Finding the Missing Words
Chapter 2 – Just Run It
"Fly, Eagles, fly
on the road to victory
Fly, Eagles, fly,
score a touchdown, 1-2-3..."
The electronically distorted voice of Leo Anconitano sounded out abruptly from somewhere on Ray Fiorentino's desk. Captain Blacknose, the Fiorentino family's gray and white rescue cat, let out an irritated meow when his human pillow suddenly turned into a moving object.
"What in the..." Ray groaned, opening his eyes to figure out how to stop the noise. "Sorry Cap, I'm not happy about this either." Then he lunged sideways to reach his cell phone and flipped the switch on his desk lamp before bringing the phone to his ear. He could put on his glasses later.
"Testa di cavolo, sai che ore sono? (You cabbagehead, do you know what time it is?) This had better be good." Actually, Ray didn't know himself what time it was, and then he squinted at the screen and saw that it was 5:35 a.m. Which made him wish that he'd expressed himself more vehemently, even if it was his best friend on the other end of the line.
"And good morning to you too, Ray. Get some sweats and running shoes on and meet me out front. If you look out your window, you can see I'm already there." Leo's voice had some ups and downs to it, like he was running in place or stretching and talking at the same time. Ray didn't bother looking – he and Leo had never lied to each other since first grade, or almost never.
"Has your brain flown out of your head or something? I mean, I knew you were a bit of a bird-brain sometimes, but really... I mean, prima della colazione?" (before breakfast)
"I mean it, quarantuno (forty-one). In August we were already at practice ten minutes later than now. If you want to tackle running backs, you got to run at them. You're not always going to be the unexpected guy coming out of nowhere. Force equals m times v squared, so we got to get your m and v up."
"This is what I get for tutoring you in physics?"
"No, you get a free breakfast and shower at the restaurant afterwards. We'll head straight to school from there, so bring your books and everything. Muoviti! (Move)"
Ray slapped his own forehead with his left hand. When he didn't wake up or fall asleep again, he groaned "I can't believe this. OK, I'm coming. Dammi un attimo." (give me a moment) Then he hung up and got ready as fast as he could.
When he came down the stairs, followed by a cat in search of breakfast, a slim young female with black hair in a ponytail wearing an oversized Penn sweatsuit and no shoes moved into a boxing stance right in front of him. "No way, fratellino! (little brother) I'm the official early riser of this family and I'm not giving up my title without a fight. What's the deal here?" Behind her, a tai chi video played silently on a television screen. Captain Blacknose watched their antics momentarily, shook his entire body with a quick snort, and then ran towards the kitchen.
Ray raised his own hands in a gesture of surrender. "It's not me, Alicia, it's Leo. He wants me to go on a run with him before school. Your title is not being threatened, big sister. Do you mind checking Cap's food and water?"
Alicia laughed and held her brother by his shoulders. "No problem, Ray, just you make sure he's fine for dinner because I've got labs all afternoon. Get your mente malsana (unhealthy mind) into a corpore sano (healthy body) and all that. Maybe you'll eventually get a girlfriend that way." She moved aside to let him pass.
After a quick frown, Ray jerked one thumb towards the television screen. "How does that stuff help you wake up? Wouldn't an espresso be faster?" Some crunching sounds could be heard from the kitchen.
"Body control and concentration, tizio. (guy) It's not easy to make sure you get a drop under a dog's eyelid or give a hamster a shot without hitting a nerve. You should try it sometime."
"Stranger things have been considered, but don't get your hopes up. Tell the bosses I won't need a ride. Ciao." and he went out the front door. Leo was stretching his legs just below the doorstep. When the door closed, he stood up straight and nodded towards the empty street in front of them. They went out the front gate and then stopped on the sidewalk.
"How fast are we supposed to run?" Ray asked Leo.
"Not yet." Leo raised his hand halfway to stop him. "You're still cold. Let's walk fast until we reach a good place to stop and stretch, like the park maybe, then we get started.
"Va bene, capo." (All right, boss) Leo set a brisk pace and they began walking. The street lights were still on and the first rays of the sun hadn't appeared yet.
After a couple of silent blocks, Ray turned towards his friend and said "Come on, Leo, what's all this really about?"
Leo didn't even turn his head. "Whaddaya mean? It's a run, it's a workout, it's getting you into shape so you can play better. You made the team, so now you need to catch up to the guys who had summer practices and everything."
"Come on, non credermi stupido." (don't think I'm stupid) Ray's voice went up a notch. "You set up the bet, you paid your share of it, now you're waking me up. What kind of return are you looking for on your investment?" He grabbed his own hair with both hands. "Aagh! I can't believe I said that, I sound like my Dad now. I mean, what's in it for you, why are you doing this?"
"What's in it for me?" That finally got Leo's head to turn, as well as his eyebrows to head upward. "It's not about me, it's about you. If I'd told you to try out, what would you have done? You'd have said 'Io?Non posso (Me? I can't), I'm a lousy athlete. You don't want me out there.' This way you actually tried for it and it worked. Now you're playing football, you might as well do it right."
"Like I need more pressure on me. If my GPA drops even a couple hundredths of a point, my parents are taking back their permission. They want me getting into an Ivy school."
"Why don't you think a bit about what you want? This way you get to blow off some steam. Play a game that you like. Learn from a top-notch coach." Then Leo stopped at an intersection; they had to wait for a couple of cars to go by before they could cross. "This way." And he set an even faster pace.
"Coach Taylor's a swell guy," Ray said after a couple of blocks.
"Well, he's not going to be satisfied with you thinking you're just a backup. What if I got hurt and you had to go in for me? You play out there, and you're going to have assignments. Guys to block, guys to tackle, guys covering you. Guys whose job is to try to take you out of the play as completely as possible. They're not going to think you're just a backup and go easy on you or forget you're there."
"So what do I do about that, fifty?"
"We'll get there." The sky began turning slowly from pitch dark to medium gray. The street lights switched off. The two boys crossed the street and entered the park. "Where are we going to stretch?" Ray asked. Leo pointed to a couple of benches.
A few minutes later, they began jogging slowly through the grass. "Keep it slow," Leo urged Ray. "Biggest mistake is trying to do too much too soon. You're trying to last longer. And if we go uphill, slow down a lot more or your back is going to be killing you in two hours."
Ray followed Leo's pace, staying level with him or a few steps behind. He abruptly turned towards his friend and said, without being able to keep his voice completely even, "There's something I noticed about Coach."
"What's that?"
Ray explained his theory about the slogan "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts", that there was something missing, and that Coach Taylor was bothered by the fact that nobody had figured it out yet.
"Now you see why I wanted you on the team?" Leo turned his head around to face Ray. "I like having teammates who aren't stupid. Just like with that kickoff back in junior high and the whacko routes you used to run – you think outside the box. But why don't you just ask him?"
Ray let a few moments pass. "I'd rather find out and have the whole team surprise him. No need for me to take the credit or look like a Coach's pet."
"Right, I get that." Leo nodded slowly. "You're the ace reporter, you find out and then we'll send a surprise down the phone tree."