"Hey," Koby said as his mom answered the phone.
"How're you doing up there by yourself?"
"Good. Coach invited me to his house yesterday for a barbecue and I got to meet Julian Malono. Oh Mom, he was so cool. He's the new conditioning trainer at the university and he told me he'd work with me to bulk up. He even thinks by next year, I'll have a chance at starting quarterback. How cool is that!" Koby was practically vibrating in his enthusiasm.
"It's nice that this Julian boy thinks you have that kind of talent." His mom said dryly.
"I do have that kind of talent." His mom had always downplayed his ability. "I'll talk to you later."
"Now, don't pout, it's just that Gerald could really use you here at the ranch. Why you think you need to play sports all the time is beyond me. You know you'll never be good enough to go pro, so I just don't see the point in wasting your life playing a game."
"Of course you don't understand, you never did." Koby took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his shoulder-length blond hair. "Look, I really gotta go. You can try and call next week, if you want."
"I love you."
"Yeah, sure. Talk to you later." Koby hung up and set the phone back on his desk. He looked around at the overly crowded room. He felt claustrophobic already, what would it be like with a roommate?
Deciding he needed some exercise to help his mood, Koby picked up an elastic band and put his hair into a short ponytail. Grabbing his keys off the desk and slipping them into his pocket, he picked up his gym bag and left the tiny room.
Jogging down the steps, he thought about the conversation with his mom. God, what would it be like if he had supportive parents? His mom was too wrapped up in his stepfather, and his real dad was too busy with his career and a long line of airheaded-bimbo girlfriends.
No, Koby thought, none of his relations cared about his football career. The fans in the stadium had been the only ones to cheer for him, never a family member among them. That's who Koby played football for, the fans, complete strangers who thought he was more special than his own parents. This year he'd be playing for North-Central University, but the school didn't matter as much as the fans. Here, the fans were football fanatics and Koby couldn't wait to hear them screaming his name.
Walking into the empty locker room, Koby changed his clothes and walked out onto the track that circled the practice field. Stretching, he thought of what Julian had told him the previous day. He knew he was good enough to take the top spot away from the present quarterback, Vic, but Julian had been right, he needed to get in better shape.
As he started running around the track, he decided he'd spend every available second getting into condition. He'd show his folks that he was good enough, even if it killed him.
After his muscles began to loosen, he picked up the pace, going into the quiet place in his head. He'd used this technique often, when life at home got to be too much. When he was in his zone, nothing could touch him. He first learned how to do it when he was only fourteen. Right after he'd heard his mom on the phone with his dad discussing custody. Unlike most kids, neither of his parents wanted him. They actually had a custody battle over who would be saddled with a fourteen-year-old boy.
The judge finally decided that the record business wouldn't be conducive to raising a child, so he was ordered to live with his mom. Two months later, his mom married Gerald, with whom she'd been having a long-term affair. Gerald hated Koby, and made no secret of it. To Gerald, if you weren't working breaking a sweat, you were doing the devils business. Koby never understood how his mom could live with a man who worked from sun up to sundown, six days a week. Sunday, Gerald believed, was a day of rest and of paying one's respects to the Lord. Gerald and his mom spent half of every Sunday in church, and the other half visiting neighbours.
After coming out to them, Koby had no longer been welcomed in Gerald's church. He hadn't really been welcome in Gerald's house either, but until he turned eighteen, Gerald didn't have much choice. So, in the meantime, Gerald made sure he gave Koby every shitty job on the ranch to do on Sundays.
Running as fast as he could, Koby started to feel the burn, but he wasn't ready to stop. He was so far in the zone, he almost ran over the hulking shape in front of him. Strong hands reached out to brace him as he skidded to a stop. He stared at Julian, trying to bring himself back to the present.
"Koby? You okay, man?" Julian said, still holding onto his arms.
He shook his head, trying to break his trance-like state. "Koby?" Julian said again.
Blinking several times, he finally nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay, just you know ... in the zone."
Julian seemed to examine him closely. "You're not on something are you?"
"No, God no. It's just something I do when life gets too much, ya know?" He motioned toward the track. "I run, empty my mind of everything but me and the ground under my feet." He shrugged his shoulders as Julian dropped his hands. "It's how I cope."
Julian nodded.
"So, did you want something?" Koby started walking to cool down his muscles so they wouldn't cramp.
Julian turned and walked beside him. "Not really. I saw your bag in the locker room and thought maybe you'd feel like working out, but from the way you were burning up the track a minute ago, I'd say, you've had your workout."
"No, I'd like to workout. I was just thinking that I'm going to spend every spare moment getting into better condition." He pulled the elastic band out of his hair and ran his hands through it. The slight breeze in the air felt nice against his heated skin.
Chuckling, Julian patted him on the back. "Well from what I saw, your running speed is just fine, but maybe we could start working on your upper body strength. That's if you really think you're up to it today?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I do this almost every day." He grinned at Julian. "It's a cheap version of therapy. I would like to rest a few and grab a bottle of water first though." After circling the track, they headed back toward the locker room.
)
