Song for the start of the chapter!

The ride to the stadium the next day was quiet as I mulled over what mom said the other day. Maybe she had a point about me not knowing if Everett caused my dad stress. There was only one way to find out before I came to any solid conclusions.

"What stresses you?" I asked Dad as he drove to practice.

"Oh, that's an easy one. When I'm hungry, or when the cap on the toothpaste is lost, or when you don't hang your coat on a hanger, or..."

I laughed as I shook my head. "As useful as this information is, I wanted to know about work. What stresses you about that?"

He frowned as he stroked his mustache. "When the team isn't a team."

During the first practice, he talked about teamwork and why it was so important. But over the fall camp, I have seen that our team wasn't a team. They were cliquish. "Our team has issues. Why is that happening?"

"Oh that's a long story but it involved kicking a player off the team at the end of last year."

This wasn't something I heard before. Suddenly, I was interested in the conversation. "What was his name?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to jinx anything, so I better not say."

The thing was, I would find out the answer with or without his help. Honestly, Google would even tell me the answer. "Fine. Why did he get kicked off?"

"Oh, because some rules were broken, and trust shattered so on and so forth. We're still dealing with the fallout."

"And one person caused all this damage?" I asked in disbelief. I thought Everett caused these problems, but maybe he wasn't entirely to blame since he was still on the team.

Dad turned into the parking lot of the athletic center. "One person is capable of more than you know," he said, his tone turning serious.

"Is there any team member that stresses you currently?"

He laughed as he got out of the car. "This sounds like an interrogation, Nora."

I merely shrugged. "I'm just wondering. Figured I know little about the players and I'm just trying to understand them better."

He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "The short answer? All of them caused stress at different times."

The vague response caused me to frown. It wasn't what I was expecting or wanting, and it made me feel as empty as a house after a Christmas party. Maybe Everett wasn't the entire issue, but he was for sure extending it. Dad worked too hard to have one kid mess it all up.

"But great talk, Nora. I'm happy you're really going headfirst into this stuff like a diver into a sea." He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. "It makes me prouder than I could even say. Anyhow, enough talk, let's get this day started. It's supposed to be hotter than the south today so I'm calling this fall camp day inside. I think we all need some A/C in our lives."

I followed Dad into the center as the sun rose. With fall camp almost over, I wondered what was on our plate for afterwards. I didn't even know when the first match was.

This training was a lot. Dad said it was to prep for the start of the session, but it was every day with long hours. I'm sure the players were exhausted because I was.

"You know what my favorite thing about Fridays are?"

"What?"

"Team building games. And guess what? You're playing."

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. Never had I been a part of team games before since I was always the ref. There was no way I would consider myself athletic. The thought of being with all these players caused my hands to sweat.

"Do you think that is a good idea?"

"Why not? You want to know the players, don't you? That's the best way."

I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat. They would judge me for being not nearly as athletic as they were.

"Cheer up champ, you'll be great," Dad said as he placed his hand on my shoulder then walked into the locker room where the players were waiting for him.

I followed behind him, hoping the players were all decent. To my luck they were and ready for what Dad would instruct them to do.

"Ok, we are doing a different team building game today. Break up into teams of four and I'll provide instructions afterwards."

The team quickly talked to one another as they sorted out their teams.

My eyes traced the crowed, trying to find Everett with no luck. His lone three friends were here talking with each other, but Everett was nowhere to be seen. This wasn't the first time I hadn't seen him at practice. But it still shocked me because Dad had said that fall camp was the most important camp of them all so why was he not here some of the days?

"Go to the team that has the least amount of players," Dad said to me.

"I never did have a choice then, did I?"

He smiled as he threw a finger gun my way before turning back to the team. "Who has only three on their team?"

Rick, Shelly, and Mike raised their hands.

I made eye contact with them as I wiped my damp hands on my pants. At least they weren't the worst players to be with.

"Great, you have Nora on your team now."

Silently, I walked over to Rick's team feeling all eyes on me. Whispers filled the room, making the hair on my neck stand on edge. They were all probably glad that I wasn't on their team. But Rick gave a friendly smile as I walked towards them, making me feel wanted.

"Fu...." Shelly stopped himself before owing Dad another dollar. "Cool! Nora's our secret weapon!"

"Maybe," Dad said with a smile. "But only teamwork will get you through this. All the assistant coaches left items around the stadium. To win, you all need to work together. That's the only way to get through the puzzle."

A few of the team members protested, but Dad took no interest in their complaints as he handed one person from each team a paper. "Read over the information and figure out where the missing items are. You have one hour."

Rick handed me the paper like it would burn him if he held it any longer. "You can take the lead on this since your coach's daughter."

My eyes skimmed the paper with a frown. "I hope you know I had no idea I would be participating until this morning. You think I'm the secret weapon, but I'm really not."

He furrowed his eyebrows, making a crease in the middle of his forehead. "Well, in that case, it says we have to pick one teammate to grab the locker room keys and tell coach Olly one dream of ours."

"I can do it," Shelly pipped in.

"Then go, we can't waste any time. I want to win this time."

As Shelly sped off, Rick turned to face me as a smile traced his lips.

He was always friendly towards me, but he had never said much. Honestly, most players didn't say much to me. But with me on Rick's team, he had time to talk. "So you go to school here?"

I nodded. "I'm a sophomore, and how about you?"

"Senior. What's your major?"

"International Business."

"Rick, this isn't social hour. Shelly's going to be back at any time," Mike complained.

Rick glared at Mike and instantly he shut his mouth. "We might have a few classes together since I'm doing business."

I don't think I ever remembered seeing Rick in a past course, but maybe this year would be different.

Shelly returned with a frown on his face and empty hands. "I couldn't find him," he muttered.

"What do you mean, you couldn't find him?" Rick asked, raising his voice, changing his mood almost instantly.

________________

As the game ended, it was obvious no team would win. I wasn't sure if it was because the clues were too hard or if we all were terrible at problem solving. I wouldn't lie, I was disappointed. I wanted to win.

With a dissatisfied sigh, Dad looked at the groups of people in front of him. He stopped the buzzing timer and stuffed it into his pocket. "And an hour is up. It's a shame. No team got the prize." He stroked his mustache in thought. "Well, there's always next time. Why don't you all go out for a run to cool down and we can call it quits for the day."

"Better luck next time," Shelly said as he passed me to get on the field.

I nodded, although I wish I had something more to say.

As the room cleared, Dad came up to me, shaking his head. I wasn't sure if he was bummed no one won or if he was just disappointed in himself. But he had to know that whatever issues this team was going through wasn't his fault. Dad wouldn't let anything damage the team like that.

"So how did you like being part of the team."

Once again, it wasn't as terrible as I originally thought. Being part of the team helped form a connection with the players. I now knew Rick, Shelly, and Mike better. And that probably was great if I wanted to improve the team relations. "I liked it. I'm just bummed we didn't solve it."

"I'll tell you a secret. We played the same game last year and one team was able to solve the puzzle in 30 minutes," he said as he handed me a paper with all the locations of the items hidden. "Can you get them and stick them in my office? After that, could you pick up some papers for me? The assistant coaches left them in the locker rooms, and you can stick them on my desk."

I nodded. "Sure." With that, I walked off to find the items, then accomplish the other task he wanted me to do.

_____________

As I walked back with the items in my hands Tad ran up to me with a smile on his face. "Hey girl."

I smiled at him. "Hey! What's up?"

"Any plans tonight?"

I thought about my fabulous date with my couch and my laptop and shrugged. "Nothing much."

"Want to go to a party?"

I walked around the scarlet and gray themed locker room and picked up a piece of trash, tossing it in the nearest bin. "I don't know." I had never been to a college party before but honestly from what Vera told me, they didn't sound fun.

"Aw come on Nora, the whole team is going," Rick spoke up as he walked into the locker room.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'll pass this time."

"Oh please Nora, come," Shelly begged as he followed behind Rick.

Having them beg made me feel like I was important to them. I liked that feeling. "Maybe next time, though."

The two of them frowned in silence, then went off to deal with something else.

My eyes laid hold of the notes waiting for me on a chair and picked them up.

"Just think about the party," Tad said before he walked into the showers.

I nodded as I left to get to Dad's office. Although I was pretty sure I wouldn't go.

With my head held high and a stack of papers in my hands, I walked into Dad's office to be greeted almost instantly by Dad.

"Hey Nojo! Let me introduce you to Melissa," Dad said.

I quickly shook her hand before placing the stack of papers on Dad's desk. "Based on contrary beliefs, I'm Nora, not Nojo."

Her stiff smile made the encounter feel forced and unwelcomed. "So, it's not Nojo?"

I smiled. "Dad has a collection of nicknames for me. Nojo being at the top of the list."

"It's nice to meet you, Nora."

"Pleasure meeting you too, Melissa."

Melissa turned to Dad and said, "Paul, listen to what I'm telling you. I'll be back tomorrow to discuss further." With that, she left the room.

I waited a few moments before I couldn't hold my curiosity any longer. "What did she tell you?" I blurted out.

He shrugged as he knit his eyebrows together then rolled his shoulders back. "You know, I have a lot on my plate. Can we talk about this later? I have to deal with these papers right now."

I nodded, although I wanted to push the answers out of him. "How about I get snacks?"

He looked up from his papers. "That would be fantastic. Thank you, Nora."

I smiled at him, then left without another word to get some snacks from the cafeteria.

As I approached the counter with the snacks perfectly laid out, Everett was leaning against the wall beside them, close to it with a cup in his hands.

He made eye contact with me and nodded a simple greeting, then went back to sipping his drink casually, as if I had seen him earlier that day.

I chose not to acknowledge him as I selected the snacks Dad would like.

"So are you going to the party tonight?" Everett asked.

If he was going, that would be a solid no. "Probably not," I stated.

"What would make you go? An invitation from me?" He smirked as he ran his hands through his styled short hair.

I rolled my eyes in frustration. Like that would seal the deal. He was a bully. It was his fault that Dad was stressed. He didn't even bother to come to the games today, so that told me he did want to be apart of the team. "Oh, because that sounds so tempting now." I turned on my heals, ready to leave.

"Wait, Nora, maybe going out might be good. It might be worth it to see what the players are like off the field. We are more than football and you don't see that. I think you don't know the players for who they really are."

I turned to face him as his dark eyes spoke to me. I chewed on my lip in thought until finally decided that maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe he had a point. Everett was completely different outside of practice, so the other players might be different too. "Fine."

He smirked which made me scowl. "I'll see you there then?"

Please tell me I will not regret this. "I'll see you there," I said as I walked towards Dad's office, hoping that I made the right choice.

_______________________________

Later that night I ran down the stairs and smiled at my parents, who sat in the living room, tending to their own personal forms of relaxation on the Friday night.

"I'm going out with Tad and his girlfriend," I said as I slipped on a pair of shoes.

"I didn't know Tad had a girlfriend." Dad frowned as he stroked his mustache.

"Don't take it personally, most people don't know. It's a casual thing," I stated as the doorbell rang. "That's them. I'll be out late, don't wait up for me."

"Have fun!" Mom said, turning back to her magazine.

I waved to them before opening the front door to see Tad, dressed in all black with his black hair slicked back. It was a completely different look than his standard OSU apparel. He looked fashionable, hansom even. Seeing him made me realize, just like everyone else, he had a different life outside of work. "You look good."

He smiled as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "You too. It's nice to see you in things other than khakis and polos."

I pulled on my mini skirt with a nod. "I couldn't have said it better myself." With that, I closed the door behind me.

We got into the car and Tad quickly introduced me to Elle, who looked more like a model from NYC than anything else.

Elle was friendly, like most Ohioans were, and made me feel welcome almost instantly. She dove into stories about the two of them. She talked almost a million miles an hour, making it hard to focus until Tad spoke up.

"This party is going to be great," Tad said as he turned left at an intersection. "Too be honest, I didn't think you would actually come."

I didn't think I would come either. But here I was, hoping that it wouldn't be terrible. The only goal tonight was to see how these players interacted with others.

Tad parked on the street close to a house that had a fair amount playing beer pong on a makeshift plyboard table in the front lawn.

An uneasy feeling sat with me, forming a lump in my stomach as I stared at the house. There were so many people. I thought it was just the team coming. Maybe I made a mistake in coming. I tried swallow my fear as I wiped my wet and sticky hands on my skirt and straightened out my blouse as I got out of the car.

Together, the three of us walked up to the group playing beer pong. Some I recognized, some I didn't.

"Hey, didn't think you would come, Nora," Shelly said with a smile as he threw a ball into a cup. He turned to the other players and said, "See that, she did show up! I told you she would!"

"Looks like we owe you $10," another player said as he pulled out his wallet from his jean pockets.

Shelly pointed to each one of them and smirked. "Each."

The players frowned as Shelly turned to me again. "I'm happy to see you here."

If I was the item for the bet, I wondered what else they said about me. It made my hands feel even clammier. I wanted to melt, but if I wanted to know the players, I need to feel like a member of the team.

"I thought I would show my face." I smiled at him.

"Glad you did. There're drinks inside. Help yourself." He pointed towards the open front door.

I nodded as I walked into the house with Tad and Elle.

"Look how popular you are," Tad grinned at me as we looked around the crowded house. "It took them months to learn my name."

"I'm not popular. I'm just the coach's daughter, it's different."

"Hey, Nora, it's great to see you!" a player named Cody said as he walked down the stairs. He patted my shoulder before turning down the hall.

"Hey Tad, come here. I have something to show you," one girl said as she waved him over.

"Ah, that's the cheer captain." Tad thumbed over towards her. "Want to say hi?"

I'm sure she was nice but there were more important people to get to know. "I'll say hi during the first match."

He nodded. "Safe bet. She's a little much to handle sometimes. But it's never a dull moment with her."

"Tad, I heard that!" she pouted.

"Sorry Keely," he shouted, then turned to me. "I should talk to her. Are you fine on your own?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Hopefully.

"Cool." With that, he left me to talk to Keely.

Slowly, I wandered through the house as I tried to find a place to get a drink, hoping that would make me feel more comfortable.

I wandered into the back living room and saw Everett sitting on the couch as a girl sat on his lap, sipping something from a red plastic cup. She whispered something in his ear, which caused him to chuckle before locking eyes with me. He stared at me for a long second, then finally turned back to the girl and whispered something to her, making her laugh.

I glared at him as my cheeks turned hot. They were laughing at me, I was sure of it.

He shouldn't have so much control over my feelings, but he did and I hated it. I hated how he made me feel so little.

"Hey it's Nora!" Rick cheered as he got up from the couch and greeted me. His breath smelt like strong liquor and, as he held me tight, I wanted out of his embrace. "Let me get you something," he said and walked off.

"How are you enjoying the party?" a team member named Kelly asked.

Under the dim lights and musty smells, it was probably the worst place I had been. "It's good."

He beamed as Rick came back over to me and handed me a cup of some clear liquid.

I smiled at them. "I'm ready to have fun tonight. Who needs a date with a couch and a book anyhow?" I asked as thrusted the cup up in my hand above my head.

The room cheered as I placed the cup on my lips, ready to down whatever was in the cup. However, Everett got up from his seat and took my drink from my hand.

I scowled at him as the crowed fell silent. "Hey, I was going to drink that."

He shook his head. "No, you weren't," he said as he dumped the contents into a dying potted plant.

I bit my lip, fighting back tears that wanted to come. My hands turned sticky again as I realized the whole room was staring at us. My heart raced as I tried to work out the right words to say. "You aren't the boss of me."

He gave a tired sigh then pulled me to a nearly empty hall. "What are you doing here?"

I blinked tears from my eyes as I shook my head. My body shook as I tried to control myself. He infuriated me. What kind of question was that? He was the one that invited me. But he just wanted to make me look like a fool. "You invited me," I seethed.

He looked around us as a few of his teammates came closer to us to hear our conversation. "I was just being nice; I didn't actually mean for you to come."

His words were harsh, making me clench my jaw and take a step back. It's like he enjoyed making me feel worthless, pathetic.

I couldn't stop tears from falling as his posy laughed.

"Oh Everett, you made the coach's daughter cry. This is going to send you to the doghouse for sure."

"Do you think I give a shit?" he shouted, giving me enough distraction to slip away without making more of a scene.

I weaved around people until I was outside in the fresh, late summer air. I sniffled as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

How did I ever think this would be fun? Of course, he just invited me to pick on me, just like he did with Tad and so many others. I should have known he didn't care about me.

I walked down the sidewalk taking deep breaths. There was no way I could stay here any longer.

"Hey, Nora, what are you doing?" Tad's voice rang out.

I turned to face Tad and noticed a hickey on the side of his neck. We were only here for 30 minutes. I wondered who gave it to him. But the curiosity quickly flew from my mind as wiped tears away with shaking hands. "I'm going home. This was a mistake."

His smile slid down his face as he approached me. Quietly, he grabbed a hold of my hands. "Hey, calm down. Breathe."

I choked back a sob. "Everett just made me look like nothing in there. Tad, I don't want to breathe. I just want to leave."

Tad nodded. "Ok, I can take you home."

"But your girlfriend..."

Tad looked over as she giggled at some football player. "Ironically, I hooked up with him last month. She'll be fine." He took the keys from his pocket, but I just shook my head.

___________

As we drove home, I stared out the window, trying to pull myself together before I returned home.

"Everett is a dick," I stated finally.

Tad nodded. He knew all too well how mean Everett could be. "Yeah, he is. Isn't he?"

"I hate him."

He chuckled. "You aren't the only one."

Once again, we were silent. So much for learning more about the team. Maybe I would never know them, especially if Everett was around.

"I don't know what Everett did, and you don't have to tell me. But don't let this ruin your ideas of parties. They can still be fun."

I frowned as my stomach felt uneasy. I wasn't sure if I believed him. "I promise. I'll try again at some point."