Read Online Come Sit By Me by Thomas Hoobler - Free Book Online

Milford’s linemen just pushed our guys out of the way, and their running backs came through the holes, ripping off runs of eight, ten, twenty yards, going right down the field for a touchdown. The opposing quarterback hardly threw a pass. His only job was to take the snap and hand off the ball without dropping it.
    Hamilton got the ball again, and this time North was a little steadier. He managed to move the ball downfield, but then the drive got stalled and Hamilton settled for a field goal.
    New Milford took over and showed again that they couldn’t be stopped unless they fumbled or Hamilton got lucky in some other way. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 24-3. The fans on our side of the field started to lose interest, and people in the stands either booed or chatted among themselves.
    Unfortunately, Seese was still next to me. “Told you he was no good,” he said.
    â€œYou can’t totally blame him,” I said. “The defense stinks, and even when we have the ball, North hasn’t gotten much support.”
    â€œHe would have had support if Ronnie and Marcus had still been on the team.”
    â€œWell, it’s not his fault they aren’t around,” I said.
    â€œHe didn’t want them here. He just wanted to be the star so his stats look good. He wants to go to West Point, and his grades aren’t that high.”
    This was so irrational that I would have got up and left, except that I couldn’t write a story about the game unless I knew the final score.
    â€œHe’s a big gun nut,” Seese said. “His father was in the military. He could have gotten Caleb the guns.”
    â€œI understand a lot of people around here have guns,” I said. “And that still doesn’t explain why it was Cale who did the shooting.”
    Seese wandered off, peddling his conspiracy theory elsewhere, I suppose.
    New Milford’s coach wanted to give his reserves some playing time, so the final score was only 52-17. North managed to pass for one touchdown and run for another in the second half, when New Milford’s first string was sitting on the bench, high-fiving each other.
    Terry had told me to get some quotes from the players after the game. She was a bug on quotes, though she often rewrote them anyway, so I could have made them up. But I noticed North standing around on the field after the game, talking to the cheerleaders. He was still in his uniform, and it made him look bigger and stronger than he actually was. The girls didn’t seem to mind that the team had lost.
    â€œHey, writer man,” he said when he saw me approach. “You know these ladies?” he asked with a sweep of his arm. I had seen most of them around school, but wouldn’t have dared to speak to them. Now, however, they all smiled at me. I had the North seal of approval. I was O.K.
    He reeled off the names of the girls, and one of them took a step closer to me. Her name was Colleen. She was blond, but I had to make an effort to keep my eyes at a level more or less above her neck. “I hear you’re from New York,” she said. I thought she was the most beautiful girl who had ever actually spoken to me, and unfortunately my vocal chords were suddenly paralyzed.
    I nodded, and that was good enough for her. “I’d love to go there,” she said. Her eyes held onto mine. They seemed to be carrying a message: Don’t stare at my boobs. They’ll always be there, and you can look at them some other time. Just look into my eyes .
    The eyes were blue and pretty good to look at too, by the way.
    I became aware that she’d asked me a question. “Why did you leave there to come to a dumb old place like Hamilton?”
    I realized I couldn’t give the honest answer: Because my father thought he could buy a house cheap.
    So I said, “Well, we wanted to move out where there wasn’t as much crime.”
    Just as I was thinking how dumb