left." Both men chuckled at the superintendent's' satirical assessment of his almost non-existent power to do a thankless job. The last bell rang, and the team hurried to the locker room to dress out for practice. Simon was again distant, and silent. Each boy picked a locker and set his gym bag on the bench and began to undress. They stuffed their street clothes in the bag and put shorts and tee shirts on, and a few of them changed shoes. Robby put his ratty old sneakers back on, shoved his bag into a locker and headed out to the track. The locker room was a typical high school facility, with a room for gang showers on the side of a central hall of lockers, and a wing for toilets, urinals and sinks on the other side of the locker hall. The coach's office was located next to the shower room. On the other end of the gymnasium, the floor plan was identical, but reversed for the girl's locker room. Practice ran for a full hour, and the team was run out and sweating hard when the coach blew the whistle and the boys collapsed on the grass in the infield. Coach let the boys catch their breath and cool down for a few minutes, then blew the whistle again. "Showers, ladies! Hop to it!" he bellowed. The boys got up and sprinted into the building. Pulling off shirts, dropping shorts and in some cases underwear, kicking off shoes and socks, the boys were naked in seconds. Only Dexter showed signs of puberty, with a light dusting of down at the base of a modest endowment. Millimeter and Robby were the only uncircumcised boys in the group, and Millimeter had the unfortunate distinction of being truly tiny. His penis reminded Robby of the cap on a toothpaste tube. They grabbed their soap and shampoo travel kits and headed into the shower room. This was the first time six of them had been in such a shower room, and the first time that most of them had been nude in public, although Millimeter did belong to the Y and was used to public nudity. Each shower consisted of a tall stainless-steel pillar with four shower heads arranged around the top. Millimeter and Dexter stood under two of the nozzles of the shower unit, and Robby took the third and joined them. The other four boys stood under the adjacent shower unit, as suds began to fly from the shampoo and soap. Of course, some horseplay did take place, and a lot of looking and furtive glances around the room occurred. Robby had been "guarding" his secret with a hand, but felt comfortable enough around Dexter and Millimeter to relax and use both hands to soap up. Even so, he made it quick, and tried to keep the center pole of the shower unit between him and the rest of the room. He put shampoo in his hair and began running his fingers over and through his hair when it happened. "JEEZUS! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? WHATS UP WITH YOUR DICK?" Simon shrieked, loud enough to be heard in the gym. Robby looked over to see Simon staring and pointing at Robby's crotch. He had an extremely satisfied looking smirk on his face and he was definitely proud of himself. Instantly, the world stopped. Dexter and Millimeter stared at Simon in frozen disbelief, and three other heads snapped around to stare at Simon. Robby's vision narrowed, and he stopped hearing anything.... Panic flooded through him and he ran out of the shower, leaving his articles behind. He ran into the locker room and found his shorts...grabbed his shoes. His heart beat faster as he stepped into the shorts, and jammed his foot into one shoe, then the other. His eyes filled with tears as he ran, his vision blurry now. Was that the coach he almost crashed into? Coach's mouth is moving in slow motion....no sound is coming out. Run.... must run.... faster.... Robby could only hear his heart beat pounding as he cleared the gymnasium doors. Sobbing now, can't see with the tears in his eyes.... he didn't need to see. His feet knew where to take him. He ran as fast as he could to the house. Dexter stared at Simon, unable to believe what just happened. Millimeter was the first to speak in a high squeaky screech that he made when he was extremely upset. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, DUDE?" He was practically hopping up and down as he scurried off to find the coach. "Wow, big man, ...feel better now that you showed us what an asshole you are?" Dexter said quietly, his eyes boring holes in Simon. The other three boys turned their shower heads off and walked away from Simon. The smirk began to fade. "But. But...you saw...his" Simon began to protest "And it's your job to rub his face in it?" The first one, Adrian asked. "Grow up, you fuckin' idiot." Said the second boy, named Scott. He looked down and spit on Simon's foot. Kelly, the third boy just stared at Simon and shook his head as he walked away. Simon finished his shower alone and went into the locker room. He dried, dressed and slipped out. In the locker room, Coach was calming Millimeter down, holding him by the arms as he dripped water on the floor and hyperventilated. "Calm down and we'll sort this out...You flipping out isn't helping the situation, okay?" coach asked calmly. Millimeter began to relax a bit and coach let go of him. He looked in the child's eyes and saw intense frustration and anger, and tears welling up. "Kick his ass off the team!" the boy squealed. "That shit ain't cool, Coach!" "That goes for all of us, Coach" Dexter said. The four nude boys stood behind Millimeter, dripping wet. "Coach, we know all of us ain't gonna make the squad, but until then, we're a team and what he did to Robby wasn't right." Kelly spoke up. "Let's all calm down, dry off and get dressed, okay? We won't solve this right this minute. I'll talk to Simon and Robby tomorrow." Coach offered. "I promise you there will be something done, as soon as I get their two sides, okay? Let me do my job, boys." Five naked, dripping wet boys stood together and held out their fists. Coach nodded and fist bumped the group, then they turned to get dressed. "We're going to Robby's right now. We gotta talk to him before he quits track." Dexter said, and the other heads nodded. The boys rushed to get dressed, and Millimeter packed up Robby's bag. "Thanks, guys. You know where he lives?" Coach asked. Millimeter turned back and gave coach a thumbs up. "Yes, Sir!" he squeaked and the team hurried out the door. Robby ran past the house into the backyard and collapsed onto the back porch and cried the tears of a child who hadn't cried in a long time. A lot of anger came back.... Anger towards a mother who abandoned him.... anger at having been born with a difference... anger towards the little bully who had slapped at his attempt to fit in and be normal. His face was between his knees and covered by his arms when he heard the footsteps coming through the side yard. He looked up with tears flowing out of his eyes as Dexter, Millimeter and the three other boys came around the side of the house, and Millimeter held out his gym bag. "Um, Robby, we brought this for you." Millimeter set the bag down and Robby nodded. The small boy climbed the steps and sat next to Robby. "What are you guys doing? Don't you three have to catch your rides home?" Robby wondered. There were nods and Scott answered. "We just wanted you to know we ain't cool with what that dumbass did...We're with you, dude." He looked at his companions and there were nods of agreement. "Wish we could stay, but we gotta go. See you tomorrow, Robby." The boys took off on the six-block run back to school. Robby still didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded. Dexter then sat down on the porch on Robby's other side. The two best friends each put a hand on Robby's shoulders and scooted in close on each side. "You okay?" Dexter asked. "Uh, yeah...I guess. I'm better now. I didn't expect you guys to ..." Robby began. "We've all been bullied and called names and stuff. Sometimes people make fun of my dick because its tiny." Millimeter admitted. "I'm not stupid, I know where my nickname comes from." "But you're happy and confident and all that stuff. I guess I am too, well, at least until..." Robby replied. "That's all Simon had...he got his shot in, and now's he's got nothing...no friends...coach will cut him." Millimeter said. "Can't let people like him get under your skin and screw up your groove." "Little dude has groove, man." Dexter said, as he high fived Millimeter and they laughed. It helped brighten Robby's mood and he smiled and put his arms around his new friends. "Please don't quit track, Robby. Not over something like this. Please." Dexter begged. "You're damn good and I want to go to state with you and run in the championships." "We don't even know who coach is gonna keep yet.' Robby said, as Kevin came around the side of the house. His eyes went wide as he saw Robby's tear streaked face and red eyes. "Hey, Kevin. You know Dexter and Millimeter...they went out for track too. Practice just got out." "Hey guys....uh, what happened...did you get cut?" Kevin wondered. Robby shook his head. Dexter stood up and said "How's it goin', Kevin? I gotta get going, Robby. Think about what we said, okay?" Robby nodded. "Thanks, guys." Millimeter gave Robby a squeeze then stood up to leave with Dexter. They stepped off the porch and Robby asked. "Millimeter?" The small boy stopped and turned. "What's your name?" "Phillip" the boy replied. He smiled and waited for Robby to smile back before he turned and walked away with Dexter. Kevin sat on the porch and noticed Robby's shirt stained with tears and the general look of his friend. "What happened, dude? Are you okay?" "Yeah...I'm...It's cool. It's good." Robby looked down and paused as Kevin waited for him to speak. "Um, somebody.....uh, one of the guys in the locker room did something really stupid and I freaked out... and uh, ran." "What did he do to you?" Kevin asked, feeling his anger coming up. "It's...taken care of...it's cool." "Robby...what did he do?" Kevin insisted. "Said things...in the shower.... He made a scene." Kevin looked off into the yard and swore softly. "Son of a bitch" "I never thought anyone would do that..." Robby lamented. "I should have been there...I should of... Robby, I'm sorry." Kevin began, "It's not your fault...Besides...All the other guys were so awesome. They followed me home...to ask me not to quit, Kevin. They had my back." "All who? I only saw Dex and Millimeter." Kevin asked. Robby shook his head "The whole bunch that tried out.... All of them, Kevin. The others had to catch their rides before you got here. But they all came...for me." "You gonna quit?" Robby shook his head. "Not when I can run with guys like these. I'm not gonna let one idiot make me stop. I'm gonna stick." "You got shampoo in your hair, dude." Robby felt his wet hair and groaned. The next day, Coach caught up to Robby in the hall. "Mister Thomas, we need to speak for a moment." Coach waved Robby into a small unused conference room and closed the door. "You have some very good friends, Robby." "You mean..." "Five very angry young men came to me, very adamant that I cut Simon for yesterday's altercation. Before anything is done, I thought I would ask you how you think I should handle this situation. We can't actually electrocute him or stand him in front of a firing squad...but you get my drift." Robby grinned and giggled, then his face turned serious. "Coach...um, if you, uh, cut him from the team, do it because he didn't make it... Please don't cut him because of what happened." The coach considered this for a long moment. "Robby...are you afraid that Simon might retaliate against you if he gets cut from the team?" "No...that's not it. It's not my call to say he can't have his shot at the team... Please, don't put that on me, Coach. It's just not right." Coach looked into Robby's eyes and said "You are very wise...as well as kind, compassionate, caring, and just, even when others weren't concerned for your feelings. I'm very proud of you, Robby, and I'll let you boys sort this one out yourselves. I think I can trust you all to do the right thing." "Yes, Sir." "I'll see you at practice then." Coach said as he opened the door and let Robby go first through the door. After a brief trip, Coach arrived at a second classroom and caught the teacher's attention. She called on Simon to leave the room. Once in the hallway, he found coach with a sour look on his face and folded arms. "You're not getting off to a great start, are you?" Simon looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "What was the plan, Simon? Were you going to impress those boys by picking on Robby? Did you think you could turn them against him with you? That must have been a hell of a shock when they closed ranks around Robby and left you the odd one out." Coach looked at Simon, then bent down so he could look up into Simon's eyes. "Simon, look at me...Son, you know why men go into battle against suicidal odds, even though they know they'll die? Why do people on sports teams play hurt? Why people give 110% to win a game? They do it for their buddies, their teammates. It's putting the team above self, and making sure all your teammates succeed, or even survive in some cases. You didn't do that yesterday. You didn't think of the team, and about what your actions did to Robby". Simon looked down again and refused to hold Coach's gaze. "There is one person on the team that didn't ask me to kick you loose.... just one." Simon looked up. "Robby.... the boy you terrorized and sent into a panic, asked me to let you have your shot to make the team, Simon. Even after what you did to him, he didn't feel like he had the right to take your chance away. That's the kind of boy you attacked yesterday." Coach could see Simon's chest heave and his hands fidget in response to the stress that he was under at the moment. "I should suspend you for this..." Simon only nodded. "How are things at home, Simon?" Simon shook his head, still looking down. "Do I have to talk about it?" the boy whispered. "Is...Is anybody doing things to you that they shouldn't, Simon?" "Like touching and stuff?" "That, yes, or beating you and stuff." "No, Coach." Simon said calmly in a quiet voice. It wasn't the vehement and emphatic denial that Coach would expect if Simon had tried to be deceptive. He believed Simon wasn't being sexually or physically abused, but he was sure that abuse was happening in the home. "Go back to class, Simon. Be at practice this afternoon. We'll talk more later." That afternoon, the locker room was noisy as the six boys rushed to get ready for practice, changing out of their school clothes and donning running shorts and shirts. Scott and Adrian had decided to skip underwear, taking Millimeter's lead. Robby was in the middle of changing and facing his locker when the room went quiet behind him. Robby turned around to see everyone staring at the entrance to the locker wing where Simon stood still, holding his gym bag, his head bent over. No one said anything as Simon looked up at Robby. "Robby....I'm really sorry...I was such a stupid asshole to you in front of everybody." Simon's lips began to tremble and tears rolled down his cheeks. "I`m sorry to all of you for what I did...and thanks for what you said to coach, Robby." Simon said as six pairs of eyes stared at him in silence. He turned and began to walk away. "Simon" Robby said, stopping Simon. "Do you want to be part of this... however long it lasts?" Simon turned around to look into each face that was watching him intently, then back to Robby. He nodded his head and whispered "Yes" "Better get changed for practice...Coach is going to be waiting on us." Robby said as he turned back to dressing. The other boys turned back to the task at hand, and soon lockers slammed shut and everyone left except Simon, who was changing clothes. No one saw Simon break down and sob as he put on his athletic socks. In fact, Coach had heard everything from around the corner. His first impressions of Robby and the team had been confirmed. The situation had been handled with dignity, class and compassion. It remained to be seen how Simon would ultimately fit in, but the core of next year's sixth grade track squad had become a unit. Coach made his decision, and now it was time to announce it. He ran to follow the boys onto the field. One blast of his whistle, and a raised arm stopped the squad, and they turned around and formed a huddle around their coach. "All, listen up...does anyone have a problem with Simon being on this team? Be honest." Six boys shook their heads. "That was up to Robby...If he's good with it, I'm good, too." Dexter said, to the approval of the others. "Robby?" "What happened is over and done with. We're gonna go to state or die trying." Robby said, nodding at Dexter. Simon came out of the building, running hard toward the huddle. Coach turned to look at him and yelled "Huddle up, Simon. I have an announcement." Simon was still wiping his eyes as he stood next to Dexter, who put his hand on Simon's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze and a pat. Simon looked up at Dexter and smiled, as Coach spoke. "I have done a lot of thinking and considered many things since the try outs on Saturday and yesterday's practice. This decision is based on not only how you performed on the track, but also on things that took place off the track. Things that tell me about who you are as people, and members of a team. We talk a lot about these things, because athletics is attitude, character, integrity and compassion as much as it is skill, strength and ability." Coach could see Simon deflate somewhat, and he noticed Dexter putting his hand on Simon's back in support. "Another valuable attribute in an athlete is humility. Being man enough to admit our mistakes, and take responsibility for our actions and atone for what we did. That requires a lot of courage, and I highly value that in my athletes." Simon looked up and made eye contact with Coach briefly, and smiled. "I've made my decisions for the sixth-grade track team next year. If you don't hear your name, you've been cut." Hardly anyone even breathed as coach looked down at his clipboard and began to call off names. "Scott" The boy let out a sigh of relief and began to high five the palms held up around the huddle. "Adrian" More celebratory palm slaps "Dexter" Millimeter broke into a huge smile and gave his friend a thumbs' up. "Phillip" Coach announced, prompting several boys to wonder "Who?" "Millimeter's real name is Phillip" Robby offered, poking a fist at the smaller boy. An elated Phillip bumped his fist against Robby's, with an ear to ear grin on his face. Dexter messed his hair up and slapped him on the back. "Dude got groove!" Dexter joked, as he and Phillip swiveled their hips. Coach chuckled. "Simon" "All right, Simon!" Robby exclaimed, holding out for a high five. Simon returned the gesture but did not speak. "Robby" Coach announced. Then there was a long pause. One more test for this team... All eyes turned to Kelly, who had a stricken look on his face, as it dawned on the team that his name hadn't been called. Coach put a remorseful expression on his face and reached out to lay a hand on Kelly's shoulder. He looked around the group into each boy's face and saw that the mood had dropped. Pretty much what he had expected... "Son, I'm just messin' with you...it wouldn't be a team without you, too." "Kelly!" Coach called out to make it official Kelly blew out a huge lungful of air and took a breath. He got back slaps and high fives from the squad. The reverie was broken by Coach's whistle, and a bellowed order "All right, ladies, three lap warm-up, let's move out!" Simon seemed to be more motivated and kept up better on the track. He ran with the pack, instead of behind it, and engaged in conversation when spoken to. The topic of course, was how smoothly coach had sucked them in with his "cuts" to the team roster. The rest of the practice went well, and Coach liked what he saw during the drills. Back in the locker room, Simon joined Robby, Dexter and Phillip at one shower pole. His hairless pre-pubescent body was unremarkable, just like Scott, Adrian and Kelly. Only Dexter showed the testicular enlargement that signaled the start of puberty. All of the boys except Phillip took a keen interest in this, and kept a curious eye on Dexter, without being obvious. Dexter, of course was aware of his position on the pecking order as it existed, and didn't mind the attention the other boys were paying. One by one, they left the shower, dried off, and dressed. They picked up their bags and walked out. Simon had put on his briefs, and walked over to Coach's office. He knocked on the door jamb. Coach was reading the paper with his feet up on a steel desk. It was the only furniture in the room except two steel chairs. He looked up and waved Simon in. Simon walked into the office and stood in front of Coach. "Are you still going to suspend me, Coach?" Coach put his feet on the floor and leaned forward in the chair. "Can you turn around for me, Simon?" he asked, as he looked for scars and bruising on the boy's body. "I told you he's not beating me or nothing like that, coach." "Your dad?" Simon shook his head. "My folks are gone...I live at my uncle's place." "I'm sorry to hear about your parents." "Yeah." "Feel like telling me what's going on at home, Simon?" "My uncle didn't want kids.... when it happened.... he got stuck with me. He doesn't like me and wishes I wasn't there" "Is it okay if I ask what happened?" Simon closed the door. "Promise not to say anything, please?" "Only if you're not in danger, otherwise I can't." Simon waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not." "You have my word, then." "Dad got life...no parole.... Mom has to do 24 years minimum." Simon looked at Coach and saw the question in his eyes. "Drugs...crystal meth. They were cooking lots of it." "In your house?" Coach wondered, incredulous. "No. I never saw any of that...they had this factory. I said lots...like tons." "Jesus, Simon...Thanks for telling me...um, no...I'm not sure yet about suspending you." "Coach?" "Yes?" "Thanks." Coach smiled and ruffled Simon's hair. "You're going to miss your ride." "Yeah, uh, well, about th-...." Simon began, as he looked down. Coached nodded and sighed. "Let me lock up, I'll take you home." "Ok" Simon agreed, relieved. Coach opened a drawer and pulled out a file folder and a wad of keys. .Simon lost no time getting dressed and putting his shoes on. He decided to save time by throwing his socks in his gym bag, and not tying his shoes. Simon walked out with Coach, locking doors as they went, until the gymnasium and locker rooms were secured. They walked out to Coach's truck, a collection of tools, shotgun and pistol ammunition, sundry car parts and bits and pieces littered the floor. In the bed, it looked as if a hardware store had blown up and Coach's truck got a piece of the fallout. "Sorry it's a mess, Simon. We were out in the woods this weekend at the cabin." Simon's eyes lit up. "I love the woods. Wish I could ...do that. Are these from a gun?" the boy asked, picking up a spent shotgun shell hull off the floor. "Yeah, shotgun shell." "I never shot a gun before...does it knock you down and stuff?" Simon wondered, He studied the shell, and smelled the burnt powder inside. "No, just in the movies, Simon." Coach said as he twisted the key and the old truck vibrated to life. Simon gave coach directions, and soon they arrived at a small, older apartment complex that appeared to have ten units. It was located an hour's walk from school. Coach pulled into the parking area, found a spot and shut the truck off. Simon grabbed his bag and opened the door. "Thanks for the ride, Coach." Simon said with a smile. "Is your uncle home, Simon?" Coach asked. "Um, I can check." "Please...I would like to speak to him...in private, Simon." "Ok' Simon replied and scampered off to a set of steps and went up to the veranda and walked down two doors and went into the apartment. Several minutes later, a blond man with a goatee and mustache walked out of the apartment barefoot and clad only in a pair of jeans. He was smoking a cigarette and carrying a can of beer. He looked down at Coach's truck and made his way to the steps. Coach got out of the truck and met the man at the bottom of the stairway. "Simon said you drove him home, thank you. Bobby Stanley, Simon's my nephew." "Coach Dan, it's good to meet you." The men shook hands. "Uh, is Simon in trouble or something? He's been late getting home from school the last few days...Really late." "I wasn't sure you knew that Simon tried out for the track team. He's been at practice the days he was late." "Track? He never said anything about track or nothin'..." Coach pulled out the forged form and handed it to Stanley. The man's eyebrows rose. "I never signed this..." "I know...Simon did. If he doesn't have your permission to participate, we'll make sure he gets home..." "No, it's fine, Coach. At least he's not runnin' the streets. He can stay with it if he wants...you got a pen?' Coach went to the truck and rifled through the junk piled on the dashboard under the windshield and found a pen. Bobby Stanley signed the form above the forged signature that Simon had scrawled on it, and asked "Is that all he needs?" Coach nodded. "That works for me, but I'm not a lawyer. Thanks." Coach folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. "Mister Stanley, I did want to talk to you about Simon. There are things that lead me to think that he is quite depressed....there's a lot of anger inside." Bobby sat on the steps, and Coach sat down next to him. "I'm not a bit surprised he's acting up. Did Simon tell you what happened?" "About his parents, yes, I know." "It was terrible...he was...seven when they got arrested, and they took him away. I got him because I'm his only livin' kin. I'm sure the trial and all this is what kilt my daddy." Bobby took a long drag off his cigarette and crushed the butt out on the concrete step. "The kids at school turned on him when his momma and daddy got sent up, and it was so bad we had to move here to Texas, so he could start over and no one would know him." It's been a year and a half. So what's he done?" "It's not so much what he's done as much as it's what he hasn't done, Bobby." "You lost me..." "He hasn't gotten any help, has he?" "You mean like a shrink and stuff? Like I can afford that on what I make." "He was a huge and sudden burden on you, wasn't he?" Bobby swallowed the last of the beer. "I...should have never been the one to take him. I wasn't ready...We still struggle to keep it together and stuff. I don't know what to do. I`m losing control of him. I can tell that. We fight a lot and he gets so mad." "Do you love him?" Bobby was silent for a long moment. "God, this will sound so messed up...but I'm not sure. He's my kin, I guess I got to, you know?" Coach nodded. "But does he know you love him, I mean, if you do, does he know that?" Bobby shook his head. "Probably not...He told you how he feels...didn't he?" Coach nodded. "That's why I'm here, Bobby." "It's my fault...the last day before I took him out of school, I said some things. I was upset at having to leave everything we had and move, and I was venting pretty hard. I didn't know Simon was listening and heard all the things I said..." "Talk to him, Bobby. He needs that. Everything he had turned to dust in his life. He needs to know he belongs somewhere." Both men felt a slight vibration, and turned to look up the steps. Simon was standing there looking down and watching them. He came down the steps and sat between Coach and Bobby. Coach ruffled Simon's hair and stood up to leave. "Simon...the next time you sign my name on something, tell me, okay?" Bobby said quietly. "Does this mean I can't do track anymore?" Simon asked. "You can do track....I signed the paper for you." Simon nodded, somewhat confused that Bobby wasn't angry about the forgery. "I got to get going...thanks for talking to me, Bobby. Simon, I'll see you at school." "Yes, Coach. Thanks." "Thanks again for driving him home, Coach. We'll have a long talk." "Whatever I can do to help, just holler." They watched as the old truck backed out of the lot, and picked up speed on the street. Simon started to go back up the stairs and Bobby stopped him. "Simon, come sit here a spell." He pointed between his legs at the step below him, and Simon sat down, his back to Bobby. "Am I in trouble?" Simon asked. Bobby put his hands on Simon's shoulders and said "No, little buddy. You're not, but I probably should be. We need to talk."