Travis didn’t say anything else.
He put his hands back between his knees.
But he stopped rubbing his thumb.
He went very still. The way a man goes still up in a deer stand.
The JV girls cleared the floor. The varsity girls from both teams lined up along the far sideline for the ceremony. Our girls in maroon. The visitors in white. Everybody with their hands clasped behind their backs.
Mr. Halvorson does the announcing at every home game.
He taught shop at our school for thirty years. He has a voice like a man calling hogs who’s been to a little bit of college.
He tapped the microphone twice.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome our senior volleyball players and their families, as we honor them on their final regular-season home game.”
The first girl was announced with her mother and father. They walked out to center court together. She handed her mother the rose. They turned for a picture. Everybody clapped.
