Chapter 67: Football Family

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Clap, clap, clap.

The sea lion slapped its belly under the trainer’s command, sending crisp sounds through the marine park theater.

All-Star players from both teams, along with players and cheerleaders from the local partner schools, lifted cameras to catch the moment.

The week before the High School All-Star Game included tourist stops, school visits, and light exchanges with local teams. Lake Highland Prep and Twin Creek High were acting as training partners for the East and West rosters. It was promotion, community outreach, and a way to make the event feel bigger than one game.

To Nolan, it felt like detention with better weather.

"I am bored too," Pat Barrett said beside him.

After the night before, their friendship had warmed quickly. They were not noble brothers in arms. They were two like-minded troublemakers who happened to play quarterback.

That morning, Pat had thanked him repeatedly.

"I ruined everything last night," Pat had said. "You saved me."

If not for the group photo scheduled later, both of them might already have slipped away.

"Speaking of last night," Pat asked, "what happened with those two?"

"I went back to the hotel."

"Oh." Pat looked genuinely guilty. "Man, I am sorry."

In his mind, Nolan had sacrificed his own night to save Pat’s. That made him feel responsible.

"Your Orlando memories are on me," Pat declared. "Whatever happens on the field, off the field I will make sure you have a good time."

He did not wait for Nolan to answer. He started scanning the crowd for a suitable target.

Eventually, he found one.

A Twin Creek cheerleader in a purple uniform with the letters TC on the front. Blonde hair, fresh face, clean energy. Exactly the kind of girl Pat assumed Nolan liked.

After the marine show, the group moved through an underwater tunnel toward the next exhibit.

"Beautiful lady," Pat said smoothly, approaching the girl. "I am Pat Barrett, quarterback for the West All-Stars."

She had been talking with friends. Now she turned.

"Here is the situation. A good friend of mine admires you. Purely admires you. But he is shy, and he does not dare talk to you. See the guy up ahead? That is him."

Pat pointed.

One of the girl’s friends gasped.

"Good-looking, right?" Pat continued. "I think you two would be perfect together. Romeo and Juliet, but with better jawlines."

A few minutes later, Nolan was looking up at a huge manta ray gliding over the tunnel when Pat’s voice reached his ear.

"Brother, I have arranged everything. The rest is up to you."

Before Nolan could ask what he meant, Pat winked and walked away.

Laughter broke out behind him. A girl in a purple cheer uniform was pushed lightly in his direction. Her expression was deeply embarrassed.

Nolan understood at once.

"Whatever he told you," he said, "it was a joke. None of it is true."

"Okay." She nodded. "Actually, I came over to say that even if players like you are popular with girls, California and Florida are far apart. There is a three-hour time difference."

"True," Nolan said. "Also, being popular does not mean we hit on every pretty girl we see."

"You are different from him, then."

She glanced toward Pat, who had already tried his luck with a Lake Highland cheerleader and failed badly. His awkward retreat made her smile.

They walked through the tunnel together.

Nolan pointed toward a tank of drifting jellyfish and mentioned the immortal jellyfish, a tiny species that could, under the right conditions, revert to an earlier stage of life and grow again.

"I do not know how much of the popular-science version is true," Nolan said. "But imagine if it came back with memories from before."

"If it remembered," the girl said, "it would probably feel different from every other jellyfish."

"Not necessarily. Maybe it would learn to pretend."

He said it casually, but the words stayed with him longer than he expected.

By the end of the marine-park visit, he knew her name.

Allie.

The next morning brought training. The afternoon brought the Orlando Science Center, where Nolan ran into Allie again. Compared with the first day, she was much more relaxed.

On the third day, the West All-Stars played a friendly scrimmage against Twin Creek High. It was partly a warmup and partly a way to test chemistry. The opponent was badly outmatched. The All-Star players did not need to push hard to win.

Allie watched from the sideline as cheer captain.

On the fourth day, the final off-field event took them to Walt Disney World.

The All-Star Game would be played the next day.

Lisa and Susan had spent the last few days in Miami handling business and would not return until after the game.

"Orlando is one of the places cheerleaders talk about like a shrine," Allie said as she and Nolan entered the park together. "Big competitions come through Central Florida. Performing somewhere like this is the dream."

Her eyes softened when she said it.

"That was my high-school dream. What about you? Why football?"

Nolan rubbed two fingers together.

"Money."

Allie laughed at how blunt he was.

"What? Blame my luck."

He told her part of what had happened to his family. Not every detail, but enough.

Allie listened, surprised. He had been so relaxed for days that she had not imagined the weight behind him.

"Things will get better," she said. "I believe that."

"Of course they will."

"You really are confident."

"It saves time."

"At first I thought you were an actor," she admitted. "Or a model."

She hesitated.

"You look like you should be one."

In truth, his looks made him harder to approach. He seemed too polished, too far above her, and that made Allie feel smaller than she wanted to admit.

They rode roller coasters, toured the castle, took photos with Mickey, and wandered through every area the schedule allowed. The group scattered as the day went on. Nolan and Allie ended up together almost the entire time.

When Allie went to the restroom, Nolan waited outside.

That was where he saw Alberto Rodriguez.

The Santa Ana defensive end stood near the path. After a moment, a white woman walked out. Her body language with Alberto was too familiar to be casual. Alberto looked around, alert and guarded, then left quickly with her.

Nolan watched them go and said nothing.

The day ended faster than expected. The official activity had finished around five, but Nolan and Allie stayed in the park by unspoken agreement and watched the fireworks before leaving.

"Then... tomorrow," Allie said. It had become her habit over the past few days.

"Tomorrow is the game."

"Right. I almost forgot." She smiled. "No matter what, I will cheer for you."

She waved and left with her friends.

Thunder rolled over the city.

When Nolan returned to the hotel, four men in matching dark green shirts and matching caps were checking in with event staff.

Over the past few days, players had talked about Peyton Manning so often that Nolan was tired of the name.

The rest of the Manning family came with it.

Peyton’s father, Archie Manning, had been an NFL quarterback for the New Orleans Saints for eleven seasons, then spent time with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings before retiring nine years earlier.

Peyton’s older brother, Cooper, had followed the same football path toward Ole Miss before a medical condition took the sport away from him.

His younger brother, Eli, would soon follow Peyton into Isidore Newman. He already carried the same quarterback bloodline and the same disciplined household.

Three brothers raised under a professional quarterback’s eye. Talent helped, but the years of training mattered more.

The Mannings were not just a family.

They were a football family.

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