“Hey Michael, come over here for a second would ya?” Jake said as he took off his football helmet off and shook his sandy mane free. He tucked the blue helmet under his arm and motioned the bear over to him with his free hand. The large tackle walked over with a slightly confused look, not sure what his teammate wanted.
“What is it Scratch?” Michael asked Jake as he lumbered over. He panted ever so slightly, still winded from the sprints he just ran. The nickname he used when addressing his friend was so catchy, he soon had the entire football team calling him by it.
“Any idea who the new guy is over there?” John asked, nodding to his left where a lanky fellow was doing some stretches at the sideline of the field, well away from where the rest of the team was resting during their break from practice. “He has been keeping to himself all morning and hasn’t spoken to anyone as far as I can tell. Know anything about him?”
Michael looked over and nodded when he saw the person in question. “Yeah, that’s the new kicker. Transferred from Stonington University a few days ago. Apparently he was good enough to be on the team in any of the top colleges in the country, but he wanted to keep to a smaller school. I think his name is Chip…..Or maybe its Chuck.” He took off his helmet and took a deep breath of the cool Autumn air, trying to slow his beating heart. Even for a tackle, he was out of shape and knew it. “I met him in the gym last night and spoke to him for a couple minutes. Nice guy, but a bit quiet and kinda keeps to himself. I suppose that’s why he hasn’t come over yet. I’m sure he will come over when he feels like it.”
The lion gave a bit of a chuckle t that. “Never heard of a withdrawn football player before. That’s definitely a new one to me.” They both watched as the new student finished his stretches and took off his helmet. Jake gave an audible gasp of surprise and his eyes went wide. “A rabbit!? Our new kicker is a rabbit!? What is a grass muncher doing on our team!?”
“Take it easy Scratch. Sheesh. Everyone is allowed to try out for the team if they want to, and apparently he is pretty good. What’s your problem?”
Jake seemed almost to bristle with irritation and Michael noticed that his friend had dug his claws into his helmet, causing deep scratches in the smooth surface. He watched the rabbit make his way to the middle of the field with the kicking tee and an armful of footballs, and continued. “No plant eater should ever be allowed to play collegiate football. They don’t have the genes to do it. You know as well as I do that leaf eaters don’t have the fierceness or the inner hunger to win.” Michael put a large hand on his shoulder and interrupted him.
“Stop it Jake. Your wrong and you know it as well as I do. Stop making yourself sound like a bigot.” Jake pulled away and gave a small snarl of anger. “I am not a bigot, but think about it! He would sooner eat the grass on a football field then run on it. This is a game for meat eaters, plain and simple.”
“I eat fish. Does that mean I shouldn’t play either?” Michael asked, yet Jake shook his head emphatically. “You know what I mean. Meat and fish and fowl are all fine, but grass is different! Rabbits are fine for the track team, or maybe volleyball, but don’t expect me to believe for even one minute that he……..” Jake was silenced as Michael grabbed him by the shoulder pads and spun him around quickly. The lion looked up just in time to see a football sail through the air as if propelled by a jet engine, finally falling to the earth as it split the field goal posts directly down the middle. Jake blinked and turned his head to look where the rabbit was stood. He leaned towards Michael, and in a voice barely above a whisper asked, “How far was that?”
“Fifty seven yards.” The bear responded as he grinned a bit. He patted Jake’s shoulder and put his helmet back on. “Come on bud. Our break is almost over.” Michael then headed back to the main group, leaving the speechless lion alone. Jake watched the rabbit launch three more field goals from the same distance, each one kicked perfectly. As he set up the next football on the tee, the kicker looked over towards Jake, not realizing he was being watched. Their gazes met and neither moved for several seconds. Jake finally broke the tension by giving a small smile, and a slight nod of the head to him. The rabbit smiled back and returned a similar nod in greeting, then proceeded to back up a few steps, then sent the football flying through the air with the same skill he did with the previous ones.
Despite himself, the lion found himself chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief. “Maybe I should give herbivores a chance after all.” With that thought he put his helmet back on and headed to join his teammates.
By, Bombur
