in maisie's eyes, she had practically been recruited to join the football team. she pulled up to the school and found a parking spot, because she had been told there was a "team meeting" happening before camp took place. they may as well have given her a jersey and a seat on the bench.

though she hadn't always been the most popular, the football boys had been somewhat kind to her in the past. she found some of them to be attractive, so she was equally both anticipatory and anxious. she figured they were like all the other boys in her town: boring, looking for a yes-man instead of a companion, but they were at least nice for her to look at. sports had never been something she chose to comment on, but social and systemic changes were something she had plenty of progressive opinions about.

she got of the car, shouldering her purse and carrying along a notebook. she figured now was as good a time as any to get cracking on her story. she wasn't sure of any deadlines coming up or if she needed to write with a certain intention, so she decided to take down everything she saw.

maisie quickly made her way to the gym, not wanting to be late. she had always prided herself on punctuality and today would not be the exception. she had only been in the gym a handful of times, but she knew exactly where she was going.

when she opened the doors, the room went quiet. what had once been filled with laughter and chatter was now just confused stares and head tilting. the only guys in there were black, and maisie figured the other guys had boycotted. she heard rumors from some of her friends that coach yoast had been tossed aside, in favor of a head coach who was black. with all the evidence faced before her, she knew those rumors were true.

"um...hi," she started, giving a smile to the boys in the room, "i'm maisie."

a cocky boy grinned, striding up to her like he hadn't been gawking just moments before, "maisie, huh? and what are you doing here, miss maisie?"

maisie chucked at the boy's confidence, holding up her notebook, "writing an exclusive. and you are?"

"petey," he answered, looking down at the empty pages of the girl's book, "that's p-e-t-e-y. you know, if you wanna make me your headline."

before maisie could reply, a piercing whistle was blown. she plugged her ears, jerking her head over to see who had come in so aggressively. when she saw the new coach, accompanied by what she would assume was another coach, she immediately felt uneasy. he looked almost incredibly unhappy by the mindless conversation that had been going on just seconds before.

he walked over to petey, who had been standing their smiling with his hand up in a fist.

"put your hand down," he spoke sternly, staring at the boy with narrow eyes, "you're smiling."

maisie watched with her brows knit, wondering exactly where this conversation was going.

"yes." petey said hesitantly, unsure if that was the correct answer or not. it was true, but that didn't necessarily make it right.

"yes, sir!" he corrects the boy, continuing to borderline berate him as they kept talking. they continued a back and forth that made every party in the room watch with wide eyes. petey was attempting to stutter his way to a favorable answer, none of which the coach was having.

by the end of it, maisie wasn't sure she even wanted to be in the room. if this was how players got talked to, she could only imagine how she might be treated. it wasn't that the coach was mean, it was just a strict authority she had never really seen before.

satisfied with petey's newly crushed spirit, the coach turned away from him and went straight to maisie.

"and what are you doing here?" he asked, looking down at the girl.

she felt her cheeks heat up, almost scared to answer. she hoped she wouldn't get the same back and forth he had given petey.

"i run the school paper. my name is maisie sanning," she answered, mustering up a kind smile, "i'm supposed to write about your team, sir."

he narrowed his eyes at her, which caused a nervous kick to her stomach.

"i didn't ask for a writer," he spoke, giving her a shrug, "don't need any writers here, so you can be on your way."

maisie chuckled nervously, knowing that wasn't an option she had, "uh.... no, you didn't ask for a writer, but principal bolan did. got a special order from the head office to write about your team and put a positive spin on integration! so..."

the coach stared at her, trying to decide how to take the information. he wasn't sure a girl taking down every action and event for the next few weeks was wise, but it didn't seem like a choice he could make. he had recently just been promoted, and thought it best to not go marching in with complaints.

"go stand with coach hines." he finally answered, after what felt like decades to maisie.

maisie gave him a nice grin, before walking over to the other coach. she let out a breath of relief, glad she had managed to pull that off. she was sure that coach was gonna send her packing, but it was nice that she got to stay. after all, she would've just had to come back later anyways. the story was being written, whether anyone liked it or not.

the coach turned to face his new players, "alright, listen up. i'm coach boone, and i'm gonna tell you all about how much fun you're gonna have this season," he glanced at petey before continuing, "we leave for camp at gettysburg college, august fifteenth, 7:29 AM. if you report at 7:30, you will not be playing football this season; you will be watching."

maisie began to scribble in her notepad, trying to keep the coach's words in line. it wasn't necessarily for the article, rather so she knew how to stay on his good side. he wanted everyone to dress nicely for the bus ride, so she began thinking of her sunday best. if she wanted the exclusive to be good, she needed coach boone to want her around.

"this is no democracy," he continued his speech, ensuring everyone knew just how serious he was, "this is a dictatorship. i am the law. if you survive camp, you'll be on the team. if you survive," he let those words sink in, hoping the fear of god would be placed into his players. once he felt satisfied with the looks on their faces, he turned over the attention, "check 'em in, coach."

coach hines walked over to the boys, and began taking down their names and positions. maisie did the same, knowing it was probably the easiest way to learn them.

as she was writing, the doors pushed open revealing a new player. he ran to the center, hunching over and taking some breaths. he was about twice the size of any guy there and was white. it was quite the sight to see.

"and who might you be?" coach boone asked, looking over at the newcomer.

"louie lastik, offensive linemen," he answered, a smile appearing on his face, "naval family, just moved from bayonne. someone said football, i come runnin'. what's goin' on everybody?"

no one made an attempt to respond, just stared like they'd seen a ghost. though, maisie agreed with the silence. it was quite a sight to take in, and odd how comfortable he was. it was how everyone in the town should've been acting, but that didn't mean it wasn't surprising.

the doors burst open again, revealing what could only be described as a sea of white vigilantes. they walked in like they owned the place, and stared intensely at the group of boys who had already been there. maisie rolled her eyes, knowing this was only the beginning of their attempts to bully and intimidate.

coach yoast led the pack, which surprised the young writer. she thought he was gone. however, with the obvious evidence that he wasn't, the team meeting was called short. the two coaches stepped out into the hall, and the groups of boys stood at a standstill.

maisie sighed, shutting her notebook and throwing it in her purse. she decided she had done a good day's work, and was ready to head home.

"maisie?" she heard the voice of ray, which caused her ears to perk up, "what are you doin' here?"

maisie turned to him, walking over to greet the boys she only half knew, "writin' an article for the paper."

gerry knit his brows, "about what?"

maisie stared at him, not sure she wanted to answer. she wasn't exactly in the mood for an argument, which is precisely what would happen if she began talking about integration. she had never really known much about gerry, but it didn't take a psychoanalyst to see what he was all about.

"the team." she replied curtly, hoping that would be a good enough answer.

alan laughed from his place beside gerry, "well, if you take any photos make sure to get my good side."

alan had always been one of the boys maisie thought to be the nicest. generally, he stayed out of trouble and kept to himself. there were never any stories about him or how he broke a girl's heart or messed with anyone. he just seemed like a happy medium amongst the extremes, but truthfully that just made maisie suspicious.

if no one's ever really talking about you or seems to know anything about you, then what are you hiding? she had always had the slightest of interests in what he was all about. it was likely because of how reserved he was, but it didn't make maisie any less interested.

maisie chuckled, turning to engage with the antics, "and which one is that?"

alan began to feel his face, taking a few moments to decide. after he had successfully touched his head from chin to scalp, he determined, "ah, they're both good. who am i to decide?"

the girl laughed and shook her head, "well, i'll keep that in mind. see y'all at camp."

she began to walk away, figuring that the meeting was pretty much over. most people would've been annoyed to have been assigned schoolwork before the school year even started, but maisie didn't think of the school paper as work. it was her passion project, and she was glad the school let her keep it.

plus, she had always wanted to dive into something more important than what was for lunch that day. a meaningful story that she got to write, a story that she could submit to colleges; that was her dream.

•

maisie stood in her room, raiding her closet for the perfect dress. it was clear that coach boone already wasn't keen on her presence, so she needed to make a concerted effort to make him like her.

her friend, amanda, sat on her bed watching her toss thing out that might work.

"why are you doing this, anyways?" she asked, looking down at the dresses that looked at her feet, "don't you wanna enjoy the rest of your summer?"

"i will enjoy it," maisie replied, feeling satisfied with all the options she had pulled, "this is what i've always wanted. you know, a chance to write something meaningful."

amanda nodded, but knew she didn't truly understand. maisie just had different gears than the rest of the people in this town. she wanted more, she had high-reach goals, and she didn't wanna stay in virginia forever. it was a notion no one really shared with her.

"yeah, i guess," amanda answered, giving the girl a teasing smile, "plus, if someone was lettin' me go away with the football team, i'd have been packed last week."

maisie laughed, nodding in agreement. despite her career oriented nature, she still liked the thought of getting to know some of the guys on a more intimate level.

"which one?" maisie questioned, grabbing her first dress.

an embarrassed smile crept onto amanda's face. the girls had talked about boys plenty of times before, but that didn't mean it never made them red in the face.

"gerry." she finally answered, causing maisie's mouth to gape open.

a lot of girls liked gerry. he was what this town liked to call 'husband material'. he liked the small town life, he seemed agreeable, and wasn't completely degrading to all the girls at school. he was a safe choice for the girls of virginia, so maisie wasn't exactly shocked. though it was still strange to hear, especially because she didn't agree in the slightest.

"isn't he dating emma?" the writer asked, even though she knew it to be true. the pair had been going out very publicly for months. emma had staked her claim, and was very possessive over the boy. maisie found it weird at best.

amanda shrugged, "you asked me a question. i answered."

"got me there." maisie replied, before walking off to the bathroom to try on her first option.