When Varsity gets the idea to dump the J.V. team's clothes into the shower again, Ted decides to do something about it and spare the Ducks from public embarrassment.

Freshmen Really Stink

It happened again shortly after the Ducks won their next home game against the Randolph Academy Patriots.

Granted, Ted heard about the bullying from Banks. Banks revealed when he found out about one of the acts that initiated the prank war: Varsity throwing J.V.'s clothes in the shower.

Ted was aware of this sort of thing. It happened when he and Gordon had been in school together; Varsity would do it to anybody they deemed "dirty" all the time. But he and Gordon had been too chicken to stand up back then, not wanting to get on Varsity's bad side, seeing what happened to those who dared to stick up for themselves.

Now, Ted wished he'd done something back then, spoken up in some way, because now his kids were suffering.

It only got worse after J.V. beat Varsity in the exhibition match. The bullying seemed to intensify, particularly toward Averman, Conway, Banks, and Wu – Averman because he was considered a "nerd," Conway because he was their leader and fatherless, Banks because he'd quickly switched back to J.V., and Wu because he was the smallest. Varsity just seemed to get a kick out of kicking the kids when they were down.

And after their victory against the Patriots, it was no exception. While Rick Riley was no longer a problem after he'd gotten arrested for slipping Charlie nut-contaminated brownies, the rest of the Varsity team proved to still consist of a ton of rotten apples who were out to avenge Rick getting arrested (even though the senior nearly killed Charlie with that stunt).

When Ted stepped into the locker room to congratulate them on their win, which had ended in a shutout against the Patriots, he noticed the kids all standing near the locker room showers. He heard Goldberg say, "Man! Not again!"

He peered toward the showers, first seeing the wall graffitied with shaving cream, reading: FRESHMEN REALLY STINK. Glancing at the shower floor, he noticed the kids' clothes in a soaking wet pile; even Julie and Connie's weren't spared from the hazing. It would force the kids to walk across campus, still in their pads, sweaty after the game. He shook his head, noticing Julie and Connie's bras were among the pile. All he could hope for was that Scooter didn't have a clue – Scooter wouldn't participate in this; he was a model student and a prefect, in talks about being in the running for Boy of the Year.

Quietly, Ted slipped out of the locker room. He knew something had to be done, that these kids didn't deserve to go through that again, and he didn't want to imagine what they'd do in retaliation; if they iced the jerseys last time with liquid nitrogen, what more would they do? But he knew if he got in his car now and went across campus, he could catch the school's nurse, Mrs. Peters – she'd been the school nurse when Ted had been at Eden Hall Academy, and if his memory served correct, she kept spare clothing in her office.

He raced toward his car and fished his keys out of his pocket, unlocking it and revving up the ignition after putting his seatbelt on. He quickly pulled out of his parking spot and drove across campus toward the main building, but as he did so, he felt his anger toward the Varsity team settle in. He'd had it about up to here, especially with Rick Riley. He could've sworn a red haze flashed over his eyes as he parked in front of the main building, getting out and not even bothering to lock his car. He quickly walked into the building and made his way to the nurse's office, where he saw Mrs. Peters sitting behind her desk, her graying brown hair tied back in a ponytail, her blue eyes holding that grandmotherly comfort she hadn't lost, even after all these years.

"Hello, Ted, can I help you with anything?" she asked.

"Yeah, you can," Ted said. "I need spare clothes; a lot of them."

"And by a lot you mean –?"

"Thirteen," he said immediately. "Eleven boys, two girls." He listed off all the kids' sizing, knowing it by heart after getting a look at their Ducks' jerseys.

"Should I ask why?" Mrs. Peters asked, but nonetheless went off to grab the clean clothes, a lot of which had been donated to school over the years; Ted was willing to bet that some of his and Gordon's stuff were among that pile, since they'd both donated a lot of their things to the school shortly before they graduated.

"The Varsity team thought they'd dump J.V.'s clothes into the shower. Again," Ted explained. "And you might want to include two bras in there, too." He listed off the bra sizing – don't ask how he knew; part of his knowledge came from shopping for Bella and surprising her with sexier pieces from stores like Victoria's Secret (the fact that he knew he got the discount in there helped matters, too; it sure saved him money when surprising his wife).

Mrs. Peters shook her head in disgust. "Even after all these years, they continue this sort of behavior!"

"That's why I'm doing this," Ted said. "I'm not about to let my kids leave the locker room with nothing."

Despite her disgust with the Varsity team's bullying, Mrs. Peters offered Ted a warm smile. "Well, good thing they have you there looking after them."

"It's the least I could do, after I'd done nothing about it all those years." He felt his guilt resurface as he recalled all of the messed-up stuff Varsity had done to those they viewed as "white trash" or of lower class, but as Mrs. Peters handed him a worn pair of jeans and an old North Stars sweatshirt, he distinctly remembered that those items were some of his.

"Well, you're doing something now," Mrs. Peters said gently. "Besides, I'm sure half of the stuff I'm giving you to give to them belonged to you and Gordon at one point."

"Yeah," Ted remarked, examining what looked like an old T-shirt of Gordon's, which would no doubt fit Guy or Averman. The nurse continued handing him everything from blouses (for Connie and Julie), to old T-shirts, to khakis, to jeans that people had probably worn once and only once; a lot of it was stuff that got donated because these preppy brats never believed in wearing the same clothes twice, believing they constantly needed everything new. It sickened Ted that all of these clothes often got thrown away when it could go to someplace like a homeless shelter or the fire department, to people who actually needed them. He was glad to see they were finally being put to use after all this time.

He watched as all of the clothes got folded up and put into a large plastic bag, which he gratefully took. "Thanks, Mrs. Peters, I owe you one," he said, grabbing a piece of paper from the stationary on her desk and scribbling a note onto it: Try these on for size.

"We're colleagues now, Ted. Call me Rosalynne," Mrs. Peters replied.

"I could never. Not after calling you by your last name all these years." Ted clutched the bag a little tighter and left the nurse's office, knowing he'd need to hurry before the kids got any ideas about pranking Varsity back. At least if he snuck them the dry clothes, they need not worry about how they were going to exit the locker room after they finished showering and cleaning up the locker room.

He quickly drove across campus, hoping he could get back in time. He pulled into his parking spot near the front of the rink and once again didn't bother locking his car as he carried the bag of clean, dry clothes into the rink. He quickly went to the J.V. locker room, and when he quietly opened the door, he overheard his kids whispering among themselves.

"We can't just walk across campus like this." Connie sounded like she'd cry at any moment.

"As if they didn't learn from last time," Fulton was grumbling.

"They never will," Charlie was saying bitterly as Ted quickly tossed the bag of dry clothing into the locker room before slipping out just as quickly and silently. He overheard the kids' questions as he stood outside, hearing the surprise in their voices.

"Who did this for us, though?"

"Maybe Scooter?"

"I don't know about that, Jules. Somehow, I don't think he even knew what they were planning."

"Well, this is better than walking across campus wearing nothing."

"Yeah, thank God for whoever did this."

Ted felt a smile grace his face as he listened to them speculate about who snuck them the clean clothes. Except, when he went off to his office so that he could clean up his desk before heading home to his wife and daughter, he heard a quiet knock at the door and saw Conway coming in, wearing what Ted recognized as his old North Stars hoodie and sweatpants that he hadn't worn since he was a senior at Eden Hall. The kid wore a knowing smile on his face.

"It was you who did this, wasn't it?" Conway gestured to the clothes he now wore.

"I haven't got a clue," Ted shrugged, but nonetheless, couldn't keep the smile off his face as he winked at Charlie, who grinned back at him effortlessly.

"Thank you."

"Don't even worry about it. By the way, great job out there today. You guys all killed it." He paused before adding, "Also, let me handle the Varsity team this time."

"And how are you going to do that?" Charlie raised his eyebrows at him.

"I'm just gonna send them a reminder of what happens when their actions border on hazing, considering it's against the law," Ted said firmly. "So, don't worry; I'll sort it out for you."

A flash of relief washed over Charlie's face. "Thanks Coach."