Page 90 of Never Say Never
AVERY: How’s your day?
RAWLEY: All right. Been working on getting the plays down.
AVERY: That’s good.
RAWLEY: Boring AF but 100% necessary.
AVERY: For sure.
RAWLEY: How about you?
AVERY: Been uneventful. I’m just killing time at the hotel. We leave for the arena in an hour.
AVERY: So my sister Remy just sent me the most hilarious thing.
AVERY: [link to etsy.com]
AVERY: It might be the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen
I click on it and it’s a shirt—marketed as an ‘Avley’ shirt—that’s half the Waves’ colors and logo, and half the Surge’s. Only, the way the logos and words are cut off is awkward and weird.
RAWLEY: Yeah, that’s not a good look.
AVERY: Remy is threatening to wear it next time she sees me.
RAWLEY: Nice
A moment later, she lets me know a coach is at her door, but wishes me luck for day one of the next OTA.
And I set an alarm in my phone so I don’t miss her Phoenix game tonight.
When we startthe OTA on the next day, my hard work at learning the playbook is tested from the jump.
The coaches throw us into 11-on-11 drills, focusing on installing the formations and getting everyone on the same page.
They have me join the starters. I do okay, I think—but not great.
Of the first eight plays, I remember three of them perfectly, earning a “great job, Battle,” from our offensive coordinator, Marshall. Another two, I’m a step slow before my memory kicks in, but I adjust to the right position as quickly as my brain clicks on.
The other three—yeah, I’m lost on those.
Fuck.I feel defeated when the coaches call for lunch.
“You’re doing fine, Rawley,” Johnson says quietly to me as we all walk inside. “Seriously.”
“Really?” I ask, just as faintly.
“Yeah, no one expects rookies to know this stuff straight away. At least coaches and players who understand how hard it is.”
He wears a sincere expression when I glance at him, and he’s not a bullshitter so I take him at his word.
“Thank you.”
“You got this.” He taps me on the shoulder and then whispers, “And we can go over everything again on the field at my house next week, if you want.”
That calms my nerves more than anything.
The thought of being able to walk through all the plays on a regulation field, just with Johnson, at a calm pace? It’s exactly how my mind retains stuff best.
