Free The Rise of Rachel Stark by J.A. York Page A

thing. I look at all the kids in this
school who are bullied every day, made to feel awful about
themselves, to feel alone and unloved, abused and tossed aside … I
know how they feel, coach, because I used to walk in their shoes.
And I made a commitment a long time ago that I would stand with
these people against the bullies. And I'm going to stick to my
word. I'm on their team. I will not betray them. I will not let
them down, because I know they are counting on me. They're
important to me. Football is not. As Rodney said yesterday,
football is just a game."
    The coach jumped up from his
chair.
    "Football is not just a game!" he
shouted.
    "OK, coach, sit down, please sit
down," Mr. Peterson said, "before things get out of
hand."
    The coach sat down. He loosened
his tie.
    "Well," Mr. Peterson said, "we
have listened to you boys this morning, Coach O'Connor and I, and I
think we heard your message loud and clear. You stated your case
very eloquently.
    "Unfortunately, I think your case
also was badly overstated. I don't think what you call bullying is
nearly as bad as you make it out to be, and I certainly don't think
it is nearly as widespread as you would have us
believe."
    "Sir, that's just not true,"
Sheldon said. "We can cite you many incidents of bullying if you
want to hear them."
    "Actually, I have heard quite
enough, Sheldon. I have seen a clique form at Chante High that
involves you boys, maybe a few others and a couple of girls. I
think you trying to protect that clique, and nothing
more.
    "Now, you boys might think that
what you are doing is a noble thing. But I'm telling you it is a
stupid, selfish thing that you would regret for the rest of your
lives. Don't embarrass yourselves, your parents, your classmates,
Chante High and this town and its people by trying to pull off this
utterly ridiculous stunt!
    "Now, Coach O'Connor expects, and
I expect, you four to be at football practice today, at football
practice tomorrow, and on the field at 2 p.m. Friday for the
kickoff against the Rockford Wildcats."
    He stood up. His face grew red,
and his eyes narrowed. He pounded his desk and shouted.
    "Do. I. Make. My. Self.
Clear?"
    The players looked at him for a
moment, and rose from their chairs in unison. Then Rodney spoke for
the first time.
    "You and coach can expect all you
want. But whether we are on the field Friday is completely up to
you."
    They turned and filed out of the
room.
    ●●●
    Without a word, the four went to
the boys' locker room, removed their game and practice uniforms,
cleats and all, from their lockers and took them to the sports
equipment room, where they put them in neat piles on a long wooden
table.
    There were three methods of
communication in Chante in 1965: Telephone, telegram, and tell a
student.
    "On to the next phase," Sheldon
said to Tabby when he met her in the hallway 15 minutes later.
"Peterson didn't budge. Neither did we. We have turned in our
uniforms. Spread the word."
    Jimmy, Bull and Rodney dropped the
same message here and there around the school.
    Within minutes, the sports
equipment manager, a student, went to the sports equipment room to
see whether there was any truth to the rumor.
    Sure enough. There the uniforms
were. The rumor mill suddenly got hotter, and phones started
ringing all over the school.
    Steve Peterson, the principal,
heard from Ed Reynolds, the school board president.
    "What the hell is going on,
Steve?"
    "There's nothing to it. Coach and
I met with them this morning, and they're full of big talk, but
there's no way they're going to quit the team."
    "But somebody said they've already
turned in their uniforms."
    "It's a bluff. It's not going to
happen."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Absolutely."
    Calls to Mr. Peterson from other
members of the board followed in quick succession. He gave them all
the same assurances.
    Coach O'Connor got calls from the
same people, and he stuck to the party line, albeit with
considerably more profanity than Mr. Peterson.
    Then the coach