by Unknown
CHAPTER 1
If you had asked me a couple days ago who I was, I would have said Connor Mason seventeen years old, 6’1, brown hair, blue eyes, and a senior at Park City High School in Park City, Utah. I spend all my time playing sports and trying to work up the nerve to talk to my four year crush. If you asked me today who I am, the answer would shock you. But before I can explain I have to use the cliché: let us start at the beginning.
Early Saturday morning I was the first one on the football field. The chill of the coming of fall was in the air and I knew my lungs would sting from the cold air during our drills. Still nothing could stop me from playing my favorite sport. Dawn had broke and I had the best view of the mountains that a few minutes ago were like dark shadows, but now they glowed pink, purple and gold. I knew these mountains as well as the contours of my own face; the mountains being more to look at than my face, personally. Although, my best friend Lisa will tell you I have a face worth looking at. I guess I look like my Dad. I have his blue eyes that turn to gray or green depending on what I wear. My face has lost all its roundness once I started playing sports. Lisa says I am a cross between a surfer and her favorite British soccer player. I guess that’s why we’re best friends; she always sees the best in me even when I don’t. Lisa is quite a knock out, and I can say that without it being a big deal because she is more like a sister than a best friend. She has wavy light brown hair that flows down to her lower back in cascading waves. Her eyes remind me of dawn with their golden hue that shimmers like bursts of sun rays when she is excited or happy. She is petite but her size is deceiving because she can take me down faster than most of my teammates. Luckily she is so sweet that no one even thinks to tangle with her; and I mean lucky for them. Almost every memory I have has her in it. She moved next door to me when she was five and lost her Mom to a skiing accident. Her Dad was really shaken for quite awhile so we became her family almost instantly. My Dad immediately took to her and we have been her support ever since then.
I got onto the field and started my usual warm ups and before too long I heard my best friend Mike jogging up to me. Mike is your typical jock. He’s competitive, loud, crazy, and loves attention. He always gets the girls, except for Amanda, my crush. I think he respects me too much to go after her even though he knows I haven’t pursued her at all. Most girls fall for him, not for his looks but for his over the top personality. He’s tall, athletic, with dark hair and light brown eyes that are surrounded by a hint of mischief. His big jolly grin is what people see first though and then they’re hooked. It’s funny to see it all unfold when he reels them in. Mike is a good friend though, and he has always had my back since I was eight and some kid tried to hit me with the dodge ball on our way back to class. Mike was scrawny back then but his bigger than life personality was present even then. He scared the kid away with some lame threat that sounded worse than it was and we’ve been pals ever since.
“Are you ready for some football!” Mike yelled out while the rest of the guys were slowly making their way onto the field. Coach loved the enthusiasm Mike brought and the dedication I had. Together he and I were the perfect duo.
“Alright guys let’s get this going so we can make it home by lunch and you’ll can get to spending your Saturday glued to your T.V. and I-Phones.” Coach Hersch said as he threw down the equipment bag and started stretching.
That’s one of the reasons he’s the best high school football coach in the state. He doesn’t sit on the side lines barking out orders at us. He gets right there in the middle of whatever drill we’re doing and makes us feel like he really is part of our team rather than just our leader. We get started with our sprints and Mike is already egging Coach on with his remarks.
“C’mon Coach, you gotta run faster than that if you want us to respect you!”
“Shut up Mike, by the time you’re my age I bet you’re beer belly will be smacking your double chin every time you rush over to the buffet line.” Coach answered back and took the lead on Mike.
I left the two of them and kept the pace with one of the juniors on the team that was itching to take my position as quarterback. With every step I took ahead of him he would speed up a bit to try and take one step ahead of me. We kept at the cat and mouse game until I finally broke out ahead of him in a burst of speed that left him a few legs behind. It was the fastest I’d ever run and it took me by surprise. When we met u at the center of the field for our other drills he came up next to me.
“Pretty impressive Connor, have you been training with the track team in secret?” Adam said a bit too envious for me to take it as a compliment.
“Nope, but that’s a good idea, you should try that” I threw my comment back at him and I could see Mike smugly grin.
I usually try not to be affected by people who try to provoke me but I didn’t feel like taking any attitude on the chin today.
Throughout practice I noticed other differences in my performance. It was more like a change in my body and the way I moved. Mike and I were tossing the football back and forth on the field. He threw the ball a little too far and high, which on a normal day I would have missed, but today when I went for it I was able to catch it. I almost felt like I had an out of body experience. It was as if I saw myself reach a height that I’ve only been able to do in my dreams. I’ve had those dreams where I could leap from roof top to roof top. I wasn’t actually flying but my legs were like spring boards propelling me into the air. This was the closest thing to that feeling that I’ve ever experienced awake. While running back to catch up with Mike, I noticed I bolted forward faster kind of like when I was sprinting next to Adam. It was as if before today I was operating like a min-van and all of a sudden my legs gained the power of a sports car. I quickly looked around the field to see if anyone noticed but they were busy at the water jug throwing water on each other. It was a practice ritual that never seemed to get old.
As I was walking back to join the water game I started to think about what was going on with me today. I had no idea how I was able to run or jump the way I did. I couldn't understand what was happening. As much as I thought it went unnoticed, I could tell by the look on Mike's face he was noticing the changes too. After practice was over I went to the locker room to shower trying to get out of there in case anyone else noticed. I didn’t like standing out and having people ask questions that I myself don’t have the answer to. When I got out I noticed my Dad had sent me a text
“need 2 talk 2 u. come str8 home.”
Knowing my Dad that means he was probably heading off again and this time it would be a long work trip.
It was inevitable that I was going to receive the lecture about no parties, no trashing the house, and all the other typical teenage things I never really cared to do anyways. Somehow though, I had an odd feeling that perhaps what he was going to tell me was deeper than that. My dad has always been a pretty good father. He’s pretty good at listening and I can’t recall the last time he said no to me. But then again I don’t give him much trouble. I’ve never been restricted to want to rebel. He’s always given me the freedom to do a lot even as a kid. I always felt like an adult even when I was younger because he gave me his trust. I learned real quick that keeping his trust opened the door for more freedom and we’ve had a really good relationship because of it. We both share a love for the same hobbies and sports. There were times though that his enthusiasm for his favorite past times could play on my last nerve.
He liked to challenge me, especially when it came to sports. It was more so with sports I didn’t particularly like. He would insist that I played them so I could learn to like them but in the end my frustration would show and he would finally let up. There was a time when I was ten and I rea
lly had a hard time feeling close to him because we kept butting heads about my lack of interest in baseball. Of course, he loved it and wanted to see me love it just as much. I finally sat him down and gave him a lecture like he had given me before about not quitting.
“Dad, baseball is not fun anymore and I really don’t want to play it. And I’m not quitting, I’m just not going to play a sport I don’t enjoy. And if I don’t stop now I may end up hating it and that would suck cuz I like watching it with you, just not playing it.” I gave him my honest feeling about it and I sat there watching his expressionless face waiting for a sign that he wasn’t disappointed.
“Okay.” He said with a simple shrug of his shoulders.
“Thanks for being a big boy about it and I respect your feelings.” He hugged me and we went out for burgers and I felt like I went from ten to 30 in a single conversation.
One of his favorite pastimes has always been testing my survival skills. I enjoyed it more than I let on. Since I was a little kid I would always pretend we were on some crazy adventure trying to escape some evil mastermind. Or we were stranded on this far off land and had to make our way back to civilization. As I got older it was more fun facing the challenge than playing pretend. Every fishing or camping trip involved some type of quiz on how to survive in the outdoors. Once on a hike, he had me track our way back down a different side of the mountain using nothing but my instincts. Needless to say, I got us back in less time it took us to hike up, although I was tempted to prolong it just for fun. It became a friendly competition to see which one of us would out-skill the other.
Sometimes he would get that way even when we play chess or watch a movie. He would ask me to strategize a scenario and come to the best conclusion. I remember once when we were watching an espionage movie, he paused it to give me a lesson on staying under the radar. Another time, when I was seven, we were playing the board game Operation and he started giving me a physiology lesson on pressure points until he saw my blank stare. He shook his head and took me up to the roof of the house. The air was cool but crisp and we laid back to enjoy the view of the stars. He sat there and made up silly stories about the constellations and had me laughing until I finally fell asleep. That’s what I love about my dad, he catches himself when he pushes too much and makes it up to me in the best subtle way.
I guess it’s the military in him that has always had him ready for action. Even though he’s retired, he still works in tactical development. He runs a company that does military style defensive engineering. He’s always traveling and for the most part he takes me along when he can.
While I was still looking at the text my Dad had sent, Mike came up to me and snapped me out of my daze.
“Hey man how’d you catch that ball?” He gave me a questionable look.
“It was just a lucky catch, I guess.” I replied but in the back of my mind I knew the catch had nothing to do with luck.
“I see how it is. You’re keeping it to yourself so you look better than us, huh?” He held his serious look for all but 3 seconds before breaking into his big grin.
“I’m just messing. Good catch bro. We’ll need more of that to take state champ again this year.” He picked up his bag and punched me on the arm. “Ouch, damn man of steel, are you juicing!” He laughed, clearly joking around.
“Yeah. Not like I work hard or anything.” I responded sarcastically but with a half smile. We started walking out to the parking lot and I looked over at his car and remembered all the hours we put into his classic car. It wasn’t really a classic. In fact it was a 1992 Nissan that he rebuilt to look like an old mustang. It looked like its own breed of car but he loved it and didn’t really care. My truck looked so odd parked next to it. It’s a basic black truck without the obvious add-ons that most guys in my town customize their trucks with. The tires weren’t obnoxiously oversized and I didn’t have the whole hunter’s package. Don’t get me wrong I did change out the factory tires for something that could handle the off-roading I liked doing, and I added some minor spotlights for hunting. Otherwise I kept it simple. It was just my style. I got in and started heading home feeling normal again.
My neighborhood gave me that sense of normalcy. It hadn’t changed much throughout my life. The streets were still lined with tall old trees that seemed to have been there for hundreds of years. The same houses I rode past on my bike when I was younger all looked the same. The paint colors changed through the years but they were still familiar. The streets rolled up and down with the slant of the hills. I drove up the last one to my house, the only home I’ve known.
As I walked through the door to our home and I realized I loved everything about it. The colors were a vanilla color with landscape paintings of the scenic places we’ve visited lining the walls. The furniture was comfortable and modern without all the cluttered knick knacks that seem to be present in all my friends home. Maybe since we don’t have the woman’s touch, but it suits me fine. There are a couple decorative boxes and antique looking statues on the bookshelf which was placed there at the instance of Lisa when she found them in a trunk in the basement. Overall my home felt good, warm, and peaceful.
I saw my Dad pacing back and forth in the living room. I could tell he was worked up about something because as I got closer to him I could hear him mumbling to himself. He is never one to mumble. When he heard me get closer his head snapped up and he looked straight at me with his eyes full of worry. My father was not the type of man to worry about things. The one thing that my Dad is known for is keeping his cool and never letting on when he is preoccupied about something. He didn’t even ask me about practice which is unusual but instead he walked towards me and asked me to sit down. As I sat he grabbed my hand and spoke in his lecture tone.
“I have to start by telling you, this conversation is long overdue. It was something I should have spoken to you once you hit puberty” He said with an edge to his voice.
“Geez Dad! Really? This is so unnecessary.” I said as I started to stand up and looked for the nearest exit. “I get the whole birds and the bees thing. I have for some time now, so please spare me the uncomfortable torture of this talk.” And to my surprise my Dad busted out laughing and broke all the thick tension that was hanging in the room. I was a bit annoyed that he thought this was funny while I was standing around feeling the most uncomfortable I had been in a long time.
“Ok Dad, haha. This was funny and all, obviously, but I need to go start on my English paper before Lisa comes over for movie night.” And I started to make my way out of the room when he put his hand on my shoulder and gently sat me back down.
He looked at me now with ease and sat across from me. He casually stretched out his legs and placed his hands on the back of his head while leaning back into the chair. At that moment I realized my Dad could pass for some graduate student. He didn’t look like he was my Dad but rather an older brother, something I always attributed to his great athleticism and strict diet. Even the facial hair he had started to let grow a couple years ago doesn’t age him as much as he should be. In fact, he looks like a slightly older version of me. Sometimes I wish I had some features distinct from his so that I could see my mother in the mirror. At least then she would seem more real to me than just photos and stories my father has told me.
“So how was practice?” he asked. Yep, this is normal. I guess the “talk” got nipped in the bud and I can relax now.
“Pretty good. Coach said he thinks my shoulder healed quite quickly, since that bad hit last game. It healed faster than he thought actually. I should be ok for next week’s game. You will be there right” I asked, still thinking he may be dropping the news that he will be leaving on business again.
“Sure, I’ll be there. I need to make sure I’m front and center when you shock the opposing team with your recovery.” He said with a proud grin. “Anything else I should know about?” He gazed at me as if he knew something more.
I weighed the decision to tell him about what I experienced
. I figured it wasn’t a big deal but at least he would be proud that I’ve improved my game and maybe even reassure me that it was quite normal. I hadn’t admitted it to myself before but I was left uneasy about the whole thing.
“The suspense is killing me, son. C’mon. It can’t be that bad.”
“Well, I kind of had something weird happen at practice. First when I was doing the sprints I was kind of competing with that guy Adam.”
“You mean the douche bag that wants to take your starter status?” He sat up straighter and gave me more off his attention.
“Yeah, well. We kept inching in front of each other and then at one point I just bolted out ahead of him like I just had a red bull laced with steroids or something.” I wished I hadn’t said it like that since he immediately had a scowl on his face. My dad hates performance altering drugs. He is old school and super traditional when it comes to that. Most people don’t find the harm in it but he thinks that people should make the best of what they have when it comes to talent and physical abilities. He’s always been an admirer of the great warriors in history that used cunningness and sheer determination to be the victors.
“Connor, it’s only natural that your body changes and becomes stronger as time goes on.”
“But there’s more, and this is the really weird part. When Mike and I were tossing the ball around…” I paused not knowing exactly how to explain the rest.
“It’s going to sound crazy so please go easy on me with the jokes.” I looked at him for signs of a smirk but he was serious as I was and focused on my every word so I blurted out, “When I jumped up to catch the ball I went up two feet higher than I ever had before with no effort at all. And when I ran back to do the drills the same thing happened as before. I was able to race forward faster than I had in the past and without even really trying.” I just stared at my Dad staring at me.
“Did anyone see this?” He asked. Great he thinks I made it up and needs some eye witness corroboration.