Chapter 7

When the bus finally arrived back at the high school Zach waited until everybody else had gotten off before he did. He was in no hurry because he had two hours to kill anyway. The last thing he had done the night before was to agree to meet the rest of the band at three o’clock to check out some used stage monitors. Even though he was tired and sore, it would be a bad idea to miss that shopping trip.

“Zach?” said a female voice as Zach trudged down the hall past the gym, to stow some of his gear in his locker. “Hey, remember me?” she asked.

He turned and saw that it was Beth Ellicott, the basketball player that had caught him singing in the gym. She was coming out of the locker room, most likely after having a Saturday morning practice. “Hey,” he said.

“How’s it going?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you around much.”

“Just wrestling, I guess,” Zach said.

“Not singing in the gym?” she asked. “I told all my friends about that. They all thought it was so cute.”

“I did those songs live last night,” he said.

“Live?” she asked.

“We played a gig,” he said.

“Really?” she asked. “Where?”

“Some middle school,” Zach said. “It was a dance.”

“That must be exciting, being up on stage like that,” she said.

“Sometimes,” he said. “I like an older audience better. These kids last night really didn’t have a clue.”

“I’d like to see your band sometime,” she said.

“We never turn anybody away,” he replied, smiling.

“Did you already have wrestling?” she asked.

“We had a scrimmage at Sea Crest,” he told her. “We just got back now.”

“I didn’t know they had scrimmages in wrestling,” she said.

“Yeah, it’s just a chance to wrestle somebody different,” he said.

“How’d you do?” she asked.

“I did great in my second match,” he said. “In the first match I had to wrestle a guy with half-legs. They went just past his knees. It was a no-win situation. Know what I mean? I just did enough to get by.”

“Half-legs?” she asked. “And he wrestles?”

“Yeah. Why not?” Zach replied. “He wasn’t bad, either. It must take a lot of guts to do that.”

“I’ve seen some matches but I never saw anything like that,” she said.

“Well, it comes up more in a practice or scrimmage,” he explained. “No matter how good you are it’s pretty hard to be a starter with a disadvantage like that. So you don’t see it so much in real matches.”

“Yeah, I bet,” she said as she zipped her coat. “Well, I’m off to the mall. I need to pick up some books I ordered.”

“At least you have some place to go,” Zach said. “I have to wait around for the band guys to pick me up. Maybe I’ll go for a run,” he said, but he knew he wouldn’t.

“The band guys?” she asked. “They’re coming here?”

“Yeah, why not?” he answered.

“It just seems funny, guys like that being at a gym,” she said.

“They’re not as different as you think,” Zach said. “Bo was all-state in cross-country. He graduated from Lincoln last year,” he added.

“How long before they get here?” Beth asked.

“A couple hours, I guess,” Zach said.

“Do you want to come with me?” she asked. “I promise I’ll get you back in time.”

He tried not to show how surprised he was but couldn’t suppress a smile. “Hmm,” he said. “I guess it would be okay. Are you sure it’s cool for you?”

“Of course it would,” she said, smiling back. “But we better go now.”

~~~

“Coach, can I talk to you for a minute?” Mark Easton asked after he caught up to Coach Crisfield, who was walking to his car.

“Sure, Mark,” Crisfield said. He stopped and leaned backwards on the pickup truck that he happened to be in front of. “The scrimmage went well, don’t you think? Anyway, what’s up?”

“Well,” Easton began. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about last year. You know, about what weight would be best for me.”

“Yeah,” Crisfield said. “I thought we settled on 171.”

“Yeah, we did,” agreed Easton. “But I’ve been thinking about it lately. What would you think about me trying to get to 160?”

“What brought this on?” Crisfield asked.

“It’s my senior year,” he said. “When it’s all over I don’t want to have to wonder if I did enough.”

“Don’t you remember how weak you felt two years ago when you cut too much?” Crisfield asked.

“I remember,” Easton said. “I tried to cut it all at once.”

“Mark, the season starts in ten days,” Crisfield said. “To get to 160 you’d have to cut it all at once this time too.”

“I think I could do it,” Easton said.

“What’s bothering you, Mark?” Crisfield asked.

“Nothing,” Easton said. “Maybe you’re right. Let’s just forget it.” He turned and walked away before Coach Crisfield had a chance to say anything else.

~~~

Zach and Beth picked up their bags, each crammed with athletic gear, and walked outside. Zach followed Beth to her car, which turned out to be a well-worn Chevy Impala. “Isn’t that your coach over there?” she asked, pointing to a man leaning against a truck a few rows away.

Zach squinted in that direction before answering. “It is,” he said. “Easton’s there too.”

The ten-minute ride to the mall was mostly quiet except for a quick discussion of the Chapel Forge basketball teams. After they were parked they walked side-by-side to a set of glass doors. At the last minute Zach shot ahead in time to open one of them for her. Unfortunately, the one he’d chosen was locked. “Thanks anyway,” she giggled as she opened the adjacent one and gestured for Zach to go through first.

“The bookstore’s down by Macy’s,” Beth said. “These books are for my big sister.” They turned a corner and continued walking in that direction until they passed a gag gift shop. “I love this store!” she said. “Let’s go in, okay?” Without waiting for an answer she slipped behind him and into the store. He worried about the time but entered the store anyway.

Beth spent a few minutes perusing shelves full of practical joke props. Zach stayed with her for a moment but gravitated towards the lava lamps and rock band posters that were in the back. After flipping through most of them he walked back towards Beth, who was over in the corner of the store. She turned in time to see him coming. Just before he reached her she ducked behind the shelf. When she stood back up she was wearing a pair of gag glasses with the eyeballs dangling from springs. “There you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking all over!”

Zach laughed. “You’re only looking down.”

“I guess we better go get those books,” Beth said as she removed the glasses and put them back on the shelf. “You’ve got to meet your friends back at school.” They left the shop and continued on to the bookstore. It only took a few minutes to flag down a clerk and pay for the books.

“I’m hungry,” Beth said as they walked out of the bookstore. “Should we go to the food court?”

“Okay,” Zach said. “I can’t eat anything, though. I’m still trying to get down to 171.”

“Yuck,” she said. “I can eat later, then.”

“No, really, it’s okay,” Zach said. “I watch people eat all the time. It’s just part of being a wrestler.”

“Oh boy,” Beth remarked when they reached the food court. “It’s crowded.”

“I’ll look for a table,” Zach suggested. “Just go get your food and look for me.”

“Okay,” Beth agreed. “You don’t want anything at all?”

“No, I’m fine,” Zach answered. “I’ll get us a table.”

As he searched for an empty table, the sight of people jamming food into their mouths made it hard for him to ignore his hunger. He doubted if they had any appreciation for being able to eat whenever and whatever they wanted to. Most of them had probably finished breakfast just a few hours earlier, and would eat again when the shopping trip was over. He tried not to stare at the man in the sleeveless denim jacket and Flyers cap who was shoveling fried rice into his mouth as fast as he could load it onto his fork. Oh well, he thought. Only I’m only a few more pounds away from 171. It’ll all be worth it.

A few minutes later Beth weaved through strollers and shopping bags until she found Zach. “I got you a bottle of water,” she said. “Is that okay?”

“Perfect,” Zach said. He wasn’t sure if he was referring to the water or the two steaming slices of pizza on her tray.

“I really feel bad eating in front of you,” Beth said between bites. “How much do you have to lose?”

“I weighed out at 174 last night,” Zach said. “So I’m just about there. Over the summer I was almost 190,” he added.

“I don’t know how you do it,” she said. “When I come home from practice every night I’m beat, but once I eat dinner, everything’s better. I guess you can’t do that, right?”

“Everybody has to eat,” Zach said with a smile. “But I can’t eat too much. I definitely can’t eat stuff like that,” he said, pointing to the slice she still had on her plate.

“Wow,” she said. “I don’t think I could do it.”

“If it was something you had to do to be good at your sport, you’d do it,” Zach said.

Three high school boys appeared abruptly at the table, ending the discussion. Zach recognized them as athletes from the school, although he wasn’t sure which guys played which sport. They were remarkably similar in appearance and dress. Each had short hair and a fuzz of sideburns and mustache hair on the faces. They wore earth-colored cargo pants with pockets running up and down the legs, and each had carefully left their white basketball sneakers open and untied.

“Hi, Richie,” Beth said. “Are you guys out Christmas shopping too?”

“Yeah,” answered one of them. “But first things first. We’re starting out with a little grub.” He patted his ample stomach as he said it. He was huge all over, Zach noticed, not just his gut. He was obviously a football player.

“This is Zach,” Beth said. “Zach, I’m not sure if you know these guys. It’s Richie, Ben and Jake.”

“Hey,” Zach said. “I’ve seen you around school.”

“You go to Chapel Forge?” the one named Ben said.

“He’s on the wrestling team, dodo,” Beth said.

“You are?” Ben asked. “Do you know Bob Mendez?”

“Of course,” Zach said. “He’s the heavyweight.”

“You look familiar,” Richie said. “Do you have a brother? There was this real hairy guy who always wore rock and roll shirts. He looked like you.”

“That probably was me,” Zach said patiently. “I just cut my hair a couple weeks ago.”

“Yeah?” Richie laughed. “You had the long hair and everything? I didn’t think you looked like a wrestler, with that tattoo and all,” he said, pointing at that the grim reaper on Zach’s wrist.

“I’ve got a few more,” Zach said. He stood up suddenly, knocking the small table away from him. Soda sloshed out of Beth’s cup and over the edge of the table. “Want to see them?” He yanked his flannel shirt over his head rather than taking the time to unbutton it. His t-shirt was stretched tight across his muscular chest. “Check this one out,” he said, flexing his right arm where a blue frog had been tattooed years earlier. “I have one on my back, too.”

“Take it easy,” Richie said, holding his hands up defensively. “It’s cool, we get it.”

“So anyway, are you two like, going out or something?” Ben asked.

“I wish,” Beth said quickly. Her face reddened immediately. “I mean, we’re just out shopping together.”

That reminded Zach that he was supposed to be back at the high school to meet the rest of the band. He glanced around, found a clock, and realized that if they didn’t leave immediately he wouldn’t make it. But Beth was only halfway done with her pizza, and he didn’t relish the idea of telling these guys why he had to leave. He knew he’d be in trouble with Fauquier but he decided on the spot not to worry about getting back. They didn’t need him anyway.

“You really jumped all over those guys,” Beth said after they drifted away. “What happened? All of a sudden you snapped.”

“Sorry,” Zach said. “I have no use for rich kids trying to look like bad-asses.”

“You don’t really get along with anybody, do you?” she asked.

He knew she was right but didn’t reply. She took a big bite of pizza and looked away. “Did I make you miss your meeting?” she asked.

“It’s not your fault,” Zach said.

“Sorry,” she said. “I lost track of things, I guess.”

“Not a big deal,” Zach said. “They’ll be pissed but they’ll just go without me.”

“Sorry,” she said again, crinkling up her face.

“Really, it’s cool,” Zach said. “I’d rather hang out with you.”