Murder at the PTA. Lee Hollis

continued shouting words of encouragement to the team, clapping his hands.

      Sandra stood up with the rest of the football fans in the bleachers as the cheerleaders, a mix of boys and girls, finished up a rallying cry complete with cartwheels.

      She felt a wave of sadness when she noticed Joel Metcalf wasn’t down in the front row on the end like he usually was. He never missed a game, but of course didn’t make it today given his son’s situation.

      The clock resumed, counting down the last few seconds, and the center lineman bent over and snapped the ball to Jack, who grabbed it and backed up to pass to the wide receiver as the offensive line kept the opposing players at bay. The receiver was wide-open, arms outstretched, and all Jack had to do was throw the ball, but he just stood there, stunned for a moment before slamming the ball to the ground and leaping on top of a player who had broken through the defense.

      They punched and kicked each other, rolling around on the field as the rest of the players from both teams piled on, shouting and fighting. The referee blew his whistle, and the coaches sprinted out onto the field to break up the brawl.

      Once the boys were dragged off each other and escorted back to their respective sides of the field, the red-faced referee officially ejected Jack from the game to a cacophony of boos from the irate home crowd, who, despite what they had seen with their own eyes, believed the fight was the fault of the visiting team and certainly not theirs.

      Stephen yelled at the referee, who appeared slightly shaken when he looked to the crowd and spotted a U.S. senator berating him. Sandra watched as Jack stalked off the field, yanked his helmet from his head, and hurled it to the ground, where he promptly kicked it with his cleat. The helmet sailed through the air, nearly beaning a male cheerleader who had to duck out of the way.

      The game resumed and the opposing team, which now had possession of the ball, managed to run out the clock and won the game by seven points. As Sandra glared at her benched son, who sat alone in his grass-stained football uniform, his head buried in his hands, she was sure of one thing. He had started that fight for some reason, and it had cost his team the game.

      CHAPTER TEN

      “I would like for you to explain to me why I shouldn’t bounce you off the team for the remainder of the season,” Principal Hicks said, sitting behind his desk with his arms folded, a stern look on his face.

      Jack, sitting in a chair opposite him, stared down at his Nike Air Force sneakers and just shrugged.

      “Principal Hicks asked you a question, Jack.” Sandra sighed, nudging her son’s arm.

      “I don’t know,” he muttered, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.

      Sandra had warned her son that it was in his best interest to apologize for starting the brawl that had led to his ejection from the game and just take his punishment like a man. Jack had spent the Saturday evening after the game and all day Sunday pouting in his room. And now, Monday morning in the principal’s office, he was still acting remote and uncommunicative.

      Sandra gave Principal Hicks an apologetic look, not sure what was wrong with her usually socially adept and carefree son.

      Hicks unfolded his arms and slapped his hands down on his desk. “Okay, if you are not going to help me out here, I’m just going to have to make a decision on my own.”

      There was a knock at the door.

      Hicks, annoyed, called out. “Yes?”

      The door opened, and Coach Vinnie Cooper popped his head into the office. “Sorry to interrupt. I was hoping you might let me say a few words.”

      “By all means, Coach, come in,” Hicks said, waving him in. “I would love it if you could offer us a little insight as to what happened on Saturday.”

      “As a matter of fact, I can,” Coach Cooper said, slipping in and closing the door behind him. “Morning, Mrs. Wallage.”

      “Good morning, Coach,” Sandra said, smiling.

      Coach Cooper stepped around to the other side of Jack, who still sat slumped over in his chair, a sullen look on his face. “Jack . . .”

      “Coach . . . ,” Jack mumbled, wishing he was anywhere else.

      Sandra could not believe her son was acting like this. It was so out of character, and she couldn’t imagine what was bothering him so much that he would pick a fight during a football game.

      She didn’t have to wait long to get her answer.

      Coach Cooper cleared his throat. “I spoke to some of Jack’s teammates yesterday, and they told me that the linebacker from Yarmouth who Jack went after on the field had made a crack about Kevin Metcalf. . . .”

      There was a long pause.

      Hicks leaned forward. “Is that true, Jack?”

      Jack didn’t respond at first. He just shifted in his seat uncomfortably and then gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

      Sandra touched his arm. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

      Jack just offered another obstinate shrug.

      But Sandra was not about to drop the matter. “Jack . . . ?”

      Realizing he was outnumbered by three adults now, Jack knew he couldn’t avoid participating in the interrogation any longer and huffed, “I just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, okay?”

      “Apparently the kid was making fun of Kevin’s recent struggles with addiction. Jack was just defending his teammate,” Coach Cooper said, reaching down and squeezing Jack’s shoulder in a show of support.

      Sandra never thought she could love her sons any more than she already did, but in this moment, with this revelation, her heart swelled a tiny bit more. But she knew her feelings were not going to get him off the hook with the high school principal. She wanted to hug him and tell him how proud she was of him for sticking up for his friend, but she refrained and kept her tough-disciplinarian-mother face on in order to show a united front with Principal Hicks.

      At least until they were safely out of the office.

      “So I was thinking detention for a week, a letter of apology to the Yarmouth player, and he’s back on the field for Saturday’s away game at Thornton Academy,” Coach Cooper said, in an attempt to curb what he feared might be a harsher punishment.

      Hicks considered the proposal and then outright rejected it. “I have a zero-tolerance policy for violence no matter what the reason.”

      Coach Cooper stepped forward. “I understand that, John, but—”

      Hicks stopped him in his tracks. “I’m not going to cut Jack some slack just because he’s your star player. That wouldn’t be fair to my other students. One-week suspension, a letter of apology, and he’s benched for the next three games.”

      Coach Cooper opened his mouth to argue, but Sandra cut him off. “I think that’s absolutely fair. Don’t you, Jack?”

      Another sullen shrug from the peanut gallery.

      Coach Cooper frowned. He had obviously been prepared to put up more of a fight, but there was no way he could win with the kid’s mother taking the principal’s side, so he just gave up and retreated from the office after a cursory nod.

      “Thank you,” Sandra said, standing up and shaking Hicks’s hand.

      “I’ll see you at the next PTA meeting, Sandra,” Hicks said, circling around his desk to show them to the door. “Try to keep that temper in check, okay, Jack?”

      Jack never made eye contact. He gave the principal a half wave and scooted out the door ahead of his mother. She gave Hicks another apologetic smile and then raced to catch up with him.

      After Hicks closed the door to his office, Sandra turned and ran smack