“This is why we didn’t approach you about donating to the team,” Dane says. “We knew you’d be salty about it, and we don’t blame you. But we need serious players, Jonah—”
“I can be serious,” I blurt. I don’t care how desperate I sound because I am. It’s not enough to play rugby for just any team. I want to play with my brothers. This has always been a thing that has united us as a family. Playing in a pre-teen rock band was the first thing that brought us together. But rugby, playing on the same fields with a common goal, was something I wanted more than anything with my older brothers, including Raf. I looked up to them all. What started as me, their annoying little brother tagging along for everything, turned into a mutual respect on the pitch.
At least, I thought it was mutual respect.
“Let me prove myself,” I vow.
Dane gives me a disbelieving look. “I have been trying to get you to commit ever since I became captain, Jo. Isaiahtried to do the same thing when he was captain. Why should I trust that this time is different?”
Because the threat of losing this connection with you guys really freakin’ hurts,I think to myself. But I don’t say that because that’s way too vulnerable.
“I... I don’t know, okay? I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I’m going to. Please don’t kick me off the team. And I want to fund everything else.”
“But we can’t be beholden to your money,” Raf says.
Huh?“What does beholden mean?”
“It means we would feel like we have our hands tied to keep you on the team if you were a major donor.”
“Oh. Um... okay. But I still wanna give the team money even if that means I don’t make the Premiership team. Can we like, make a contract or something?”
Raf looks pleasantly surprised. “Look at you. Learning a thing or two from all those lawyers.” He turns to gauge Dane’s reaction. “What are you thinking?”
Dane narrows his eyes at me for a long time, and I don’t dare interrupt his assessment. I just hope my puppy-dog pout is doing the trick. “Fine.”
“Yes!” Relief washes over me before I wrap my brothers in a hug.
“You have this summer and fall season to prove yourself. And I don’t want to just see you arriving on time. No excuses. I want to see you improving yourself and others.”
“I can do that!”
“We have a lot of games to win, and every point counts toward leveling up. I need you to be dedicated to your position.”
“And,” Raf adds. “You’ll have to donate to the team anonymously. No one can know, remember?”
“I’ll talk to my lawyer first thing in the morning!”
“Put a plan together, JoJo,” Dane says.
Planning has never really been my strong suit, but if thisis what I have to do to stay on the team with my brothers, then a plan is what I’ll make.
By the time we finish our conversation and grab our bags, the rest of the team has left. As we walk to the parking lot, I take inventory of our surroundings. We play outside in a public park, but the field isn’t exactly well-kept. I know the team sinks money into covering what the public parks and recreation department can’t. On more than one occasion, we’ve found used needles on the field.
The team has always dreamed of having its own indoor training facility. A pipe dream, really. But if someone is already secretly donating money...
“Hey Raf?” I smile.
He stops. “Yeah?”
“What if an anonymous donor,me,” I stage-whisper the last word, “donated funds specifically for a dedicated training facility?”
The second that thought sinks in, excitement bursts over his features, and he’s looking at Dane.
“How much would something like that cost?” he asks Raf. Of the three of us, Raf would know more about real estate prices.
He looks to the night sky, tossing his head back and forth, crunching the numbers. “If we renovated, probably something just outside the city, I’d say at least a couple million.”
The three of us exchange looks of varying giddiness.
