And although I’m not the most observant person in the world, lately I’ve been getting better. He was lying through his teeth. And I was pretty sure I knew why. I looked over to Layton. Had he slipped to the whole team and the coaches that I was having issues? That maybe micro-concussions had messed with my brain? Maybe Ash needs a full checkup, he would have told them. Maybe he needs some time on the bench. For his own good.

I stormed up to Layton on the sidelines. “What did you tell them?” I demanded. “And don’t lie to me!”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he said.

I tried to read if he was lying. I was sure he was, but I couldn’t sense any tells in his voice or body language.

Then he sneered at me. “Boohoo,” he said, “the football star’s son doesn’t get to start for once. Get over it, Bowman. You’re part of a team. Act like it.”

I could have hit him, but I didn’t. Because something suddenly occurred to me. I looked up to the stands and caught sight of my parents. My father. Sitting there, stoic. Arms crossed. And I knew it wasn’t Layton at all.

By halftime we were beating the Storks by twenty to three. Svec did a respectable job on the defensive line. But we didn’t need a respectable job. We needed a tackle powerful enough to change the world.

I confronted the coach after his halftime pep talk. Svec was out for the second half, and another newbie was put in instead of me. That only made the truth even clearer to me.

“What did my father tell you?” I asked the coach. “You owe me an answer.”

He put up his hands. “Ash, I really don’t want to get in the middle of this.”

And there it was. Confirmation. “So it was my father.”

The coach sighed. “He said you’ve been making some bad choices. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but he feels you needed to understand the consequences of your actions.”

“The consequences of my actions?” I echoed loudly—which made his voice get even quieter.

“That’s what he said. And I owe him, Ash—he got me this job; you know that. What was I supposed to do?”

“You tell him no! You tell him this is your team, and you’ll coach it the way you see fit!”

“Do you think I like being put in this position? Whatever’s going on, you work it out with your father.”