AllFreeNovel
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I hadn’t thought of it that way. I wasn’t being compared to Tyson. I just felt overshadowed by him or ignored. “You’re right.”
“I know,” she teased. “Been there and done that. My brother was All-American four years in a row in high school. He led the team to two State Championships. He got a full ride to a prestigious Division I college where he played quarterback just like the path Tyson seems to be heading down.”
“Eric?” I asked.
“Yes,” Miss Hillard replied. “I have two brothers. Eric the All-American and Lindon the motorcycle building, tattooed brother who drinks too much or did. My parents could never accept that he wouldn’t go to college the way that Eric and I had, like they had. My father is a principal and my mother is a music teacher. The one thing that Lindon got from her is his musical abilities. He’s a talented guitar player.”
I knew something bad had happened.
“Go ahead and ask. I know you want to.” Was I that obvious?
I glanced at Miss Hillard uncomfortably. “Something happened to Eric. Something bad?”
“Just like you and Tyson, Eric and Lindon were twins. They were constantly compared to each other or rather Lindon was told why can’t you be more like Eric? Eric died just after college graduation.” She didn’t go into detail and I could see that it still hurt her, so I didn’t ask any questions.
Miss Hillard rose and took a step away from me. “I do understand how you feel. Both of you. I watched my brothers experience this their entire lives. You are both unique, Abby. Remember that. Write something for me tonight.”
“What?” I asked.
“Write a story about a boy who walks in his sister’s shadow,” she said. “I’ll be interested in reading that tomorrow.”
I groaned. She chuckled. “Don’t worry, I gave Tyson the same assignment in his English class.”
I rolled my eyes at her retreating back. Then opened my history book to study. I bet Tyson loved that assignment. He hated writing.
**
At six when practice was over, Cal looked for me not Tyson. He stuck his head around the corner of the bookcase and smiled. “You don’t make it easy,” he declared.
“I love these chairs,” I told him. “We didn’t have anything like this in my old school.”
“Come on, practice is over.”
I packed my books into my backpack and Cal took it from me. He brushed his fingers across my face moving my bangs so he could see the damage. He shook his head at me.
“I’m really sorry Abby.”
I lowered my eyes so he wouldn’t see how his touch affected me. “It’s okay Cal. You didn’t know how useless I am when it comes to sports.”
He put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed gently. “I wouldn’t go so far as useless.”
“I would. As kids, Tyson used me to improve his throwing arm for baseball and accuracy for football.”
Cal chuckled. “He told me. You couldn’t catch a beachball.”
“That ass,” I grumbled.
That made Cal laugh. I noticed that he didn’t remove his arm as we walked to the front of the school. “Want to go out for pizza?”
I wanted to but I was afraid. “I can’t tonight. History test tomorrow. Miss Hillard came to the library and gave me an assignment for tomorrow too.” I was a coward. I had plenty of time to do this assignment. I had studied for my history exam already.
Cal frowned at me. “What kind of assignment?”
We had the same English class so I could understand his confusion. I explained the assignment that she gave both Tyson and me.
“Oh man, that sucks.” He whistled between his teeth.
“I’m sure that Tyson is thrilled,” I declared.
