Game Changers Read Online Free PDF Page A

been totally busy because with the renovation at the Y it’s practically like they’re building a whole new one.”
    â€œWell,” Shawn said, “my dad’s got nothing but time for football now that he doesn’t have a real job anymore. So he’s totally focused on the team. And me.”
    â€œYeah,” Ben said, “I check him out sometimes and he’s smiling his head off, watching every move you make.”
    â€œTell me about it.”
    â€œHe seems like such a good guy.”
    â€œ Great guy,” Shawn said. “But, dude, trust me, we better be great this season, because he’s gonna take it hard if we’re not.”
    â€œI’m not worried,” Ben said.
    â€œYou never did last year, no matter how badly we were losing.”
    â€œMy mom says the only word that’s not in my vocabulary is ‘can’t,’” Ben said. “But I tell her, only if she stops with the c ’s.”
    Their pizza was ready. They polished it off at record speed, hardly any talking now. When they finished, Shawn said, “My dad said he had a good talk with you.”
    â€œHe didn’t have to,” Ben said. “He’s the coach, I’m cool with whatever he wants me to do.”
    â€œGrown-ups love to have their talks,” Shawn said, putting air quotes around “talks.”
    Before Ben could add anything to that, Shawn said, “He might not know how good you’d be at quarterback, but I do.”
    Ben didn’t know why, but he felt Shawn had gotten down to it now, the real reason why he agreed to have lunch. Ben almost smiled. He wanted to get to know Shawn better, maybe even be boys with him, not thinking that Shawn might want to do the same with him.
    But this wasn’t a “talk” — with or without air quotes — that Ben wanted to have with Shawn. The one about how much he wanted to be a quarterback, how much he wanted what Shawn had and was probably going to have for a long time.
    â€œOh, don’t stress on that,” Ben said. “ My dad tells me all the time that my real position is just football player. And everybody knows that you’re a better QB than me.”
    Shawn started to say something, then stopped, like a pump fake on the field.
    â€œThat first night of tryouts? I saw that play you made after you scrambled. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t throw on the run better than you do.”
    Everybody on the team knew how much of a Green Bay Packers fan Ben was. He had other teams he liked in sports. But even living a long way from Lambeau Field, the Packers were his favorite. And Rodgers was his favorite player now. He was a lot bigger than Doug Flutie. But Ben loved the way he played, especially every time he got flushed out of the pocket and had to improvise.
    Ben drank some of his Gatorade and said, “Yeah, but I’m smart enough to know you can’t do that on every down. Makestuff up as you go along, like it’s some fun play I drew up in the dirt.”
    â€œYou always seem to have fun,” Shawn said.
    â€œWhat, you don’t?”
    Shawn said, “Not like you.”
    â€œWhat’s more fun than playing football?” Ben said.
    â€œOh, nothing,” Shawn said. “Nothing at all. My dad is always saying that the worst day he ever had in pads was great.”
    â€œPretty much my attitude,” Ben said.
    â€œYeah,” Shawn said. “You’re lucky.”
    Shawn pointed to the big clock behind the counter. It was three o’clock. Shawn said his dad would be there any minute to pick them up. He paid the check and they went outside to wait, Ben thinking this had been a good idea.
    A good day.
    Except.
    Except Ben couldn’t shake the idea, like a defender he couldn’t shake, that there had been something else Shawn wanted to talk about at lunch today.
    That there was something Shawn had wanted to tell him, but hadn’t.

Their first