Monday was an … interesting … day for Ty. Or perhaps it was just annoying. His infamy was growing around the school, even if it didn't seem to be back home—apparently Father thought he "played good".
Good. Being the best in the world was a little more than just "good". At least Father was watching, now. Ty hadn't been able to ask anyone else their thoughts; the twins barely cared about the NFL.
But the attention at school was strange, irritating more than anything. He opened his locker that Monday morning, and a slew of necklaces fell out, raining at his feet in a loud and messy tangle.
Giggles bounced down the hall. Ty turned, narrowed eyes settling on a group of girls grinning at him. Zayden, opening the locker beside Ty's, scoffed at the scene.
Scowling, Ty shoved his bag into the locker, taking the books he needed; nothing looked out of place after a quick check. He slammed the locker shut and stormed down the hall, leaving the necklaces were they laid on the floor. It was always the weird ones.
The story must've spread quickly—faster than any useful knowledge did in those chequered halls anyway—because after that, Bella was always by Ty's side whenever he moved through the halls, staring death at any girl who looked their way.
Thankfully that was the last of his problems during the day, though it was long. The final bell eventually rang, and with it the Dons were released from their prison; practice was freedom.
Bella was still by his side as they made their way to the field. She was a vigilant watchdog. Ty thought she was going overboard, it's not like he needed protection—nobody had gone THAT far yet—but he wouldn't complain.
Once they were outside she looked at him, eyes darting up and down. 'Do you know any of those other girls?' she finally asked.
'Huh?'
'The ones who put that junk in your locker.' Her gaze hardened, she was looking at him in an accusatory way, like it was all his fault somehow.
More confusion spread across his face. 'No. I don't even know why anyone would do that shit.'
Stunned, she stopped walking; Ty didn't wait for her. When she caught back up to him, she said nothing, but was smiling slightly. Ty shook his head. "Strange girl."
They were the first to arrive at the practice field, but they weren't alone for long. Rabbit soon joined them, who Bella welcomed warmly; Ty continued warming up without acknowledging his presence.
JJ came next, of course, then the coaches, and the usual flow of Dons followed until the entire varsity team had arrived. Ty noticed Ricky's absence amongst the bleachers and edges of the field. He hoped that stayed the case for the entire practice.
Coach Long gathered the team together, and paced through the ranks as they went through their stretches. 'I wanted to first reiterate how proud I am of you all making it this far,' he said. 'It was a great win. You all deserve a pat on the back, even if there were some issues during the game.'
Even whilst focused on himself, Ty felt everyone's eyes shift to him. A win was a win. If he had to push the boundaries to get the job done, so be it.
'But that's enough about last game,' Coach Long continued, 'we need to focus on what's ahead of us. The challenges keep getting tougher, but I know you all do as well. However, I hope you brought your running shoes with you today, because you're going to need them. The word of the day is SPEED.'
Coach Norman stepped forward. 'Yup. The Cobras live up to their name. They strike fast, and they don't need to strike much to put their opponents in the dirt. You lot are gonna need to be that extra step faster unless you wanna get bit.'
'You heard them,' Coach Hoang said. 'Get up and get to it.'
The running didn't stop with just their lap around the field. Coach Long's warning had been apt. The boys lined up at the back of one end-zone for a set of suicide sprints. The whole team was part of it. It was important EVERYONE was fast enough to deal with the Cobras.
The sprints started short, just to the 10-yard line and back, but didn't end until you'd completed a full run up and down the length of the field from end-zone to end-zone, right to the back of each one.
If one of the coaches—all of whom, including Bella, were keeping a close eye on proceedings—thought someone wasn't giving their full effort, that individual would've been forced to restart.
Ty finished first, followed by Cole, and Rabbit. There was a short gap before a group consisting of Chris, Zayden, Deshaun, and Amon. The next group was made up of Sonny, Stephen, Donte, JJ, Cameron, and surprisingly Jay. The Linemen, of course, came plugging along at the rear; Benny was the lone buffer between the middle of the pack and the trailers.
Once the last boy crossed the finish line, there was only a minute break before they were pulled along to the next drill.
That wasn't the only sprints the Linemen were put through, as it was turning into a hellish day of training for them. Next up were hurdles, a set of ten, though they were spread out less than a yard apart, and only a foot high. There were two tracks of them, as it was a race to the finish. Whoever came out the other side first, would have a ball thrown their way. If you caught the ball, you won. If the defender who came second in the race somehow got the stop and interrupted the pass, they won. Whoever lost had to do a punishment sprint up and down the nearby stands; if the pass was straight up dropped, both parties had to do the punishment.
Multiple sets of hurdles were set up across the field, allowing for multiple races at once. The boys were separated into groups of six based on how they'd finished in the suicides to make the contests as even as possible. Each person would race against everyone in their group before all was said and done.
Ty was the champion of course. Even amongst the other speedsters he didn't lose a race, nor did he drop a single pass. After his races were done, Coach Hoang saw fit to reward him by ordering him to sprint up and down the stands anyway.
Other standouts were Cole, in Ty's group, losing only to Ty. Rabbit, in the same group, lost to both Cole and Ty, and even dropped the pass in his race against Chris.
JJ, despite not winning every race, dominated his group, not allowing a single catch against himself, and catching every ball that did come his way. Donte, in JJ's group, stood out for all the wrong reasons. He took a punishment every contest, whether he was beaten, or because he dropped every pass whenever he did win.
The longest drink's break of the day came after all the races were concluded. Each boy was eager to rest their feet and re-hydrate.
Looking around, Ty still didn't spot Ricky anywhere. The coaches hadn't mentioned any film study after practice, so it must not've been ready.
But in Ricky's absence, there were strange faces around the field, onlookers Ty had never seen before. Spectators weren't unheard of. More than a few players had their group of friends, or maybe a girlfriend come watch. Yet these new faces stayed distant during the break rather than converging around the person they were supporting. They soon faded to the back of Ty's mind.
As the break neared its end, Coach Long stood in front of the bleachers, grabbing the team's attention. In his hand, he held a length of jump rope; more lay in piles spread out at the edge of the field behind him.
'I know you might think of these as nothing more than a toy for kids,' Coach Long said whilst holding up the jump rope, 'but they're an important and valuable tool. These can be one of the best ways to improve your footwork, and increase your speed and agility. This'll be something for you to take home with you, too. So if you don't have your own, come see a coach after practice, and we'll sort you out.'
There were some quiet grumbles, and some exasperated looks, but nobody complained loudly enough for Coach Long to make out anything legible.
'Don't be like that,' he said. 'Think of all the best boxers, they all use this. Ali, Tyson, Mayweather, Pacquiao, even Fury and Wilder would've. Or that Paul punk.'
The groans were louder, but complaints eventually gave way to compliance, and everyone found a rope. Bella took one too, leading the way for the team as she showed them the exercises.
It started slow, as most boys had to find their rhythm, but Bella gradually pushed them faster and faster. She got to the point where the roped swung twice before her feet—after not much more than a little bounce—touched the ground. No-one could keep up with her, but then she moved on to one-legged hops.
Again it was slow to start, though the boys were even slower to get the hang of that exercise. She sped up, quickly leaving the boys behind. Once she got to a rapid pace, the rope skipping off the turf with a thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip, she switched legs, bouncing on the toes of her left foot instead.
Some boys got tangled up, falling on their faces when they tried to follow her switch. She barely held back a laugh when Stephen ate grass. 'Take it slow if you can't switch when it's fast. Here, like this.'
She swapped back, bouncing twice then swapping again. She slowed her rhythm, skipping between the rope, toes to heel on one foot, then the other. Nobody could match her level, and even after several minutes they weren't much closer.
Most everyone had been tangled and fallen over at least once by the time the session was over. Coach Long again reminded everyone they could take a rope home if they needed it. 'It's important to work on this throughout the week!' he reiterated as everyone was grabbing their things. 'We need to be lightning fast if we want to stand a chance against the Cobras.
Ty stared at the rope as if it was a snake. At times during the exercise it had felt like the thing was intentionally obstructing him, either constricting like a boa, or snapping like a cobra. Coach Hoang called out:
'Samuels, come here.'
Ty slung the jump rope over his shoulder, joining Coach Hoang's side. 'Yeah?'
'Just cause practice is over doesn't mean I stop being your coach. Have some respect.'
'Is that why you called me over?'
Coach Hoang's grin was closer to a snarl. 'Look, I know you're focused on this upcoming match. But I'm willing to bet that focus is solely on Howard.'
The name took a moment to register in Ty's head. 'The Shit Receiver, yeah? What about him.'
'I know you're taking him seriously even with that dumbass name-calling—and that's good, don't get me wrong—but I don't need you getting distracted and pulled into a fight.'
'I'm not going to start anything, but I'll defend myself if I have to.'
Coach Hoang grabbed the front of Ty's shirt, yanking him down to eye-level. 'No you fucking won't, Samuels. I don't need you playing games with this kid. If he calls you out, you keep your mouth shut. If he pushes you, you keep your hands to yourself. If he even thinks of hitting you, you get the fuck out of there. Use those fast feet. Because if you even get into a shoving match with this guy, if you get ONE unsportsmanlike penalty, least of all if you get into a FIGHT with him—if that somehow doesn't get you ejected—I'll throw you out of the game myself.'
There was nothing but hard edges in Coach Hoang's voice and gaze. He was serious. Serious enough to throw away the National Championship … Ty couldn't comprehend it. It was crazy, but he wasn't about to pick a fight with that crazy. Nor would he fight with Richaun.
'I promise I'll be on my best behaviour.'
'Better than YOUR best. Be on JJ's best behaviour.' Coach Hoang let him go, leaning back. 'That's good, but it's not the only thing I needed to tell you. I actually wanted to talk about their Q-B, Colby Jenkins.'
Ty raised a brow, but he was listening; it's not like he was in a rush to get back home.
'He's the best Q-B in high school, for good reason. It's why a lot of people have the Cobras as favourites to win Nationals. So it's important you spread your focus between Howard and Jenkins. When we compile all their film from the four years Jenkins has been with the Cobras, I need you to go over every drop-back extensively. Any ticks, tells, or quirks this guy has, I need you to know them. Anything that can help you figure him out.'
'You're awfully worried about him.'
'That should tell you how much of a threat he is. You've faced some decent Q-B's before, but this is a college-ready player. He could walk into most schools in the country and start.'
'I'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry. When the game's over, every single school who's interested in him will be looking at him like a giant fraud.'
Coach Hoang watched Ty leave, frowning at his back. Confidence was well and good, but Ty—like usual—was bordering on arrogance. Still, he trusted the boy to take the warning to heart and give his full effort in making his threats reality. Tyrese Samuels hated to be proven a liar.