Strangely enough, as soon as Mike and the others started their trip home, the heavy rain stopped.
The four of them returned to the familiar little town of Deford, a bright rainbow stretching across the sky beside them.
Hearing the roar of the engine, Missy came running out, full of excitement.
When she saw Mike get out of the car holding a gift box, she got even more excited. She threw herself at him, hugged his leg, and said in a sweet voice, "Mike, you're back~"
Mike looked down at the little girl, her eyes sparkling, and ruffled her hair. "Missy, your hairstyle looks really nice today."
Hearing the compliment, Missy happily stepped back a couple of paces, smoothed her hair, and said, "Really? Grandma took me to get it done yesterday. I even had a little beauty treatment! Touch my face—doesn't it feel smoother?"
Missy's little face didn't need any kind of beauty treatment at all. When Grandma had her own facial yesterday, she'd just slapped a sheet mask on the little girl to humor her.
"Oh, and I had a bunch of ice creams yesterday. I saved one for you, but it melted later, so I ate it for you," Missy chirped nonstop, bursting with energy, clearly wanting to tell Mike everything she'd done the day before.
"Our Missy is amazing. Thank you for taking care of that ice cream for me," Mike said with a smile, praising her again. Then he waved her over. "Come take a look—this is the Barbie Elsa I brought back for you."
Missy's happiness was impossible to hide when she took the pink Barbie doll. After giving Mike another hug, she held the gift box—almost half her height—and cheered excitedly.
Meanwhile, Mary and Grandma Connie also came out of the house to welcome George and the others home.
Seeing the smile on little Sheldon's face after the trip, Mary finally relaxed. She pulled her husband into a big hug.
Feeling his wife's approval in that moment, George smiled too. He honestly felt that the weekend hadn't been so bad after all.
Before long, the leisurely weekend came to an end, and Monday arrived.
Today was the day Medford High would challenge Austin High.
Because of how important the game was, the school had prepared an impressive fleet of buses, carrying the entire student body and faculty toward the Austin Sports Center.
On the most luxurious bus at the front sat the football team, along with the head coach and assistant coach.
Inside the bus, the atmosphere was heavy. The players were nowhere near as lively as they had been the week before.
That low, oppressive mood lingered for a full two hours, until the convoy finally arrived at the Austin Sports Center.
As the capital of Texas, Austin might not be as economically powerful as Houston, but culturally, it absolutely stood in a league of its own.
When the students saw the massive, chessboard-like sports complex in front of them, gasps of awe broke out.
"Alright, stop staring," Coach George said after taking a quick look himself. "We need to get ready."
After the two-hour drive, game time was already approaching fast.
With that reminder, the football players pulled themselves together and followed Coach George through a special passageway to the preparation room.
The spacious, private room was equipped with a tactics board and even a scaled-down strategy model.
For players who came from a small place like Medford, everything here felt new and impressive.
It almost felt like just getting to visit a place like this made the trip worthwhile—even if they ended up losing the game.
"You guys rest here for a bit. I'm going to check things out outside," Coach George said after settling them in, then headed out.
A new venue always needed someone to scout it first, just to avoid any embarrassing mistakes when it was time to enter the field.
Once Coach George left, the players relaxed again, gathering in small groups and chatting.
It was as if they were trying to talk away the uneasiness in their hearts.
Seeing that the team was nowhere near the mindset they should have before a game, Captain Aaron finally couldn't hold back. He walked to the front.
He knocked on the tactics board to get everyone's attention and demanded loudly, "Are you really okay with losing this game just like that?"
No one had said it out loud before, but deep down, most of the players had already prepared themselves to lose.
After all, their opponent this time was Austin High.
But now that Captain Aaron had dragged the question out into the open, the players all lowered their heads, unable to meet his eyes.
That was guilt—plain and simple.
"I'm not okay with it! Why should we be weaker than anyone else? Just because we come from a small town?" Aaron vented his frustration. Then his tone shifted, growing even more fired up. "Show some fight! We're the challengers here. If we're not afraid of losing, then what is there to be afraid of?"
"Well said!" Mike called out from below.
He'd been fed up with the defeatist mood on the team for a while now. They hadn't even fought yet—how could they give up so easily?
As the players slowly lifted their heads, Aaron shouted, "Medford—"
"Victory!"
"Medford!!"
"Victory!!!"
"We will win—"
…
Because of their poor results the previous year, Medford High's football team had started this season as underdogs, challenging stronger opponents week after week.
Back then, they had nothing to lose. Barefoot and fearless, they played hard and weren't afraid of failure.
But after breaking into the state's top ten, it was as if a set of shackles had been placed on them. They lost that fearless, all-out momentum they once had.
Of course, this wasn't any one person's fault. When people suddenly get a taste of success after struggling for a long time, it takes time to adjust.
All it really meant was that Medford High hadn't yet developed its own "winning culture."
…
Outside the room, Coach George had already finished the necessary procedures and returned. He waited until Captain Aaron finished firing up the team before pushing the door open.
After patting Aaron on the shoulder, Coach George said with a sigh, "This was my failure. I didn't push you hard enough. But it's not too late—we still have a chance…"
This season's top-ten finish at the state level was the best result the Medford High football team had ever achieved under Coach George.
That success, combined with the school's special treatment, had gone to his head a bit.
And because he hadn't gathered enough intel on their opponents ahead of time, even now that he'd come to his senses, he couldn't offer any truly effective counter-strategies.
So once again, he emphasized the tactic Medford relied on most: the dual-core crossing offense.
After that, Coach George briefed the players on the entrance route and a few key things to watch out for.
Before long, there was a knock at the door. It was almost time to take the field, and the guides were already in position.
"Kids, this is the stage you've earned. Go out there and enjoy the game. No matter the outcome, you're my heroes. I'll be cheering for you from the sidelines," Coach George said.
He watched as the players filed out of the preparation room one by one. When it was Aaron's and Mike's turn to leave, he gave each of them a heavy pat on the back, as if passing along a final burst of strength.