“That’s cool,” Jaylen said. He lifted his hands and let out a howl. Several of the kids followed suit and let out howls.
“The Mavericks.”
“The Mighty Moose.”
“Pride of Alaska.”
“Yukon’s Finest.”
The names were being thrown out fast and furiously. Lisa was jotting them down on a pad of paper. Once all the names had been tossed out, Xavier handed everyone a pieceof paper and a pencil. When Lisa collected the papers a few minutes later, they added up all the votes.
“We’ve got a winner,” Lisa announced. The kids were watching them with anticipation in their eyes. “Coach Stone, why don’t you do the honors?”
Xavier raised the pad of paper in the air and said, “The winning name is… the Mavericks.” He turned the notebook around so the team could seeMaverickswritten out in bold ink. Some of the kids started jumping up and down, hollering and hooting. A few kids seemed crushed that their name hadn’t been chosen. Xavier took a moment to check on those kids and lift their spirits. After the team name decision and celebration, Xavier lined them up for drills—blocking, tackling, catching and throwing passes, handing off the ball.
Everything seemed to be going seamlessly until all of a sudden, right before his eyes, a scuffle broke out between the members of his team. “Hey,” Xavier called out as he rushed toward the dustup. Lisa was right on his heels, ready to step in. With their names on the jerseys, it was easy to identify the culprits.
To his surprise, one of the boys was Jaylen. Xavier pulled him by his jersey while Lisa did the same with Tai, the other kid involved in the fracas. Tai was one of Jaylen’s closest friends, so it was perplexing to see them throwing hands at each other.
“He started it,” Tai shouted, pointing at Jaylen.
“Did not!” Jaylen shouted back. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Tai.
“Did too. You were the one who got physical!” Tai yelled back.
“Well, you ran your mouth,” Jaylen said, shouting even louder.
“Enough! You two need to be separated. Come with me, Tai,” Lisa instructed, leading him to the other side of the gymnasium. Xavier pulled Jaylen off to the side.
“Hey, what’s going on? This is about football, not fighting,” Xavier said, frowning down at Jaylen. This seemed completely out of character for him.
“He said something about True!” Jaylen put his head down. “I couldn’t not do anything about it.”
“Really? What did he say?” Xavier knew enough about Jaylen to realize he wasn’t a kid who started brawls. He was respectful and kind, a rule follower. And, according to True, he had a mighty high IQ.
“He said she was hot,” Jaylen mumbled. Xavier had to lean in to hear him properly.
Tai hadn’t told any lies as far as Xavier was concerned, but Xavier knew most kids didn’t want to hear that kind of stuff about their sister.
“That’s definitely not cool. He crossed a line. Sisters are off-limits.”
“Right? He should have kept True’s name out of his mouth,” Jaylen said, swinging his gaze up to look at Xavier. “So you understand why I socked him?”
Don’t laugh, he urged himself. He needed to be the adult here and not revert to his childhood self. Jaylen needed to understand that he couldn’t solve any problems in this world with his fists.
“No, I do not,” Xavier said in a firm voice. “You crossed a line as well. We don’t put our hands on folks. You two are friends and teammates.”
As much as he’d once wanted to deck his teammate Chazz after rumors surfaced about him and Heather, Xavier had resisted the urge. Cooler heads had prevailed. To this day he wondered if he should have punched him.
Jaylen stuck his lip out. “I thought he was my friend. Until today.”
“I think you should give him a chance to apologize. He made a mistake. Trust me, Jaylen. You’re going to make mistakes in your life. If you’re lucky, you’ll be forgiven.”
“What if he doesn’t apologize?”
“Well, he’ll still be your teammate, and you two have to find a way to practice together. But I think you two can work things out.” Xavier patted Jaylen on the shoulder. “You’ve got this!”
Xavier brought Jaylen back toward the group. Tai came back as well with Lisa by his side. Jaylen and Tai tentatively began moving toward each other. As Xavier watched, they shook hands and exchanged a few words. Xavier let out the breath he’d been holding. There was no place on teams for hostility or grudges. He knew that from personal experience.
