"Yo, welcome to the Football Superstar System! Heads up, you got five basic points to dish out! Yeah, you heard me, five points! Now, pick where you wanna put 'em; pick where you wanna put 'em; pick where you wanna put 'em..."
Luke's head felt like it was splitting open, bombarded by this cold, robotic voice. It was like some weird hallucination or just plain noise, making it impossible to think straight. His vision was going all fuzzy, and to top it off, Logan's hyped-up voice was hammering his eardrums like a jackhammer, giving him zero relief.
"Luke, did you catch that? Three-on-three, man! Quarterback, receiver, defender! Three-on-three! Let's show that cocky dude what's up! Show 'em how real passing's done!"
"Reminder, please choose the allocation items."
"Passing, dude! Uncontested passing, that's your jam! Bambi!"
The noise was a total mess, sounds crashing into each other, making Luke feel like his head was gonna explode. "Logan, shut up, man! What's the deal with this three-on-three?" Luke yelled, "Passing! Passing!"
Then the cold voice in his head switched gears, "Please choose a passing item: short pass accuracy, medium pass accuracy, long pass accuracy."
"Long pass!" Luke muttered, rubbing his temples to ease the throbbing pain.
Back in high school, he was the quarterback, nailing those long passes like a pro. But college was a different beast; his scrawny frame and so-so talent couldn't keep up. He'd get flattened before he could even show off his long pass skills.
If he had a choice, Luke would always go for the long pass. But that annoying voice kept nagging, "How many points? How many points?"
"All of 'em! All of 'em! All of 'em!" Luke shouted, totally fed up. Then a bunch of voices echoed in his head, "Points allocated, done; system integration step one, done." Finally, the cold voice vanished, and Logan's excited chatter started to make sense again.
"Bambi? What? Dude, you okay? You didn't get a concussion, did you?"
As the noise faded, Luke's headache started to ease up, and he got his bearings back. "Get off my back, I'm good!" He lifted his head, opened his eyes, and his vision started to clear up. "What did you just say? Three-on-three, a showdown? Teach Kevin Prince a lesson, right?" Even though the words were jumbled, Luke got the gist.
Luke had no clue how things had escalated to this point, but backing down wasn't an option now. He never shied away from a challenge or a confrontation. "So, I get to pick the receiver and the defender?"
"Yep!" Logan nodded like a bobblehead, "You pick your receiver and the opponent's defender!" Then Logan's eyes lit up, and he started bouncing around like an excited puppy, practically wagging his tail.
Luke chuckled, shook his head, and then got serious. "Logan, can you be my receiver?"
"Absolutely! Heck yeah!" Logan raised his right hand high, looking around like he was addressing an imaginary crowd, then bumped Luke's shoulder and sprinted towards the field, shouting, "Logan Newman, Luke's receiver! Rahim Moore, the opponent's defender!"
"Nice pick!" Kevin, standing in the middle of the field, sneered, "At least you picked two first-string players to up your chances. You're gonna need it because this is a lost cause for you."
With the headache gone and fully alert, Luke walked over with a grin and said, "So, you're saying even if you pick two practice squad players, you can still make the pass?" No need for trash talk or insults, just a simple, sarcastic question that put Kevin on the spot.
Kevin glared at Luke, clamped his mouth shut, turned around, and silently picked two top starters from the first team, one as his receiver and one as the opponent's defender. Winning was all that mattered! Practice squad players were just that—practice squad. Kevin wasn't about to be that dumb.
The three-on-three drill was straightforward: the quarterback throws the pass, the receiver catches it, and the defender tries to break it up. Before the pass, the quarterback and receiver would discuss the route and strategy, training not just the quarterback's accuracy and tactical smarts, but also the receiver's and defender's spatial awareness.
It was a dual-purpose drill.
Anthony Jefferson stepped up. He was the assistant coach in charge of daily training schedules and the practice squad. Head coach Rick was fuming, his temper still boiling over, standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed, silent. So, the task of overseeing the match fell to Anthony.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road. Kevin, you're up first," Anthony called out, his eyes landing on Luke with a mix of helplessness and worry, shaking his head.
This matchup was a joke. One was a regular player, the other a practice squad guy, and the gap between them was huge. But Anthony knew this was more about cooling down these hot-headed young dudes than about winning or losing.
Sure enough, once Kevin hit the field, he stood on the twenty-yard line on the right side. With no defensive pressure, he moved like he was floating, dancing around the field. After lining up his route, he launched the football without a second thought. The ball soared through the air, like a bolt of lightning, heading straight for the receiver.
Rahim, playing defense, closed in fast, trying to mess up the pass, but he was just a hair too slow. The receiver snagged the ball, and Rahim's late hit was pointless.
Thirty yards, a full thirty-yard pass, effortlessly thrown from the twenty-yard line to midfield, like a soccer goalie’s long kick, slicing through the air and landing perfectly in the receiver's hands. It was a sight to see!
"Yeah!" Kevin threw his hands up, unable to contain his excitement, cheering loudly. Then he clenched his fists, roaring with passion, bending over and shouting with all his might.
A thirty-yard pass was a big deal for Kevin too! Fast, accurate, and spot-on, the pass was nearly perfect, an extraordinary performance!
After all the earlier drama, his pent-up emotions burst out. That practice squad player was just that—a practice squad player! It wasn't about ability; it was just a momentary lapse. Even the best have their off days, let alone regular athletes. That practice squad guy was a nutcase, running around like a maniac, treating training like a game, totally clueless!
A pass like that? The practice squad guy could never pull it off! Never! Now, that trash should see the massive, unbridgeable gap between them! Damn trash!
Leaving the field, Kevin strutted with his chin high, looking down at Luke with pure disdain and mockery. Then he raised his right hand, gave a thumbs-up, and slowly, slowly turned his wrist, pointing the thumb down.
After that little show, Kevin chuckled smugly, ignoring Luke, and turned to chat happily with his buddies, acting like the outcome was a done deal, not even worth a second thought.
Standing next to Luke, Logan kept hyping him up, "Dude, don't sweat it! Thirty yards is nothing, you got this, believe in yourself, you got this!" Logan clenched his fists, waving them excitedly.
Luke ignored Kevin's clown act, took a deep breath, and flashed Logan a confident smile. Physical confrontations weren't his thing; long passes were. "Of course, I know! Remember that pass we nailed in junior year? How about we try it again today?"
"What?" Logan's eyes widened in disbelief, but then he started cheering, "You're nuts! But I love that about you! For me, no problem, but what about you? Is your arm strength and accuracy up to it? We only pulled it off once back then, and it was pure luck. We never managed to do it again."
"Then let's roll the dice on luck again today!" Luke said boldly, "Even if we fail, we lose nothing." Luke shrugged, totally chill; after all, he was a practice squad player, always would be, and things couldn't get worse. "But I hate losing! Let's give it our all and nail this pass! You better run fast, faster!"
Logan winked at Luke, pounded his chest hard, making a thumping sound, "Trust me! Buddy, I trust you too!" Then he turned and sprinted towards the other end of the field.
Under the watchful eyes of all the players, Logan ran farther and farther. After passing midfield, he didn't stop, now beyond the spot where Kevin's pass had landed, and he kept going. Everyone was stunned!