Goal Line

Goal Line by Tiki Barber Read Free Book Online

Book: Goal Line by Tiki Barber Read Free Book Online
Authors: Tiki Barber
Ronde?”
    â€œTiki, I am not going to stand up onstage and read your speech for you! Why would I do that? Do I look insane to you?”
    â€œRonde, you’re my
brother
! We do lots of stuff for each other.”
    â€œNot
this
kind of stuff.”
    The two boys were in their darkened bedroom. It was just past lights-out, but neither of them was going to get any sleep until this argument was over.
    â€œI’ll do anything you want,” Tiki promised. “I’ll be your servant for a week!”
    â€œNuh-uh.”
    â€œA month!”
    â€œStop it, dude,” Ronde said firmly. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Remember, you got yourself into this mess by writing a better essay than me.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Tiki objected. “I read your essay. It was fine.”
    â€œOh, yeah?”
    â€œIt was really good, in fact.”
    â€œWhat did you like best about it?” Ronde goaded him on.
    â€œOh, that part where you talk about how being smaller means you can surprise the receivers when you jump higher than they do.”
    Ronde was pleased. That was his favorite part of his essay too. “What else?”
    â€œOh, yeah. When you said how we’re
all
really small, next to the size of the universe.”
    â€œYeah,” said Ronde. “I like that part too. But I’m still not giving your speech for you.”
    â€œ
What?
Why?” Tiki moaned.
    â€œYou know what the best, best, best part of being small is?” Ronde asked. Then he answered his own question. “It means I can’t pretend to be
you
anymore, so there’s no way I could ever get away with reading your essay for you!”
    â€œAAARGH!” With a roar Tiki leapt out of his bed, grabbed his pillow, and started to pummel Ronde with it.
    Laughing, Ronde half-tried to protect himself, but he understood how his twin felt. He was just glad it wasn’t him who’d won the contest. Honorable mention was plenty good enough, he thought, letting Tiki tire himself out.
    â€œMan,” Tiki finally groaned, “why did I have to win that contest?”
    â€œHey, your essay was the best in the whole school. I don’t think anybody’s going to think it’s stupid.”
    â€œDid
you
?” Tiki asked, going back over to his own bed and getting under the covers.
    â€œNo! It was right on! People are gonna love it.”
    â€œYeah, sure,” Tiki said, then added, “I’m doomed.
Doomed
.”
    â€œHey, look on the bright side,” Ronde offered. “When we grow up, if you don’t make the NFL, you could always be a writer, or a public speaker. Maybe even a famous actor or something.”
    â€œI
am
making the NFL,” Tiki shot back. “And so are you. We’ve got to keep faith in our dream, yo.”
    â€œTrue,” Ronde agreed. “But I’m just saying. It’s good to have a plan B.”
    â€œNuh-uh,” Tiki said. “Not for me. It’s plan A all the way. That’s the only way to make your dreams come true.”
    Ronde was silent. In a way he agreed with Tiki. But he also knew that sometimes people’s dreams didn’t come true. There were millions of kids all over the USA whose dream was to play in the NFL. But only a couple hundred a year would ever get drafted. For all those others, plan B was going to be really important.
    â€œDon’t be afraid,” Ronde said quietly into the silence of the darkened room. “You’ll be fine. You can do it, dude. When you’re up there, just think ‘Play proud!’”
    There was a long silence, then, almost in a whisper, “Thanks, Ronde.”
    In the morning Ronde woke up, bright and chipper. He washed, got dressed, and was almost on his way down to breakfast when he noticed that Tiki was still under the covers, lying there with his eyes closed and a pained look on his face.
    â€œHey, what’s up?” Ronde

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