Going the Distance

Going the Distance by John Goode Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Going the Distance by John Goode Read Free Book Online
Authors: John Goode
I throw you off the team?”
    No one said a word.
    “Danny, stay. The rest of you start laps,” he said, jerking a thumb toward the gym.
    The class rose slowly. Tommy asked, “How many laps?”
    The coach gave him a hard stare. “Until I say stop or you pass out.”
    One by one they filed out of the locker room, Cody giving me a shoulder shrug in a way of saying “Sorry, you just got fucked” as he left.
    The coach turned around and opened the file cabinet in the corner. “If you want to cry or scream or lose it, now’s the time to do it.”
    “I’m not going to cry,” I said coldly.
    He stopped what he was doing and looked over at me. After a few seconds he admitted, “No, I don’t think you are.” He went back to digging through the cabinet as I tried to formulate my next words.
    “I don’t know if this is going to work,” I started with.
    “Then make it work,” he responded, not even looking up.
    “They don’t like me,” I said, standing.
    “So?” He slammed the top drawer and opened the next. “They aren’t here to like you. They’re here to listen to you.”
    “But they won’t!” I exclaimed.
    He pulled out a circular patch that had a capital C on it. “Then make them listen,” he said, tossing it at me. “You’re captain now, deal with it.”
    I looked at the patch, never in my life hating something as much as I did that little piece of cloth. The coach walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Danny, you have a gift. If you don’t learn to share it with others, it will do you no good in the long run. God gave you basketball. I’m about to give you leadership. If you are as good at one as you are the other, you have no idea how far you’ll go.” He continued walking out toward the gym and said over his shoulder, “You have five minutes, then I want you on the court.”
    And I was alone.
    The funny thing was that in no way was this a new feeling for me. I had wandered through most of my life with nothing but my dad’s support. I still had that, and this time there was Cody on my side as well. What the rest of the team didn’t know was that even though they had all shunned and ignored me, I had already effectively doubled the number of people I cared about in the past three weeks. I wasn’t afraid of them not liking me. I was afraid of them not liking me so much we’d lose. Being hated I could handle; being hated and losing I could not.
    My first thought was the same thought any male teenager would have in that situation—try to force my dominance on them. Nine-tenths of high school consisted of what my dad had called social evolution. Forcing your own self to be yourself in spite of the pressure around you to conform to someone else’s version of you constituted evolution. I didn’t want to be the stuck-up know-it-all who walked on to the team thinking he was better than everyone else. That guy was the person they thought I was and the person it looked like I needed to be at first glance. The only thing was that I had a voice in the back of my head telling me there was another way to get this done. A way to not only show these guys I was here to help them but to win games as well.
    When the five minutes were up, I knew what I had to do.
    I walked out into the gym changed. I wasn’t going to be hesitant or embarrassed into being timid anymore. The coach had effectively ended that mode of behavior for me. I knew I was going to be hated for acting like a captain and equally reviled if I didn’t act like one. I walked over to the coach and said, in the best estimation of my dad’s voice I could muster, “I have a few thoughts on the season and how we can win.”
    His mouth slowly spread into a grin as he grabbed his whistle and blew it twice. “Everyone, line up.” The guys stopped jogging and made their way over to the court line. I’m sure they were a little more pissed because I wasn’t sweating like them, but I couldn’t worry about that crap. “Listen up,

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