Mark meets the new QB

“A little late aren’t we?” Jackson whispered to Mark jogged onto the field to catch up with his teammates.

He shrugged at his slightly younger cousin who was now a Sophomore.

“You missed it, we met the new Quarterback from Wisconsin,” Jackson then explained to him quietly as Coach Peters spoke to group up the front.

“Where is he now?” Mark looked around his teammates, trying to locate him.

Jackson gave him a nudge to the ribs and pointed to a guy with long flowing hair, at the side of the pack. Straight away, Mark recognised him as the boy Jess was staring at when he passed them earlier that afternoon.

He had changed into some athletic gear, a red college singlet and black shorts.

“What’s his name again?” Mark whispered to Jackson.

“Billy.”

“HEY!” the coach’s voice interrupted their quite whispering, “ZIP IT RODGERS.”

The boys didn’t know if he was talking to one of them or both of them but they quickly shut their mouths, not wanting to be yelled at a second time.

As Coach Peters continued to speak, Mark could feel a pair of blue eyes staring at him from the other side of that huddle. Looking over, Billy was now eyeing him off. At first, Mark politely smiled, having not spoken to him yet.

The new boy held the stare, as if he was one who Mark was, as if he heard something big about him. Despite his social status rising on campus, it still hadn’t reached its peak.

Once Coach Peters had finished up his pre-training chat, Mark had a chance to speak with the new Quarterback, introducing himself.

Shaking hands, they locked eyes again.

“Billy Hawkins,” he said in a low tone.

“Mark Rodgers.”

They let go of their handshake, still staring at one another, Mark couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

“You’re a wide receiver right?” Billy finally said.

Mark nodded, “Yep, it’ll be good to have you on board, heard you’re a bit of a gun.”

“You would have heard right brother.”

For whatever reason, Mark could still feel the tension in the air. Was it just the way he was, did he talk like this to everyone or was he singling Mark out. Whatever it was, it made him a little uncomfortable.

“Well… we can stand here for the next two hours or we can get to work,” Billy eventually said, putting his red helmet over his long hair, “I plan on ending this losing streak tomorrow so you better be ready to learn a thing or two.”

He gave him a light tap on the chest as he jogged off.

Right there and then, Mark knew this guy was going to work him like a dog on the field. He meant business .