Above All Else Read Free Page A

exactly chat with Roland Hills guys,” Rom said.
    â€œYeah, who does?”
    â€œHe’s out,” Oz said.
    â€œYou call him or somethin’?” Jared said.
    â€œNo. But he went down hard. There’s no way he’s going to be back. He couldn’t even walk off the field.”
    â€œWell, we’ll see,” Jared said. “It’s still bullshit. That guy who punched Rom should have got a red card too.”
    â€œHe did,” I said.
    â€œSo where was our penalty shot?” Jared said.
    â€œIt happened in our end,” I said. “I guess that’s the way the ref saw it.”
    â€œThe ref is blind. You know, he comes from over there.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Riley said.
    â€œRoland Hills. He’s not from here. That’s his old school.”
    â€œHe just called the play, Jared,” Oz said. “I doubt he cares that much about which school wins.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t he? That’s his school.”
    Oz shrugged and finished his drink. “And Rom deserved everything he got. He played dirty and he got caught. So, what’s done is done. Listen, I have to go.” He slid out of the booth before anyone could reply. Most of the team had already left. It was a Friday night, and people had better things to do than sit around in a crappy pizza parlor.
    â€œSee you in the morning?” Jared said.
    â€œWhat for?” Oz said.
    â€œCoach called weekend practice. I just got the email.”
    â€œMan, I got stuff to do,” Oz said.
    â€œYou want to be benched, then go ahead and don’t show up.”
    Oz laughed. “He can’t bench me. We’ve already got three guys injured. Now with Rom out, we only have one sub.” He flexed his arms. “Besides, who could leave this kind of beauty off the field?”
    â€œTen AM , Oz,” Jared said. Oz crossed the parlor and went outside, causing the little bell above the door to ring.
    â€œI gotta go too,” Riley said. He slapped me on the arm. “And Del’s coming with me.”
    â€œI am?” I said.
    â€œYeah, remember?” He gave me a look that said “play along.”
    â€œOh, yeah, for sure.” I slid out of the booth.
    â€œYou’ll both be at practice tomorrow morning?”
    â€œFor sure, Jare,” I said. “Ten AM . ”
    â€œAwesome.” He put his fist out and I gave it a quick bump, an action that always made me feel like an idiot. I’ve tried to get into this whole sport-guy culture, and it just isn’t me. I love soccer, but I leave it on the field. As for Jared, I always feel as if he’s more into being an athlete than anything else. Like if the football or swim team were the ones doing well, he’d ditch soccer in a second and move on.
    â€œTomorrow,” Riley said. He gave Jared an enthusiastic fist bump. Jared slid into the booth across from Rom and bent low over the table. As we were walking away, I heard Jared say, “Come on, man, tell me. What really happened out there?”

    It was warm outside. The sun was going down, making everything around us glow. Riley had grabbed one of the soccer balls from the team bag and was bouncing it on the asphalt as we crossed the parking lot.
    â€œWhere are we going?” I asked.
    â€œTo meet a girl,” Riley said.
    â€œOh yeah? So what do you need me along for?”
    â€œShe has a friend—you’re my wingman.”
    â€œWhat girl?”
    â€œJust this girl. I met her last week. I didn’t get her number or anything, but she hangs out at the skate park.”
    â€œWe’re going to the skate park?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œSo she’s, what, a skater girl?”
    â€œNo. Maybe. I don’t know.”
    â€œAnd her friend?”
    â€œWhat about her?”
    â€œWhat does she look like?”
    â€œNot a clue, man. She just said she has a friend.” Riley was a bit exasperating at