The Starting Line Up

The sixth period bell rings letting all the freshmen and sophomores out of their classes for lunch two weeks after tryouts had taken place. Jacob walks along the halls alone as kids rush by. Jacob rubs his back, the bruise almost fully healed but still causing him a fair amount of pain; "geez when is this thing going away..." he thinks, suddenly Jeon comes in out of no where and wraps his arms around Jacob hanging on him "yo Jacob you excited?" He asks "uhh for what?" Jacob asks "coach is posting who made the team after lunch, come on!" He exclaims. Jacob and Jeon both walk into the lunch room where they immediately spot the football squad sitting off in the corner "yoo over here!" George exclaims calling them over "let's go" Jeon says pulling Jacob. The two walk over and sit with the rest of the group "you guys hear, coach is posting the list after lunch!" Jeon exclaims "of course we've all heard you idiot.." Taylor says "so let's just get strait to the point, who do you guys think is starting?" Donavan asks "well for starters not you." Taylor jokes "oh, you sound so sure..." Donavan responds "all I know is that Donald is back up QB for sure." Markus says causing Donald to spit out his chocolate milk "what do you mean, I threw the game winning touchdown" "yea but what about Noel though.." Honestly I gotta agree with Markus on this one Noel may have out played you Donald..." Jeon says "you guys are all crazy, we'll see who makes the squad." Donald says sulking "the real question is who will be captain." Julian says sitting off in the corner of the table "are you crazy, it's gonna be me!" George and Taylor say at the same time, they both quickly look at each other puzzled "huh you, Taylor didn't you cost your team 14 points yea that's leader material for you.." George scoffs "yea but I clutched up in the end by catching Donald's over thrown prayer which was my idea by the way, what about you George how do you expect to be leader when you won't even be starting.. Jeons got that over you..." "you must be crazy" Markus says backing up George "what's so crazy about that Markus, I am scientifically the better running back." Jeon says "scientifically?" Julian says confused "aren't you failing chemistry Jeon?" "That's besides the point I am the better running back and that's that." "No you're not." George responds, Jeon smiles and turns to Jacob "Jacob you've been silent this whole time who do you thinks better me or this idiot?" "Oh no no no I couldn't..." Jacob says "nah I'm actually curious.." George says joining in, they all stare at Jacob "uhhhh well...." Markus notices Jacobs uneasiness and decides to join in "guys come on this is a stupid question no matter what he says it wont change whose starting." Jeon sighs "yea alright.." Jacob exhales in relief "besides why would he say you after you almost broke his back Jeon." "Hey that was an accident besides Jacob has already forgiven me for that right" Jeon says rustling Jacobs curly hair, Jacob smiles as he pushes Jeons hand off of him "your on thin ice." he responds. Suddenly Noel walks up to the table causing everyone to go quiet, Jacob looks up at him "what's up skinny boy?" Taylor says as he takes a bite of his lunch "don't worry about him, you wana sit Noel?" George asks "no." He responds the others all look around at each other confused "Coach posted the team roster early." He says "what!" They all exclaim, suddenly everyone from the table lunges up from their seat and battle their way out of the lunch room including Jacob. Noel stands alone in front of the empty lunch table "hm." He grunts. The boys all rush through the halls, Jacob and Taylor both in front followed by Jeon George and Donavan, they rush up to the paper posted on the wall near the bathroom and read it;

Boys Football Team Starting Line Up:

Jacob Jones

Taylor Orion

Louis Johnson

Noel Walker

Markus Brown

Julian Keele

Jeon Ho

Kade Ross

Jonathan Barnes

Brayden Moon

Lucas June

Bench Players:

Donald Hollister

Donavan Blane

Zeke Lane

Cooper Denzel

William Holster

Zack Oland

Eric White

George Cooper

Ulysses Mohammad

Tyler Galen

Tyreek Daniels

Everyone pushes and shoves each other to get a good view of the paper. They all stare at the white sheet all feeling various emotions at the same time; Taylor has a smug look on his face as if he wasn't surprised "yup starting line up, too easy" he says, Jacob has a surprised and hopeful look on his face "I did it I made the team!" He thinks, "What the hell!" Donald exclaims, he looks furious, "how is Noel starting quarterback over me?!" Noel stands off to the side quiet but a small smirk rises on his face "h-holy shit..." Kade says in disbelief as he sees his name in the starting line up "I can't believe it, I made it..." "Aw what the hell!" Donavan exclaims "back up receiver, seriously?" He says, "hm guess I did make the team over you after all." Kade says, Donavan looks over at him disgusted and enraged. George rushes up to the paper last and pushers through the crowd to see the list, as he makes his way to the front he sees Jeon standing directly next to it waiting for him with a huge smile on his face, George looks over at the list and is shocked to see his name in the bench players section "w-what!" He exclaims "what the hell is this!?" He exclaims, everyone goes silent "it's what it looks like George, Jeon is clearly better than you." Taylor says stepping up." "You've gotta be kidding me, I did my best out there I played a better game than you, this is bullshit!" George exclaims "just take your loss like a man George don't sulk like a baby, and besides you should've seen this coming I already told you that I was the better running back, better luck next time." George steps up to Jeon, Jeon doesn't back down and gets in his face "wipe that damn smug look off your face you didn't deserve this, I got robbed." George says "heh" Jeon chuckles "you just can't admit that I'm better, just face reality George the sooner you can do that the sooner you can move on." "You little!" George prepares to lunge at Jeon but Markus grabs him and stops him "George come on man, this isn't worth it." George pushes off of Markus frustrated and walks away, everyone else can only watch on silently. The bell rings marking the end of 7th period, Jacob gets up and walks over to Noel sitting in the corner, he puts his notebook in his bad and as he turns around he's met with Jacob standing before him "hey I noticed you made the starting line up nice!" Jacob exclaims "y-yea" Noel responds awkwardly "man you must've had one hell of a game while I was gone, too bad I didn't get to see it..." Jacob says, Noel smiles and looks down "but listen though I hear everyone going to meet up with coach to discuss the roster, you wana come with me?" Noel looks up at Jacob a little shocked, a small smirk rises on his face, then he nods his head "alright come on then.." Jacob says as he walks toward the door, Noel grabs his bag "I'm coming" he says in his soft voice. Jacob and Noel walk into the weight room where the rest of the football squad and coach Lamburn are already inside. As the two walk in, they see George and Donald arguing with the coach. "Coach you have to reconsider, how could I have done worse than Jeon I did my best I was a good leader what could I have possibly done wrong!" "Same here!" Donald exclaims "coach Noel won't survive in the pocket have you seen him, one hit from a huge lineman and he's out, you need a good quarterback who can take a hit." "Quiet!" Coach Lamburn exclaims "both of you acting like children, George there was nothing that you did fundamentally wrong, you were a good running back and were a great leader for your team I saw the way you tried to cheer them up, you did good George this isn't about you being a bad football player you still made the team didn't you and if it makes you feel any better this decision was a difficult one to make but ultimately i decided to chose Jeon, George Jeon is faster and his high vertical makes him perfect for hurdling over players on the defensive end, this was strictly a move that would better the team stop taking it personal." George sighs and looks down sadden, he's left speechless. "And as for you Donald your argument is weak, pathetic, and is making my choice to pick Noel over you even stronger." Donald is shocked "w-wha?" "You say that Noel is too weak to take a hit from the lineman that he'll be easily injured, a good quarterback wouldn't even consider that a possibility, because a good quarterback wouldn't get hit at all." Donald looks away angrily and ashamed "I've made up my mind about whose on the line up and the list is final, now you have two choices; you could either sulk like a baby about this or you could work harder and prove that you deserve that starting spot and who knows if you're good enough you could sneak up from under the starters position and take it from them I have that implemented so that you starters don't get lazy, don't think that just because you made it you can start slacking off, you begin to under perform and your starting spot will be given to someone that is more deserving of it." George looks over at Jeon, the two stare at each other "is that understood!?" "Yes coach!" The players exclaim "aright you're all dismissed except you Jacob stay behind." Jacob looks surprised as everyone stares back at him "o-oh ok..." he says " as for the rest of you; practice starts tomorrow, I expect you all to be there." Jacob stays behind as the rest of players all walk out of the weight room, various emotions among all of them "this isn't over!" George exclaims causing Jeon to turn around and face him "I will take that starter spot from you!" Jeon rolls his eyes "whatever man.." he says as he begins to turn but George grabs him by the shoulder stopping him "I mean it!" He exclaims. Taylor suddenly steps up in front of Jeon and pushes George "back off!" He says Markus jumps infront of George and gets in Taylor's face, Taylor doesn't back off and gets in Markuses face as well. "Hey guys come on!" Donald exclaims as he gets between them "seriously you guys need to stop this shit, we're teammates now whether you like it or not and there's no way we're going to win any games this season if we don't make up and stop hating each other!" Markus and George both stare at Jeon and Taylor "do you guys understand, this is a team sport we're going to loose if we're not working together so come on here and now make up with each other and move on from this childish rivalry." "It won't matter whose starter or whose on the bench if were the worst team in the entire state." The rest of the football team stand around the four as they stare at each other, George's facial expressions change from furious to regretful and calm as he lets out a big sigh "shit" he says "listen guys I-I'm sorry I have been acting a lil childish today I just.... I wanted to start so bad you know, I've been working so hard for so long and as you all know my brother is a top football player as well so my family already expects a lot from me." "I've been under a lot of pressure and when I didn't make it I kind of lashed out as a result so I'm sorry...." Taylor and Jeon let down their guard Jeon rubs the back of his neck "listen I know a thing or two about pressure man it's alright no hard feelings." George sighs "thanks man" "but challenge accepted" Jeon says "huh?" "You said that you'll take the starter position from me right, well then I'll just have to work extra hard to make sure that won't happen." Jeon says, George smiles as Jeon puts out his hand "may the best man win" George grabs Jeons hand and shakes it "you're on!" He says, the other boys standing around smile and begin to clap and cheer hyping up the two rivals turned friends, Jacob walks out of the weight room surprised "what did I miss?" He says walking over to the team "George and Jeon finally made up" Kade says to Jacob "About time..." Jacob responds "what was coach talking to you about?" Julian asks walking up, "uhhh.." Jacob says as all eyes turn on him "he was just asking about my back making sure I was ready for practice." Jacob says lying through his teeth "and how is it?" "It's fine yea I'm fully prepared for football season!" Jacob exclaims "yea that's what I'm talking about!" Jeon says walking behind Jacob and smacking him in the back right where his bruise was "and in celebration of football season starting let's go out to eat, on me!" Jeon exclaims. The whole team cheers as Jacob rubs his back in pain from Jeon slapping him. The team all head toward the schools exit all of them chattering amongst themselves while Jacob lingers behind them, he suddenly sees Jamie in the corner of his eye, he looks over at her, she stares back at him and waves, Jacob parts ways from the team and walks over to Jamie. "Hey!" He says "look who it is; Jacob Jones?" She says "in the flesh" Jacob responds "I see you made the football team, congrats." She says "thanks" "just try not to get hurt alright you know me im a pacifist" "hm pacifist huh does that mean you won't be coming to any of my games?" Jacob asks. Jaime simply stares at Jacob not answering his question he stares back at her and a smirk rises on his face "Jacob come on!" The group calls out to him "I gotta go.." he says "see you later Jones.." she replies as Jacob turns and rushes off, she smiles as she watches him run away. Later the group feast at the local restaurant in Kanto, a small diner called "Kantos Finest". The large group of high schoolers spanning across several tables all sit and converse amongst each other screaming at each other from table to table; Jacob sits in a table with Kade, George, Markus, and Julian as they chat with the other tables, but Jacob himself doesn't talk, he's lost in thought. All the players leave the gym leaving Jacob alone with coach Lamburn, his heart races as the door closes and the room drops dead silent "what could this possibly be about..." he thinks. Suddenly Lamburn begins walking around the weight room as Jacob stands still "I've been a football coach for about 10 years now, so I've gotten pretty good at analyzing players, the way they play their movements their personality it all factors in to what kind of person they are and what theyll achieve in their career." "For example the ones that flaunt their status on the football team making it known telling every girl in sight those ones won't make it far, they see football as a ticket to popularity and all the things that come with it but the don't see it for what it truly is an art form." "Two years into my coaching career is when they started appearing." "Who?" Jacob asks, Lamburn looks up at the ceiling "the super players or as we call them the Kanto prodigies." "Boy I'll tell you the first time I saw a prodigy in action I was shook out of my mind, it was like watching a super hero in action, I couldn't believe it." "Who was the first prodigy you coached?" Jacob asks "there were two actually you should know them, they're the best players in the NFL right now..." Jacobs eyes widen "Marlin Osan and Dax Yonder!?" Coach Lamburn nods his head Jacob looks surprised "I-I knew they went to Kanto but I didn't know you coached them, that's a huge deal coach Lamburn!" "No kid, it's not, as a high school coach it's not my job to get any spotlight or recognition, my job is solely to turn you boys into the best versions of yourselves, that's all." "After that, it was all uphill from there, more and more prodigies started showing up left and right until we had a stacked team full to the max of super players, but then you know the rest, a team of all super talents could never last, arguments about who was the leader and whose the best came into question, egos collided and the team fell apart after one perfect year, they showed the world what they were capable of together, then all went their separate ways." "Coach why are you telling me this?" Coach Lamburn stops then turns and looks at Jacob right in his eyes "because I know you are a prodigy Jacob." He says shocking Jacob "w-what do you mean... im not a prodigy I wish I was honestly but im no-" "you can't fool me boy.." Coach Lamburn says cutting Jacob off mid sentence "remember I spent a lot of time with them I can sense the power you give off when your playing." He says, Jacob sighs "it's no use then.." Jacob says as Lamburn walks over, kneels down in front of Jacob, and places his hand on his shoulder "Jacob I'm telling you this because we will be facing each and every single one of those prodigies this year, don't you get it, they went to different schools they scattered around the district, the state, the country, we can't predict when we'll go up against them but we will so we need to be ready, you will Be the ace up our sleeve, only this district knows about you Jacob you will be our secret weapon." Jacob looks overwhelmed as he listens "do you understand?" "Y-yes i understand and im ready." Jacob says "are you sure son..." Jacob takes in a deep breath through his nose and exhales "I've been waiting and preparing for this day for years I won't you or the team down, we're gonna win it all!" He exclaims Lamburn smirks "I like your energy kid, we'll see how you do in a real battle." Coach Lamburn turns around "you're dismissed" Jacob turns around and begins heading towards the door when Lamburn hits him with one more bomb shell; "there's one more super player on this team." Jacob stops immediately and quickly turns around "w-what, who!" He exclaims "he's skilled at keeping his energy output low but I've met guys like him before so I was able to sense it, still, he clearly doesn't want anyone to know so I won't tell but try and figure it out for yourself." Jacob shakes off his memory as the waitresses bring the boys their food they begin cheering and pounding on the tables happily as Jacob scans the environment looking at each and every one of them "who could it be..."