At 7:20 PM, the football field at Palisades High School (Andrew's school) was already filling up. The field had a capacity of about five hundred people.
Andrew's entire family had already arrived: his grandfather with Gloria and Manny; Claire and Phil with Haley, Alex, and Luke; and Mitchell and Caron. Also present were Andrew's neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson (Jacob and Bethany.)
Both teams had been on the field for a few minutes, warming up, as the ga was set to begin at 7:30.
Before the ga started, there was an opening ceremony to welco the start of the sports season, even though this match was just a friendly. The cheerleaders perford a mini-show alongside the team mascot and the school band.
"It is unbelievable that the bald coach does not start Andrew," Claire comnted, crossing her arms with a slight frown.
"The school is unprofessional for letting a relative coach," Jay added, also frowning and with his arms crossed.
"That's because this school doesn't have a competitive football program," said Mr. Jacob, looking disdainfully at the coach on the field.
"Andrew should have accepted the offer from Harvard-Westlake School. They gave him a scholarship and offered him a spot on their team. Why didn't he take it?" Jacob asked, looking at Mitchell and Cam, who didn't seem too happy either.
Harvard-Westlake School is a private school in Los Angeles with an elite sports program. At that school, they don't allow relatives to coach, as favoritism is more likely.
"He turned down that offer for his friends," Mitchell replied with a strange expression. That was a lie.
The real reason Andrew had given them for not attending that private, elite sports school was entirely different. He had said, with a serious look and a touch of arrogance in his tone, that he didn't want to be in a place where everything was too easy.
"It wouldn't be fun. I want a real challenge, sothing that truly makes work for victory," he had said.
He valued his friendships, but that wasn't the main reason he rejected the private school. He needed a challenge in this new life.
In his past life, he had attended a school with an elite football program, though it wasn't private. His teammates were elites and prodigies at his level. He didn't want to repeat the sa path, as it would be easier in this life given that his abilities were superior.
Mitchell and Caron didn't share this reasoning because they didn't want Andrew to co across as an arrogant kid who didn't appreciate opportunities.
In the end, they settled for the "friends group" excuse. This version sounded more epic and self-sacrificing, as if he had chosen to stay close to his people.
"If his dream is to go pro, he needs to stop worrying about those things," Jay said, watching the field. "What really matters is being on a team that's at your level, one that pushes you to be better. If you have the talent, why waste it at a second-rate school? Decisions like that can cost you dearly."
Jay genuinely believed his grandson had a strong chance of making it to the NFL, a dream he himself had once held but hadn't achieved due to a lack of talent. To him, Andrew was wasting his potential by staying at a school that wouldn't challenge him enough.
Mitchell and Caron exchanged an uncomfortable glance. The excuse about friends was just a façade they had created.
"If I were you, I would have forced him to go to Harvard-Westlake. You can't waste an opportunity like that," Jay added, looking at Mitchell, clearly challenging his parenting thods. He wouldn't have been so soft.
"Don't tell how to raise my son," Mitchell said, frowning. The atmosphere around the family grew tense.
"Dad, enough!" Claire exclaid, trying to diffuse the tension. "Your days of being a father are over," she added.
"Hey, Manny is his new son! His ti as a father isn't over," Gloria chid in, wanting Jay to be a better father than her previous husband, Javier Delgado.
Manny wasn't paying attention to the family argunt. He was focused on the beautiful cheerleaders, particularly a girl with straight blonde hair who seed to be the leader.
"I'm going to talk to the coach! I'll tell him I'm joining the cheer squad. I'll beco the leader! I'll gain power within the team and make sure there's no favoritism. If I see any sign of injustice, I'll report it imdiately! This is serious business, folks!" Phil said enthusiastically, clenching his fist.
He wasn't going to let any injustices slide. He would have to dust off his old cheerleading leader uniform.
"Absolutely not. You're a 40-year-old adult! Are you seriously planning to practice with teenage girls in revealing uniforms? Do you think that won't cause any problems? Don't even think about it!" Claire imdiately scolded him.
"Well, if they need help with flips or stunts... I'm ready!" Phil said, completely oblivious to the potential issues that could arise.
While the discussion continued, Haley slipped away to et with Dylan. The ga was about to start, and Andrew, sitting on the bench and watching the field, had no idea about the family argunt.
The ga began with the ho team on offense. Ti passed as the crowd enthusiastically cheered on their team to remind the visitors that they weren't at ho.
It was a very close ga. Andrew and his friends watched from the bench throughout all four quarters. At no point did the coach send them onto the field. He only made substitutions with other senior players on the bench to replace the tired ones and try out different strategies.
The final twelve-minute quarter ended when the referee blew the whistle. The score was 24-21 in favor of Palisades High School. The parents, family mbers, school staff, and students who ca to watch the ga were happy that the team had won.
"My butt hurts," Steve complained as he got up from the bench.
Andrew and the others also stood up and stretched. "This sucks," Reggie murmured, watching the starting team celebrate as if they had won the state championship.
They saw how Jason kissed his cheerleader girlfriend passionately, as if it had been the most epic ga in history, when they had won by a narrow margin and it wasn't even a ga that counted for the season.
"Don't worry... we'll be on the field soon if we perform better in practice," Archie said, although he didn't sound very sure.
Now that the team had won the first ga, the coach wouldn't receive complaints and wouldn't want to change his strategy for the next ga. The parents and the school wouldn't complain if there were good results, so they could continue to be on the bench in the future.
"The season gas won't be as easy as this one. It's only a matter of ti before they lose," said Andrew. He had seen the coach's diocre tactics and the quality of the seniors. They had no future of winning this season or making it to the playoffs.
Many seniors even showed up late to practice, and the coach acted as if he were blind, not punishing the indiscipline, nor pushing them to their limits during practice.
"Why the long faces, boys? Be happy to be on the winning team," said one of the seniors who started in the ga with an unpleasant laugh.
His friends, who followed him, laughed. Luckily, they went on their way, or Reggie might have started a fight.
With the ga over, Andrew and the others went to the locker room to change, before the seniors arrived. They had to take advantage of the stupid celebration they were having as if they had won sothing important.
Then they headed to Archie's house where the Friday night post-ga gathering would be held.
Before leaving in Archie's dad's truck, Andrew said goodbye to his family. His parents already knew that he always hung out with his friends on Friday nights, and they would pick him up later.
When he went to et up with Archie and the others, he ran into Pippa—or rather, she intercepted him.
"Finally, I found you," said Pippa, a little out of breath. It wasn't easy to find him with five hundred people walking around. Plus, he wasn't wearing the team uniform anymore, which made him a little harder to spot.
"Oh, you ca to watch the ga," Andrew comnted. He had tried to spot Pippa in the stands, but there were too many people.
"Yeah, I was kind of forced to by my friends and family," Pippa sighed. She would have been better off at ho studying, or at one of her friends' houses without the crowd and all the excitent over a simple friendly ga.
"I was surprised to see you on the bench the whole ga. I wasn't the only one—many people talked more about that than the ga. The big talented quarterback not stepping onto the field for even a minute. Nobody expected that. Did you show up late to practice, and that's why they benched you the whole ga?" she added with a slight smile.
"No, I didn't show up late to practice. I'm just on the bench because of a decision by the coach," Andrew replied, his tone less enthusiastic than usual.
Although he knew he would soon be the starter and that his level was above Jason's, he didn't like missing a ga, no matter how friendly it was. He wanted to play every ga.
"Oh... sorry. I was just joking, you know, with all the rumors about you and the two championships you won. I didn't an to say I don't think you're capable, just that sotis I'm a little clumsy with what I say..." Pippa said, starting to apologize, her voice speeding up as if she were trying to make her words co out as quickly as possible to cover the awkward mont she herself had created.
Andrew watched her. He wasn't upset by her earlier comnt. He knew she was just joking to lighten the mood, although her comnt could be misinterpreted.
"I didn't an to make you feel bad or anything like that, really," Pippa finally said, looking down a bit embarrassed by how much and how fast she had spoken.
"I know, Pippa. It's fine. You'll see on the field soon," Andrew said with a smile to reassure her and let her know he wasn't angry.
"Great..." Pippa murmured, relieved. "By the way, call Pip," she added, lifting her head and giving him a small smile.
"Alright, Pip," Andrew replied with a smile. Then, he thought for a mont before adding, "I'd tell you to call by a nickna, but the only one I have is Andy, and well, it's a bit childish."
"Then I'll call you Andy," Pippa said with a playful smile.
"Didn't you hear the part where I said it's childish?" Andrew asked.
"It's not that bad. It's like the kid who owns the toys in Toy Story, right?" Pippa said, feeling the conversation had taken a more comfortable turn.
"Well, if you say so, then it's Andy for you. Why were you looking for ?"
"To clarify the details about the project. We need to decide what functional program we're going to do. We have to bring sothing by Monday, at least a rough idea," Pippa said without much ceremony.
"Was the patience loan over the mont the ga ended?" Andrew asked, amused by how seriously and quickly Pippa approached the work.
"Yeah, I don't like leaving things until the last minute," Pippa responded seriously.
"I thought we could catch up on Saturday or Sunday. I'm free both afternoons. How about you?" Pippa asked.
"I can't on Saturday... Sunday will work," Andrew said.
"Why not Saturday?" Pippa asked, wanting to work two afternoons on the project and bring the professor sothing well-thought-out and advanced.
"I have an event at my sister's daycare," Andrew replied, trying to keep a poker face.
'I didn't know he had a sister...' Pippa thought, a little surprised. There were many rumors about Andrew, that his parents were gay and that he was adopted—that much was known—but not that he had a sister.
'They must have adopted her recently,' Pip concluded.
"Alright, Sunday it is. I'll give you my number so we can finalize the details," Pippa said, pulling out her phone from her pocket.
"I'll see you on Sunday then, boss," Andrew said after jotting down Pip's number on his phone.
"See you, Andy," Pippa said, using his nickna with a teasing smile. "And good luck with your new little sister's event," she added and walked away from Andrew.
'New little sister? How does she know she's new?' Andrew thought, but didn't give it much more attention.
Andrew then t up with his friends to head to Archie's house.
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