"What the--" Hannah forced her eyes open and listened to the phone ring. She grumbled aloud as she stretched her arm to the receiver.

"Hello?" she answered groggily.

"We're out here on the field, Hannah. Gettin' ready to practice," Coach Boone stated. She picked up her watch from the night stand and squinted her eyes to get a better vision.

"With all due respect, sir, it's Ten O'clock at night."

"I'm aware of that."

Hannah sighed. "Okay, I'll be down in ten minutes."

"How 'bout five. It shouldn't take you an eternity to put a robe and sneakers on."

"Fine." Five minutes later she was climbing the bleachers, and gazing down to the football field that was illuminated with the headlights of the parked cars. "What'll be the problem this time," she sighed aloud, as she found herself doing at all of the practices. The boys seemed more calm and collected this time however. I would be too, if I had to be outside practicing at Ten O'clock p.m., she said to herself.

"Alright, we'll be out here all night, if we don't get this right. Let's go. Get on the ball, Rev," Boone ordered. The players got in their positions and started the plays as usual. Ray, in his utmost stupidity, barely bumped against Julius, who whizzed past him easily and tackled Rev. Coach Boone blew the whistle and Gerry charged towards Ray.

"What was that Ray? Whatever it is, it ain't blockin'." Hannah glanced up from her notes and listened as Gerry scolded the short, stockly young man.

"Give me a break," Ray huffed. Gerry pushed him back.

"You wanna break? I'll give you a break. Miss Rev's block one more time, I swear to you, I'll hit you so hard that by the time you come to, ooh boy you gonna need a new haircut, you understand me? Let's play, fellas!" Gerry returned to the huddle with a witty chortle. That was interesting, Hannah thought to herself, genuinely impressed. She watched the game closely as the team pulled together more, and following a successful tackle on Petey, Gerry commended Julius.

"You really skunked him Campbell!" he hollered.

"Yeah, I love me a little contact Petey!" Julius responded with a victorious grin.

"Left side!" Gerry happily bumped Julius. Hannah's eyes widened at Gerry's change of attitude, and the team fell silent, waiting for Julius' reply.

"Strong side!" Julius bumped him back.

"Left side!"

"Strong side!"

Coach Boone and Yoast exchanged amused glances, as the two former enemies bonded. Hannah beamed with glee; it was the beginning of a real football team.



I don't know what it is that was said, but tonight, on that football

field, I witnessed a unique and priceless bond between the players

that I'll never forget as long as I live. This is the beginning of an

incredible journey; and the impact will be unbelievable.



Hannah smiled to herself as she was finally able to record something positive about the football players. She looked at the notesheet, in all it's glory, when out of the silence came a soft tapping noise against her window. Frowning in confusion, she approached the window and gazed out into the night, where Gerry stood at the ground below her room. He tossed the pebbles from his hand and jammed his hands in his pockets. She lifted the window and leaned against the windowsill.

"What are you doing?" She whispered loudly with a smirk. He shrugged modestly.

"I dunno, I just wanted to...talk. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I was just finishin' up the daily events. Hang on, I'll be right down." Hannah's heart fluttered with joy as she wrapped her jacket around her and crept out of the dormitory. Gerry waited outside the tall oak door, and led her into the garden next to the building.

"Here. It's awful cold out." He placed a wool blanket around Hannah's shoulders. She smiled graciously and looked out into the garden.

"It's so beautiful," she said wondrously. She turned to Gerry. "So, what are ya' makin' me sneak around for?"

"Sit down, first." Gerry ushered her to a small bench that overlooked the flowerbeds. "I wanted to apologize...for what happened."

"You don't have to do that," Hannah replied softly. "I saw what you did tonight, and that's enough."

"I should've seen it earlier, though." Hannah put her hand over his.

"It don't matter anymore, Gerry." She smiled assuredly. Gerry grinned at her in return, and looked out into the moonlit garden. "Besides, I was angry already. My mama called me a couple days ago, said she was gonna go back to Richmond. I convinced her to stay 'till I got back, but who knows how long it'll be before she leaves."

"So, whaddya gonna do 'bout it?"

"I have no idea. Just...hope for the best, I guess. I ain't plannin' on goin' with her though. No way. There's too much for me here, you know?"

Gerry grinned. "Yeah, I know."

"I just wish I could've told you about all this sooner, 'cause I didn't want you to think I was that mad at ya'."

"Coach Boone has us practicing real hard," Gerry pointed out. "I guess the only time we'll really be able to see each other is if we sneak around like this."

"So, we'll sneak around. If that's what it takes," Hannah replied without any hesitancy.

"That's awful daring of you," he said. Hannah shrugged.

"It's worth the risk, I guess."

"Yeah, it is. And I was wonderin'... you know, once we get outta camp and all...if you wanted to go out." Gerry bit his lip and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"I'd love to," Hannah obliged with twinkling eyes. She leaned her head on his shoulder and thought to herself, If I wanted to, I could fly away right now.



"Look here, Julius!" Hannah held up the camera while Julius posed for the picture, pretending to throw the football towards the goal line. She ran around the field, quickly taking snapshots of the energetic football team. She got a picture of Gerry getting the defensive side riled up for practice, and of Lewie, Rev, and Blue singing and dancing.

"Hey, someone get a picture of me and Hannah!" Alan jogged over and put his arm around her, a sly smile on his face.

"Get yo' hands off of her, you know she's Bertier's girl," Petey said with a grin. A few of the guys whistled and hollered, while the two exchanged embarrassed smiles. Alan laughed and backed off.

"Hey fellas! Look at that fruitcake!" Gerry taunted when a car pulled up next to the field and a guy with long, sandy blonde hair emerged. He wore a colorful button-down top with a few of the buttons unfastened, leaving part of his chest showing. Not to mention that he also displayed a perfect California tan. Yoast yelled for Gerry to get back to the field as the Coaches conversed with the boy. Hannah walked back with him and Julius, talking nonchalantly, when a football came sailing across the field, hitting Gerry directly in the back. He flinched and turned to face the new guy, who had a smug look on his face. Meanwhile, Julius laughed loudly and openly, with Hannah hiding her uncontrollable giggle behind his shoulder.

"Yeah, a fruitcake, huh?" Julius managed to say through his laughter. Gerry scowled.



While Gerry and Julius went over different plays for the game, Hannah gazed around the cafeteria. It hummed with laughter and different conversations, and all of the tables contained teammates of different races. She smiled to herself, witnessing all of the people who once hated each other come together in a way she had never seen before.

"You know what I gotta know, don't mess with my mind!" Petey's agitated voice rang through the room. Julius chuckled and Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"What the heck was that about?" she asked curiously. Gerry mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

"Aw, Sunshine just left Petey somethin' to be curious about," Julius replied.

"Sunshine?" Hannah looked back to Petey's table and saw the Ronnie Bass, also known as 'hippie-boy', sitting across from him, his long hair cut much shorter. "Oh, so that's the name you dubbed him."

"Well, you did hear what happened in the locker room, right?" Alan mentioned. Gerry shot him a threatening look. "Don't even start that, Alan," he warned seriously.

"What? What happened?"

"Let's just say you got some competition to worry about over Gerry," Julius simply stated, leaving her even more confused.

"Man, Sunshine planted one big smooch right on Gerry!" Alan added. Hannah's jaw dropped and Gerry angrily launched his roll at Alan.

"I told you to shut up, man!"

"Hey, you don't got any reason to be mad, Gerry. Heck, I'm a little jealous of you. After all, Sunshine sure is handsome," Hannah teased him.

"Don't push your luck," another teammate chimed in. "Rumor has it since that kiss that Sunshine throws the opposite direction, if you know what I mean." Hannah frowned and shook her head.

"I doubt it. He seems like a witty guy, he was probably just payin' Gerry back for that fruitcake remark."

Julius laughed. "Well, don't tell Petey, 'cause he's roomin' with him, and I personally enjoy seeing him wig out like that."

"So you're jealous of me, huh?" Gerry asked Hannah. She smiled.

"Nah, I'm more jealous of Sunshine."



Much differently from the ride up, the team returned home singing and clapping with one another. Hannah teased Gerry as Rev tried to teach him to clap on rhythym, and laughed even harder when he started singing.

"Gerry, I think it'd be better if you just listened," she joked playfully. He laughed and nudged her gently in the shoulder. Once the bus parked they all emerged from the bus with a burst of energy. Hannah peered through the window as she made her way to the front of the bus, and saw her father waiting for her. Thrilled, she quickened her pace in anticipation.

"Hannah, don't leave without lettin' me introduce you to my mom," Gerry reminded her.

"Sure thing, I just need to see my daddy." She took a deep breath with excitement. "I haven't seen him in awhile."

Hannah quickly hopped out of the bus and squealed with delight as she jumped into Mr.Ferrell's arms.

"Well hi there darlin'!" he said as he embraced her.

"Daddy, I didn't think you'd come!" She stated.

"What, and miss my baby's homecomin'?" She hugged her father's neck tighter, reluctant to let go.

"I've missed you, daddy," she said in a more somber voice.

"I missed you too, darlin'." John pulled her daughter away and stared into her eyes. "But, I've got some real good news," he said with a happy grin.

"What is it?"

"Well, my business has been doin' real well since I last saw you. All this hard work I've been puttin' into in these last few weeks, well, it's paid off. I could put a lotta this money I'm makin' into your college fund, find you a real good school for journalism." Hannah's smile slightly faded, as she faked excitement.

"That's real nice, daddy." John's eyebrows caved inwards.

"What, Hannah? What's the matter?"

"Nothin'," she replied nonchalantly.

"No, you seem awful disappointed. Tell me what's wrong." Hannah shook her head and waved the question off.

"It's nothin', Daddy, really. I'm just tired, that's all. There's only so much good news I can handle, I guess, and right now I'm just glad you're here." She pulled him into another hug.

"Hannah?" Mrs.Ferrell slowly approached her daughter, distracting herself from her husband's presence. Mr.Ferrell cleared his throat and let go of his daughter.

"Hi Mama!" Hannah greeted her pleasantly, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"You ready to go?" She spoke as though she was in a rush.

"Yeah, I just gotta go meet Gerry's mother. I promised him I would. I'm tellin' you, camp was incredible! You should've seen how they bonded. Once they got past that, they were the nicest guys you'd ever seen." Mrs.Ferrell frowned.

"I thought I told you to stay away from those boys," she asserted angrily. Immediately, John grunted and shook his head. Alice whipped her head towards him, a glare roaming in her eyes. Here we go, Hannah thought to herself.

"I'm sorry, do you have a problem with me lookin' out for my daughter's safety?" Alice questioned in a sarcastically casual tone.

"Course not. I'm just baffled by your inability to trust your own child," he shot back.

"Oh, so now I don't trust my own child, huh? What else are you gonna accuse me--"

"I'm goin' to see Gerry," Hannah snapped, interrupting their potentially heated argument. She turned her back on her bickering parents and made her way over to him.

"There she is. Ma, this is Hannah Ferrell. Hannah, this is my Ma."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs.Bertier." Hannah forced a smile as she shook hands with Gerry's mom.

"Please dear, call me Jean." She smiled warmly.

"Uh, Ma, I'll be right back," Gerry said wearily. Gerry moved away from Mrs.Bertier and gestured for Hannah to follow. She instantly approached him.

"Um...so...are you busy tonight? I know we just got home and all, and you probably think I'm rushin' things, which I probably am--"

"Gerry, I'd love to go out with you," Hannah interjected his nervous rambling. His face, red with embarrassment, cleared up. "But," she continued. "I'm goin' to a ladies' youth group tonight. Mama said it would be a good way to meet some kids from school. It'll only be a couple hours though, so call me at eight, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll do that," Gerry replied. They walked back over to Mrs.Bertier and she said good-bye to her.