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he the one who does the hiring?” Troy’s mom asked.
    â€œBiondi said he wants the principal involved, too, so he has some support from her. Then it goes to the school board. If they approve it, I’m in. Should be easy.”
    â€œAnd . . . what about a place?” Troy’s mom asked.
    Seth looked at his spaghetti. “I got a hotel room in town, and if I get the job, I planned on finding an apartment. This isn’t about me invading your life.”
    â€œI feel like you should be staying with us,” Troy’s mom said. “Until you’re settled in. We’ve got an extra bedroom.”
    â€œI appreciate that,” Seth said, “but I snore and it’ll look better if I’m on my own. It’s not gonna go down well with some people if Troy ends up as our starting quarterback—which I’m sure will be the case. If I’m staying here, it’ll only make it harder.” Seth’s face lit up. His voice bubbled with excitement. “Honestly, I know it sounds crazy, but I think it’s my best opportunity to make a name in coaching. With Troy as my quarterback?”
    Seth chuckled. “Heh, we’ll turn mud into money. If I turn a program around overnight, I’ll have all kinds of offers. People respect a guy who starts on the ground floor.”
    â€œWhat about the basement?” Troy couldn’t help the sharp comment, and he wondered if Seth knew how terrible the team really was. “They haven’t won a game in two years.”
    â€œOh, it can’t be that bad.” Seth snorted and shoveled more spaghetti into his mouth.
    â€œI’m serious.” Troy wanted Seth to coach the team, but he also wanted him to know how hard it would be. “Right, Ty?”
    â€œThey’re supposed to be pretty bad,” Ty said. “But I haven’t seen them play.”
    Seth wiped his mouth on a napkin. “At the high school level, trust me, it’s about coaching. I played in a town with a horrible coach. He got fired my sophomore year and they brought in George O’Leary.”
    â€œThe coach at UCF?” Thane asked.
    Seth nodded. “We won the league championship my junior year and the state title the year after that. That’s what good coaching does.”
    â€œThey had you ,” Ty said.
    â€œRight, and we’ll have you two guys.” Seth smiled at them all.
    Thane cleared his throat. “Uh . . .”
    â€œâ€˜Uh,’ what?” Seth asked.
    Troy dipped his face into one hand and shook his head.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
    â€œTY IS ALL SET up to go to St. Stephen’s.” Thane’s face grew long. “It’s a private school. It’s a powerhouse.”
    â€œReally?” Seth looked at Troy.
    â€œI . . . I guess I thought maybe he might change his mind?” It was the best Troy could come up with. He never said Ty was going to Summit, but he didn’t tell Seth he wasn’t, either. They both knew Troy would need a fast receiver, and they both knew there were few people faster than Ty.
    â€œYeah, I mean, if I’m coaching the team, we could end up as a powerhouse, too,” Seth said. “With Troy at QB, you know Ty is going to get a ton of balls thrown to him.”
    â€œWill you guys run a spread offense?” Ty asked.
    Seth nodded. “For sure. Hey, it might take us a season or two to turn it around completely, but can you imagine five years of you guys playing together?”
    Troy pumped his voice full of excitement. “And if we turn it around, you know other players from Summit are gonna think twice before they go to St. Stephen’s.”
    â€œThat’s what happens now,” Ty said. “All the best players leave. St. Stephen’s recruits them right out of Pop Warner.”
    â€œWait,” Troy’s mom said. “I thought you can’t recruit in high school.”
    â€œSt. Stephen’s is a