G1+Group+2

//Elizabeth Carlton, Myra Jo, Zach Graves, Will Tomick // //1st Period // //__The Smell of Reality __// // It is my 16th birthday. My mom and dad are downstairs waiting patiently to surprise me with the best present I could have asked for. They are not very good at keeping secrets, so I knew two weeks before what I was getting. I walk down the stairs and out the front door and there it is: the black BMW glittering in the morning sun. The sweet smell of peaches in the Georgia air fills my nose. The weather is perfect; the moment is perfect //. In this moment I realize how perfect my life really is. //I am the starting quarterback for the Ridgeway High Razorbacks, and my dream is to play for a Big 10 school. It seems that everyone at school wants to be my best friend, always talking to me in the hallways. Nothing can go wrong… // 

That was two months ago, and the way I felt on my 16th birthday quickly faded. It turns out that I jinxed myself. Everything has gone wrong. A few days after my birthday, my dad and I found that my mom left. My mom was the person I always went to for help, the one that always tucked me in and read me bedtime stories when I was little. She always called to make sure I was alright, and gave me all the advice I needed. She came to all my football games. I can't imagine her not being there to cheer me on, when all my friends have their moms sitting in the stands. I still can’t believe she left. She just packed up, and left my dad and me to survive on our own. I never thought she would do it, even after all the fights with my dad. In some ways I was mad at her, after all these years, she’s not there for me anymore. In other ways I’m mad at myself, for letting her leave, for not doing anything about it.  The day after all of this was the biggest football game of the year, but somehow my head was anywhere but the game. I threw four interceptions, fumbled twice, and got sacked five too many times. This resulted in a blowout, and a pretty mad coach, considering the fact that I usually have close to perfect games. Everyone at school was talking about it. They were saying that it was all my fault. I just wanted to get out of Georgia, out of Ridgeway; I just wanted to escape my problems...I wish my mom would have taken me with her. My dad and coach told me I better get it together before the next game if I wanted any shot at a real career in football. It was way too much pressure for a high school student to handle. The pressure to be better and the thought that the loss was all my fault. The way my friends started to talk behind my back, and the fact that I didn't have my mom anymore. It all got to me, and it became harder to keep my personal life out of my sports career. Something had to change.

"I'm quitting," I calmly told Coach as I walked toward him, helmet under my arm.  Shock spread across the field. We had everyone's full attention. I felt the weight of 53 sets of eyes staring me down, already angry at me for throwing away the game. This was sure to make them madder. Coach took this in without blinking. "So....you're saying that you don't wanna play football anymore?" Coach asked with his southern accent. "Yeah," I said angrily. "Why?" he asked, but I was already running to the locker, planning to change out for the final time and go home. I found myself crying as I finished changing out. I went to the Athletic Director to turn in my gear. He accepted it without comment. As I left his office, crying, he turned back to his computer and his walkie-talkie crackled to life. My plan was to walk to my new car, and then drive home. I didn't go twenty steps before the whole team circled me like they do at the beginning of a game, except unlike at the beginning of the game, they had the murder of a pack of wolves in their eyes.

"Why are you quitting?" someone called. "Are you scared that Coach is gonna kick ya off anyways after that game?" More insults were yelled; the sickening stench of sweat from practice overwhelmed me. I wished the sweet peach air was there to comfort me. "Stop, please" I yelled. "This is the reason that I quit in the first place." Shocked silence spread across the team. Then players started to grumble. I turned away, quickly accelerating into a run, as fast as I could. I was getting some satisfaction from the fact that only the receivers could keep up with me; maybe all of that training in football eventually paid off. When I got to my BMW, I used the one touch start-up and quickly accelerated the 6-cylinder car up to 75 MPH, spinning my wheels on the asphalt as I left the school.

I went home and sat in my room, alone. I thought about all that has happened, and I wished my mom was here to help me. I went to bed, feeling shameful and incomplete, thinking that the glass is half empty instead of half full. The car ride to school the next morning seemed longer than it has ever been. My thoughts buzzed around in my head and I’m trying to imagine what this day is going to bring. When I walked through the hallway, it seemed like a whole new place. No one came up to talk to me, and I felt like I was person having to take on the whole world, by myself, alone. Suddenly it hit me, smack in the face. I wasn’t on the football team anymore, my friends were ignoring me, and I was slowly changing into an outsider, someone that no one recognized anymore.

I first saw Madison in my Geometry class. (It seemed since I didn't have any friends, I started to notice others around me.) It was a Monday afternoon, and she came and sat down next to me. She could obviously see that I was lonely, too. We started to talk about things like our hobbies and school life. Madison told me that she was new to the area and that she moved from Ohio about a year back. We were just getting deep into our conversation, but then the bell rang for us to go to our next period. I headed off to science and she went on the gym. I was excited because during our conversation, I received her phone number. Madison was someone I could talk to without being embarrassed; she was a good listener.

We met at lunch one day later to talk again. We were now starting to hang out, and she was the only one on my side.

"You're too skilled to just be sitting around being a loser," said Madison. "Very funny," I stated. “So, tell me about your family,” she stated. I started to fade out of the conversation, my mind traveling to a different place. I realize she is the first friend I’ve had that wanted to know me for who I really am, not just because I threw a ball in front of one hundred people almost every night. I now understand that I was popular, but I had no friends, and those two things are miles apart. “Hello, Brandon; are you still here?” Madison asks, waving a hand in front of my face. “Oh!” I said, startled, “Sorry.”

We again got into deep conversation. I told her about my mom, and everything that I've been going through. I learned that when she was nine years old, her father left her and he never came back. We talked about how we reacted and we really got to know each other. This made me even more confident about our friendship.

I lay awake in bed thinking about how my life has been a complete rollercoaster ride since my mom left. The ups and downs with the football team, my friends, and then Madison. I can really relate to her now. Her father left her, too, and I think I have learned something from her. She found strength in her mom, and she’s moving on with her life. She has the confidence and faith that everything is going to be fine. Even though she is an outsider and the new kid at school, it doesn’t stop her from living her life. If she can do it, so can I. I have to make a decision, one that could decide my future. This decision starts now, and I didn't even see it coming.

"Madison!" I yelled across the school hallway. She turned and looked, smiling when she saw me. She waits until I catch back up to her, then we started walking to Geometry class together. "I've been seeing the posters for the football team all around the school. It looks like you were the star, considering the fact that you were front and center on ever poster," she said. Then the killer, "What happened? Why did you quit?" Silence passed between us. This question hit me right between the eyes. As we exited one building into the courtyard, I started to think. Why did I quit? Why did I leave that life? "Why don't we go to football practice?" she asked, "Maybe that way I can convince you to open back up to world." "Well, I...I guess," I said. "Come on! Come on! Come on!" she insisted, "getting back into a routine is what helped me turn my life back around." "Well, okay," I said.

It turns out that my first true friend was my life changing one. When we got there, I was like a dog fighting the leash. I did not want to go. But about halfway through, when I found myself on the field, yelling what play the quarterback should do, I found how much I missed football. I looked up at Madison. She looked back and smiled, urging me on. Before I knew it, I was talking to the coach about rejoining the team. Once again, everyone turned to look at the two of us. This time, when he sent me to the Athletic Director to get my gear back, everyone cheered. When I came out onto the field, the first thing that I saw was Madison. That was before I found myself mobbed by 53 people. As much as I was glad that I was back on the team, I promised myself that I would not lose Madison.   Now my life felt complete, and back to normal. I drove down the road, the Georgia wind blew through my hair, and my football jersey was lying on the backseat. For the first time since my 16th birthday, I could smell the peaches in the air. It reminded me of when everything was perfect, and how maybe, just maybe I could get back to that life. I could forget the past, but remember what it taught me. Madison really showed me how to get back on my feet when my life was falling apart. I started fresh with the football team, and chose who my real friends were. This was the first step. Who knows where my life will go from here?