The other boys nod in unison.
“This is the kind of moment that sets the tone for the rest of your life.” Evan gives his team a hard stare. “You need to look within your hearts, and ask yourselves what kind of man you want to be. Are you someone who will sit by when injustice occurs, or will you stand up for what’s right, even when it inconveniences you? Are you able to look past your own wants and needs, and do something kind for another?” Evan pauses. “You must make this decision today.”
Nostalgia slams into me. Coach Cole has a reputation in this town since he was my team captain in high school, and I’ve missed his inspirational speeches.
“You boys have had a lot handed to you because you’re males in sports,” he continues. “The girls don’t have that advantage. They play on shitty, uneven grass, and they don’t get as much money as our teams do. So, I’m asking you now: Are you willing to forfeit today’s game in order to stand with the girls? Are you willing to show support for your teacher who has supported you all this time?”
The group is quiet as they look to one another for the right answer. I hold my breath as I wait, giving them the space they need.
“What’s going on, Coach?” The referee jogs over as the team’s parents rise from the stands.
Evan gestures to the boys. “What do you want to do?”
The captain is the first to stand. “I’ll forfeit. Ms. Morgan helped me get my calculus grade up to an A-minus.”
Another student stands with him. “Ms. Morgan told my parents I was doing good in class, but I wasn’t. I was actually a dick to her.”
Evan nudges him with his elbow. “Don’t be a dick to your teacher.”
Several more boys stand, agreeing to forfeit with their own anecdote about Ainsley’s effect on them as a teacher.
The referee shakes his head. “You sure about this, Coach? You’re really going to forfeit this game?”
Evan nods once. “We forfeit.”
He convinces the crowd to add their signatures to my list, and we have to squeeze them in to fit on the remaining paper.
Evan claps my shoulder. “Thanks for doing this, man. I didn’t know how to help Ainsley, but this is one hell of a way to try.”
“This will mean the world to her,” I say. “You know she’d never ask you to do anything for her.”
“Which is why it’s good she has you.” He grins. “Glad you guys got your shit together after all this time.”
I laugh. “Yeah, so am I.”
“You people are all crazy.”
I brush Ainsley’s hair from her face and press a kiss to her cheek. “We care about you.”
“I just hope it’s enough to shut down Morales.”
“It will be. She has no proof, and no leg to stand on.”
Ainsley rolls over in bed to face me, propping her head up with her hand. “Thank you for doing all of this. I really appreciate the effort.”
“Anything for you. Which reminds me...” I roll out of bed and dig into my duffle. “I brought you something.”
Ainsley pops up to a sitting position, clutching the sheet against her bare breasts. “A present?”
I slide back into bed and set the teal gift bag on the comforter between us. “Open it.”
She peeks into the bag, and pulls out the tissue paper first. Her eyebrows pinch together when she spots the picture frame inside, and her eyes go wide as she pulls it out of the bag.
I grin. “I found it when I was going through old pictures with my mom last weekend.”
Ainsley and I don’t have too many pictures together, other than the ones taken by the team’s photographer. But this one in particular was taken with an old disposable camera.
We’re in our letterman jackets, and Ainsley’s sitting on my shoulders with her arms raised overhead. Each of us wears a wide smile on our faces. My hair looks damp with sweat, hers in a messy ponytail.
