After their success in the "Sweet Sixteen" stage of the State tournament, Jackson and the Titans marched through the following weeks, progressing ever forward towards the glory that eluded them.
For Jackson, it was a spot on the varsity roster. For the Titans, the object of their collective dreams and ambitions was the State championship.
Quarterfinals week blew by. The practices only grew more intense—Jackson hadn't imagined there could be another level to Coach Otsen's green Hell—and their varsity counterparts continued to stay well ahead of both Kenny and Jackson.
Jasmine attended what practices she could, though that turned out to be only one session. Her studies, and her own practices with Maidens of Steel—the newest name of her band—kept her occupied most of the time.
Unfortunately, the opposite was also true. With the grind towards that illustrious—possibly mythical—roster spot, the planets hadn't aligned, and Jackson had yet to meet Jasmine's band or watch one of their rehearsals.
A part of him was relieved he'd been so busy. As much as he would've liked to go, he already felt like he was burning the candle at both ends, trying to keep his current social life in order. Just catching up with Eddie, Sachin, and Marcus was hard enough between team training and the extra practice sessions with Kenny and/or Tommy.
By the time the quarterfinals rolled around, the roster remained unchanged, despite everyone's best efforts. Jackson was beginning to think the challenge he and Kenny had given themselves was impossible.
But Kenny kept his spirits up. He reminded Jackson that every day, every training session, brought them one step closer to their goal. Jackson hoped their goal wasn't moving two steps further away at that same time.
Jasmine joined them for the quarterfinal game, though when they arrived at her house to pick her up, they noted she came out from around the back without waiting for Jackson to meet her at the front door.
When asked about the odd choice, she brushed it off. It didn't matter; she was just doing some stuff in the backyard when she heard them pull up. Of course, she insisted they couldn't worry about it for long, because otherwise they were going to be late.
If Tommy suspected she was now actively sneaking away rather than trying to deceive her parents about who exactly was picking her up, he said nothing.
Once more, when they arrived at the game, Rudy wasn't anywhere in the stands, and all throughout the contest, he didn't show up either.
Still, if anyone else noticed, no one mentioned it.
The Titans were pitted against the Bradshaw Mountain Bears, a hard-nosed, offensive powerhouse. The game saw more touchdowns than punts.
But their lack of defence meant every offensive player on the Titans had a good game. If anyone had a bad performance, it was Wesley who missed some throws. But the Receivers more than made up for it. Shane was almost unstoppable, but even everyone else from Grant to Demetrius had key catches that kept drives alive and set up touchdowns, if they didn't haul in a touchdown themselves. Mickey was an unsung hero for the offence, though the Titans ran the ball rarely.
The teams might've been equally matched offensively, but defensively, it was Shane's leadership that gave the Titans the edge. They withstood and held out, and kept the opposition down just enough to pull away for a 55–45 win.
Despite the thrilling game, the thing Jackson remembered most about it was when they dropped Jasmine off afterwards, she scampered away before he could get out and walk her to her door.
Days rolled into weeks, and with another titanic win, the Titans passed through to the semifinals. The training intensified again; they descended a level deeper into Coach Otsen's Hell. And despite Jackson's efforts, the varsity players continued to widen the gap between him and them.
Throughout the mile-runs, the long hours in the gym, and all the drills on top, he kept slipping further back. The pain flaring in his old wound, just another handicap like the vest dragging him down.
Again, he and Kenny had to watch the semifinal game along with the other fans. Again, Jasmine snuck out to meet them when they picked her up—she'd sneak back in when they dropped her off.
The semifinal match against the Sahuarita Mustangs wasn't nearly as explosive as the quarterfinal bout against the Bears had been, but it was even closer. A thriller that Jackson was sure led to at least one heart attack in each fanbase. It was so exhilarating, Jackson almost forgot about Rudy entirely; the boy still wasn't showing.
The Titans' offence, namely their Receivers, couldn't keep up their momentum from the previous game. Tommy theorised they were too cocky, thinking the game would be a breeze again, and the intense defence caught them off guard. They never recovered after being knocked so far off balance.
The three stars—Shane, Wesley, and Mickey—carried them across the line. Even then it came down to a game-winning field goal which Nick nailed. The crowd's roar when the ball sailed through almost burst Jackson's eardrums. The Titans stormed the field after the kick, burying Nick under a pile of bodies.
Jackson wanted to rush down there and be part of the moment, too … but it wouldn't have been right. It wasn't his moment. He'd be impeding on something special. So he stayed where he was.
On the car ride back from the game, the excitement carried over. Kenny was trembling with it. But it wasn't just the win he was excited about, but how the Titans had got there.
'The championship game's definitely gonna have an opening now,' he said.
Tommy gave him a curious look. 'You think so?' he asked.
'Yeah! Didn't you see it? The team NEEDS us if they wanna win the championship. All those Receivers played like shit. The game wouldn't have been close if me and Jackson were down there.'
Tommy frowned, going silent. Jackson didn't know what to think. Grant and the other Wide Receivers had had terrible performances, that was true, but the stifling defence had forced a lot of mistakes out of them.
'You're SO right, Kenny,' Jasmine said. 'Surely your coach has to see that too, right?'
'He will if he's smart. Otherwise … I don't know. He has to, though. A blind guy could see we're better.'
Jasmine giggled. 'We'll wait and see what Coach Otsen thinks,' Jackson said, his face unreadable. 'I trust him to make the right call.'
Jackson wasn't sure they'd make it on the team. Kenny was all but certain they'd have a couple of spots waiting for them. Though they'd both have to wait and see at the end of next week.
Again, Jasmine hurried to her backyard after they dropped her off. Jackson's cheek burned with the memory of her lips. He'd have to wait another day for a refresher.
Eventually, the first Titans practice to prepare for the State championship game arrived. Whilst there was still the potential roster spot to worry about, Jackson had something else on his mind as well.
Before practice got underway, he approached Rudy. 'Hey,' Jackson said.
Rudy looked over. ' 'Sup?'
'I've noticed you haven't been coming to the games. Is everything alright? Where have you been?'
Rudy's lips curled back. He turned away from Jackson. 'That's none of your fucking business.'
Jackson was taken aback by the hostility. 'I didn't mean … I was just wondering if you're okay.'
'Yeah, well, I'm fine. Some people just have shit to do. We can't all have our family do everything for us. Not like you.'
Rudy stalked off before Jackson could get another word in. Jackson stood there, staring dumbly after Rudy, his mouth hanging open. It was like Rudy's attitude had reverted to how it was those first couple of weeks after he'd been dropped to JV. Maybe it was more like Rudy had just been in an unnaturally good mood previously?
Jackson went to Kenny and Freddy, broaching the subject with them, asking if they'd noticed how strange and hostile Rudy had become again.
Kenny shrugged. He hadn't noticed a thing.
Freddy covered his mouth with a fist, thinking for a moment. 'I have a hypothesis,' he said after a while. 'Honestly, I'm surprised you both didn't pick up on it. It should've been obvious, seeing as it's football related.'
Both Kenny and Jackson looked a little insulted by what Freddy was implying. 'Just get to the point, ya nerd,' Kenny snapped.
'Sorry. But to me, any outside excuse he uses for his absences and poor behaviour is just that, an excuse. With how vague and deflective you make him sound, that only strengthens my belief. I think he's like this because of what's happened on the team.'
Kenny and Jackson were still looking a little confused. Freddy sighed before continuing.
'You've both leap-frogged him, to put it simply. If we're all working towards making it onto the varsity team, then we can think of it as we're all climbing the same ladder, fighting to make it to the top first. You've both gone ahead of Rudy, and Rudy continues to slip further down. When he was first dropped from the varsity team, he would've felt like the first in line to get back onto the team. But now, both of you are ahead of him. If one spot opens, Kenny will get it—or Jackson, it's not important who specifically, just that it'll fall to one of you—even if TWO spots open, you'll both go in, and Rudy will still be stuck on JV. Now he has to wait for THREE openings.'
'So?' Kenny said. 'We've seen him play. I mean, he's alright. He just needs to get his shit together, but he can be better than those assholes on varsity.'
Jackson didn't like how that lumped Demetrius into that group of assholes. He hadn't really interacted with the tall, quiet boy, but he seemed nice.
Freddy shook his head. 'I think he's given up any hope of making it back. And with that realisation, he's become much more upset and frustrated. Hence his hostility.'
What Freddy said made sense … but at the same time, it didn't. As the practice began, Jackson was troubled. "Given up? Why would he give up? He's only a year older than us, he can't be that far behind us if he even is at all. Even if we're more talented, he's got more experience. I haven't even played; how can anyone say I'm doing better than him?"
It was another gruelling session, full of drills where the staff were constantly pulling and pushing, defending the Receivers physically. Coach Otsen wanted to prepare them for the championship game, which he warned would be unlike any they'd played all season long. He needed them to fight through fouls because the refs could be very lenient with their penalties in the upcoming game.
It was tough, and something Jackson thought definitely suited the older boys more. Of course, they bookended the session with lots of running. His leg thoroughly enjoyed those parts.
But once it was all said and done, Jackson made his way over to Rudy. He'd been watching Rudy throughout the session. Despite what Freddy had said, Rudy was still giving it his all during practice. It didn't look like he'd given up, at least not to Jackson.
'Hey,' Jackson said.
Rudy glanced at him over his shoulder. 'What?'
'I just … I wanted to say you did good today, and that I know we'll ALL make it onto the varsity team soon.'
Rudy shoved his bag back down, then turned to face Jackson. He stared down at him. Though there wasn't much difference in their actual height, Rudy made it seem like he was towering above Jackson.
'I wonder if you're counting Frederick when you say ALL,' Rudy said, contempt dripping from his voice. 'You know there's only so many spots on the teams. SOMEBODY has to play JV.'
'Uhh … well …'
'Yeah, well, let me tell you. When you say "soon" you're dead fucking wrong. That shit ain't happening before the State championship, and with the way the team's playing, they ain't winning shit this year.'
Rudy turned away, snatching up his bag. He started to walk away. Jackson went after him. 'That's why we have to make the team!' he shouted. 'We'll win the championship together!'
Rudy laughed. 'How are you more arrogant than that stupid fucking prick? You think you're better than anyone on varsity? You haven't even played a game. You're not varsity material, Jackson. So stop acting like it.'
Rudy left, and Jackson let him. He was stuck in place, his mind swirling. Maybe it was unrealistic to expect he could make it onto the varsity team without even playing a single high-school game beforehand … but Kenny could make it.
Even if he didn't … the Titans couldn't lose. They had to win. They had to make it into the National tournament. Jackson needed more time. More time to earn his spot. He WOULD be a champion. The Titans WOULDN'T lose. … They couldn't.