Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 160(@300wpm)
Hey, I’m attending Dad’s alma mater, just like you!
The coach is cool, and I made a few friends.
And then more recent ones…
The Sentinels made the playoffs.
We didn’t get to the championship. Maybe next year.
The last time Roosevelt won the state championship was the year Brody was on the team his sophomore year. I wanted to go to the finals my sophomore year so badly. I hoped my parents would see me differently then. See that I’d accomplished something great instead of always being so mediocre.
I tried to be as worthy as Brody for my parents, but it was tough to live up to their idea of a martyr. The only reason I even got into Roosevelt College was because of their legacy admissions. They loved it when generations of families attended the same university. I probably wouldn’t have gotten in on my own otherwise.
“Bruce, we’re waiting!” Dad called in that frustrated tone I was all too familiar with.
“Sorry.” I made my way to the kitchen and placed the package on the counter for my mom, who’d no doubt ordered another kitchen gadget. She loved collecting those.
I sat down across from my parents and dug into my roast beef and mashed potatoes.
“When does football practice start?”
“August,” I replied around a sip of soda. “Same as always.”
Dad nodded. “Plenty of time for a part-time job while you’re home.”
“Already thought of that.”
“Brody used to mow lawns and rake leaves, especially for the elderly neighbors,” Dad said, and I barely kept from rolling my eyes.
If only my parents would stop comparing us. We were different people, after all. I knew they didn’t mean it. They didn’t mean to say Brody this and Brody that whenever they reminisced about those glory days. But it still cut deep.
Mom patted Dad’s hand. “That sounds like a good idea.” Then, to me, “Maybe go door to door.”
Yeah, sure, like I was twelve. They probably still saw me that way since they were stuck living in the past. “I was gonna contact Mr. Reynolds from the pet store to see if he needs help again this summer.”
I’d been helping on and off for years, and though it only paid minimum wage, my parents were all about doing honest work and climbing up the ranks and all that. I knew I’d never be as successful as my parents. Dad was a lawyer and Mom a school administrator, but thankfully, they didn’t expect us to follow in their footsteps. They did expect us to choose something practical and to find our own way, something I’d been struggling with for a while now.
“Are you planning to room with one of your teammates this year?”
I wiped my mouth. “I was going to room with Emil again. We got along well enough, so why try to fix what’s not broken?”
“He seems like a nice guy.” Mom nodded. “As do his parents.”
“Don’t know what he plans to do with a fine arts degree, but to each their own,” Dad said.
I shrugged. “That’s his business.”
I also thought it was cool that he was going after whatever he was passionate about, even if he didn’t have it figured out yet. It made me feel better that I didn’t either.
Emil was a dancer and played the trumpet in the marching band. I hid his instrument once as a joke, and he’d practically lost his mind. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Payback involved him practicing next to my bed in the middle of the night. Plus, I hated when Emil was mad at me. He was way more reasonable when he was nice.
“Actually, I wanted to talk about changing my major…or rather, narrowing it down.”
“To what?” Dad asked.
“Sports medicine.” There, I finally admitted it. “I already spoke to my advisor about what classes I’ll need to take.”
“What’s your end goal?”
“Maybe physical therapy or athletic trainer?”
“Wouldn’t that require a lot of math?” Dad countered.
“Some.” I’d barely passed math in high school, so he had reason to doubt me. But that’d been more about my motivation than the work itself, and once they’d hired a tutor, that helped turn me around. “At least this interests me. Wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Mom smiled, but Dad still looked doubtful.
Story of my life. Even Emil seemed to have more faith in me—well, depending. He told me I was cocky to a fault—and I definitely acted the part at Roosevelt. I felt way more confident away from my parents.
And…there I went, thinking about Emil again. Probably because I loved driving him crazy. I purposely left my socks on the floor just to see his ears turn pink and his jaw clench. I liked getting a rise out of him, and the rare events when it actually happened were the best.
I had plenty of friends and activities to keep me occupied, but there was something about Emil that always drew me in. He’d even gotten me hooked on this anime series about a demon slayer. I hadn’t told the guys that was the reason I’d stayed in so many nights during the spring semester instead of playing cards or hanging out in the common area. Emil would pull out his laptop, I’d make popcorn in the microwave, and we’d sit together and watch that damned show.