The Benchwarmer by Jamie Bennett

Author:Jamie Bennett [Bennett, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-25T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

I looked at my dad, waiting to hear what he had to say.

He considered my cousin’s question for a moment. “Yes, they do have a better chance of winning today, because the Gems’ defense is porous and their offense ineffective. Not at the same level as Kayden Matthews’ idiocy, but ineffective. However…”

“That’s great!” Cam interrupted. “Maybe the Woodsmen will get their first win.”

“However,” my dad continued, “Although they have a better chance today, the Woodsmen still won’t pull it out.”

I hoped he was wrong, but that was doubtful. My dad was usually—almost always—correct about football. I hoped anyway that Teddy would get to play a few series and that Kayden would give Cesar Hidalgo the ball for some catches and carries. More than that, I really hoped that Kayden would trip in the tunnel on his way to the field, hit his head, develop temporary amnesia so that he forgot how to play football, and Teddy would start and throw for three hundred yards and six touchdowns and be the player of the week, which would be the first step to his long and successful pro career.

Maybe the part about Cesar getting the ball a few times was a little more realistic.

“What do you have for snacks?” Camdyn asked me.

My dad was usually happy with refreshments of the liquid variety during the game, but I had made some dip for her, because she liked to graze. “I have a few things,” I said, as the TV went from a view of the Gems’ field in Idaho to a commercial.

“I’ll help you get the food,” Cam told me eagerly. “It feels like it’s been hours since lunch.”

It was two o’clock, but whatever. We got the dip, veggies, and of course, the chips for my cousin. I looked at them a little longingly, but I was going all celery today. I couldn’t forget the ribs binge of the prior week—I had been feeling guilty for days. A little of the dip got on my finger but instead of licking it off, I wiped it so I wouldn’t get the taste in my mouth and want more, like I really was an addict. I looked up and saw my cousin watching me.

“Ellie, remember when we used to dress up as the Ingalls girls from Little House in the Big Woods and walk to the grocery store to get cookies?” Camdyn asked me. “We always fought over who got the pink bonnet.”

I remembered that, because she always got to be Laura Ingalls, and I always had to be prissy Mary. And Cam always snagged the pink bonnet, and I got stuck with the ugly yellow one. “Yes, of course I do. My dad made us stop because some of the neighbors thought we were in a pioneer-based cult. Why?”

“That was so fun,” she said. She elbowed me.

“Don’t do that with your bony arms!” I protested. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to make you remember when you didn’t care what people thought about you.

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