So far we had one big game and I didn't get tackled. I had it out of the game, without bruises and scratches. Other than the rest of the games, we were to train. Coach made us lift weights and do pushups. Even after a whole month, I still couldn't lift a weight. My push-ups weren't so good too. I did five, and then collapsed on the ground. I remember when I was lifting a weight (20 kilos?); I tried, but fell back when my fingers slipped from the cold metal. But the rest of the team lifted the giant weights like they were feathers. Well most of the team. Brent had trouble lifting weights.

One time, he dropped the weight and jumped back before it could land on his toe. I laughed along with the rest of the team, but Brent glared at me and ended up chasing me around the football field. Since I was a good runner, he couldn't catch me. And his threats made me laugh even more.

"Wait till you drop a weight on your foot!" he hollered and ran faster.

"I can't even lift one!" I grinned over my shoulder and raced around faster.

"Then I'll drop one for you!" he shouted and I saw him gaining on me. Wow, he was better than I thought.

"I'll just run away before you'll do so!" I laughed and glanced over my shoulder.

"Wait till I get you, Flint! You wished you were never born!" he yelled angrily and I saw his eyes blaze. I still knew he wouldn't catch me. Nope. Then I had an idea. The bleachers were ahead. I jumped onto the low bench and ran up to the high one. Brent followed no problem. At the top, I was trapped, but I was ready. Brent came closer, so I ran toward the railing and sat on it. When he got even closer, I slid down the railing all the way back down to the football field.

"WAHOOOOO!" I whooped as I slid down. At the bottom, I looked up and saw Brent standing on the top bleacher. He narrowed his eyes and jumped on the railing too. Swiftly, he slid down and we were on the run again. Once again we were running around the football field and I heard our teammates cheer. That's until our coach came. Instantly, I stopped running and watched coach come into the field. Brent saw his chance that I had stopped running. When he was close enough, he jumped and before he could slam into me, I moved over and he crashed on the ground. His face slid on the muddy ground and he lay still on the ground.

"What the hell are you two doing?" our coach shouted and jogged over to us. The rest of the team came up too.

"Training." I stood up straighter and coach nodded. Then everyone came over to Brent and circled him. We all watched him sit up and we all moved back. His face was covered in grass and mud. So were his jersey and his white football pants. His forehead was all red. Too bad we didn't have our helmets on. He looked around and his eyes fell on me. I took a big step back.

"So you guys know that all this week it was Homecoming Week. Today is Thursday.

Tomorrow is the Homecoming Football game and the dance. And tomorrow the Homecoming Queen will be chosen. I want you guys to play good tomorrow and please win. We need it." Coach told us as we formed a huddle, after Brent got to his feet.

"Um, Coach? Who are we playing?" Denis asked nervously.

"Some high school in New York," Coach shrugged, and then broke the huddle, "Go change now!"

We all groaned and jogged down the field. As we headed down to the field, I felt Brent jog up beside me. His eyes glared at me, and then he jogged faster and past me. I watched him go and sighed. Why couldn't we just be friends? So what if he was the popular kid in town and I was the loner? We were equal in a lot of ways. Now as I thought about him, I wondered who he lived with. His parents were dead. Maybe he lived alone.

After we all changed and were heading out, I heard Brent call out to the team before we all left. Everyone turned and he cleared his throat. A look of worry flashed through his eyes. This made everyone come closer.

"I have some bad news. But don't worry too much about it." He looked down at his feet and gulped. A murmur rippled through our team. I watched Brent. He looked up at me and it was the EXACT same look he gave me in 2nd grade. The same scared look he gave me when he sat down beside me at lunch. NowI felt nervous.

"The Mayor will be let out of jail today, and will come to our Homecoming football game tomorrow." Brent finally addressed the team. The teammates who were Swallow Fall citizens, gasped and their faces paled. The ones like Denis; who came from the States, blinked. They had heard who the Mayor was and what he did, but didn't really understand why he was so bad.

"Why?" a boy who was a Swallow Falls citizen whispered and he looked scared.

"I don't know," Brent sighed and then motioned for everyone to go home. We all slung our backpacks over our shoulder and headed home.

As I headed home, I had second thoughts about going to Main Street and see the Mayor let out. But I changed my mind and realized it would probably be on TV. But to think that he was actually going to be let out of jail, sounded weird. The town had gotten used to, him not being there. But now he'll probably go back to his sardine company and babble about his money to everyone. What a jerk.

"Dad! I'm home!" I called out as I entered the house and closed the door behind me. Dad called a 'hello' back and I wondered what he was doing. Slowly I entered the living room and saw him poised in front of the TV with a remote in his hand. A commercial was rolling across the screen.

"Come here and sit down. The 7 o'clock Swallow Falls News is coming on any second." Dad motioned for me to sit beside him on the couch and I dropped my backpack at the door and came over. When I sat down, the 7 o'clock News instantly came on. A woman in a sleek black suit came on and grinned at her audience. She took a deep breath and began.

"Today our little town has some very exciting news. Mayor Shelbourne; who has been held in jail for 2 years and a couple of months is finally being let out! Yes I repeat, Mayor Shelbourne is being let out of jail. The Mayor is being let out right now, and Tara will tell us all about it. Over to you Tara." The woman smiled and screen appeared behind her and zoomed in to show a young reporter clutching her microphone excitedly. This must have been Tara.

"Oh, thank you Lynn! I'm Tara, reporting LIVE from the Main Street of Swallow Falls, where Mayor Shelbourne is being driven over in a police cruiser. Oh and here he comes now!" Tara grinned and moved away so the camera could be focused on the police cruiser driving onto Main Street. A crowd of murmuring people were standing in the sidelines, watching nervously. The cruiser parked and the driver's door opened, to show Earl. He had a grim look on his face. He obviously didn't want the Mayor out of jail.

The passenger door opened and Mayor Shelbourne stepped out. The crowd gasped. Nobody could believe that it was really the Mayor standing there. His usual sleek brown hair was uncombed and flopped over his forehead sloppily. He wore the striped black and white jail uniform and his black loafers. The loafers weren't shiny anymore. They were all scuffed and dirty. His grin was wide and his eyes were wild.

"Hello, everyone!" he waved at the crowd. No one answered. Then people, one by one called 'hello's' back to him. He smiled an grin Flint knew oh so well. It was a sly grin. Before the Mayor could say anymore, Earl shoved him back into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

"I'm taking him to City Hall." Earl told the crowd of people. The cruiser drove away and Tara came back.

"Well that was interesting! Tomorrow the Mayor plans to make an appearance at Swallow Falls High School Homecoming Football Game. Then he also will adjust to his previous life and things will go back to normal. Other news regarding the Homecoming Football Game, Swallow Falls will be playing against a high school in New York City. This means that the players and fans will be arriving from New York City early tomorrow morning. Now over to Lynn with the weather report." Tara beamed into the camera.

Dad turned the TV off and sighed. I sighed too. Life will not go back to normal. The Mayor will just cause more problems. And why was he coming to our Homecoming Football Game?

"Dad? Are you coming to the game tomorrow?" I asked. Dad smiled at me and nodded. I watched him get up and go make dinner. Exactly in 24 hours we'll be playing the game against the high school from NYC. I couldn't wait.

xxx

It was officially 24 hours later. It was 7:00 pm and the bleachers of Swallow Fall's football field were filling up. On one side of the field sat the people cheering for The Swallow Falls Sharks. On the other side were the people cheering for The Fillionbridge Falcons. (Author's note: This is a made up high school, so don't try looking it up!) The cheerleaders for the Sharks were standing in the sidelines of the Swallow Falls bleachers and the cheerleaders for the Falcons stood on the sidelines of the Fillionbridge bleachers. The cheerleaders from both sides glared at each other. It will be completion between them too. The Fillionbridge football players were doing pushups near their bleachers. The Swallow Falls players were huddled around their coach.

"I want everyone to try their best tonight. If you don't know what to do, pass the ball to a different teammate. This means you, Flint. Don't panic if everyone is charging at you. Just change course of the ball." Coach told us and I felt myself nod. Then we broke the huddle and all took a peek at the other team. They were huge!

"We are screwed. They'll steamroll us before we could call for help." Denis winced beside me. I nodded in agreement and the rest of the team murmured something in agreement.

"Stop complaining! Just because they're huge, that doesn't mean we'll lose! They may have the muscles, but we have the brains. We use strategy." Coach winked at us and we all groaned.

My eyes watched the other team and then my eyes traveled to the crowd of cheering Fillionbridge fans. Suddenly, my heart slammed inside my chest. I squinted really hard. It was HER! Oh my god! It was the girl from the summer school program 2 years ago! Was it? She was wearing glasses. But I knew it was her! Even behind the glasses! I tried to catch another look at her, but a loud piercing whistle blew from somewhere and the whole field went quiet.

Mayor Shelbourne walked out onto the field wearing a shiny dark blue suit. His hair was sleek again and his loafers sparkled. A microphone was gripped tightly in his hand. He cleared his throat into the microphone and got everyone's attention.

"We have all come today to one of the greatest events in Swallow Falls High School. Tonight we are playing the annual Homecoming Football Game against Fillionbridge High School's Falcons. I wish luck to both teams!" the Mayor cried out excitedly and the crowd roared.

"And here come the teams!" the Mayor waved his hand at the two teams and left the field. Our team and the other team slowly began to make it down to the field. Everything seemed as if it was all happening in slow motion. We walked onto the field with determined and mighty looks flaming in our eyes. The other team cracked their knuckles and grinned evilly. Slowly, we made it into our positions. Everyone got ready in their positions.

The cheerleaders held their pom-poms ready in their hands. The crowd leaned forward. The coaches gripped their baseball caps. The tension was building up and was trying to burst through the surface. Then—

A shrill whistle rang through the crowd and the game began. No one saw the Mayor slink away. He held something small in his palm, as he sat in the crowd.

The game had officially started. So far the ball hasn't come to me. Wait. No. Here it comes right now…