End Zone by Tiki Barber

Tiki stammered.
    â€œOr more?” Ronde moaned.
    Manny nodded. “That’s what he said.”
    â€œBut that would mean . . .”
    â€œThat I’d be out for the entire play-offs.”
    Suddenly, Tiki felt his whole world turn upside down. He and Ronde exchanged alarmed looks. If Manny couldn’t play, the Eagles would have to somehow win behind Hayden Brook.
    That would mean game after game of Tiki getting pounded. Could he take that kind of punishment and still be a force on the field?
    If he couldn’t—if the Eagles failed to repeat as State Champs—everyone would say it was his fault!
    In an instant, one of the best days of his life had become one of the worst!

CHAPTER SIX
BE PREPARED
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    THE NEWS HIT RONDE LIKE A BRICK. WITH MANNY at the helm, they’d had a good chance of winning the State Championship. In fact, they’d been the favorites, at least according to the Roanoke Reporter.
    Without Manny, the Eagles had two chances—slim and none.
    They’d barely beaten Pulaski today, with Tiki doing double duty! They’d never be able to do that again. Tiki was moving now like he was eighty years old. The next game was less than a week away. Hayden Brook was going to have to be the “man”—or at least, the “Manny”—until the real Manny came back. Which might be never, as far as this year was concerned.
    Ronde and Tiki put on brave faces, smiled big smiles, and told Manny to hang in there. “You’ll probably be back in a couple days,” Tiki told him. “You’ll see.”
    Manny shrugged. “The doc said we’d play it week by week. So that means the soonest I can be ready is Wednesday.”
    â€œHey, that’s game day!” Ronde said, clapping Manny on the back. “Dude!”
    â€œYeah, that’s if he says I’m ready. If not, it’s another week of torture.”
    â€œOh, hey!” Ronde said. “We almost forgot. Here, we brought you something.” Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the piece of cake with VICTORY written on it. Except the word VICTORY had gotten all smushed in the backpack. The icing came totally off as he unwrapped it. “Uhh, sorry, dude.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” Manny said, taking it from him carefully. “Mmm. Good,” he said, tasting the icing with his fingertip.
    â€œIt said ‘victory’,” Tiki told him. “My mom baked it for us.”
    â€œWow. Mmmm.”
    â€œWell, enjoy it,” Ronde said. “We’ve gotta get home.”
    â€œOkay. Thanks for the cake. And thanks for coming,” Manny told them, giving them a sadder but more sincere smile than the one he’d worn when they got there.
    Back on their bikes, riding home in the dark, the boys were silent, except for Tiki’s occasional grunts when something hurt. Halfway home, he said, “Pull over, Ronde.”
    They brought their bikes to a halt. “You okay?” Ronde asked.
    â€œYeah, I’m fine.”
    â€œYou sure?”
    â€œYeah, man.”
    â€œThen why’d we stop?”
    Tiki put a finger to his lips. “Sshhh,” he said.
    The night was quiet and cloudy. It was cold, too. December was here, and any day now, the first snow of the winter might arrive.
    â€œLook up there,” Tiki said, pointing to the top of Mill Mountain. The big neon star glowed brightly in the night, like a beacon in the sky.
    There were other stars up there, Ronde knew. Billions of them, hidden by the clouds. But this one, neon, man-made, and five-pointed, seemed to stand for all the others.
    â€œThat’s our lucky star up there, Ronde,” Tiki said softly. “Get a good look at it. We’re gonna do this thing. Don’t ask me how I know. . . . I just do.”
    Ronde said nothing. He stared at the star, then at Tiki, whose eyes were glowing with its reflection. Ronde had rarely heard his twin talk