First and Ten by Jeff Rud Page B

back Monday and get ready for Central.”
    The locker room din quickly rose again as Coach Reynolds made his way over to Ricky Jackson’s stall. The coach motioned to Jackson to follow him into his office in the hallway, just off the locker room. Coach closed the door behind them.
    â€œWonder what’s going on in there?” Ron Evans whispered, putting words to what just about everybody was thinking.
    The conversation soon swung to other more pressing matters, such as who caught the most passes, which cheerleader was the best-looking and, inevitably, to the Central Wildcats next week. It would be a road game, the Stingers’ first of the season, and it would be tough. Central was ranked number one in the league and in the entire region. South Side would get a major test in its next game.
    Matt showered and dressed before heading out the locker room door. He had promised his mother he’d come right home so the two could go out for pizza and a movie. But he discovered he had a visitor waiting.
    â€œHi, Matt, nice game.” It was his father.
    Once again, Matt felt awkward.
    â€œUm, thanks,” he said, looking down. “I dropped a few I should have caught, but we kicked them pretty good.”
    â€œYou sure did,” his dad said, flashing a smile. “And I thought you did just great, especially for your first real football game. That opening tackle was terrific.”
    Matt blushed. His father had obviously watched the game closely to know that he had been in on that tackle. It was the play that Matt had been most proud of today too.
    â€œAnyway, I just thought I’d come and say hello,” his father said. “I know you and your mom are busy tonight. But I’ll call you and maybe we can get together this week sometime. How does that sound?”
    â€œSure,” Matt said. “That sounds good.”
    His father waved as he headed toward his black suv parked on Anderson, just outside the school lot. It still felt strange to Matt, this idea of having a dad in his life. Strange, but at the same time, kind of nice too.

chapter nine
    The first thing Matt noticed the next morning was how sore his body felt. It was the difference between practicing and having played full speed in the game the previous afternoon. Everything was just one more notch up on the intensity scale, including the day-after stiffness he was now experiencing.
    He had slept well and was happy that he had a free Saturday. No practice today, just the regular game of pickup hoops at Anderson Park with the guys. Matt loved organized sports, but it was also nice to get a day to just kick back, have a few laughs and enjoy himself with his best friends.
    Jake and Phil knocked on his front door about 10:00 am and the three of them headed over to the park, where they met up with Amar Sunir, another good buddy and a teammate on the South Side basketball squad. It was a slightly overcast day with a hint of autumn cool in the air, not nice enough, obviously, to draw anybody else here for an outdoor game. Just as well. Matt and his buddies loved these two-on-two matchups.
    They shot for teams, with Matt and Phil pairing up and Jake and Amar playing together. It was a difficult matchup for Matt and Phil against the bigger and more athletic duo. But they held their own, splitting the first two games to eleven by ones.
    â€œHey, Matt,” Phil asked during a water break before the deciding game. “Who was that guy you were talking to last night after the game—a college recruiter or something?”
    Matt laughed. “I wish,” he said.
    He guessed it was time he told his friends about his father. Besides his mom and Mark, Andrea was the only person who knew about the big change in his life so far. And Matt knew Andrea hadn’t told anybody about it. For some reason—he didn’t quite know why—he had asked her not to.
    â€œThat’s wild,” Phil said after Matt finished, his eyes