Andrew, backpack slung over his shoulder, walked with a steady stride toward the main gym. That's where the welcome ceremony for the new school year would be held. Attendance was mandatory for all students, but especially emphasized for 9th graders and new arrivals like him.
Luckily, he had already toured the campus during the summer, when he joined the football team. So, despite the enormous size of the place, he knew exactly where to go, for now.
Around him, groups of students chatted and laughed; some rushed by with their backpacks, others strolled while checking their phones. The air was charged with that unmistakable energy of the first day of school.
Andrew noticed a few furtive glances in his direction. At first, he thought it was because of the yellow Camaro he had just parked, which had already attracted plenty of attention. But as he walked further, he realized there was more to it.
He wasn't just "the new guy."
He was Andrew Pritchett-Tucker, the quarterback who had arrived this summer and, without even starting the official season, had already shaken up Mater Dei's football team. In the preseason that began in July, he had unseated the senior starter with a USC offer and claimed the QB1 spot for himself.
At the prestigious Dana Hills tournament, he had thrown 41 touchdowns in just 7 games, led the Monarchs to a crushing victory, and was named tournament MVP.
Many students, even during their vacation, had gone to cheer for the team or at least seen the highlights online. They remembered him. And if they didn't remember him for that, they knew him for another reason.
His YouTube channel.
Andrew was an anomaly for the time. His fitness and sports channel had blown up years ago and already had over two million subscribers, ranking him number two in the world, just behind the legendary nigahiga, who ruled the platform with three million.
Andrew pretended not to notice anything. He kept walking as if nothing and no one could throw him off.
Still, deep down, he admitted it: starting at a new school as a kind of internet celebrity, on top of being the starting quarterback, was bound to draw attention… and it gave him a slight flutter of nerves.
When he had entered Palisades, by contrast, his arrival had been much simpler. Sure, he had a legendary middle school track record as a quarterback, but he was still "the rookie looking for a spot on the team." His YouTube channel didn't even exist yet. He could walk the halls unnoticed, at least at first, until he quickly earned the starting job.
Sometimes he thought he'd like to be that kind of new kid. The one who could blend in, sit alone in a corner of the cafeteria with his tray, eat quietly, observe, and eventually be invited by some group to play Dungeons & Dragons.
But it's hard to be invisible when you're 6'3", drive a yellow Camaro, and are the new starting QB.
As he neared the gym, he saw the doors already open. Dozens of students were streaming inside with laughter, chatter, and curious looks. But just before stepping in, he spotted a group gathered at the entrance that immediately drew attention.
It was impossible not to recognize them, his teammates.
They stood together like some kind of elite squad:
Nick, the star running back and the first friend Andrew made at Mater Dei.
Victor, a senior wide receiver already verbally committed to USC, with the charisma of a star and the talent to back it up.
Thomas Duarte, tall, quiet, and with a calm gaze.
Sedric Hill, the other wide receiver, a junior, fast and sure-handed.
And rounding out the group, three human tanks from the offensive line:
Tyrell, the starting center, a wall.
Matt and Josh, the guards, two beasts with friendly smiles and arms the size of tree trunks.
It was mainly the offensive unit waiting for him.
When the group finally spotted Andrew, many raised their hands to greet him without hesitation. They also stepped forward to bump fists.
It wasn't an over-the-top or coordinated display.
It was natural, almost unconscious, like Andrew was already part of their core.
There was also genuine warmth, especially from Nick, Victor, and Thomas, who welcomed him with sincere smiles and a familiarity that was comforting.
Andrew smiled and greeted.
In that moment, as he went around saying hello, he thought: 'Maybe that's my problem…'
He made friends quickly and fit in easily. A blessing in social life, but a curse in relationships.
Because that could also, unintentionally, include girls, and that's where misunderstandings began, like the most recent one with Pippa.
Nick threw an arm confidently around his shoulders.
"Ready to survive a new school year, celebrity?" he said with a wide grin.
"Academically? I'm not sure. Athletically? We're gonna crush it," Andrew replied with a faint smile.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Victor exclaimed, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. "This year we're ending that conference title drought once and for all."
"Conference title?" Sedric repeated with skepticism, glancing sideways at Victor. "Let's focus on the league first. We haven't won it since 2008… and it was a shared title."
He was right. That season, Mater Dei had finished with a 4–1 league record, forcing them to share the championship with Servite High School, who also ended 4–1.
Andrew remembered reading about it.
The Trinity League was no joke.
The priority was to finish in the top three, which guaranteed a playoff berth. But if you could take first place, all the better.
Of course, Andrew's goal was to win the league, none of this aiming for third or second.
Most of the group agreed with Sedric: focus on one goal at a time.
Last season, Servite had taken the title with a perfect 5–0 record, which meant defeating Mater Dei, when Max had been the starting QB as a junior.
"Come on!" Victor interjected dismissively. "That was in 2008! It's not like it was five years ago…"
"We haven't won a section title since 1999. That's what really matters," he added, lowering his tone, as if talking about an unpaid debt.
Andrew stayed quiet, but he knew exactly what he meant.
Mater Dei had enjoyed its golden era in the '90s, winning multiple Southern Section championships. But since 1999, nothing.
A student younger than Andrew, who clearly hadn't been around long, asked curiously, "What about the state championship?"
Andrew began to think.
The California state championship didn't exist until 2006.
Before that, the state was divided into ten autonomous sections, each crowning its own champion.
There was no tournament to unify the entire state.
It wasn't until 2006 that the CIF State Bowl Games format was created, pitting each section's champion against one another to determine a state champion.
However, among Southern Section schools like Mater Dei, Servite, or De La Salle, the state title was never a real priority.
They saw it more as a decoration than a challenge.
Because winning the Southern Section was, for many, harder than winning the entire state.
All the giants played there. If you could come out on top, any other title felt like a formality.
"If we win the conference championship, that's it. The State Bowl is just a parade," Nick joked.
"Don't underestimate the State Bowl…" Andrew said calmly.
Everyone turned to him, watching silently, waiting for him to go on.
Andrew took a couple of steps forward before answering, without looking directly at anyone.
"Me in Palisades, in ninth grade, we qualified as Los Angeles Section champions. In the final, I had to face the Southern Section champion… and my team won. I scored six touchdowns in that game."
A low murmur ran through the group. Victor narrowed his eyes. Sedric raised an eyebrow.
But Andrew kept going without pause.
"The following year, at the state championship… semifinals against the new Southern Section champion. Seven touchdowns. They went home."
Silence.
Everyone knew Andrew came from a public school that had played in D5 and later in D4.
No tradition, no history, no surplus of talent, yet he had made history.
No one could argue with that.
Nick chuckled under his breath and broke the silence. "Man… you're a rare case."
Laughter broke out immediately. Even Thomas, always so serious, allowed a half-smile.
Andrew gave a faint smile and said nothing more.
The group walked inside, where hundreds of folding chairs were already arranged in perfect rows. Students streamed in, dressed in neatly pressed uniforms, backpacks full, faces caught somewhere between nervous and excited.
Andrew sat with the others, taking up an entire row with an imposing presence. Many heads turned toward them, as if an elite unit had just stepped onto the battlefield.
The welcome ceremony in Mater Dei's gym was exactly what one might expect from a private school with so much history.
The principal, whom Andrew had met months earlier, a man who had seemed relaxed and even a bit humorous, now spoke with great seriousness, delivering a message of inspiration and responsibility.
Then, a couple of students took the stage to welcome the newcomers.
It was all over in less than an hour.
When the buzz began and students stood to head to their first classes, Andrew was about to do the same. But before he could take a step, he heard his name.
"Andrew."
He turned and saw Ms. Moore, the admissions director, waving at him.
She was the same woman who had guided him through the campus tour not long ago.
Andrew walked over and greeted her politely.
"Congratulations on Dana Hills, Andrew," Moore said with a warm smile. "Tournament MVP and 41 touchdowns, pretty good way to start."
"Thank you, Ms. Moore," Andrew replied with a half-smile and a respectful tone.
"As we discussed, I want to make your transition to Mater Dei as smooth as possible," she continued. "At Palisades, you had good grades, but we know that here the academic level can be a little more… demanding."
Andrew nodded. The comment didn't bother him, it was true.
The academics here were tougher than at Palisades.
He had had it easy in school before, having already gone through those grades once.
Back in his previous life, he hadn't made it to the end of 11th grade; he'd died halfway through that school year, in January, right after playing the state championship game.
Still, so far, everything had felt fairly easy. Sure, he wasn't as sharp as his cousin Alex, or Leonard and Howard, but he could hold his own, he wasn't an idiot.
"That's why," Moore went on, "we'll be assigning you a student mentor. Someone to guide you through these first few weeks, especially on the academic side."
Andrew opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, Moore turned slightly and said, "Nancy, come here, please."
A girl standing not far away, as if waiting for her cue, walked over with a firm yet composed stride.
She wore the Mater Dei uniform in flawless condition: a gray dress skirt to the knees, a perfectly pressed white shirt with the school crest embroidered over the heart, and a wrinkle-free red school blazer.
Andrew, glancing at her, instinctively looked down at his own outfit. He felt like a vagabond by comparison, his blazer wrinkled, his shirt slightly misaligned, his tie crooked, and his backpack slung over one shoulder.
Nancy looked like the kind of person who would color-code her pens and organize her notebooks by subject.
Her face was serious and focused, radiating a calm intensity. She had a steady, almost analytical gaze, as if she was always solving something in her head.
Her dark blue eyes were expressive yet controlled. She wore her hair loose, with soft natural waves falling over her shoulders, kept tidy by a small black clip that held her bangs away from her face. No makeup, no flashy accessories, her style was sober, academic, and discreet.
Andrew couldn't help thinking, with a mix of resignation and irony, 'Why a girl and not a guy?'
Was the universe mocking him? Was it trying to make him befriend yet another girl?
He couldn't do that thing. Still, he had no intention of treating her coldly or evasively. Just as if it were a kind of professional arrangement: Nancy would help him in these first weeks, and she'd probably earn something for her school curriculum by assisting new students.
"Andrew, this is Nancy Collins," Moore said warmly, almost as if introducing a favorite niece.
"She's a senior. Member of the National Honor Society, captain of the debate and chess teams, selected for the National Merit Scholar program, and she scored a 2280 on the SAT last semester. One of our best students. Also an early applicant to Stanford."
National Honor Society? National Merit Scholar program? Andrew had no exact idea what Moore was talking about. Sounded impressive, though.
As for the SAT, that he knew, scoring 2280 out of a maximum 2400 was insane. Most likely, this Nancy girl was in the top 5% of all students.
Andrew just gave a faint smile and nodded as if he understood. "Pleasure to meet you."
Nancy replied with a brief nod and a neutral, polite voice—neither warm nor cold.
"Nice to meet you."
Moore looked at them both, clearly satisfied. "Alright, I'll leave you two. Nancy will help you with any questions you have. Have an excellent first day, Andrew." And as she walked away, she added with a hint of excitement she could barely hide, "I look forward to seeing you shine this Friday in our stadium."
Without wasting time, Nancy checked a neatly folded sheet from her folder. "I already have your schedule. If you want, I can walk you to your first class."
Andrew nodded. As much as he would have liked to go with Nick or one of the guys from the team, none of them shared his first class, a completely normal thing in a school with over 2,000 students.
Even though he knew the campus from the tour he'd taken months earlier, that had been a general overview, nothing as specific as finding an advanced math classroom on the second floor of the science building.
He accepted Nancy's offer, and she led him through the hallways with a confident stride, speaking little. She stopped in front of the door, bid him farewell with a polite nod, and walked off in the opposite direction toward her own class.
And so, his first day at Mater Dei passed without major incident.
He attended his classes, introduced himself to some teachers, and was surprised by how structured the academic system was. Mater Dei was another league, academically as well as athletically.
After classes, he headed to practice. That's when he noticed something different.
Unlike the summer training sessions, where the team had practiced almost alone under the July sun, this time there were dozens of students sitting in the stands. Some whispered among themselves, others commented on plays, and a few were even taking pictures, especially of Andrew.
He caught more than a few glances directed his way. Understandable, being the starting QB for California's most anticipated team.
The days flew by: classes, practices, homework, prepping his comeback video for YouTube.
The whole week carried a shared anticipation: Friday would finally bring the first game.
It wasn't official, of course, a friendly match, part of the preseason. But that didn't make it any less important.
For many students, especially freshmen, it would be their first time experiencing Mater Dei's stadium full, lights blazing, marching bands playing, cheerleaders performing, and over a thousand spectators.
For others, it would be the first time seeing the new QB in action since his domination at Dana Hills, where he had thrown 41 touchdown passes. Many had missed it because they were on vacation.
Others simply wanted to see the guy they'd only watched in videos up close.
The day came.
Despite all the hype, Andrew remained calm, his goal was the same as always: win.
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