Touchdown Read Free

good. He knew he was—he’d led the team to victory last season! But was he good enough? He smoothed his hands over his suit, then noticed a piece of paper flutter to the ground from his gym bag which he’d dumped on a counter by the mirror.
    He picked up the note and smiled, recognizing the handwriting. Leigh! Wouldn’t miss this for anything—I’ll be there. You’ve got the talent.
    Clay exhaled. Wouldn’t miss this. His best friend rarely got to see him on the field since she usually had to work, but tonight was different. It was close to midnight and she could make it.
    Go Bullfrogs!The sounds of the students chanting in unison from the bleachers was deafening, but Clay was used to it—he’d chanted like that when his brother Russ was the star quarterback. But that was before Russ’s injury.
    You’ve got the talent, Leigh had written. Clay shut his eyes tight, knowing it was true. His family had always teased, “Clay’s got the talent and Russ’s got the drive.” And Russ’s drive had propelled him ahead. He was a born leader.
    And he should be here now, instead of me . . .
    Clay shook his head. He couldn’t go there. If he had one ounce of doubt about his gift, or if he questioned his place even for a moment, then he couldn’t lead. Because a weak quarterback meant a weakened team which translated into loss . . . and injuries . . .
    Go Bullfrogs!
    Clay glanced at his watch. It was nearly midnight—at which point he had to throw the ball before all the students who’d gathered together to practice their cheers for the season. Only . . . Why am I here when it should be my brother? Russ was his older twin (by four minutes) and growing up, they’d done everything together. Russ would come up with an idea and Clay would follow his lead. Their neighbor Leigh would usually hang out with them too, though she’d wisely point out when they were spiraling out of control. That’s just how they rolled, and how it had always been. Russ was the one with the fire in his belly, the big dreams, and—because of me—a busted knee.
    “Stop it,” he said aloud as he stared into the mirror. He couldn’t go there. It had been Russ’s choice to play that night, even though he’d pulled a muscle earlier in the day during a fight with Clay. Hadn’t it?
    Clay swallowed and pushed his doubts into his belly as he tried to see himself as others did: tall and fair, with light blue eyes, and a strong arm. A quarterback. A leader. But he didn’t feel like one. He was the middle child in a struggling family who’d worked real hard to get through school. (When she’d tutored him in high school, Leigh had told Clay that he was smart, that dyslexia just meant it took longer to read, and he shouldn’t believe his dad when he called him stupid.)
    But really, what was he doing here? He’d never thought that it would happen for him, that he’d be standing here, leading all these talented and driven men toward victory. He loved to cook and hang out with Leigh—he’d only gone out for football because that’s what guys did. And because Russ had told him to. Football had always been Russ’s dream—Clay had been happy for his brother when Russ had made first string quarterback and then later, when Clay was recruited to Russ’s school and placed as third stringer.
    Until that night.
    It had been a crazy fluke that Russ’s career-ending injury occurred at the end of the last season just as the second stringer, Thomas Booth, was in rehab and Coach was trying to smooth over Booth’s DUI. So Clay went out as quarterback and brought a mediocre team to victory. But he couldn’t stop the voices of doubt in head: Do I belong here? Can I do this? Do I want to?
    Stop! He knew he had to quell his doubts—and fast. But they constantly pounded inside his head. His opponents were giants—they could kill him. Or worse. They could maim him and leave him incapacitated like they’d done to Russ.
    He didn’t want to be here. He felt