The Hardest Hit (The Rice Thresher)
YOU'RE EXHAUSTED, and you're beaten. ¶ Your head throbs. Your throat feels like it's been scrubbed with steel wool. Rice Stadium is glinting in the heat, microwaving a mirage as you sprint along the grass. Your coach, crewcut and thick, is barking at you to do more, care more, give more! He's on the sideline with sunglasses, glowering.
