Andrew Chapter 5: Version 2

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ANDREW CHAPTER 5: ANDREW?S FIRST STRENGTH TEST

In early September of 2005, Andrew and Carrie were coming back from one of his workout sessions in Commander Marge?s Gravity Chamber.
?I?m glad you told Steve everything a month ago,? Carrie told him. ?He hasn?t been jealous since.?
?That?s true,? Andrew agreed. ?I must say, I?m glad about that. His jealousy was tiring. I?m glad we?re not fighting anymore.?
?The way you manhandled him last time, I?m not surprised,? Carrie said. ?He?s probably scared of you by now.?
?I hope not,? Andrew said. ?I don?t want people to be friends with me because they?re scared not to.?
?Don?t worry, you don?t scare me,? Carrie grinned. ?Even if you can bench 2000 pounds now. What are you going to use for weights now that you?ve used the biggest weight plates available??
?Maybe I?ll start benching boulders instead,? Andrew decided.
Carrie looked over at him in shock and then looked back at the road. She saw the deer running across the road in front of them, and swerved to avoid it. The car ran into the ditch, and only Andrew?s outstretched arm kept her from going through the windshield.
?Thank you Andrew,? Carrie gasped. ?You saved my life! Thank you!?
?You?re welcome,? Andrew said, rubbing her shoulders gently. ?Are you okay??
?I?ll be fine in a moment,? Carrie advised him. ?Let?s get to the football practice.?
?You mean, the first football practice of the season,? Andrew corrected her, with a smug grin.
?How could I forget?? Carrie laughed. ?You?ve only been looking forward to that for the past month! You?re really excited about showing off your superhuman strength on the football field, aren?t you??
?Yes I am,? Andrew grinned. ?But if we keep spinning our tires uselessly, we?ll be late. I guess I?ll have to show off my great strength a bit earlier than I expected. We?d better get out now.?
?What do you have in mind?? Carrie asked him, as she followed him out of the car.
?You?ll see,? Andrew replied. ?I just have one thing to say: get ready.?
He walked up to the back of the car and grabbed the rear bumper from underneath. Then he heaved upwards with a huge yell. The rear of the car slowly lifted off the ground. Andrew, breathing heavily, looked over at Carrie with a huge grin. Carrie?s look of shock and pride energized him further. So he moved towards the front of the car, lifting the rest of it as he went. Once he had the whole car steadied on his wide shoulders, Andrew got his feet balanced properly and headed up the slope of the ditch very slowly. Then once he was back on the shoulder of the road again, he squatted down slowly, letting the front end of the car down slowly. Then he let the back end of the car down just as slowly, backing out from underneath as he did. Andrew couldn?t stop himself from letting out a huge yell, really excited at his great strength.
?That-that was amazing!? Carrie stammered. ?I had no idea you could do that? Hey, are you okay, Andrew??
Andrew was bent over, with his hands on his knees. As Carrie came over to him, she could see that he was panting heavily.
?That was incredible!? Andrew yelled. ?Did you see that??
?Yes I did,? Carrie agreed. ?You truly are a muscle god now!?
?All thanks to Steve?s suggestion,? Andrew realized. ?Wait till I tell him I met his challenge! He?ll really be jealous then!?
?I don?t think you should tell him,? Carrie told him. ?It would make him too jealous. Let?s just keep it quiet until we can figure out how to tell everyone without them being shocked.?
As they got back in the car and drove to the school, they had no idea that their plans to keep Andrew?s true strength quiet would not succeed. The news van had been behind them when they saw the car go off the road. The reporter had seen Andrew get out of the car and so he ordered his camera man to begin filming. His hunch about something newsworthy was proven correct when they both saw Andrew lift the car. The reporter made sure his camera man had captured the footage completely, and began making copies as they followed Andrew and Carrie to the high school.
?What did you mean, you met Steve?s challenge?? Carrie asked Andrew. ?Did he dare you to lift a car??
?Not exactly,? Andrew realized. ?He just said that with power like mine, I could bench a car! I guess he was right!?
?You realized you could lift a car when you benched 1000 pounds in two times gravity, didn?t you??
?That?s right,? Andrew agreed. ?I thought I may have overestimated my own strength, but then I saw how proud you were. That gave me the extra power to complete my first strength test.?
?Well, that?s great,? Carrie said. ?Let?s just keep it to ourselves as well, until Marge and Margaret tell everyone everything. Then everyone will know you?re not on drugs.?
?Good idea,? Andrew agreed. ?We don?t want everyone to know how strong I am until they know how I got to be that strong.?
Once they got to the school, Carrie went to sit in the stands, while Andrew went to the locker room to get suited up for practice. As Andrew entered the locker room, he saw that the whole team was already there.
?Hey man!? Connor greeted him. ?You?ve grown a lot since June!?
?Thanks man!? Andrew grinned. ?I?m over 300 pounds of solid muscle now! And you should see what I bench now!?
The locker room fell silent as Andrew finished speaking. Since he had taken off his t-shirt, his muscular upper body was fully visible.
?Yeah, Steve told us everything,? Ralph said. ?That is truly amazing man! You really are a muscle monster now!?
?Yes, very well done,? Coach Everson said, coming over to Andrew. ?We?ll have to get the scholarship applications filled out after practice. I hope your uniform still fits.?
?We?ll see if it can contain these muscles!? Andrew yelled, flexing his 8-pack abs and bulging biceps. ?I doubt it!?
As he struggled into his uniform, Andrew realized that it was in danger of tearing, since he filled it out so much more now.
?Let?s get out there and see what you?ve got!? Steve goaded Andrew.
?Oh you?ll find out just how strong I am!? Andrew warned him. ?I hope you?re up for it!?
On the football field, Andrew performed impressive feats of strength. He broke through the entire defensive line and caught the ball when the quarterback threw it. As he ran towards the end zone, Steve tried to stand in his way. Andrew just grinned, couched down, and flipped Steve over his left shoulder with one massive arm. Steve landed face-first on the ground and got a mouthful of dirt. As he lifted his head and spat out the dirt, he saw Andrew knock the two defenders aside like empty boxes, and run into the end zone for a touchdown.
?Yeah!? Andrew yelled, spiking the ball. ?Hope you liked the Football Flip, Steve!? When he noticed Steve trying to get up, Andrew came over and hauled him up effortlessly with one hand. ?Hey man, you okay?? Andrew asked. ?I didn?t hurt you, did I??
?I think I?m okay,? Steve said, rubbing his chin. ?Man, you?re scary strong! I wouldn?t want to be your true opponent on the field!?
?That was nothing!? Andrew bragged. ?Wait till you see what I do next!?
Steve realized what Andrew meant when the quarterback handed the ball to Andrew the next time. Andrew decided not to knock the defenders aside this time. He let them hang onto him instead.
?We?ve got him now!? Steve gloated, as the five defenders managed to drag Andrew to a stop. ?You?re not going anywhere now!?
?Oh you think so, do you?? Andrew asked Steve. He shook his head, grinned and added, ?You can?t stop me! Watch this!?
Andrew began running, despite the defenders? attempts to drag him back. He pushed the five defenders ahead of him like they were made of paper. By the time Andrew made it to the end zone, the five guys were dragging behind him, hanging on for dear life.
?I told you that you couldn?t stop me,? Andrew gloated, as the guys collapsed in a heap, gasping for air. ?Oh come on, you can?t be tired! I just dragged all of you down the field after me, and I?m not even breathing hard! What?s the matter with all of you??
?They must have used up all their energy trying to restrain you,? Coach Everson informed Andrew. He blew his whistle to signal the end of practice, and added, ?I think we have found our secret weapon for the season: Andrew Pearson, the Human Tank!?
?Thanks Coach,? Andrew said, as the rest of the team joined them in the end zone. ?I?m glad my performance impressed you.?
?Impressed me?? Everson repeated. ?You blew me away with your shocking strength! What have you been taking over the summer, anyway??
Andrew told him the whole story, since it appeared no one on the team had told him yet.
?Well, that certainly explains a few things,? Everson realized. ?I?m glad you cleared that up. It will make the scholarship application process a lot easier. I must say, in all my years of coaching, I have never seen anyone drag five people down the field for a touchdown before! Wait until I call the big football schools in the States! They?ll be lining up to sign you!?
?Way to go man!? Steve commended Andrew, slapping him on the shoulder. ?That was awesome! You?ve really secured your future now!?
?Thanks man!? Andrew grinned, noticing Steve massaging his hand. ?Hey, what?s wrong with your hand? Did you hurt it??
?Yeah, slapping your shoulder!? Steve reminded him. ?What are your muscles made of, bricks??
?Naw, just a lot of muscle fibers,? Andrew bragged.
?Yeah, about 300 pounds worth!? Ralph laughed, grinning as Steve tried to shake the stinging out of his hand. ?Okay Steve, we get it: Andrew?s made of bricks! You don?t have to keep shaking out your hand like you broke it! We know Andrew?s really strong!?
?Sorry guys,? Steve said. ?But at least he didn?t drop me from eight feet in the air this time!?
?What?s that all about?? Connor asked Andrew.
?Nothing much,? Andrew replied. ?I just helped Steve up, by military pressing him above my head!?
?That?s great strength,? Andrew heard a voice say from behind. Andrew and the whole team turned around to see the news reporter behind them. ?But I have your true strength on tape right here.?
?What are you talking about?? Andrew asked, noticing the video tape the reporter was holding. He had no idea his true strength was about to be revealed, but he knew something was up. ?What?s on that tape??
?I?ll show you,? the reporter replied, leading everyone over to the news van. ?Gather round the screens everyone.?
He motioned his camera man to begin playing one of the copies of the footage. The whole team gasped in amazement as they saw Andrew lift the car out of the ditch and set it on the road again. Andrew looked down at the ground in embarrassment, clenching his fists in fury now that his true strength had been revealed. He soon looked up to see the entire team staring at him with open mouths, waiting for him to say something.
?It was nothing,? Andrew said, trying to brush off the footage. He knew no one would believe him, but he ploughed ahead anyway, trying to hold onto his old life of anonymity. ?I just didn?t want to be late for practice, so I decided not to wait for a tow truck. Instead, I took matters into my own hands. Anyone would have done the same thing.?
?Even as you speak those words, you must know how hollow they sound,? Coach Everson said finally. ?There is not a single person here who possesses the strength to do what you did in that footage! That does it: we have to fill out the scholarship forms right now.?
?Mind if we tag along?? asked the reporter. ?With your permission Andrew, we can get an interview and have this footage on the news at six. Then you can be Athlete of the Week as well.?
?Fine with me,? Andrew agreed, anxious to get away from the crowd. ?I guess the media exposure will help make the college recruiting easier.?
?Looks like there?s a lot more to you than just muscle,? the reported said, as they headed back towards the school.
?That?s because he has an IQ of 150!? Steve yelled.
?Thanks Steve!? Andrew snapped, glaring at him. Steve?s grin faded, but then Andrew noticed the crowd and forced a grin onto his face. ?Thanks for helping me secure the academic part of my scholarship!?
Steve grinned back, relieved that Andrew wasn?t mad after all. He stayed outside to wait with Carrie, as the reporters, Andrew, and Coach Everson went into the school for the interview.