The upshot was that Leo and I didn’t talk for about a week. Then it passed, and things were okay. I mean, he was my best friend—we couldn’t let a little thing like racial tension get between us. And then I went out to protest police brutality with him, standing with a hand-painted sign and a fist in the air. I thought that was enough to show him I was on the right side of history. I have a different perspective now.

So anyway, six of us were eating burgers. Us guys were still pumped from our victory, and high on the adrenaline that makes any competitive sport so addictive—yet underneath it all, I could feel a strange current of uneasiness. This wasn’t a premonition, but an aftershock—because it wasn’t about something that was going to happen. It already had happened; I just didn’t know it yet. A sense of something being “wrong.” Was the feeling inside me, or around me? Was it both? In the moment, my body could only translate the feeling into that weird buzzing headache.

“I can’t believe I threw such a bad pass,” Layton lamented.

“Dude, give it a break,” Norris said. “We beat the Wildefreaks, that’s all that matters.”

But the look on Layton’s face said otherwise. Right about then, Katie shifted beneath his arm and began to eat one french fry after another—so quickly that Layton had to counter by removing his arm from her shoulder and using that hand to grab some fries for himself before they were all gone.

I grinned because I realized that was exactly why she had done it. Not because she wanted the fries, but because she had to motivate Layton to remove his arm, freeing her from the weight. Katie threw me a brief, guilty glance, knowing that I had seen this, and I gave her a quick wink to let her know that her secret was safe with me. She looked away, but then I could see her suppressing a smile. I remember wondering if it was disloyal of me to look forward to the time she and Layton broke up, so I could have my chance with her—a chance I should have taken a while ago, but never had the guts to do. I wouldn’t let my mind go down that path too soon, though. I just kept it on a mental back burner. I was never the kind of guy to make moves on someone else’s girlfriend. There were rumors, though, that Layton didn’t exactly treat her right. At the time, I didn’t think it was any of my business—but all the more reason for me to think their ’ship was sinking before the end of football season.

We talked more football as we ate, and Angela became bored. “Don’t you guys have any other interests?”

“Food,” said Norris. “And sex.”