The Pick Page 4

  “Hey, Ky,” Tyson said.

  “Sorry we just ran off,” Ally said as she offered Kylie a Loving It size ice cream cup from Cold Stone. It was Kylie’s favorite. Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter and Reese’s peanut butter cups mixed in, with fudge drizzled on top. It must have been Ally’s idea because Tyson wouldn’t have known what Kylie’s favorite ice cream combination was.

  Tyson and Ally sat down at the kitchen table with Kylie. Ally seemed a little nervous and hesitant as she said, “We’re sorry that we didn’t tell you that we were dating.”

  “Ya. We should have told you. Ally wants to be the one to talk to you about it. So, I’ll leave you to it,” Tyson said as he smiled at Ally and squeezed her hand, then left the room.

  “How long has this been going on and why didn’t you tell me?” Kylie asked fervently.

  Ally took a deep breath. “We have been hanging out ever since Homecoming. It started with eating lunches together and it progressed from there. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about it from the beginning. I wanted to but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it to affect our friendship. I didn’t know if you would be freaked out. I don’t blame you if you are. He is your brother,” Ally said.

  There was silence for what seemed like an hour to Ally. Kylie finally asked, “Are you guys dating seriously? Like boyfriend and girlfriend status?”

  Ally nodded her head. “Crazy, right? I really enjoy spending time with him, Kylie. He makes me really happy and you know he is a good guy.”

  “He is a lot better than the other guys you have had crushes on lately. Like Nick,” Kylie agreed.

  “Are you upset?” Ally asked.

  “More shocked. But I think the ice cream will help,” Kylie smiled.

  Ally let out a breath of air she seemed to be holding in. “I promise that I will try not to keep secrets from you and I will answer any questions you have. But I think that there are things that you would rather me not tell you, if you know what I’m saying…” Ally paused.

  “You guys kissed?” Kylie exclaimed.

  “Maybe?” Ally grinned.

  “Ewwww!”

  “Told you there were things you wouldn’t want to know.”

  Over the next couple of weeks, Kylie had to admit that Ally was doing a good job at balancing her time with Kylie and Tyson. Although it was weird when Kylie would come home at night and find Ally at her house cuddled on the couch with Tyson. When they went to events as a trio, Tyson and Ally fully embraced Kylie into their conversations. It was as if they were the three amigos again from their childhood. Each of their individual friendships were actually being strengthened by Ally and Tyson dating. Kylie was surprised and hoped that things continued to go smoothly.

  Overnight Ally and Tyson had become the school’s power couple. Suddenly, the world of academics and the world of popularity and sports had come together. It was if those invisible walls that divided the popular kids from the other kids was no longer there. It was now okay to talk to anyone and hang out with anyone. Everyone wanted to be Tyson or Ally’s friend. Their kindness rubbed off on everyone.

  Ally went out of her way to say hi to anyone she recognized in the hallways. Kylie could see the way that girls looked at Ally, hoping that someday they might be able to break into the popular crowd and date the star of the football team. But more than that, they wanted to be like Ally. Smart, pretty and kind to all. Even Jenna, who always seemed to be trying to hang around Tyson and get his attention. Although Tyson tried not to encourage Jenna, Ally always tried to go out of her way to talk to Jenna. Even though Jenna’s responses were short and curt.

  Tyson continued to dominate on the field. Kylie and Ally found themselves rushing on the field at Rice Eccles Stadium after a defensive ending to stop a final drive to win the State Championship game as time expired on the clock. The girls found Tyson talking to a local news reporter with Jenna trying to get in the frame and hang on Tyson’s arm with the rest of the student body celebrating behind Tyson.

  When Tyson stepped back to let another teammate speak with the reporters, Jenna took that as her cue to congratulate Tyson, making sure their hug would occur in the background of the current interview. But the minute Tyson saw Ally, he turned and swept Ally up in his arms. It was the first time that Kylie had actually seen them kiss, along with everyone watching the news that night. Although Kylie was a little grossed out, she had to admit that in that moment they did look like the perfect couple. It was even better that the news also caught Jenna as she scowled and stormed off, leaving Tyson to celebrate with his family and friends.

  Chapter Seven

  The next week Ally and his family accompanied Tyson to a special dinner for the nominees for Mr. Football. Tyson knew that he was up against some great players. He already had quite a few scholarship offers, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if he won the title. But it was something that he had worked all offseason for. He wanted to win.

  As they played a highlight video for each of the four nominees, he felt the nervousness and butterflies set in. He only felt this nervous before football games and he just jumped up and down and stretched out to try to get it to go away. But that wasn’t acceptable here, so he just sat there holding his hands together and his head down. A feeling of calmness entered his body as Ally placed her hand in his. He looked over at her. Ally smiled at him and squeezed his hand as if she understood everything that he was feeling. Somehow, he knew the future would all be okay, as long as he had Ally by his side.

  He held onto Ally’s hand with both of his as the announcer spoke, “The moment these four young men have been waiting and working for has finally come. I’m sure that each of them will be going on to play at the next level. It was a tough decision for the committee because each of these players possess great skills. But we had to pick one. So, without further ado, this year’s State of Utah Mr. Football had a career high of 15 interceptions and 10 sacks this season. During his career, he led his team to two State Championships, taking the State Title this year. Not only has he excelled on the field but also off the field by maintaining a 3.6 GPA. This year’s Mr. Football is Tyson Brooks!”

  Ally looked over at Kylie as Tyson headed up to accept his award. There were tears in both of their eyes as Tyson expressed his gratitude toward his coaches and teammates. But most importantly to his family for their support and encouraging him to never give up.

  The week after Tyson was awarded the title of Mr. Football, scholarships poured in from all over the country. Tyson sat around the kitchen table with his parents as they started sifting through the offers. Tyson took a deep breath as he looked at the pile that was before him. He never thought that so many colleges would want to have him come play on their team. He felt very overwhelmed with this process. He was deciding his future based on these offers. What if he picked the wrong school?

  “I don’t know where to start,” Tyson admitted.

  “It would probably be easiest if we weed out the colleges that you don’t want to go to first,” Mr. Brooks suggested.

  “Ya, that sounds like a good idea,” Tyson answered. “I know that I want to play at a 4-year university. We could start by putting the Junior Colleges and Community Colleges in a separate pile?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Tyson and his parents went to work. It wasn’t too long before they had a good size stack of offers Tyson wasn’t going to accept.

  “What’s next?” Mrs. Brooks asked.

  Tyson shrugged as his dad suggested, “Let’s go through each of these and see what your gut feeling is. We could make a pile of no’s and maybe’s.” Tyson nodded to proceed.

  “University of Montana?” Tyson’s mom asked.

  “No,” Tyson responded.

  “Duke University?” Mr. Brooks asked.

  “They have a football team?” Mrs. Brooks exclaimed.

  Tyson couldn’t help but laugh, “Exactly. That will be a no.”

  Within the hour Tyson had it narrowed down to
less than ten offers as he heard a knock on the door. He looked the clock to see that it was 7:00. He had forgotten about his date with Ally.

  Kylie answered the door to find Ally standing on the doorstep.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming over. Did I forget we had something planned?” Kylie asked as she held the door open while reaching for her phone to see if she had missed a text from Ally.

  “Umm… I’m actually here to see Tyson.”

  “Oh,” Kylie said as she hid her disappointment with a smile. “Right. I forget you don’t have to come over here just to see me anymore. He is in the kitchen.”

  “Thanks,” Ally said as she led the way into the kitchen.

  “Hi Ally,” Tyson’s parents said simultaneously as they entered the kitchen.

  “Hi,” Ally responded and looked around for Tyson. Not finding Tyson she pointed to the table. “What’s the huge stack of papers for?”

  “Just narrowing down the scholarship offers,” Tyson said slightly out of breath as he ran into the kitchen having quickly changed out of his workout clothes into jeans and a t-shirt. “But now Ally and I are going to head out on a date,” he directed to his parents.

  “Have fun,” Mrs. Brooks said.

  “See you later,” Ally said to Kylie as she followed Tyson out the door.

  Once they were in Tyson’s truck, Ally asked, “I thought we were going to do something at your house?” Ally was positive she remembered Tyson telling her to come to his house because he had a special date planned.

  “Ya about that. I sort of lost track of time with everything that was going on, sorry. It will have to wait until another time. How does some ice cream sound?” Tyson sounded weary.

  “You know I am always down for ice cream,” Ally said with a smile as she scooted a little closer to Tyson from the middle seat.

  After they sat down with their Iceberg shake and onion rings to share, Ally asked, “So you were going through your scholarship offers?”

  “Yeah, it is turning out to be quite the process. I had no idea this many colleges would want me, you know?” Tyson said with a forced smile.

  “Who are the top runners?”

  “I think I narrowed it down to Utah, BYU, Stanford, TCU and Michigan.”

  “BYU!?” Ally exclaimed.

  “I know. I know. How could a die-hard Utah fan even think about playing for BYU? But I think I left it on the list just to give my mom some more hope that I would stay close to home. And it's not like I would get a bad education if I went there.”

  That’s was true. Ally didn’t realize that most of Tyson’s choices were far away. Ally hadn’t even applied to Stanford, TCU, or Michigan. “Why not just go to Utah?”

  “I don’t know,” Tyson said as he ran his hand through his hair. “The other schools have good football teams.”

  “They do. But haven’t you always wanted to be a Ute? That’s what you always dreamed of when we were younger.”

  Tyson sighed, “I know. I would love to play for the U. But I keep thinking, what if I’m not supposed to go play there. What if I’m supposed to play somewhere else? The team I chose to play for could affect if I make it to the NFL and my entire future.”

  “Have you prayed about it?”

  Tyson nodded his head, “I don’t feel anything when I pray about it. I don’t get a yes or a no. I just don’t know, Ally. What do you think?”

  “What do I think?” Ally pondered. She didn’t want him to pick a school just because Ally was planning on going to Utah.

  “Ya. What should I do? Tell me where I should go.”

  “Ty, I can’t tell you where you should go. It is your decision. But sometimes I think that Heavenly Father doesn’t tell us what to do because he wants us to make a decision. Maybe you need to pick which school you think will be best, then pray about your decision to go to that school instead of seeking an answer as to where to go. And maybe any of those colleges will lead you to the NFL or wherever your future is meant to lead you. There are a lot of things to consider. Maybe talking with your family and coaches would help too, just hearing what they have to say.”

  “How did you get to be so smart?” Tyson asked with that teasing smile that melted Ally’s heart.

  Ally just shrugged her shoulders.

  After a couple of minutes, Tyson asked, “Do you mind if we head back?”

  “That’s fine,” Ally said encouragingly. “I know you have a lot on your mind.”

  They said little on their way back to Tyson’s house. Ally was freaking out inside about what was going to happen with their relationship after high school ended. Ally had just assumed that Tyson would go to the University of Utah if he was given the opportunity. He loved Utah football, as well as Kylie and Ally. They occasionally accompanied Ally to the games when her family had extra tickets. Tyson was a Ute through and through.

  Ally was positive that he wasn’t going to go to BYU. He would have a very hard time playing against Utah, his dream team, every year. But what if he chose a school out of the state of Utah? Ally didn’t apply to any of those schools. It would be the end after high school. She could feel the tears start to come. She just wanted to tell him that she loved him. That she wanted him to take into consideration their future together before he made a decision. But she couldn’t do that to him.

  As they pulled into the driveway, Tyson got out of the truck and went around to open the door. He helped Ally out then led her to her car.

  “Sorry we have to cut our date short tonight,” Tyson said.

  “It’s okay,” Ally said not looking at Tyson. She quickly kissed Tyson on the cheek. “Just remember you don’t have to choose today. You still have until February.” Ally got in her car and tried not to look at Tyson as she drove away. As she turned the corner, she parked the car and cried.

  Kylie could see the way that Ally’s eyes lit up when she saw Tyson and she could almost swear that she could see the same reaction in Tyson’s eyes when he looked at Ally. They really got along so well and Kylie couldn’t complain about the girl her brother was dating. So when Tyson was only gone about 30 minutes on their date, Kylie was curious if something had gone wrong.

  Just as Kylie was going to ask Tyson how their date went, Kylie’s phone started ringing. It was Ally. Tyson looked defeated as he shuffled through his scholarship offers. What had happened on their date?

  She quickly stepped out of the kitchen and answered her phone. Ally was crying and she was parked just around the corner. Had the day that she had dreaded finally arrived? Kylie quickly put on her shoes and told Tyson to tell their parents she would be back soon.

  Kylie ran down the street and found Ally’s car. She knocked on the passenger door and got in when Ally unlocked the door. Ally was choking back sobs.

  “What happened?” Kylie asked.

  “I didn’t apply to TCU, Stanford, or Michigan,” Ally cried.

  “What?” This wasn’t what Kylie was expecting.

  “I thought Tyson was going to choose Utah. I didn’t think I had anything to worry about.”

  “Wait, he didn’t pick the University of Utah?!” Kylie exclaimed, “I didn’t know this.” She finally understood why Ally was so upset. She was a little shocked herself.

  “Well he didn’t not pick Utah. But what if he doesn’t? I know that I told you that I wasn’t going to talk to you about this stuff but I want him in my life. I don’t want it to end after high school and it looks like it is going to,” Ally said as a new batch of tears started flowing down her cheeks.

  Kylie took a deep breath. “I would have thought he would have chosen Utah too, without a question.”

  “Right? He is worried that he will pick the wrong school. That it will affect his future. That it will affect if he gets to play in the NFL. But if he picks a school outside of Utah, I won’t be in his future. Does he not want me in his future?”

  “Oh, Ally. Did you tell him you want to be in his future? Even though he is one of the best guys around, he
can’t read your mind.”

  “He knows I love him but I can’t tell him that I want him to choose a school just because I’m going to be there. I don’t want him to regret going to Utah or BYU just because of me. That I limited his chances of playing in the NFL.”

  “This right here is the reason why you are the best girlfriend Tyson has ever had,” Kylie replied as she handed Ally some napkins she knew Ally always kept handy in the glove box. “But, for the record, I don’t think that he would ever regret going to the same school as you just to keep you in his life.”

  Ally sort of chuckled through the tears. “Thanks. I just want him to reach his potential. If that means he goes to Stanford, then I don’t want him to ignore whatever answer he gets just because I want him to go somewhere else. But I can’t imagine my life without him.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, I can’t either. It will be different if he moves away. Or if you both move away.”

  “I’m sorry! Here I am just thinking about myself. I’m sure that it will be hard for you too if he moves away. He was your best friend before me.”

  “Yep…” Kylie sighed. “I guess we'll just have to wait and see. But no matter what, I’ll still be here.” Kylie jokingly punched Ally’s shoulder.

  “Yes. Best friends forever,” Ally said as she reached over to give Kylie a hug.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Kylie asked.

  “Ya. Thank you.”

  “Now you better get home. Don’t you have a big interview tomorrow?”

  “Ha ha, yes I do.”

  “You’ll do great. And try not to stress about Tyson quite yet. February is still a few months away, and he will probably change his mind a few times between now and then.”

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning at school, Tyson waited at Ally’s locker with a rose. He felt bad about cutting their date short and leaving the weight of his problems on her shoulders. But he was so grateful for her advice. He had prayed and knew that he needed to be patient. He felt like he needed to go on the campus tours, and discuss more with family and coaches before he made a decision. With a new focus, he knew he needed to make it up to Ally.