The halls of Beechwood High were crowded as students rushed to their lockers to put their books away at the end of the day. Raymond Osgood was walking down the hall with Bob Warren, his left guard. Bob asked, "So is your new girlfriend coming to practice again, today?"
Raymond shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't seen her all day. We didn't arrange anything."
Bob grinned at him, "Maybe we should have her come out for the team, she threw a terrific pass yesterday. We could use a good back-up quarterback."
"I wouldn't mind her studying under me," Raymond returned the grin. "It did hit with authority, though. She's pretty smart, too. She memorized our play book while she was sitting in the bleachers."
"I'm still having trouble learning it," Bob said. "Speaking of her, I was asking around. It seems that last year she made a splash by jumping off of the school roof."
"She tried to commit suicide?" Raymond asked with concern.
"No, it was some kind of a trick. She wasn't hurt at all," Bob explained. "Everyone asked her how she did it but she said that she just jumped. A bunch of people climbed up on the roof to watch her do it again and she backed down. No one ever found out what the trick was. She's a pretty strange girl."
"I didn't hear anything about it," Raymond said. "I never noticed her before I saw her 'Vette. I don't really know anything about her. I haven't said more than a few words to her. I just asked her to the dance."
"Here she comes," Bob said gesturing in front of them.
Jessi came down the hall carrying a sheaf of papers. When she met them she handed him the papers, "Raymond, I brought you the notes I promised."
Raymond glanced meaningfully at Bob who said, "I've got to go suit up, see you at practice." He nodded at Jessi and went past them and continued down the hall.
Raymond leafed through the pages, "This is a lot of work. You didn't have to do all of this. There must be about twenty pages here."
"Twenty three," Jessi casually corrected him. "It only took me a few minutes. I hope it's helpful."
He started to read, then stopped and looked at her, "This is better than the notes the coach gives us, you have a good eye for football."
"Thank you," Jessi was obviously pleased. "I created a couple of plays. They're in the back. I looked at your playbook and thought about your personnel and what else you could do. I think they might work."
Raymond turned to the end and looked at the first one, his fingers tracing the routes. "That might work," he nodded. "Fredrick could probably run that route." He looked at the other one, "I'm not sure what you want to happen here." He showed her the page.
"The safety is going to commit to the first receiver, when the second one breaks here," Jessi pointed, "he will be left behind."
Raymond frowned, "Maybe. I'm not sure we could run this without a lot of practice. It would take precise timing for it to work. The first one would be easier to put in." He held up the papers, "I think the coach will be very interested in this. Are you coming to practice again this afternoon?"
Jessi shook her head, "No, I need to go over to UDub today. I've seen your practice and know how the game is played. I'm ready for the game on Friday before the dance." She looked at him smiling.
"What did you say you did over at UDub?" Raymond asked. "You said something about helping students with their science projects. Are you a volunteer in a research project?"
"No," Jessi said. "When they get stuck on a problem, I look at what they are doing and give advice."
"If you're that smart, what are you doing still in high school?" Raymond asked.
Jessi said, "I'm trying to have a normal life. Do things like go to football games or go to the dance with you."
Raymond smiled, "I'm looking forward to it." He looked at the thinning hall crowd. "I've got to get to practice. The coach doesn't like people being late." He headed down the hall in the same direction Bob had gone earlier. Jessi watched him go, smiling.