Backup Plan: A QB Story (NCAA/Madden 10)

[T-Moar]

The following story is rated PG-13. Although the people and situations involved are a complete work of fiction, due to the nature of the locales involved, some subject matter may not - actually, scratch that, WILL NOT - be appropriate for all ages. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter One -- A Child Left Behind

On a temperate November day in South Houston, Texas, Victor Garza received a progress report, and burst into tears.

The speedy Quarterback from Chavez High School had just learned that he would be ruled academically ineligible for at least the next three weeks. This was definitely not the first time that this had happened, but it had never happened like this. This was Victor's senior year. He had put everything into Football over the past four years, and missing the first three weeks of the playoffs wasn't exactly how he had envisioned ending his high school career. Unless his team managed to put a miracle run together under their backup QB, his High School career was over. There would be no playoffs. And with no playoffs, how would he get any scholarship offers from the next level? With no contingency plan beyond Football, Victor had let his GPA become irreparably horrific.

The thing that hurt most, though, was that this time, missing games was his fault. In the past, when he'd had a sprained wrist, or a broken ankle, there was at least the comfort of knowing that there was nothing he could have done. There were no excuses, no matter how much Victor wished there were. He had let his team down, and he'd have to get his grades back up before he played again.

The rest of the day was a slow blur. Somehow, even before the class was over, the news of Victor's ineligibility had spread through the school. Between classes, disapproving stares hit Victor like bullets. The students had genuinely believed that this was "the year" for the Lobos. They had won their first ever district title, and the world seemed theirs for the taking. But that had all come crashing down when their Quarterback learned that he was failing Government. As he took the long walk home, past the chemical plants, Victor came to the realization that it was time to prepare for life after football, whether he liked it or not.

Once he got home, Victor began weighing his options for after High School, something that he had never done in the past. College wasn't really an option for him -- To say that the Garza family had been struggling to make ends meet would be putting it lightly. Victor's mother didn't exactly have the money to pay for him to go to school for a few years. Several of Victor's closest friends, including his girlfriend, Jackie Delgadillo, had dropped out and gotten jobs over the years. Maybe that would be the solution? As he went to bed, Victor promised himself that he would at least look into a few job applications over the next few weeks.