Chapter Forty-Two: Violet

"Well, I was thinking about telling her how much I appreciate when my friends and family come to my games to support me." He shoved his left hand into his back pocket, leaving the right to swing freely with the jersey in his fist.

"That's a good start, but you didn't actually ask her." My instinct was to reach over and nudge his arm, but I fought against the impulse to touch him.

"I was getting to that." He nodded. "Then, I would ask her if she was going to the game this weekend."

"Of course, she would be going to the game this weekend. It's going to be the biggest game of the year so far. The entire school will be there." My dad had bitched about our rivals for the past two years. He always complained about how during most of their plays, they always left a gap in their coverage that led directly to their quarterback. Yet, they continued to win game after game. He said they were careless, untrained, unprepared, and lucky.

He was a firm believer that you