by Eric Howling
Mom wasn't impressed. "I don't think the neighbors want to hear all that racket." She cracked the window an inch and the throbbing bass filled the car. Mom winced as she covered her ears and quickly closed the window again.
As we crept along I saw three shadowy figures leave the front door of the huge party house.
"Stop the car, Ed!"
Was there something on the road? A dog, a cat, a crazed squirrel? I hammered the brakes and the car lurched to a halt at the end of Trey's driveway. It was none of those things. I twisted my head to see Mom reaching for the door handle. You're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you? She stepped out of the car and huffed her way towards the three figures now illuminated under the streetlights. It was Trey, Fish and Kat! This can't be happening! I tried to slouch down in my seat, a tricky maneuver when your legs are as long as hockey sticks. They hit the dash and I yelped.
"Excuse me," Mom addressed the biggest of the three. "Do you know who lives here?"
Trey nodded. "I do."
"Then you should turn down the music," Mom said, wagging a finger at the most popular guy in all of Midtown High. "You're waking up all the neighbors."
Trey started to smile but he wasn't grinning at my Mom. He walked right past her up to the side of the Impala and knocked on the window. "Is that you in there Eddy?"
I nodded sheepishly and lowered my window.
Trey stood back and eyeballed the car that was taking up half the road. "Sweet ride, Eddy boy."
"Yeah, nice wheels." Fish laughed. "But last century called and they want their car back."
Kat rubbed her chin perplexed by the vehicle stopped in front of her. "I've never seen a car that color before. What is it-pea soup or hospital green?"
This had been a big mistake. An epic fail. I never should have driven down this street. What was I thinking?
I leaned out the window and whisper-shouted as loud as I could, "Mom, get in the car-let's go!"
Mom was riled up and in no hurry to leave. Before walking back to the passenger side she gave Trey one more finger wag and said, "I bet your parents don't know what you're up to."
"They sure do," Trey said, his grin growing wider. "They're inside at the party. They're probably cranking the tunes and dancing right now. Do you want to come in and join them Mrs. Warnicki?"
Mom got in the car, her head shaking so fast it was almost vibrating. "Take me home, Ed. This lesson is over."
She didn't have to ask me twice.
Chapter Five
Three o'clock. Math test done. Kat probably aced it and beat me again. I spun the dial on my lock and cruised down the hall to my English classroom. If this were period three of a normal school day I'd take my time getting there. No rush to learn about that 'To-be-or-not-to-be' Shakespeare guy. But now that the last bell had rung, things were different. Now I was headed for the official Driver Ed classroom.
I took a seat near the back where I usually sat and started to flip through the Driver Handbook that had been placed on each desk. There must have been a hundred red and yellow road signs all over the cover-STOP, YIELD, NO PARKING, PLAYGROUND ZONE, DO NOT ENTER. I realized there were a lot of signs practically yelling at you what not to do. It reminded me a lot of my first, and only, driving lesson with Mom.
"I guess they'll let anyone in this class," a voice said, standing in front of me.
My eyes peered over the top of the handbook. Fish was staring down at me, a big smirk plastered on his face. He wasn't alone.
"I can see why you decided to come here to learn how to drive," Kat said, taking the seat next to me.
"But you're all alone," Fish whined. "Shouldn't your mommy be sitting bedside you?"
Then he burst out laughing. I almost couldn't blame him. Driving with my Mom to Trey's house was probably the biggest mistake of my life. Seriously. I could feel my face turning the same color as his red Mustang.
"Everybody at school knows about it, dude." Fish shared a knowing glance with Kat. "I think Kat is even writing a story about it in the Midtown Weekly."
I spun my head to face Kat as my heart started to pound. A story about me and my mom in the school newspaper would bury me. There'd be no coming back from that. "Really?"
Kat laughed. "Not really, Fish is just pulling your leg Ed."
"I knew there had to be a reason why they were so long, Stretch." Fish smirked at his own joke and reached up his hand for Kat to slap him five. "Up top!"
But Kat just rolled her eyes and ignored him, pulling out a notebook from her bag and opening it on the desk instead. "I'm here to write a story about what it's like to take Driver Ed."
Just my luck. I thought I could secretly take driving lessons without anyone knowing about it. Then one day I'd just drive to school and park like all the other popular kids. Maybe right beside Trey's red Mustang. Of course, I wouldn't be driving Mildred. I'd be driving some super cool car that I hadn't figured out how to pay for yet. Then I'd hop out and cruise into school like it was no big deal, waving at Kat as I went. I imagined the school nurse would be extra busy that day. There'd be so many cases of whiplash from all the students jerking their heads around to see if it was really me.
But now, none of that was going to happen. Now every driving mistake I made was going to be seen and talked about. And maybe even reported in the Midtown Weekly. My palms were already so sweaty the Driver Ed handbook slipped out of my hands.
This first class lasted about an hour. The instructor was older than I thought with wiry hair grey as steel wool. He told us there'd be twenty-nine more hours of classroom time to learn all the rules of the road. This would be combined with six hours of actual driving experience to get us comfortable behind the wheel. That's the part I couldn't wait for. All those hours of paying Need For Speed would finally pay off.
I walked out of the classroom feeling good knowing I was one step closer to getting my license. Keeping my distance, I followed Kat and Fish out the front doors of the school and into the parking lot. But that's where the similarities of our rides home ended.
Trey had already finished football practice and was waiting in his Mustang checking himself out in the rear-view mirror. As usual, Fish climbed in the back and Kat scooted into the front. After Kat gave her spiky hair a flick, Trey put the sleek red machine in gear and steered in my direction. He stopped beside me, the powerful engine still purring loudly. "Say hi to your mom for us Eddy boy." He laughed, flipped down his shades, and hit the gas.
I watched them peel out then pulled my rickety two-wheeler out of the bike rack and pedaled away.
Chapter Six
I was heading home when I saw one of the huge football posters advertising today's game hanging in the hallway. Giant red words had been painted on a big sheet of white paper. There was a football helmet at the bottom with a red Mustang galloping on the side. The message was a warning to our cross-town rivals from Riverside. It read: "Lights out for the Rams."
I didn't have much interest in watching Trey and the Mustangs play. I was built more for basketball than football. I shouldered my backpack and continued down the corridor.
"Hey goalpost," a voice shouted at me from behind. "Going to the game?"
I spun around shaking my head and saw Fish and Kat fast approaching.
"Let's go," Kat said, practically pulling Fish along. "I'm reporting on the game and I'm late."
As they rushed by Kat looked over her shoulder and said, "You really should go Ed. The game is going to be awesome."
Was that an invitation to watch the football game with Kat? Well, it was close enough and I decided to take it. I followed them out the doors that led to the football field and was hit by a wall of sound. A large crowd was already cheering on the teams. On one side of the field were the kids from Midtown. The Mustang cheerleaders were dancing their routines in front of the bleachers whipping the students into a frenzy.
We're the best, we can't be beat.
Mustangs will never taste defeat!
>
Busloads of students from Riverside were in the stands on the other side of the field. This seemed like a smart move to me. I'd hate to think what would happen if the two crowds got too close to each other. There was no love loss between our schools. Some years Riverside won the football championship and some years we did. Sure, there were other teams in the league but they never posed much of a challenge. The Mustangs and Rams were both powerhouse teams.
I could hear our Midtown fans screaming at the top of their lungs again:
Redmond, Redmond he's our man,
If he can't do it nobody can!
I turned my head to the action and saw why. Number 22 was leading the Mustang offense down the field and closing in on the Rams goal line. They were in the red zone now-only twenty yards to go for a touchdown. Trey was like a magician. One play he'd call a pass. Then he'd make a hand-off to a running back. The Riverside defense never knew what to expect from the flashy quarterback.
On the next play Trey dropped back in the pocket to pass and found his wide receiver open for the score. The speedy Mustang caught the ball and spiked it into the turf to celebrate the TD.
Our fans jumped to their feet, cheering wildly to let Trey know who was their favorite player. It was easy to see why he was so popular. At least to the Midtown spectators. For the Riverside spectators across the field, not so much. I could hear the boos from the Ram supporters who had to watch Trey being mobbed by his teammates. Then Trey ran in front of the Riverside fans holding up a single finger to show which team was number one. Now he was just rubbing it in. They weren't impressed and the jeers just got louder.
I saw Kat standing beside the Mustangs bench scribbling away in her notebook. Every so often she would put away her pen and snap a few photos with her phone. She looked like a real pro reporter.
The game was late in the fourth quarter and the Mustangs had a lock on the victory. When the final gun went off a few minutes later I checked the scoreboard: Midtown 35 - Riverside 14.
The Mustang fans emptied out of the bleachers and raced onto the field to celebrate the big win. A few of the Ram supporters dashed onto the field as well, but they weren't looking to shake hands. They were looking for trouble and they found it. I spotted Fish in the middle of the scuffling but he was just mouthing off. Figures. He was good at starting fights, not finishing them. It took a few of the teachers to break up the handful of brawls that had broken out. Still angry, the Riverside students headed back to their buses shaking their fists at the Midtown fans.
Back at the Mustangs' bench Kat was busy getting quotes from the star quarterback. Trey had his helmet off and had slicked back his blonde hair. He was all smiles. I joined a small group of fans listening to the interview.
"Great game Trey," Kat beamed, holding up her phone to record the conversation.
"Never in doubt," Trey said, shaking his head.
"Do you think Riverside could ever steal a win from Midtown?" Kat asked.
Trey scoffed before answering. "The Rams couldn't steal a win if we handed it to them."
The small crowd laughed along with Trey.
Kat took a few shots of Trey holding the ball and pretending to make a pass before packing up. "I've got to go write up the story," she said, giving Trey one last smile. "Later, gator."
The crowd broke up and I headed back to get my bike from the racks in the school parking lot.
"Wait up, Ed!"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere but didn't know what to say. "Great interview," I croaked.
"Just doing my job," Kat said. "Trey makes it easy. He's some kind of quarterback."
Even I had to admit he was pretty good. "Yeah, he's alright."
A few steps later we were passing Trey's Mustang that looked fast even when it was sitting still. I knew Kat was impressed and wanted to ignore the red muscle car but when I glanced over my jaw dropped. "Take a look at that!"
"What the hell! Kat shrieked, pointing at the car. "Who would do a thing like that?" Kat's reporter's instinct quickly kicked in and she pulled out her phone camera and started clicking. "Trey is going to lose his mind."
I couldn't take my eyes off the shiny Mustang. Someone had taken a can of spray paint and written graffiti on the car. The words 'Rams Rule!' were scrawled across the red door, the black paint still dripping down its side.
Chapter Seven
I sat by myself in the crowded cafeteria picking through some fries, every so often wiping a smear of red ketchup from my lips. Maybe Mom had a point about me being a messy eater. At the next table Trey and Fish were wolfing down their lunches with a couple of beefy players from the football team. There were trays full of burgers, hot dogs and slices of pizza. Even though I was close by I don't think they even noticed I was there. I'm kind of invisible that way.
"Did you read about the game in the Midtown Weekly?" one of the players asked, holding up his phone to display the online story.
"Great shot of our man Trey," Fish said, pointing at Kat's photo of Trey with one hand while slapping the popular quarterback on the shoulder with the other.
"And how about his quote?" the second player said. "That's really going to get under the skin of those guys over at Riverside."
Fish reached out and bumped fists with his hero. "You saying the Rams couldn't steal a win even if we handed it to them, was classic Trey, Trey."
Trey nodded. "Kat really knows how to write a story that gets a reaction."
"She sure does," a girl's voice said.
I turned to see Kat weaving through the long tables to where the football players sat.
"Hey, where did you come from?" Trey asked, his face lighting up.
"Just passing through the caf." Kat knifed her palm through the air like a shark swimming through water. "On my way to the Midtown Weekly office. Going to write a preview about the Mustangs next game against Midtown."
"Make sure you mention me." Trey gave Kat his million-dollar smile.
"What about the rest of us?" the first player kidded, knowing there was little hope convincing Kat to write about him instead of their star quarterback.
Suddenly, the jokey conversation turned serious. The second player looked up wide-eyed from reading his phone. "You should see what's happening online. The Rams have got hold of the story and they're pissed. Twitter is blowing up, man!"
Phones lit up all around the table.
"So is Facebook!" the first player said.
"Plus Instagram and Snapchat!" Fish added, eyebrows arching high.
"They must have hacked into the Midtown student website," Kat said, her dark eyes darting around the table. "That's the only place to read the story."
I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my Twitter feed. Players and students from Riverside were posting all over it.
@RiversideGang You may have robbed the first game but we're going to steal the second. #RamsRule!
That was bad but it got worse. There was a photo under the next tweet.
@RiversideGang It's payback time. #RamsRule!
I thumbed down and there it was-Trey's red Mustang with the black graffiti sprayed on the side.
A few seconds later Fish found the photo too. "Hey guys, check out hashtag Rams Rule.
Trey and his teammates quickly tracked down the hashtag and the posting.
"What the hell happened to your car Trey?" the first player asked, his eyes glued to the screen.
"No big deal," Trey said, laughing it off. "Just some Riverside fan unhappy after the last game."
"He was a lot more than unhappy," Kat said, giving Trey a worried look. "You should have called the cops."
"That's low even for them," Fish said, shaking his head at the photo. "Those Riverside jerks will do just about anything to get to our star quarterback."
"I've already had the car repainted at the dealership," Trey said, tapping another message on his phone. "There, that should take care of it."
I checked my Twitter feed and saw Trey's message posted along wi
th a photo of his newly painted car door.
@QBTrey. Like it never happened. #RamsFool!
Fish pounded fists with Trey again. "That'll show'em. Nothing rattles our man Trey."
"I've got a deadline," Kat said, eyeing the exit.
Trey swallowed his last bite of pizza, pulled a last sip from his straw and stood up to join her. "Meet you dudes at practice after school."
Seeing his two friends about to leave, Fish jumped up as well. "Yeah dudes, we have to split."
Trey and Kat left the cafeteria with Fish trailing a step behind like a puppy dog. I dabbed a fry in some ketchup and checked a few more postings. The last one got my attention and I furrowed my brow wondering what it meant.
@RiversideGang There's more to steal than a game. #RamsRule!
Chapter Eight
It was a slow night. Only a few customers had come into the store, mostly parents who were stopping on their way home to pick up some milk or bread. Then the door swung open and Kat walked in. I waited for Trey and Fish to follow her but they were nowhere to be seen. She was by herself.
I gulped.
I watched her head down the aisle to the back of the store, her spiky black hair just visible over the top row of shelves. She tucked the book she was carrying under her arm and reached into the cooler case to grab a Coke. She turned and walked straight back towards me placing the bottle and book on the counter. I glanced down and saw it was the Driver Ed Handbook.
"Is the handbook yielding any tips?" I asked, trying to open with a driving joke.
Kat looked at me blankly. "What? Oh I get it-yielding like a yield sign. Very clever, Ed."
Strike one. I decided to change gears and turned my attention to the bottle of Coke. "Picking up dinner?" I asked with another equally as funny line.
Kat looked serious. "I know soft drinks aren't healthy but I need to keep up my energy tonight."
Strike two. Not wanting to strike out, I gave up trying to be a stand-up comedian and played it straight. "What's up?"
"I've got my first driving lesson tomorrow and I want to be prepared."