Jake Sorenson loved the feel of the pigskin. It wasn't for nothing that he was wide receiver on his high school football team: he caught more balls, some would say, than there even were passes in a game. He had led the Huskies to victory many a time, relishing the crowd's chanting his name once the rival was defeated.

So it was natural that he would take the his football almost everywhere he went, tossing it and letting it fall into his arms, sometimes sitting down on the freshly mowed turf to enjoy the sun.

His hair itched as, he supposed, sweat began to seep out of his pores. But he reached up with his foot to scratch it.

And then his universe fumbled, and something new came out of the dogpile. He had no idea what to think...

But ah! so good to relieve that bothersome itch...