Free The F Factor by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

complete sentences!” Mr. Seneca told him. “Again, Dylan, slow, steady, and with some enthusiasm.”
    Dylan squared his shoulders and said in a strained voice, “The school football team has its next game—”
    â€œWhich team?” Mr. Seneca’s voice snapped like a whip.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œWhich team? Varsity? JV? Freshmen? Be specific.”
    â€œI meant the varsity.” Dylan’s dark eyes glowed. “Who cares when the freshmen are playing?” The paper in his hands shook. “Okay, fine! The varsity squad will play the Angels—”
    â€œFrom what school? What sport?”
    â€œOkay. The varsity—Guardian football team plays the Saint Gabriel Angels on Friday night at Cathedral field. Tickets cost five dollars.”
    â€œYou sound so mad, Dylan. Do the students want to watch an angry football player doing announcements?”
    Dylan tossed the paper up in the air. “Mr. Seneca, just let the sophomores do this job first. They got the extra time to practice it like you want it. I’ll just watch ’em and then I can have my chance on TV when football season is over, okay?”
    Javier rolled his lips inside his mouth to keep a smile off his face. He didn’t dare look at Pat Berlanga for fear they would both jump up and high-five.
    But happiness at this small victory fizzled out quickly as Javier watched the juniors roast under the harsh spotlight of Mr. Seneca’s criticisms. They also begged for the sophomores to go first. That’s when Kenny García volunteered to work the camera. “My dad has a digital camera and I used it all summer,” he said. Landry and Steve wanted to work the computers and stay behind the scenes.
    That left Javier and Pat as the first broadcast team on Guardian TV Wednesday morning and probably for the next week. Javier only wished a vote of confidence hadgotten him the job, not the fact that nobody else wanted to do it. He saw Pat staring at the desk area. Was Pat picturing their practice session, or was he sleeping with his eyes open? How would they make the first broadcast exceed everyone’s expectations, particularly Mr. Seneca’s?
    As they gathered up their books after the bell rang to end class, Javier said to Pat, “Do you think we can get it all together by tomorrow morning?”
    â€œWho knows?” Pat zipped up his backpack. He yawned and blinked his sleepy eyes. “But no matter what happens, you and me, we’ll just roll with the flow.”
    â€œYeah,” Javier muttered, “roll with the flow.”

CHAPTER FIVE

    â€œF irst-period is
so
annoying,” Javier told Andy and Ignacio as they pushed through the side doors and walked toward the portable building for third-period class. “And it’s not just during class. Now I have to stay after school to practice.”
    â€œWelcome to our world,” Ignacio said, tugging on the front of his white shirt to pull it away from his sweating body. “You’ve gotten spoiled by going home at four o’clock every day. If we make it out of here by seven, we’re lucky.”
    Andy had a pencil in each hand and played a drum-beat in the air. “If Mr. Seneca keeps you late, you can grab a ride home with me.”
    â€œJavier needs to get a ride home with Pat and Feliz—a sweet ride home in that luxury car she drives.” Ignacio swatted at Andy’s pencils. “Who wants to ride home with
your
mom when a guy can find something much, much better?”
    â€œDon’t talk about my momma!” Andy purposely rapped the pencils across Ignacio’s hand. “And you know how much I’ve been dreaming about Feliz Berlanga! Just the two of us on a
smooth
ride.”
    Javier merely smiled. There was nothing smooth about a car ride with Feliz, but he said instead, “In two weeks, I can drive myself to school.”
    â€œCool! You can give us a ride home after band