Free Running Loose by Chris Crutcher

fact, he used to coach, which is, as I understand it, a prerequisite for getting into high school administration. Jasper’s scarier, though. He’s had longer to work on his act, and he’s smarter.
    “Have a seat, Louie,” he said.
    I sat, facing them both.
    “Coach Lednecky and I have been having quite a discussion about you,” he said.
    I sort of nodded and cleared my throat.
    “The first thing I’d like to do here is get your version of what happened last Friday. That was quite a display you put on. I have to admit I’m pretty appalled at your language.”
    I tried to remember what I’d said.
    There was silence.
    “Well?”
    I decided I wanted to play football. “Well, I guess I thought Boomer tried to injure Washington on purpose,” I said.
    “Is that all?”
    “Well, I guess I thought Coach Lednecky put him up to it.”
    “What gave you that idea?” he asked.
    “I don’t know,” I said, beginning the sellout statement of the century. “Probably a mistake I made from some of the pregame psyche-up stuff. I don’t know. I guess I get pretty excited sometimes.” I felt a tremendous flood of anxiety that, as I look back on it, was probably a combination of excitement about getting back on the team, self-contempt for what I was saying, and fear. Mostly fear. A little trickle of sweat ran down from both armpits toward my brand-new Jockey shorts.
    Lednecky looked me square in the eye. “That’s not the way we play football here at Trout,” he lied. “I may coach rough football, but I coach clean football.”
    I nodded. “Yes, sir,” I said quietly.
    Jasper interrupted. “I understand you’d like to get back on the team, Louie.”
    I nodded again. “Yes, sir. I mean, I don’t know. I mean, I think so.”
    “You think so?”
    “I mean—”
    Lednecky cut in. “You better know so, Banks. Carter came to me this morning and said you two hadtalked things out. Believe me, after the stunt you pulled on Friday, I had no reason whatsoever to even consider taking you back. But Carter convinced me to talk with you. I like to give a boy a chance to make amends for his mistakes, but so far I’m not impressed. You should be on your knees.”
    I decided I didn’t want to play football.
    He went on. “I have a tremendous reservation about letting you back. I won’t have you running around with that attitude, contaminating my football team.” He stood up and walked to the other side of the office. “These are my conditions,” he said. “Take them or leave them. You make a full apology to the team in a meeting before practice today. You write an apology to the school that will be published in the school paper. You run the mile for time before every practice for two weeks, and you start back on the third string and work your way up.”
    My guts churned. I looked to Jasper.
    He nodded. “Well, what do you say?”
    I gave it up. Just let it go, like Becky said. And I wasn’t scared anymore. “Naw,” I said, “I don’t think so. It’s not worth it. Not even close.”
    Lednecky started to walk out.
    “Wait a minute, Coach,” Jasper said. He turnedback to me. “I want to get this taken care of once and for all. What do you think would be fair, Louie? I’m interested.”
    I cleared my throat. “Well, first, I’m not willing to start back on third string. And I can’t see starting every practice with a timed mile. Maybe for track, but not football. Then I think Coach Lednecky should submit a written apology to Washington to the Daily Statesman down in Boise. And maybe during the meeting he scheduled for me today, he could apologize to the team for teaching us dirty football. And we could start the whole thing off by having him apologize to you right now for not telling the truth about what happened.”
    I may be a wussy most of the time, but I have my moments.
    “That’s enough!” Jasper yelled. He caught himself. “Are you calling Coach Lednecky a liar?”
    “I’m not calling Coach Lednecky