It was the very first week of the new semester at JFK High School. The new school year had begun, and all the students had just gotten their books, schedules, and class assignments. The excitement was in the air, especially for Dustin.
Dustin had applied for the football team, and he had a great chance of making it this year. He had been going to the gym throughout the summer vacation, working out every single day. Of course, having a brother like Ty helped a lot, too. Ty allowed for Dustin’s muscles to grow quite easily, so he was always in the best shape. Not only that, but Ty had secretly wished for Dustin to make the team. It was no surprise to Ty, when he got word that Dustin made it on the team roster.
Allen had just approached Ty, who came walking out of the bookstore with a few new books in his hands.
“Ty! Ty!” Allen shouted, as he came running towards his best friend, who was at the other end of the hall. “Did you hear the news?”
“No?”
“Well, congratulations, bro! Dustin made the football team! I bet he must be fired up! You should go and congratulate him! He’s in the locker room right now!”
“Okay! I’ll go see him as soon as I put my books away!” Ty said to him.
“Great! Well, call me. See you later, Ty!” Allen said, as he dashed out the main door of the building.
Ty opened the door to his small locker in the hallway and placed his books on the top shelf, before he locked it using his combination lock. Then he quickly turned around, to make sure that nobody else was watching. He quietly wished himself in the men’s locker room, which was by the football practice field, and he disappeared into thin air, teleporting himself to the room where Dustin was sitting.
To Ty’s great surprise, he found a lonely Dustin sitting on the wooden bench in the empty locker room, holding a sheet of paper in his hand. Not only was he all alone, but he had a very sad expression on his face.
“Hey, bro… I heard you made the football team! Congratulations…” Ty said, as he sat next to his bigger, foster brother.
Dustin just nodded. He didn’t look too happy.
“What’s the matter?” Ty wondered. “You don’t look too happy! You should be celebrating! What’s wrong?”
“I made the team, but…” Dustin explained sadly. “I won’t get paid for another two weeks at my job in the movie theater. And I won’t make enough money to pay for my uniform until the paycheck after that. The truth is, I can play, but I don’t have the money to buy a new uniform…”
“What?” Ty asked.
Dustin handed him the sheet with the expenses for a new helmet, jersey, pants, and cleats.
“Wow! All this adds up to over four-hundred and fifty Dollars?” Ty exclaimed, as he read the list of all the items that Dustin needed to buy.
“Well, I still have the pads from last year. But the cleats and helmet alone are a hundred Dollars each…” Dustin said sadly. “And if I can’t come up with that kind of money now, then I can’t start in our first game, which is next Saturday… I’ll miss out on practice, too, without my uniform. And, that starts the day after tomorrow!”
“No…Dustin! NO!” Ty said as he stood up! “You came this far, and you made the team! You’re going to play! If we can’t raise the money, then I’ll make you a uniform!”
“Yeah, but the uniform has to fit me exactly! New cleats never fit right the first time! I have to wear them in!” Dustin explained.
“What if the cleats and the jersey and the helmet were alive?” Ty suggested. “What if they would always adjust to your body size, as soon as you put them on, so that they would always have the best fit?”
“I-I guess that would work…” Dustin said, as he perked up.
“Look, Dustin… If I can get a couple of guys together, we’ll be your football uniform whenever you need to play! As soon as you put us on, we’ll re-shape to fit on your head, your body, and your feet, so that you can go out on the field and play football, without having to worry about your uniform! Just look at me!”
Ty then walked over to the bench where Dustin was sitting and stepped on it with both feet. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
Suddenly, Ty started to shrink from his 5 foot 6 height. He dwindled down as he was standing right next to Dustin, until he was about two feet tall. Then, His body started to re-form itself, as he took on the shape of a ball. His torso became wider in the middle, like he became fatter, while his head and feet appeared to become one. His arms grew together as His body smoothened out. For the moment, he started to look like a basketball.
Then, the inside of the “ball” became hallow, as the outer shell turned into stainless steel. The front half of the sphere cut away, forming the opening which uncovered the face. The plastic bars appeared, for guarding the face and the nose, along with the strap and the chin guard, which attached to the lower part of the helmet. Large, one-inch holes appeared around the area where the ears would be, and a few smaller holes appeared on the helmet for ventilation. Additional padding materialized inside of the football helmet for comfort, when the new football helmet was finished.
Two eyes and a mouth suddenly appeared on the top of the helmet.
“Well, come on, Dustin! Put me on! Give me a shot!” Ty said, in his new shape of a football helmet.
“This is crazy!” Dustin chuckled, as he grabbed the bright, red football helmet, which sat on the wooden bench beside him. “My brother just turned himself into a football helmet!”
Dustin carefully placed the helmet over his head, lowered the face guard over his eyes, and strapped the chin guard under his chin. Instantly, the helmet began to shrink a little, until it fit snug around Dustin’s head.
“There! You’re ready to play! Now you just need the rest of your uniform!” Ty said.
“Ty…. I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, take me off so I can change back. I’ll go round up the guys, and we’ll get you some cleats and some pants and a jersey! I can get Tim, Allen, Kent and Peter to help out for sure!”
Dustin gently removed the helmet and set it back on the floor. A tear of joy almost came to his eye. Only Ty could do this.
The helmet suddenly grew longer and longer, suddenly taking the shape of a human, as it rapidly transformed back into his foster brother again. After a few seconds, Ty was standing before him.
“Stay here, I’ll get the guys, so we can be your football uniform!”
Ty then walked out the door to get the rest of the gang. Dustin could only wait in eager anticipation…