CHAPTER TWO
The two boys arrived at the middle school with three minutes to spare. They raced out onto the diamond to greet a group of thirteen boys, all dressed in dirt-stained, white pants and baggy T-shirts.
“Hey, you wanna help?” Reed offered.
“Umm, have you seen me play--“
“You don’t have to play. Just help coach. You know how baseball works right?”
“Yeah but--“ Mike was unsure but Reed had already addressed the group of boys and introduced Mike as his assistant.
Once they had divided the boys and started practicing, Mike saw how much the boys looked up to Reed. His word was like God speaking. They listened better than he had ever seen eleven-year-old boys listen. It was a miracle.
Since there was an odd number, Mike was paired up with a bigger kid named Cody. Reed threw Mike a mitt and told him to just play catch with Cody as a warm-up. They started and it wasn’t hard to tell who was the better player.
Cody was the man!
Exactly an hour later, Mike walked off the field coughing and covered in dirt but happy. Reed was laughing. Mike had decided to play so that it was even on each team when they scrimmaged and the boys absolutely adored him. He was clumsy and awkward but he was quick and made most of his team’s home runs. Reed had tears running down his checks most of the time from laughter.
At the end of the practice, Mike’s team hog-piled him at the pitcher’s mound, with Little Mike on top. Reed laughed, and pulled them off before they suffocated him. The other team claimed that they got Mike next week.
When they said this, Mike looked up and Reed shrugged. “We can always use more players,” he said. The boys cheered and Mike beamed.
Back in the car, Mike wiped the dirt from his face but only smeared it more. “Hey Reed, I don’t have to come back next week, you know?”
“Dude, no. Are you crazy? That’s the most enthusiastic I’ve seen them and they have a game on Saturday. You gotta come.” Reed sounded sincere so Mike agreed that he would.
When they returned to the house, the boys were joking and laughing as they entered the house. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson could be heard inside. Angry and loud, they shouted, and argued about something that Reed didn’t understand. The smile was wiped from his face when he heard his parents so angry. Mike was stunned. He had never, in all the times he had stayed there for dinner, heard them fight. Reed hadn’t either and it was a shock to him as well. His parents argued occasionally but never were full out screaming and hollering like this.
He carefully made his way to the entrance to the kitchen and his father saw him first. His face was beat red and his hands were raised. His father looked very intimidating, and Reed didn't blame his mother for being afraid. She was pressed up against the counter, eyes wide and frightened, and her face was flushed from yelling.
Mr. Thompson immediately dropped his hands and stepped back from his wife. Mrs. Thompson was flustered and straightened her hair, which was frizzing out from the static energy issuing between his parents. The tension was thick and Mike felt extremely embarrassed just standing there as Reed’s parents looked at him and Reed’s astonished expression.
It was a family issue and he felt like an intruder in that house he had considered his second home. Now, he was just another stranger. He stepped quickly away and let himself out. His movements went unnoticed until the door closed, jolting Reed out of his state. Without a word spoken between them, he went out the way he came, running to catch up with Mike.
“Mike! Hey Mike!” Reed shouted, jogging to catch up with him.
Mike had his hand on the driver’s door handle and turned to find Reed climbing into the passenger seat. “Dude--“
“Just drive.” Reed ordered, buckling up his seat belt and staring firmly out the window, pointedly ignoring Mike’s questioning stare.
They drove all around the neighborhood, in silence, coasting along the streets. Children darted here and there, tossing balls and playing tag. Older kids strolled down the streets, laughing at their own inside jokes. Mike thought it considerate not to turn on the radio and let Reed broad in his own thoughts and feelings, without the distraction of music blasting from the speakers.
After circling the same streets for the fifth time, Mike spoke. “Hey Reed, how about you have dinner at my house tonight?” Reed didn’t answer right away. He was silent as ever but after a few stiff, awkward seconds, he shook his head ever so slowly to confirm his offer. Mike nodded and made a quick U-turn to head home.
At his house, Mr. Peterson met Mike with a smile and greeted Reed like an old friend, even though they had probably only met once. Mr. David Peterson was an older man with graying hair but a humorous personality and hopeful outlook on life.
“So, Reed my boy, how have you been? Haven’t seen you in these parts since last December.” he said. Mr. Peterson was also old and formal in the way he talked, as if he just walked out of an old Aristocrat Age.
“Been busy" Was all Reed was able to say. He was ashamed that he hadn’t made more of an effort to visit when he could.
“Of course you have been.” Mr. Peterson’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “So, you brave enough to taste my delicacies tonight?” He asked cheerfully.
“I’m always up for a challenge," Reed replied, his mood already lightening.
That night, they ate like kings. Mr. Peterson was joking when he said he couldn’t cook. Fillets of salmon and mounds of wild rice with black beans and scalloped potatoes with garlic. All of it was homemade and delicious.
Reed expressed his thanks with a loud sigh of satisfaction. “Mr. Peterson, this was amazing.”
“Thank you my boy. Sometimes I do surprise myself on how good I really am!” Mike laughed along with Reed before leaning comfortably back in the straight-backed chair.
“Anyone up for dessert?” Reed thought he was joking but no, out came an apple pie, fresh from the oven. He even used the apples off of the tree in the back yard. Of course, Reed couldn’t resist and helped himself to seconds of the pie. Mike could only make room for one while Mr. Peterson polished off three.
While they ate, they talked politics, something that Mr. Peterson had an interest in.It was a harmless argument, nothing like his parents. When he thought of that, his smile faltered. Mike saw this but Mr. Peterson was still wiping the tears from his eyes from the joke Reed had just told about the president and his court. Mike glanced at him and Reed shook his head and flashed a smile when Mr. Peterson looked back up.
“My boy, you are a character.” Reed flashed a real smile this time and Mike relaxed.
“Thanks. Oh, and thanks again for the wonderful dinner. I think I should head home now.”
“Of course Reed, son. And I’d liked to see more of you.” Mr. Peterson winked.
“Don’t worry. I think you will.” Reed assured him before Mike drove him home.
~~~~
The next day, Mike drove by the Thompson’s house and saw Reed and Sheri just leaving. He honked and Reed hurried over. Sheri seemed lost in thought and when she neared, he honked again. She jumped and the boys laughed. She smiled and hopped in the front for Reed was already sitting in the back.
“Hey Mike, you're so funny.” She teased sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
“Well, it seemed you needed some waking up.” He said before driving off. She shook her head, amused.
Once they arrived, Sheri scurried off to join her group while Reed hung back, despite his name being called various times. “You can go. You don’t have to-“
“No dude, it’s cool.” Reed assured him before saying quietly. “Thanks for…you know.”
“Hey, what are friends for.” Mike assured him and Reed was taken aback but didn’t show it. He had never considered Mike a true friend, just a neighbor, a friendly neighbor. Reed nodded and clapped him on the back before walking over to his group. Mike just pulled the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder and headed to class.
~~~~
Back in Biology, the brunette greeted Reed. Today, she was dressed in tight jeans and a loose cherry red vest with a feathered hood, a long-sleeved Hollister T-shirt beneath. She looked like an Eskimo. A cute Eskimo. He smiled in spite of his mood and greeted her with a warm hello. “Hey Reed. So, where do you wanna sit?”
He shrugged. “Wherever.”
They chose a middle table, where flasks and tubes scattered the burn-marked table. He dropped his books in a pile while he watched her neatly stack hers, her pencil straight beside the neat pile. He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her and she blushed, nervously tucking a stray stand behind her ear.
Suddenly, the teacher addressed her. “Erin, who’s your partner?”
“Reed.” She said promptly and Reed stood straighter, prouder. Erin Madison was the catch of the year in his junior class. She was tall with naturally straight hair that was always silky and healthy for she never had to bother with an iron. Occasionally she curled it, cascading ringlets down her back.
Today, it was like that and Reed watched as the sun danced across each perfect ringlet. Her dark brown eyes were speckled with gold and her checks were always a shade of pink, depending on how embarrassed she was. And they always were for she was easily embarrassed.
Just than, he felt a punch on his upper arm. It was Ash Boone and he didn’t look happy.
“Dude, what happened last night?” Ash asked and suddenly, Reed remembered. They had planned on partying last night at Rick Martin’s house. He remembered Sheri leaving and he assumed that was where she had disappeared to last night.
“Your sister was there but where were you? She said you were hanging out with Mike Peterson? Dude, is that true?”
Before Reed could reply, Mr. Hanson cut in. “Mister Boone, are you finished?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, lowering his head. He gave Reed a look; it said that they would talk later. Erin glanced at him but he shook his head and she asked no more.
After class, Ash approached him, along with Rick and Nate Loon. “So dude, what happened? Is the Mike thing true?” Reed knew that if he told the truth, his friends would wonder on his questionable behavior and if he lied, he knew his sister would set them straight.
He decided to play it safe. “Sorry dude, I totally forgot. I had homework and I was completely wiped out.”
“Didn’t Sheri remind you?” Nate asked.
"You know Sheri.” Reed said. “One hundred percent blonde…on the inside.” His friends laughed and Reed was able to breathe safely…for now.
~~~~
Speaking of Sheri, she was enjoying her art class, or at least trying to. Her painting wasn’t working out. She still had not accomplished her goal of making it full of life. Yet, there was a distraction in the class that helped her cope with this.
Toward the middle of the class period, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Mr. Johnson answered it and in walked in a boy of average height. When Sheri turned and saw him, she almost fainted right there.
The boy had dark hair, almost black that hung low on his face and his eyes were the greenest she had ever seen anybody’s be before. They stood out from his face, which was tan and full of angles. High cheekbones, low eyebrows, straight nose, firm chin, and a smile that could melt any heart, no matter how cold. He was gorgeous, to sum it all up into one word. Absolutely gorgeous. She quickly looked away before she did something stupid, like stare blankly in wonder.
Than, she heard footsteps behind her and the boy was seated only a few feet to her right.
Mr. Johnson than said her name. “And this is Sheri. She can help you with any questions you have.” The boy nodded and smiled that dazzling smile at her. Sheri felt her stomach flip-flop around inside her.
Once the teacher had left, the boy introduced himself. “My name is Jason. Jason Scott.” He said, with a slight southern accent.
“Hi, so your new I guess.”
“Yeah. Moved here just a few days ago from Tennessee.”
“Really?” He nodded. “Cool.” After that, she continued her work but kept sneaking peeks of him when he wasn’t looking. His profile was just as gorgeous and she couldn’t help but look at him. He was definitely a work of art.
~~~~
Meanwhile, Mike was sitting on the sidelines as the boys played a game of basketball. Just ten minutes into the game, he was knocked flat on his back, hurting his ankle in the process. The only good thing about it was that Mrs. Anderson got to play doctor to him until the nurse showed up. She said it wasn’t a sprain but told him not to play for the rest of the class period.
So, once and awhile, Mrs. Anderson came over to check up on him, making it probably the best gym class he ever had. No exercise and a beautiful teacher worrying over him! Who could ask for more?
About ten minutes before class ended, however, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. He pulled it out discretely and saw that he had received a text. He opened it and read:
Hey mike, it’s reed.
J/w if u wanna hang after skool? Txt w/b
Mike texted him back:
Hey Reed. Sounds good
To me where do u
Wanna meet?
Reed wrote back:
Meet me by ur car after
Skool ends. My house?
Mike:
Great. Drive u there?
Reed:
Of course. Sister will be there
2, lucky dude, j/k lol
Mike:
Already told u she
She doesn’t like me
Like that.
Reed:
W/e dude, meet you at 3
Mike:
Sure cya
*Not to be continued...
