When the family gathering wrapped up, Mike briefly considered just telling George the secret barbecue recipe outright.
But after thinking it over, he realized the tension between Grandma Connie and Coach George went far deeper than a simple recipe.
So instead, Mike decided to come back first and ask Grandma Connie what she thought.
"George really is a little mad at you," Mike said honestly, trying to smooth things over. "You and George are family. I don't think there's any need to go after him so hard."
Judging by her recent behavior, Grandma Connie had gone a bit too far this time.
Over the years, George had carried the weight of the entire household without complaint.
He'd taken good care of all three kids, too. Even if he didn't get much credit, he'd certainly put in the work.
Turning family harmony upside down over a barbecue recipe just wasn't worth it.
"I knew it. That idiot was definitely going to get mad," Grandma Connie laughed, still not grasping how serious the situation was.
Then she continued, "I noticed he was interested in my barbecue recipe over ten years ago. But he needs to understand one thing—my stuff is only his if I say so…"
Clearly, Grandma Connie still held a grudge from back in the day, when George was a small-time troublemaker who got Mary pregnant before marrying her.
When George and Mary got married, Grandma Connie hadn't given her blessing either.
"Didn't George already ask you about the recipe?" Mike said, not wanting to get too deep into the Coopers' family history. "This time, he seemed pretty sincere."
"No. This isn't about a recipe," Grandma Connie shook her head. "You don't get it—George is a thief."
Then she suddenly suggested, "How about we make a bet?"
"A bet?" Mike asked.
"We'll bet on this," Grandma Connie said with a knowing look. "Whether George sneaks in and steals the recipe this week without my permission. If he behaves for the whole week, I'll personally hand him the recipe—and apologize. How about it?"
It was obvious that fun-loving Grandma Connie was very into betting.
Mike thought it over. A whole week? The odds seemed pretty good on his side.
"Alright," he agreed. "I'll take the bet."
"Deal~" Grandma Connie said cheerfully. "And if you lose, you have to tell Grandma how many girlfriends you've had."
As she spoke, she slipped right back into her usual mischievous self.
Clearly, she'd heard some rumors about Mike from little George. And since Mike rarely talked about his personal life at home, that only made her more curious.
"Well…" Mike hesitated, wanting to change the stakes.
At heart, Mike was fairly conservative. He didn't like sharing his private life with others.
"It's settled," Grandma Connie said,make him no chance to refuse. Once the terms were locked in, she stood up and headed toward her room.
At the doorway, she suddenly stopped and added, "For fairness, you're not allowed to tell George about the bet. If you do, you lose automatically."
---
Over the next few days, school returned to its normal schedule.
The only exception was the football team, which was allowed to train all day.
After Monday's game, Mike's standout performance officially turned him into the school's newest "star."
Every time class ended, girls from all grades gathered by the field to watch him practice.
Some of the bolder ones even confessed their feelings to him right in front of everyone.
As it happened more and more, it became a kind of unofficial tradition at Medford High.
But despite the growing fame, Mike wasn't exactly happy.
After several days of training, he realized he could no longer gain physical stats directly from his teammates.
It seemed like everyone had a kind of threshold.
Just like with Sheldon—at first, Mike could easily gain intelligence points from him. But over time, it became harder and harder.
Ding ding ding—
The class bell rang, and the girls reluctantly left the field.
With the crowd gone, Mike refocused and threw himself back into training.
At that moment, a middle-aged man carrying a camera walked toward the field from the school gate.
It was Jack from the local TV station.
That day, he'd shaved his scruffy mustache and even fixed up his thinning hair. He looked noticeably more put together.
"Hey, Jack, you're back again," Coach George greeted him warmly.
Aside from Monday's game, this was already Jack's second visit to the school that week.
"I'm here to get more footage of Mike," Jack said with a grin. "When he becomes a big star someday, this'll be his personal feature."
Clearly, Jack was very optimistic about Mike. He'd practically bet his quarterly performance numbers on him.
Coach George didn't mind at all. In his eyes, promoting Mike also meant promoting the school's football program.
Once Jack finished setting up his camera, Coach George smartly called Mike over from the training equipment.
He scanned the field, skipped over Sam, and called Captain Aaron over as well.
"Aaron, gear up and do a live contact drill with Mike," Coach George ordered.
Watching dry equipment drills was nothing compared to real player-on-player action.
Aaron had just been volunteered as the coach's on-camera test subject.
"Uh… Coach, I'm not feeling so great today…" Aaron tried to protest once he realized what was coming.
Ever since Mike's physical stats broke past 150, he'd basically stopped being human.
For a normal guy like Aaron, a contact drill with Mike was straight-up punishment.
"Enough talking. Get ready," Coach George said, seeing right through him and giving him no room to refuse.
Truth was, the coach had his own plan.
He knew Aaron dreamed of going pro.
Now that there was a chance to be on TV—even as background—it could still help Aaron's future career.
"Go easy on me, okay…" Aaron whispered as he passed Mike.
"I'll try~" Mike replied with a friendly smile as he put on his helmet.
Once both players were ready, Coach George acted as the referee and gave the command.
"Go!"
At the signal, Aaron sprinted forward, lowering his center of gravity and extending his arms, trying to wrap Mike around the waist.
He knew he wasn't Mike's match anymore.
He wasn't trying to win—he just wanted to hold on long enough not to lose too badly.
But to Mike, who had level-three football experience, Aaron's approach was full of openings.
The instant they made contact, Mike knocked Aaron's arms aside, twisted his body, and used momentum to fling him away.
It was all technique—Mike barely used any strength.
"Aaron, stop overthinking it. Your goal is to take the opponent down," Coach George lectured as Aaron climbed back to his feet.
In the coach's eyes, Aaron was great in every way—except that he was too gentle.
Plain and simple, he lacked aggression.
That wasn't a good trait for someone aiming to go pro.
"Again! Show me your resolve!" Coach George shouted.
"Yes, Coach!" Aaron replied.
This time, he seemed to draw strength from the encouragement, his eyes gradually growing firm.
"I'm going all out this time," Aaron said quietly as he passed Mike again. "And you should too. I want to see how big the gap really is."
Seeing the determination in Aaron's eyes, Mike nodded.
"I got it."
"Go!"
At the second command, Aaron cleared his mind, picked up speed, and angled his body slightly, charging in for a true, head-on clash—man to man.
But from Mike's perspective, Aaron was exposing even more flaws.
At the moment of their high-speed collision, Mike tightened his body and dropped his center of gravity.
When his shoulder slammed into Aaron's midsection, Mike's core power exploded as he drove upward.
"OMG—!"
Amid the team's gasps, Aaron traced a perfect arc through the air before slamming hard into the ground.
On Mike's end, it was basically a textbook over-the-shoulder throw.
A flawless blend of strength and technique.
"You okay?" Mike asked immediately, knowing how strong he was, and hurried over to help Aaron up. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine," Aaron said with a wry smile.
Sometimes, the gap between people just couldn't be bridged by effort alone—especially when that person was someone you'd watched grow stronger step by step.
The realization left Aaron feeling helpless.
Coach George, startled by the intensity of the collision, rushed over to check on him. Seeing that Aaron wasn't injured, he let out a breath of relief.
Then he gave Aaron's shoulder a reassuring pat. "You did good. Go take a break."
This round might not have gone well for Aaron, but Coach George saw something important—drive.
And for Aaron, that was a very good beginning.