Page 44 of Campus Heat

“And?” She looked at me like she was waiting for the punchline.

I sat there quietly for a moment and tried to figure out where she was going with this.

“And… we aren’t the favorites.”

She took a step closer to me. “So what?”

“So we stood little chance to begin with. If I’m not there…”

She stared at me, letting me know that I had said something offensive, and it was scary. The last time I felt this way was when I was called to the principal’s office in elementary school.

“That,” she said slowly. “That's exactly why people don’t take you guys seriously.”

I turned to face her. “Excuse me?”

“You have this attitude before a game even starts. How do you expect people to believe in you?”

“I’m just being realistic.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh and pinned me with a killer gaze that was a mix between a warning and a threat.

“All you’re doing is quitting before you get started.”

“I’m not quitting!”

“It sure sounds like you are.”

I let out a frustrated breath. “You don’t get it.”

Her fists clenched, and if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve sworn she was getting ready to punch me right in the face.

“Then explain it to me,” she said.

I gestured vaguely toward the highway. “It matters if I’m not there. We’re done.”

She stepped forward and grabbed my wrist before I could get up and start pacing again.

“Look at me,” she said, and I complied. “It matters that you are here, but it’s also important to believe it before you get to this point.”

I pulled my hand free. “This isn’t the time for an inspirational lecture.”

“Good, because I’m not being inspirational. I’m being practical. If you walk into every tough game convinced you’re going to lose, then congratulations, you just handed it to the other team.”

I looked away. “It’s not that simple.”

She was acting as if winning a game was as easy as changing a mindset. If that were really the case, a lot more people would’ve gotten what they’d wanted out of life.

“No,” she said. “It’s not simple. It’s stubborn.”

I glanced at her. “Stubborn?”

“Yes! All you have to do is refuse to accept that you’ve lost until someone physically proves you wrong.”

“That’s not how probability works.”

She rolled her eyes how you would if you were trying to explain something simple to a stubborn two-year-old who refused to grasp the concept.

“You’re such a quarterback.”