“Sure,” said Gary.
“No clownin’ around?”
“No clownin’ around,” Gary assured him.
Joe checked to make sure no one else was listening, then told Gary the play. “Now, you’re sure you can catch?” he asked.
Gary nodded confidently.
At least he hoped he could catch. It had been a long time since anyone had thrown a football to him. For the first time since he’d seen the poster advertising the talent show, Gary thought about something else. He tried to imagine himself catching the football and running for a touchdown.
He tried not to think about it. It was like he had said at the airport. Daydreams never come true. If you imagine something happening, then it never happens that way.
It was all he thought about, and all he didn’t think about, until fifth period.
When the bell rang, he walked confidently toward the locker room. He wasn’t a goon. He was part of Joe’s team.
“Hi, Goon,” said Matt Hughes.
“How’s it goin’, Goon?” asked Paul Wattenburg.
He shrugged.
Ever since he had told them he didn’t want to be called Goon anymore, they said “Hi, Goon” to him whenever they saw him. At least they said “Hi” to him. That was something.
“I’m ready,” he told Joe as he joined the huddle.
Joe ignored him. For the first play, Joe called a pass to Zack over the middle.
“What about me?” asked Gary.
“Just hike the ball, Goon.”
After each play, Gary looked to Joe, but Joe kept telling him to hike the ball. He seemed to have forgotten all about their special play.
What made it even worse was that nobody else seemed to be playing very well. Zack had dropped two passes. Brian missed one. Joe had been sacked twice. They were losing six to nothing.
Joe looked desperately around the huddle. “Anybody got any ideas?” he asked. “Goon? What about you?”
He felt a knot in his stomach.
“Can you catch?” asked Joe.
“Sure, no problem.”
Joe sighed. “Nothin’ else seems to work. Play halfback. Take two quick steps to the side, and I’ll throw you a short pass, then you follow Zack around the end. Brian, you hike.”
It all happened very fast. Brian hiked the ball. Gary took two steps and turned, but the ball was already there. It bounced off his face.
Joe was furious. “I thought you said you could catch!” he shouted. He shook his head in disgust. “You’re supposed to use your hands, not your face!”
His teammates laughed.
“Sorry,” said Gary. “It came too fast.”
“Oh, gee,” sai
d Joe. “Next time I’ll underhand it to you.”