Maki and the other girls noticed Luke's attention to the lovely Beckett girl, and dutifully reported his actions and intent to her elders.
Luke was free to meet with Samantha Beckett, but the word was out in the cities, and a car followed the young man to the park to meet the girl, with four members of the club watching everything. "The boy needs a lesson. He thinks he's above the law."
Ezra was unaware of all of this. He had spent the day at the market, helping sort and sell, packing people's things and garnering support for Wilmington, handing out tickets to the night's game.
That night, while Samantha waited for Luke, the game started. Ezra wasn't the star on football, but he was the heart and anchor of the defense, and his new skills and strength soon had the offense reeling, as even three linemen could not hold him back. The people around the Becketts were cheering just as loud as the young man ripped through the line and sacked the QB a full seven times in a single half, so flustering the All-State starter he threw the ball away ten times, and threw four interceptions, two of which were run back for touchdowns, one by Ezra himself. By the half Wilmington lead 42 to 0 and the opponents had already been forced to dig deep into their third string as the fit, fast, and strong Wilmington Wildcats were running roughshod over them and tiring out even their best.
By the end of the game, at 10, the score was an ungodly 94 - 0, Ezra had broken three district records, another four school records, and several others on the team had smashed numerous records, including completed passes, yards run, touchdowns scored in a quarter, passing yards, tackles, and fumbles recovered. The team was covered in glory and the whole town was cheering as Ezra lead his defense off the field to shower and meet at the Wildcat WildHouse, the local teen hangout where a massive food party was waiting with several hundred pizzas, six foot subs, and piles of sandwiches, fries, chips and the like, and gallons of ice cream and soda.
Ezra took his sisters through the line making sure they got plenty of ice cream as tonight they were allowed to stay up at his request, and even little Nicole got some melted down vanilla her brother very carefully fed her. She was quite taken with the flavor and cooed happily.
Ezra also snuck Chase and Brandon Beckett large ice creams and got his mother to distract Marcia while Thomas and Sean, for once, were having a good natured argument about their past when they too had worn the Wildcat jersey.
The party went on at full blast until 11, then everyone scurried home, Ezra carrying all four of his sleeping sisters to the car, then tucked them in at home, had a shower, then went down to his ring for an hour of training.
Red, Thomas, and the other officers went down to watch him, softly marveling at his energy and his intensity, as well as his explosiveness, stamina and endurance. Soon the hour turned into two, then a third, which filled with his cousins and uncles trying to drag him down first one on one, then as a group. He broke, slithered, wriggled, and fought his way free every time.
Red sent them on their way when Ezra lay a grapple dummy on his shoulders and squatted, just holding it as he held two thirty pound weights straight ahead for another hour. He then entered the ring studying his grandson.
"I see you mean to ensure a win. And pay me back?"
"Well the winner's purse is ten k. That's 9750 to you when I win."
Ezra had already startled his grandfather by having his coaches take turns striking him again and again, and the boy had taken blows Red didn't think he could stomach, and he just continued to push and push himself. Red nodded. "Actually we're guna give you 3k. Pay off your coaches even more. I want them out here more and with better gear. And you should consider saving what you have left over."
Ezra grinned. "Already do Red. I eat mom and dad's food and wear the clothes they buy me. I already have a cd player and my books. I don't pay at the Wildhouse, though I keep track of what I get for later. So everything I don't spend on training goes in the bank."
"Good man. How much and account number?"
"Noneya and not telling old man."
He grinned at his grandfather who laughed, and began pressing down on the boy's shoulders and arms. Ezra pushed back. "Nice. Resistance training while doing isometrics. good strength building."
Thomas laughed studying his son as Red teased him. He marveled at his son but he suspected that his spurt of achievement was not because of the two weeks of training but because of a mixture of the boy's chores, work at the farm and the cleanup, and the already impressive training regiment Ezra had followed before the storm. The recent two weeks had just served as a trigger.
Red finished messing with the boy, checked the area, then stepped back. "I want you to understand something Ezra. Your success is important to me and the club. But secondary to your health and safety. Don't hurt yourself especially in fights."
Ezra nodded. "I gotcha gramps. I can only hold this an hour because last week I could hold it for fifty minutes. I used to use haybales or logs. I would go up about two minutes a night. Sometimes I couldn't make it. Sometimes I could. Just kept trying."
Red nodded sitting on a turnbuckle. "Just promise me you won't get yourself hurt."
Ezra nodded. "I promise Grandpa."
"Good man. Now that I've finished imitating your grandmother I have some updates for you."
"Sir?"
"You are one in forty. Single elimination obviously. I'm paying for your 250 dollar entry fee, which makes up the purse. You are the youngest by five years, but also one of the smallest, both in height and weight. You need to watch yourself. Especially for one Oliver Samuel."
"Samuel?"
"Very distant cousin to your friend Colin. He's seven feet three inches, weighs about four hundred pounds and has won this specific tournament four times, and five others four times as well. He's the Oklahoma king of UFC, unofficially of course. Five black belts and very mean. He's the man to beat son."
Ezra nodded. "The dummy on my neck is two fifty gramps. If I'm careful I can double that by the time I fight him. The game tonight actually helps. We have a bye that weekend anyway."
Red nodded. "And two games between. You build slow and careful son. End the first ones fast. You're already topseeded though so you have more fights. Burn through them and finish this Oliver as quick as you can."
"Yes sir."
"Good man."
They all fell silent, watching Ezra as he began to slowly and very carefully lower then raise his squat, keeping the strain of the isometric exercise, but stretching and strengthening the muscles used to hold the pose. He also began to row with his arms, making the muscles throughout his arms, shoulders and back bunch and knot powerfully. When the hour was finished he dropped, did a hundred rapid push-ups, then jumped on and off a free turnbuckle as many times before joining his family and heading inside for a small meal, a shower, then bed.
Back with Samantha the four had already contacted associates in every city around, warning them not to supply either Samantha or Luke with anything intoxicating, including beer. They had also contacted some friends in the State Highway Patrol and had them guarding the borders in case Luke was dumb enough to take her across state lines, thus legally committing kidnapping.
Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
