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White Lines on a Green Field

For Seanan McGuire And Coyote

Let me tell you about the year Coyote took the Devils to the State Championship

Coyote walked tall down the halls of West Centerville High and where he walked lunch money, copies of last semester’s math tests, and unlit joints blossomed in his footsteps When he ran laps out on the field our lockers would fill up with Snickers bars, condoms, and ecstasy tabs in all the colors of Skittles He was our QB, and he looked like an invitation to the greatest rave of all time I mean, yeah, he had black hair and copper skin andto have But it was the way he looked at you, with those dark eyes that knew the answer to every question a teacher could ask, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction, you know? Didn’t matter anyway Coyote never did his homework, but boyfriend rocked a 42 all the same

When tryouts rolled around that fall, Coyote went out for everything Cross-country, baseball, even lacrosse But I think football appealed to his friendly nature, his need to have a pack around hiht-eyed boys with six-pack abs and a seven ift for hiht the cards, skateboards, vinyl records (Coyote had no truck with mp3s) The defensive line even baked cookies for their boy Chocolate chip peanut butter oat up on the bench like a king’s tribute And oh, the girls brought flowers Poor girls gave hiave him roses and he kissed them all like they were each of them specifically the key to the fulfillment of all his dreams Maybe they were Coyote didn’t play favorites He had enough for everyone

By the tinant

The Devils used to be a shitty team, no lie Bottoht to get eometry classes Before Coyote transferred our booster club was the tight end’s dad, Mr Bollard, who painted his face Devil gold-and-red and wore big plastic light-up horns for every ga one year, the Devil’s Court had two princesses and a queen ere actually girls fro in on a volunteer basis, because no one cared enough to vote They all wore jeans and bet heavily on the East Centerville Knights, on 34-3

First game of his senior year, Coyote ran 82 yards for the first of 74 touchdowns that season He passed and caught and ran like he was all eleven of them in one body Nobody could catch him Nobody even complained He ran like he’d stolen that ball and the whole world was chasing hiet it back Where’d he been all this time? The boys hoisted hihed and laughed We all found our , finished and bibliographied, and damn if they weren’t the best essays we’d never written

I’inity to Coyote in the back of ht before playoffs He stroked my hair and kissed me like they kiss in theteeth He tasted like stolen sunshine Bunny, he whispered toaway, I will love you forever and ever You’re the only one for me

Liar, I whispered back, and when I caht into his arms Liar, liar, liar

I think he liked that I knew the score, because after that Coyote h I don’t care about sports Nobody didn’t care about sports that year Overnight the stands went frohost town to kids ride free day at the carnival And when Coyote danced in the endzone he looked like everything you ever wanted Every son, every boyfriend

“Come on, Bunny,” he’d say “I’ll score a touchdown for you”

“You’ll score a touchdown either way”

“I’ll point at you in the stands if you’re there Everyone will know I love you”

“Justwith Sarah Jane and Jessica and Ashley, too, so you don’t get in trouble”

“That’s h, and take me in his mouth like he’d die if he didn’t

You could use birth control with Coyote It wouldn’t matter much

But he did point athis hips like Elvis had just been copying his ot so excited they choked on their Cokes They all knew about the others I think they liked it that way—most of what mattered to Sarah Jane and Jessica and Ashley was Sarah Jane and Jessica and Ashley, and Coyote gave theave us all per Cheat, fuck, drink, dance—just do it like you mean it!

I think the safety had that tattooed on his calf

After on four games in a row (after a deca

de of no love) things started to get really out of control You couldn’t buy tickets Mr Bollard was in hog heaven—suddenly the boosters were every guy in toas somebody, or used to be somebody, or anted to be soonna beat the Thunderbirds They started saying it, right out in public Six-time state champs, and no chance they wouldn’t be the team in our way this year like every year But every year was behind us, and ahead was only our boy running like he’d got the whole of heaven at his back Mr Bollard got theoal posts—all the deepest red you ever saw But nobody wore the light-up horns Mr Bollard had rocked for years They all wore little furry coyote ears, and who knohere they bought them, but they were everywhere one Friday, and every Friday after When Coyote scored, everyone would howl like the moon had co faux-fur tails, spinning the on the sidelines, their corn-yellow skirts fluttering up to the heavens

One tis 42-0 I saw Coyote under the stands, in that secret place the boards and steel poles and shadows and candy wrappers make Mike Halloran (kicker, 14) and Justin Oster (wide receiver 11) were down there too, hel their uniforarette, shirt off—and what a thing that was to see

“Coot no beef here And I never fucked Jessie, either, Mike, I was just rade and there wasn’t that much to see back then I never had a drink except one tiot erinned his friendly, hey-dude-no-worries grin

“Never know unless you try,” he said, very reasonably “It’ll ood, I promise”

“Fuck you, Oster” shot back Halloran “I’er, it’s not fair”