"Got held up," Ben said, shrugging off his bookbag into the bleachers. His best friend Kasey dribbled the ball as they walked to stand in line.

Good, practice hadn't started yet.

"Sure you did. Evidence of the giant hickey on your neck suggests either you were making it with someone or got attacked by a vampire."

Crap. Mom will see that. She notices everything. I'm so dead, Ben thought.

"It's a cruel world out there. Maybe I'm the next slayer," he replied, slapping Kasey's hand from his collar.

"Who is she? Is it Kim McClure?"

"Ack, god no. I have standards." Truth be told, he never kissed any girl before today.

Unlike his stupid brother, who probably had half of the female population at Scranton High drooling over him, Ben was considered the dorkier of the two. He was tall, but not freakishly Gandolf tall, like his brother, and his dad forgot to give him the gene of the flippy dark tendrils girls normally want to run their fingers through.

It led to Ben wishing Jon would contract lice and be forced to shave off his precious hair, but knowing Jon's luck, bald would be the new style girls love and he would still be the biggest stud in Scranton High. Life sucks.

Of course, Ben was stuck with his mom's reddish brown hair with a slight curl to it and he had grown up knowing not to try to tame it anymore. He had just gotten his braces off two years ago but was still forced to wear a retainer during practice. Sure, he was a real stud. He hadn't even had a girlfriend yet, and suddenly this brunette goddess came sauntering down the hall way and asking him did he have a cigarette.

Not that he liked girls that smoked, mind you, but she was hot. She looked like one of the girls Jon would flirt with but never give the time of day. But Jon was an idiot. She muttered something about how she was forced to come here by her stupid overbearing stepfather and how she was going to run away. It was something like out of those chic flicks he sometimes watched on TNT with his mom and dad. Girl from the wrong side of the tracks takes interest in the square kid. And being awe struck that she was even speaking to him forced Ben to just sit and listen, nodding in the appropriate places. He had no idea what she was complaining about. He was just shocked a live girl was actually even trying to talk to him.

So when she reached out and held his hand, he flinched on contact. Then he begged for lightening to strike him down to spare him of the embarrassment. He never caught her name, even after she had shoved him surprisingly into the lockers and kissed him hard. He thought she bit his lip and he didn't like that. Pain wasn't cool. But then she traveled down to his neck and he had to kind of slide away because he was really wondering if she had some Hannibal Lector like tendencies. She just shrugged off his hesitancy, muttering about finding a cigarette, and said she would see him around maybe.

"Oh I know, Stacey Kapoor-Bernard," Kasey yelped.

"She won't stop flapping her gums long enough to make out with her. Or at least I heard." Ben replied.

"She's hot though."

"Yeah."

"Seriously," they both stated, with a far away look in their eyes over Junior Class Princess Stacey Kapoor-Bernard.

"So...who?"

"Shhhh-" a chastising hiss came from down the line.

Kasey leaned down and looked at the source. "Blow me, Miller. So anyway, you gonna tell me who this mystery chic is?"

"No! I mean I don't even know her name."

"Wow, phantom kisser... who does she hang with?"

"She doesn't have friends. She's new."

Kasey's face contorted in a mask of confusing before his brain finally connected the dots. "You frenched the new girl!"

"Shhhhh!" Another scathing hiss from down the line. Ben groaned. Poor Kasey lived vicariously through him. Which was kind of sad seeing as Ben had no social life either.

"Miller, dude, seriously, your mom." Kasey replied back down the line. "But for real Ben, she's looks like one step away from juvey."

"Can you shutup about this now? Before the coach hears us," Ben pleaded.

He watched his friend make a stance as if to throw a jumper. "Who? Temp Coach Red Blotch? I could care less."

"Well I care. I want to play."

The new temporary coach looked at the clipboard again, his eyes studying the names on it. It was the worst week for Coach Mathias to get hernia surgery. He watched as the Coach muttered and called down the list.

"Dennison, Earlmann, Estes, Faison, Franklin...."

"Dude, check out his face, it gets red with each name he calls."

"Maybe he has a skin condition?" Ben replied, rubbing his own neck where the hickey was. Maybe he could wear a turtleneck home? No, Jon will notice and call him on it.

"Halpert?" The coach's voice rang out particularly loud with his name, and Ben snapped forward. He noted this was the first time he heard his name said with a bit of surprise and bitterness.

Ben cleared his throat. "Sir?"

"Oh shit, dude, you're gonna get it," Kasey mumbled. "Look he's getting blotchier as we speak."

"Shutup..." Ben retorted, his heart beating. He had shown up sort-of-kind-of on time today, he had made sure to get A's on all his tests this week, so why was this guy pointing him out?

The coach looked up, his eyes wide as he scanned over the boy. Ben didn't know who this guy was, but he was staring at him in an uncomfortable way. Maybe he was some sort of pervert and Ben would have to quit or else because a victim like in those after-school specials where the coach takes a liking to his star player.

"Your dad, is his name-?"

"Jim Halpert, yes sir." Ben replied, his voice a little too squeaky, causing Kasey to snort beside him. Ben glared at his best friend and vowed silently to elbow him in the stomach during practice.

"Man, maybe your dad and him were lovers," Kasey muttered and two guys beside him laughed.

He would so elbow Kasey in the face, that much he was sure of. He didn't flinch but instead muttered back, "I'm going to kill you."

Kasey laughed and Ben kept his eyes forward to the coach who dropped the clipboard by his side.

"Well, I'll be..." the coach chuckled to himself."This is my lucky day."

"Do I know you from somewhere?" the boy wondered and stated out loud, wanting to kick himself for asking. Did Jon sell him on eBay again? What did his father have to do with this? Sure his father played basketball too, but seriously, that was like a hundred years ago, his dad was like in his forties now. His dad and Coach Mathias got along well, heck great, they played poker together when Dad had poker night.

Ben shifted his weight nervously and waited for the red necked man to speak, but instead the man glared at him as if the question wasn't simple.

Whatever this blotchy man had against his dad, Ben suddenly realized he would be getting the brunt of it today.

"Ah....Alright team," the coach said, never taking his piercing stare off of Ben. "Laps."

Groans came from everyone, but Ben, who clunched the ball. This guy was sadistic. They did their pre practice laps before they came in and he wanted more.

"Problem with it, fellas? Because if you don't like it, you don't play."

Ben bent down to tie his shoe when a shadow eclipsed him. He looked up slowly to see the coach.

"Halpert."

"Sir."

"What's that on your neck?"

Ben rubbed his bruise. "I fell."

"On some girl's lips I bet. You better leave those slutty girls alone."

The boy cleared his throat nervously. "She's not a slut."

"Sure she was. Only girls that leave marks are sluts. No discipline what so ever. Those are the fast girls with no home training. Trust me, I rode that kind of rollercoaster many times when I was your age."

"Uh...okay."

There was an awkward pause and Ben prayed for a tornado to sweep him away but the coach kept talking. "I know your folks. We worked together."

He stood slowly, the coach still towering over him a bit. "Oh ok. You worked at Dunder Mifflin?"

"Yes. I knew your mom too. But I knew her from before."

"Oh. Did you go to school with my mom?"

"You can say that. I, uh....dated your mom. Even asked her to marry me and everything-"

"What?"  Ben looked shocked for a moment. Mom never mentioned she was engaged before Dad. Hell they always acted like they were Romeo and Juliet since birth or something.

"Did she ever mention me? Roy Anderson?" The man looked at him with hopeful eyes, and it made Ben want to look away.

He didn't know what to say. "No."

"You look just like her," the coach said softly, looking down at his clipboard and then clearing his throat.

"Uh...Yeah, people say that I have her-"

"Eyes," the coach interrupted, his voice sad and thick.

This was becoming increasingly weird and uncomfortable for Ben so he gave a nervous chuckle. "I was going to say hair but yeah, her eyes too, I guess."

The coach stared at him and Ben got that weird "To Catch a Predator" vibe again and grabbed a ball that rolled to his foot."Should I go do laps?"

Ben watched the man stiffen and he glanced back at the clipboard. "So you play guard? You got skills like your dad? I used to call him Larry Bird. He thought he was sometimes too."

Ben nervously dribbled the ball. "I try. We play sometimes, he still wins."

"Ha...is that right? Well...if you let that old timer beat you, then you need practice."

Ben frowned. "He's pretty good. He was All State when he was in school and he played college ball."

Ben paused and looked Roy up and down, noting he had some weight in his midsection. And he wanted to take a cheap shot at his dad??? Was he kidding? "When's the last time you've played ball?"

"Wow. You got alot of mouth on you, lil Halpert. I guess you showed me, right?  So um, let see if the Halperts really do have basketball in their genes. Why don't you run six extra laps for me, and then start practicing three point jumps?"

Ben's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? I mean...We ran the extra laps before and now I have to-"

"Do you want to play?" The coach said with a sneer. "And didn't you just come in here late, Larry Bird Jr.?"

He was enjoying this and Ben could tell. He dribbled the ball a few times and glared back at the coach.

"Want to make it more laps? I got all day, Mr. Halpert."

"That's seriously unfair."

"Life is unfair. People are unfair. Ask your dad."

"Dude, whatever you have against my dad has nothing to do with me."

"First off, don't call me dude."

"Fine...man."

The coach chuckled bitterly at Ben's refusal to cooperate. One thing he was going to find out, Ben wasn't scared of anyone. He was always taught to have a backbone, to speak his mind, and he wouldn't let some hick, blotchy, bloated temporary coach make him miserable.

He contemplated his choices. He could do the laps, pass out from exhaustion, and have his father sue the coach. He could do the laps, play and give this man satisfaction from his tiny power trip. Or he could not do the laps and not play. It wasn't that basketball was all that much of a big deal, he liked to play because he got to practice with his dad sometimes. But seriously, he didn't have to deal with this. He would tell his mom and dad when he got home that his blotchy a-hole of a coach with a vendetta for them spanning back decades ago wanted him to run extra and it wasn't fair. He was sure his dad would be making a visit to the school shortly after. Or Jon would pour sugar in this guy's gas tank everyday to get the point across...you don't mess with the Halperts.

"Look son. This is my team right now. I'm not your old coach and we do things my way. Got it? You mouthing off to me isn't going to make things better."

"So you're basically ragging on me because you got a problem with my dad."

The coach stepped back and gave a sly smile. "I have no idea what you mean. I have no problem with you, other than you're doing what I say. Now, shouldn't you be running right about now?"

Ben narrowed his eyes at the man and glanced at his team mates. He saw Kasey staring over at them as he ran around the gym with the team.

"Did you hear me?" the coach asked sternly.

Ben dribbled the ball twice and tossed it at the net, sinking a shot. Then he turned defiantly, chin up (which made him look even more like his mom) and said, "Yeah I heard you."

With that, he walked angrily towards the bleachers, reached over  and grabbed his bookbag. Kasey stopped running abruptly.

"Dude-" he wheezed.

"Tell Coach Mathias I'll be back when he comes back. I'll see ya."

He walked towards the gym doors, and he heard the coach yell out. "You walk out, you don't come back Halpert!"

With that he exited the gym, his only regret was not giving the dude the finger as he walked out.  He noticed her as soon as he walked out, leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

"Practice over already?"

"For me it is, that coach is an asshole."

She nodded, puffing out smoke. "Sure is. Coach Anderson. He sucks."

"You know him?"

"My stepdad."

"Whoa. Seriously?"

"Yeah."

Ben rubbed his neck and smiled. "Well I feel better now."

"Why?"

"No reason. Maybe I'll see you around?"

She smiled. "Maybe."

He watched as she walked away and then flipped open his cellphone. "Hey dad... I got some news....I sorta quit the team...no I'm not on drugs...Do you know a Roy Anderson?"