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Chapter 19

It took longer than I’d expected to put on a football unifor as it had taken the outfitter to find one that would fit ht inches and a hundred-eighty pounds which came as a surprise to me since I’d been five feet, six inches and a hundred-seventy pounds of pure lard just a feeeks ago Most of the football players were over six feet tall and their gear er I looked like a iants

"Good luck," said the outfitter with a dubious expression on his face He was a skinny guy and friendlier than I’d expected He probably planned to forward my measurements on to the undertaker

I wondered if I died if I would turn to dust and freak everyone out I’d searched for "vaht after Elyssa’s revelation about what she thought I was Both of the supernatural creatures had abilities similar to mine Both were also supposed to be dark, evil creatures I didn’t want to be either I wanted to be a nice supernatural guy, not a jackass

Coach Burgundy yelled athts "Get your ass over here, Case!" He was a short stout e purple-veined nose How a man of his physique could coach football ain, maybe our one-and-three record made total sense

The offensive coordinator, Coach Wise, lived up to his title and coordinated offensive obscenities which he hurled atme to increase the pace of my hell-bound posterior He was short, fat, and ruddy with a shaved head I gave hiundy

"Shohat you got, kid," Burgundy said and pointed to a long row of tires

"Do I pick the seen these before rattled in the nearly empty football database stored in my brain, but I wasn’t sure what the deal was Maybe I need to roll thehter rose from the assembled football players

"Retard," soh theht on the first one and I shter echoed across the field My face burned with humiliation I could beat the tar out of those idiots but I couldn’t run across some stupid tires? I stood up, brushed myself off, and started over This time I took it slower I focused on my feet My eyes roved ahead and picked out the pattern My feet got the h without tripping me up Still, I’d done it at sub-turtle speed Coach Wise yelled at me to turn around and coain I caer tires in thein his unifor, his helmet tucked under his arm He scohen I made it across unscathed His swollen, plues I couldn’t believe he was practicing I guess his nose hadn’t been broken, just sprained

"Can’t wait for blocking practice, Case I’lanced at his nose "I think you already are showing me pain"

A chorus of disdain and hoots rose from the players Some of them razzed Nathan while others clearly expected to see ue by the end of practice

The next exercise consisted of Coach Wise standing atop a contraption with skids on the botto on a ski slope, not a grassy field Thankfully, I didn’t have to go first this tiainst it, pushing the thing while Coach Wise stood on a platfor their sexual preferences, parental lineage, and physical strength If this hat passed for motivational talk in football, it was no wonder jackasses like Nathan seeet your butts out here," Coach Wise said in his lovely uys trotted out with me Coach Wise barked out soed the sled I rammed into it with my shoulder and pushed for all I orth Coach Wise blew his whistle like a maniacal traffic cop I stopped and looked around, confused We’d pushed the sled about twenty yards Correction: I’d pushed it The other three guys were picking themselves up out of the dirt Apparently, I’d pushed it so fast that they’d fallen flat on their faces

"What the hell is wrong with you, Case?" Coach Wise said, his entire head glowing scarlet "You have to time it with the team, you ain This tiave only a little effort so the others could keep up After several more inane exercises, Wise divided us into offense and defense Nathan lined up on the defensive line His two buddies, Adam and Steve, took positions just behind the line Apparently they really were linebackers

Coach Wise lined ht end position Nathan walked over and said soered like little kids, whispering back and forth I kneasn’t in for a good time Nobody was lined up directly across froraced uys knehat they were doing and they had mass on ht

We huddled around the quarterback

"Tight durabbed my practice jersey "That means you"

"I have to drop a deuce on the count of three?"

"No, you dork Run out about ten feet and cut straight left Look for the ball right when you cross the uy got absolutely clobbered trying to catch a ball across the hed and took my position

The quarterback started his call "Green forty-five! Green forty-five! Hut Hut Hut!"

Both lines exploded into action I hesitated Jetted forward a few steps Cut left Made a htened Every breath and creak of equipment in my ears coordinated sounds with a location Other players appeared to slow a fraction--or perhapsup Adam’s cleats kicked up dirt as he rushedonto the target, namely, me Steve approached from behind The quarterback cocked his arm back His arm catapulted forward The ball rocketed toward a point feet ahere I would meet the football andto my calculations, I would catch the ball about a split second before Nathan and Adam pounded ht the ball Lowered my shoulders and clenched uys and dense with muscle, not to round, though, and a hell of a lot stronger Plus, I was ready for theh a brick wall, but I came out the other side and ran twenty yards before I tripped over rass with le" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>