1 . When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant _______ Miller King, who was the best _______ at our school.

Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for _______.

Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from _______. He looked very _______, but he didn’t cry.

That season, I _______ all of Miller’s records while he _______ the home games from the bench. We went 10-1 and I was named most valuable player,_______ I often had crazy dreams in which I was to blame for Miller’s _______.

One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller __________ going over a fence—which wasn’t __________ to climb if you had both arms. I’m sure I was the last person in the world he wanted to accept __________ from. But even that challenge he accepted. I __________ him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally __________ on the other side, he said to me, “You know, I didn’t tell you this during the season, but you did __________ .Thank you for filling in for __________.”

His words freed me from my bad __________. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. Damaged but not defeated, he was __________ ahead of me. I was right to have __________ him. From that day on, I grew __________ and a little more real.