9

I shoved away the sinking feeling in my chest. I had three colleges on my list: Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Iowa. But things had moved slow last year. Coach Ford and Dad constantly reassured me not to worry, that I still had time. But how could I not? I wasn’t like Sofia. I didn’t have my future all mapped out or a 4.0 GPA. I was an average student with average life goals. Except for football.

Football was my shot at being something, at making my mark.

“Hey, you okay?” Ezra noticed my sullen expression.

“Yeah.” I gave him an easy smile. Because that’s what people expected of me. I was the laid-back one, the joker, the good guy. I didn’t take myself—or life—too seriously.

“Hey, you guys want to go to Riverside after we’re done here?”

“No can do, I’m meeting Ashleigh. We’re going out with McKay and Pen,” Ezra said, dragging his jersey over his head.

“Of course you are.” I smiled. He and Ashleigh spent a lot of time with Gavin McKay and his girlfriend Penelope. But McKay was good people