I want to forget the look on Julian’s face when he confronted me on the bench a few minutes ago. Forget what happened three years ago. I just want this feeling again. Like I’m a part of something. Like the team needs me. Like I’m important. And tackling that cornerback gives me that feeling.

Coach Andrews sends us for another water break, and I pull my helmet off. My hair is drenched in sweat, and I try to wipe some of it off as I run to the sidelines. I hadn’t noticed how long it was, but now that it’s plastered to my face, I realize I’m going to have to cut it soon.

“You look a little lost out there,” Julian says when I run past him. I’m riding such a high from my one tackle that I almost didn’t notice him.

His words still sting, though.

“It’s been a while,” I say, trying to smile back at him. Did I really look that bad? Maybe the first time I went through the tackle line, sure. But did he see me actually make that last tackle? It felt good. Did it not look that way?

“It feels good to be back out there,” I finally say, trying to look more confident than I feel.

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s important, too,” he says, shrugging with one shoulder and jogging back out to the field.

I try to brush it off. So, he’s ticked because I didn’t tell him I was going to show up to football practice today. It’s not my problem.

But as we set up to scrimmage, his words dig into my skin and get me right in the chest. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Coach Marcus throws me a yellow practice jersey and tells me to set up. I don’t know the plays yet, but I know what a cornerback is supposed to do.

I watch Julian call the play and catch the snap, and I take off after the wide receiver. The kid is seriously fast, and he zooms right past me and cuts to his left. There’s no way I can keep up. The receiver catches the perfect pass from Julian and practically skips into the end zone while I chase behind him as fast as I can. Julian lets out a loud whoop and salutes me from behind his helmet.

“Don’t let it get to you, Vance,” the giant middle linebacker says to me after the touchdown. “That guy’s got wings on his feet. None of us can ever catch him. Just keep digging in.”