Page 34 of The Backup Plan

“Fine. Go on the banners and brochures with your jersey loose.”

“I’m not taking my glasses off, either.”

“How do you even play football with glasses?”

“Better than I play it without them.”

Pippa clapped a hand over her mouth before she laughed.

“Your glasses catch the glare off every light in the room.” Shelby seethed.

“Then you need better photographers. We’ve got an art building full of them. I have selfies without glare.”

“His regular glasses make him look smart,” Pippa said, startling them all. “Skip the bulky on-field ones for the helmet shots. You can’t tell with it on, anyway. We’ve been leaning hard into the student athlete angle to push the university’s academic reputation as an edge on the massive football schools. Let him look like a student.”

Garrett dropped the pins.

“I agree,” said Shay. “It makes him look different. And you don’t want a dumb quarterback.”

“Or a quarterback tripping over his feet,” Garrett added, scooping pins into his hand.

“Fine,” Shelby snapped. “Glasses. Loose jersey. Whatever makes the masses happy, as long as we get it done on—what’s the deal with your pants?”

Ethan

BENCHMARK YOURSELF?!

Cameron

I fall comfortably into the same weight range as some very athletic pro QBs. I’m just about two or three inches shorter than they are.

Marshall

Another brother of the ‘sturdy, yet agile’ crew, checking in. Don’t you love the looks when people find out we can run?

Cameron

We got those killer quads and a mean stiff-arm.

Marshall

Chunky Quarterback. Sounds like a soup.

Cameron

Sounds like money. Let’s sell our names, images, and likenesses to Campbell’s.

Cory

Cam wins Worst P.R. Crew this year. I’m calling it. The season is over.

Cameron

Worst P.R. Person. The rest of them aren’t too bad, it turns out.

Hayden

Two or three inches shorter than the pros? LOL bummer.