If there was one thing you could guarantee about Bryant Jr. High, it was this: News traveled FAST. Especially bad news. Especially embarrassing news. Especially sports news. Especially neighborhood rivalry news. So when King Park got blown off the field by McRae—and then got into a big fight at the end of the game, everybody heard about it. By the next morning, EVERYBODY was talking about it.
Derrick and the guys hadn’t even reached the double doors when a group of 9th graders on the stairs started clapping slow, mocking them.
“Man. Y’all got whupped.” one said.
“Heard you played like some chumps!” another laughed.
“Man, Y’all sorry.” someone else shouted.
Tony groaned.
“Here we go…”
Marcus kept walking, jaw tight.
“Man, ignore them.”
A 7th grader walked past smirking.
“I hope y’all at least won the fight!” he said loudly.
Leon shot Derrick a side-eye.
“This about to be a long day.”
It was. Every hallway. Every corner. Every stairwell. Every locker section. Somebody had something to say.
“You see the score?” “I heard y’all cried.”
“I heard Loco got minus yards.”
“I heard it was 60–0.”
“I heard your coach stopped the game after the third quarter, or the score would’ve been worse.”
The rumors were getting ridiculous… but that didn’t matter. It was Bryant. It was Junior High. The truth didn’t always matter. Drama did.
At their lockers, Cathy, Terri, and Yolanda were already waiting. Arms crossed. Eyebrows raised. Half amused, half disappointed. Cathy tapped her foot.
“So?”
Marcus blinked.
“So what?”
“What happened?” Cathy demanded.
“How y’all get beat LIKE THAT?”
Terri shook her head dramatically.
“Scotty and Tyler,” who played for McRae, “walked in this morning talking big stuff.”
Yolanda added,
“Folks saying y’all quit.”
Tony exploded.
“We DIDN’T quit!”
Derrick stayed quiet. Tasha walked up slowly, book bag over her shoulder. She looked at Derrick with concern, not mockery.
“You okay?” she asked softly.
He nodded.
“Yeah.” But he didn’t feel okay. Not yet. A group of McRae’s players walked down the hallway like they owned it. Somebody made a derogatory remark about the King football team, and the entire hallway erupted.
Tony spun around.
“Say that again!”
Derrick grabbed his arm. “Don’t.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“What’s up then?” A McRae kid, Teddy, smirked.
“You wanna fight again? We can do round two RIGHT NOW.”
Students circled instantly, smelling drama.
“Fight! Fight!” “Let’s go!”
Teachers came sprinting. “BREAK IT UP!” “GET TO CLASS!” “RIGHT NOW!”
Mr. Watson practically tackled a 9th grader to stop him from jumping in. The scuffle died before it started. But the point was made: The King football team wasn’t going to live this down for awhile.
In science class, the teacher tried to start a lesson, but kids kept whispering.
“King Park lost…”
“McRae did them dirty…”
“Did you see the fight?”
“My cousin said they got whupped.”
Even the teacher sighed.
“Gentlemen, can you please stop discussing the football game? You should be talking about science.”
Later at lunch, Reggie slumped in his chair.
“The whole school clowning us…”
Leon whispered,
“Just take it. It’ll die down.”
By lunchtime, the story had grown to mythical proportions. Derrick couldn’t understand why the whole school cared about a football game most of them didn’t even go see.
A group of seventh graders made a smart remark as they passed their table, and broke out laughing. Marcus slammed his tray down on the table and turned toward them.
“Say it to my face!”
They went silent. Then Tony grabbed Marcus’s shirt and pulled him away.
“Chill, man. This whole school watching.”
Reggie pointed to the table behind them.
“Even THEM!” he whispered loudly.
Derrick turned to see Tasha and the girls staring. Tasha mouthed,
“Let it go.” He did. Barely.
During the last period, Mr. Golden, the Assistant Principal, made an announcement over the intercom:
“Students, fighting, and taunting will not be tolerated, and could be grounds for suspension, or even expulsion. Let’s focus on academics and making this a great school year”
Kids snickered.
I think they’re talking about us.” Derrick thought to himself. Everything had gotten a little out of hand, and over a football game. That announcement though, did nothing. If anything, it made the teasing worse.
When the final bell rang, they met outside on 38th Street. Tony kicked the ground.
“Man… I can’t take another day like this.”
Leon nodded.
“It’ll quiet down after we win again.” Reggie sighed. “But we gotta actually WIN again.”
Marcus looked at Derrick.
“What we gonna do?” he asked.
Derrick took a deep breath. He wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t sulking. He was just thoughtful.
“We play better,” he said. “We get our heads right. We get ready. And next Thursday? We shut everybody up.”
They all nodded in agreement. He was right. Winning fixes everything in junior high. And the next week couldn’t get here fast enough.