Page 8 of Walk the Line

But even if I ever get a little bit lazy, I know exactly what will pull me out of it.

There’s nothing like going back to what motivates me every single time.

I just need the rest of the team to be…not on my level because that’s impossible. But close enough. We were all new last year which was probably the main reason for the amount of teething problems we had from the beginning. But although the games were just friendly with neighbouring Universities, none of the guys can deny that a lot of the wins we had were down to me. I’ll be the first to admit it anyway because I know I’m the best at what I do. It’s why I was quickly made Captain last year, and why all the guys on the team respected me even though they knew I wasn’t exactly the friendliest person to be around.

My only plan is to keep it going this year and I have no doubt I can do that. I respect most of the guys on the team as well. I don’t need to be friends with them to admit that some do have potential. The ones who don’t, I’ll be bringing their names up to Coach Campbell when I next speak to him.

I dry off and head to my room to cream my skin, my phone lighting up as soon as I get clothes on.

“Yo, bro, guess what just happened?” my brother Demetrius’s voice comes through in a hurry.

“What?” I’m not even shocked about where this might be going because I’ve heard that opening line too many times from my brother at this point so I can’t say I wasn’t expecting it.

“You could at least pretend like you want to know.”

“Just go on, bro,” I say blandly.

He doesn’t hesitate before saying, “I got the lead role in that musical I was telling you about.”

“Oh, shit, you did?”

“Yeah! My first lead role, I can’t believe it.”

There’s a bit more emotion in my voice as I say, “That’s sick, for real. I’m happy for you, bro.”

I mean every word. He didn’t take the path of going to university like me, but he didn’t need to. Demetrius knew he wanted the get into Musical Theatre from when we were both kids, and he’s been doing everything he can to make it happen for himself.

Barely anyone starts out getting a lead role, so I can easily understand why, at eighteen, this is a big moment for him.

“Man, if I just met you for the first time I would think you’re taking the piss,” he says, putting my previous notion that I was displaying more emotion to rest. “How do you manage to sound miserable as fuck all the time without even trying? I’m genuinely curious at this point, bro. Does it get tiring?”

I can tell he’s trying to get a rise out of me, but we both know there’s one answer to his question.

But I know he won’t go there and neither will I.

“Wait…how did we go from us celebrating about your news to you cussing out my whole life?” I say.

“I’m not cussing out your whole life. I’m not saying you’re a miserable human being who would make a clown cry.” He pauses. “Well…you would probably make a clown cry. I’m just saying whenever you say something, which thankfully isn’t a lot, I try to put myself in your shoes and…”

“Don’t put yourself in my shoes, they’re too big.” My brother knows if this was anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to get to the end of their sentence. But it just doesn’t feel as insulting hearing these harsh words from someone whose bedding I use to put in the washing machine after he wet them.

“Fuck off, I told you I don’t have small feet,” he says, because that’s really all I have to do to get him back.

“I never said you have small feet.”

“Yeah, but you’re trying to act like you’re that guy just because you have bigger feet than me. It would be weird if you didn’t have bigger feet than me seeing as you’re the older brother.”

I shake my head. “There’s no way we’re arguing about this right now.”

“You started it, man.”

“How old are you, again?”

“Shut up, giant.” He’s only 6’2 to my 6’4, but I guess I’ll take the compliment. “How’s Wild, though?”

Who names a city Wild? It’s been bugging me since I applied for Wildern University.

“It’s —“ My attention suddenly draws to what sounds like tapping coming from above. It’s weird because I feel like I’ve been hearing it this whole time but I must have just tuned it out until now.