After Aaron headed off to rest, Coach George shifted his gaze toward the players who had gathered around to watch the excitement.
Obviously, if he wanted to promote the Medford High football team better, the more material he had, the better.
But under the coach's stare, the players all suddenly felt guilty. One by one, they turned their heads away, and before long, they scattered completely.
They'd already had a firsthand taste of how strong Mike was. No one wanted to be the next "lucky guy."
Their reaction didn't really surprise Coach George. He shook his head, then looked over at Jack, who was fiddling with his camera. "So? Did you get all the footage from earlier?"
"Of course!" Jack replied excitedly. "I'm a sports reporter—no way I'd miss moments like that."
Then he added enthusiastically, "I'm more convinced than ever that Mike is going to become a big deal on the football field someday."
Jack hadn't bet on the wrong horse. The footage he'd shot earlier of Mike scoring a touchdown had already been picked up by a local TV station for their "Top 10 Plays of the Week."
That alone earned the down-on-his-luck reporter a pretty decent bonus.
So now, the more Jack looked at this dark-horse player named Mike, the more he liked what he saw.
Coach George clearly enjoyed hearing praise for his player. He smiled, then turned to Mike and said, "Alright, get back to training."
Mike nodded and returned to the weight area to continue his individual workout.
Another afternoon passed in monotonous training.
Jack captured even more footage of Mike working out. When it was about time, he packed up his gear and, before leaving, reminded Mike not to forget to watch the sports channel that night.
During the interschool league, the local TV station compiled highlights from the games and aired them during Friday night prime time.
That alone had turned high school football into a town-wide celebration.
After Jack left, Coach George went over next week's opponent with the team and reminded everyone to prepare seriously once they got home.
Then, as soon as he announced, "Dismissed," the players cheered and poured off the field.
In their minds, weekend fun was just as important as winning games.
As for Mike, he took a quick shower and walked out of the locker room. Just like the past few days, he politely turned down the invitations from a few persistent girls waiting outside.
With the popularity Mike had at school now, if he wanted to, all it would take was a wave of his hand to end up in a very "deep conversation" with some girl.
But after his experience with Karen, Mike couldn't muster any interest in girls who looked average.
That calm, indifferent attitude, however, really rubbed Little George the wrong way.
Little George's feelings could be summed up in three words: envy, jealousy, and resentment.
"Isn't that Little Sheldon?" Mike said as they walked along, spotting Sheldon's small figure by the roadside.
"What a pain…" Little George muttered, putting on a poker face.
The look on his face practically said, Running into Little Sheldon on campus is bad luck.
Normally after school, Little Sheldon would hop into George's car and go straight home. He didn't usually walk back like Little George and Mike.
Seeing him out like this meant something unusual had happened.
"Hey, Sheldon. What's up?" Mike greeted him first.
"Nothing," Little Sheldon replied, trying to sound casual.
Still, his steps unconsciously matched Mike's pace. One look at the conflicted expression on his face made it obvious he was holding something in.
"Alright," Mike said with a smile, not pressing the issue. He knew Sheldon's prideful personality well.
And from experience, if Sheldon had something on his mind, there was no way he could keep it bottled up for long.
Sure enough, after the three of them left the school grounds and walked in silence for a bit, Sheldon finally spoke up.
"Mike… do you think George and Mary might get divorced?"
"Why do you ask?" Mike turned and asked, surprised.
George and Mary were practically a model couple. Mike couldn't think of any reason they'd end up divorcing.
"Over the past few nights, I've heard George and Mary arguing in their room," Sheldon said seriously. "Based on my research, every couple goes through this stage before getting divorced."
"What are they arguing about?" Mike asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Grandma Connie's barbecue recipe," Sheldon sighed.
No matter how smart Sheldon was, he still couldn't understand why that barbecue recipe carried so much "destructive power."
Mike, on the other hand, could guess part of the truth. George probably wasn't really angry about the recipe itself. It was more likely that he felt years of effort hadn't been properly understood or appreciated by his family.
People are emotional creatures. After giving so much, they naturally want some positive feedback—to feel that their efforts matter.
Grandma Connie's recipe was just the spark that set things off.
Even so, Mike still found it hard to believe George and Mary would go as far as divorce over something like this.
So he turned to the other brother. "Little George, do you know why George and Mary are arguing?"
"How would I know?" Little George replied. He'd been completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere at home.
Then he added, "Isn't arguing normal? I argue with people on the football team all the time."
"Shut up, Little George," Sheldon snapped. "George and Mary arguing is totally different from your stupid fights…"
Sheldon then tried to explain the difference to him.
"Whatever~" Little George shrugged. "If they do get divorced, I'm living with George. And you're not allowed to pick the same one as me…"
In his head, Little George was already imagining how wonderful life would be without Sheldon around.
"Stop."
Seeing where this was headed, Mike stepped in to cut off the brothers' argument. He said calmly, "Sheldon, you're being too sensitive. George and Mary aren't going to get divorced."
Still half-convinced, half-doubting, Sheldon followed the others back to the Cooper house.
Thanks to Mike talking with him along the way, Sheldon's mood was noticeably better.
On weekends, unless something else came up, the Cooper family always had a family dinner with Grandma Connie.
It was their time to relax together.
Of course, this weekend added one more activity before dinner—watching the local sports channel.
When prime time rolled around, the whole family gathered in front of the TV.
On the screen, a highlight was playing: Mike charging forward with the ball, smashing through an opponent, blasting a safety out of the way, and scoring a powerful touchdown.
"Mike, yes!!! Yes—!"
Seeing Mike's heroic performance on TV, Missy got so excited she ran around the house cheering.
"Mike, you're going to be a big star," Grandma Connie said happily, bursting with pride.
One by one, everyone else chimed in, congratulating Mike like family.
Only Coach George seemed a little down.
"George, don't you want to say something?" Mary noticed and reminded him. "Mike is your player, after all."
"Congratulations, Mike," Coach George said, holding a magazine up to cover his face.
"Could you put the magazine down?" Mary said, clearly annoyed.
"No," George replied, angling the magazine to block Grandma Connie's line of sight. "I don't want to see a certain someone."