Go Forward Slowly
Page 5
Only a beat later, Taylor was in his doorway and charging straight for them. Tallie laughed raucously as she tried to shield herself from being tagged by her older sister, but Taylor was on them in no time and tagged Tallie on her squirming leg before any more words could be spoken.
“You’re it!” Taylor cried triumphantly, waving her arms in the air and giggling while trying to catch her breath.
Tallie squirmed again and Patton lowered her onto his bed so she could do as she liked. She flopped down in a round of laughter and started rolling around as Taylor climbed in after her. At ages three and seven, Patton was supremely glad his sisters were still able to play together so well. It made his job a lot easier when babysitting.
As the giggles and laughter finally died down, Taylor whined, “Are you really going out tonight, Patty?”
Patton took in their smiling, albeit crestfallen faces, and nodded. “Yeah, ladybugs, I am.” As Tallie had been learning to talk, it had been hard for her to pronounce Patton’s full name so she’d called him ‘Patty.’ The name had stuck for his sisters and even though he kind of didn’t like the nickname Pat or Patty, he found the name cute coming from his sisters’ giggling mouths.
“But what are we going to do with Mom and Dad?” Taylor grumbled. “They’re not going to want to watch Disney movies with us. And you know Mom hates to cook. I bet she’s not going to make cookies with us before the movie, either.”
Patton chuckled at her put-out tone. “It’ll be fine, Tay. Maybe you guys will go out to eat or go to the park or something. I know your mom’s not that handy in the kitchen, but I’m sure they’ll come up with something fun to do with you. It wouldn’t kill you to have a quiet night at home with them either.”
Patton sat on the bed with them and Tallie climbed into his lap. “Where are you going?” Tallie asked.
“I’m going to a football game at my school with some new friends,” Patton explained with his arms around Tallie. “This guy I have PE with asked me to eat lunch with him the other day, and ever since, I’ve been sitting at his table with him and his friends to eat. Everyone there is super nice and they all joke and get along really well. It’s kind of cool to have my choir friends and now these other friends too.”
“I have lots of friends, too,” Taylor commented matter-of-factly.
“Me too,” Tallie parroted as she climbed out of his lap. Typical three-year-old couldn’t sit still for long.
Patton chuckled, watching Tallie climb off his bed. “I know you both do. You’re both very good friends.”
“Tay Tay, let’s play,” Tallie cried as her need to be on the move took over. Taylor huffed but climbed down anyway.
“Have fun with your friends, Patty.” Taylor gave him a hug and Tallie followed.
“Thanks, bugs. I probably won’t see you before bedtime tonight, so I’ll see you in the morning, okay? Should we have pancakes?” Patton asked.
A chorus of excited yes’s sounded in his room, and he chuckled as the girls ran off, Tallie running after Taylor.
Patton got up and checked his appearance once more, then grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone and headed downstairs to say goodbye to his dad and Tiffani before he headed out the door to the game.
— — —
The school parking lot was teeming with cars and people. Everyone present was sporting some form of green or yellow or some weird combination of both.
As Patton climbed out of his car, he could hear pop hits being played through the stadium speakers, and off in the distance, he could hear the school’s marching band warming up.
He’d arrived fifteen minutes before kickoff mostly because he hadn’t known what the parking situation would be like. Every time he’d ever been to a game before had been to perform with the choir and he’d always parked by the choir room.
Patton got in line at the ticket booth and pulled out his student ID and his five dollars. As he waited for the people ahead of him, he wondered if anyone else was there yet from Wesley’s group of friends. They were supposed to meet at the concession stand and decide from there if they wanted to find seats on the bleachers or just walk around. Patton wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of either prospect, honestly.
He didn’t know much about football. The scoring, the rules, the aggression; it all seemed pointless and over the top. Why would someone want to dress up in that ridiculous uniform and go pound the shit out of someone else just to get a ball across a line? Patton was sure he’d never see the appeal.
But the flip side of not watching the game meant walking around the stadium for three hours with a group of people he barely knew.
He’d had the chance to talk to Wesley a little more that afternoon in PE, but it had mostly been about their eating habits and what goals they thought they might be able to work on for their assignment. And the other days Patton had spent sitting with Wesley’s group in the lunchroom, he’d mostly kept quiet unless someone was talking directly to him. It had been slightly awkward and he was thinking of just going back to the choir room on Monday.
When he finally made it up to the front of the line and paid his admittance fee, Patton’s hand was stamped and he passed through the gate into the stadium. The music had cut off and someone was talking about raffle tickets and boosters. People milled about near the entrance, probably doing the same thing as him while waiting on their own groups of friends, and Patton side-stepped them to make his way toward the snack bar.
The stadium was loud, but Patton expected the volume to increase significantly once the game and cheering started. The announcer’s voice echoed through the crowd and the players on the field who stretched and ran drills were obviously warming up for the game.
“Hey, Patton!” someone called out and Patton turned away from watching the teams warm up to find Lizzy and Colt standing a dozen yards away off to the side of the snack bar line.
“Hey, guys,” Patton returned. Lizzy was wearing a yellow tank top with a white Hawaiian flower print and jean shorts with her blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Colt had on a well-fitted medium green shirt that Patton thought only accentuated his smaller frame and khaki shorts, but he was smiling and urged Patton over with a wave of his hand.
“You made it,” Lizzy gushed and Patton could tell she would have loved to have hugged him but reined it in as Colt put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m so excited that you were able to come. I know you’re still getting to know us, but it’s really cool of you to hang out with us.”
Patton nodded.
“I think after the game a group of us were going to go out to Soda Jerks if you wanted to come too,” Lizzy continued. “We always try to do something after the game, even if it’s just grabbing an ice cream or something.”
“Cool.” Patton nodded again just as Hannah and Becca appeared through the crowd. They waved and made their way over, smiling when they saw Patton standing a little awkwardly off to the side.
Before too much conversation could get underway, the marching band made its entrance along the track belting out a slightly off-color version of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army followed by their school’s fight song.
Once the band had finished up and the announcer retook the airways, the Star Spangled Banner was played and the team captains walked out to the center of the field.
The atmosphere was charged with excitement as the game was finally about to kick off, and a quick glance around him surprised Patton with the appearance of Riley and another guy Patton didn’t recognize. Their small group stood chatting for a moment and Lizzy asked if everyone wanted to go find seats or hang out where they were.
“I’m getting some nachos and a soda before we go anywhere,” Riley responded, nicking his chin out toward the snack bar beside them. “Anyone else want something?”
“Gummy bears!” the three girls called out in unison and then burst out laughing.
“Patton, you want anything? Or you want to hang out with me while everyone waits in line?” Colt asked.<
br />
“Uh, maybe I’ll get something later so, I guess I’ll hang out with you,” Patton answered as the girls, Riley, and his friend all nodded and joined the mile-long line for snacks.
“That’s Riley’s cousin, by the way,” Colt said and Patton turned to look at him. “The guy with Riley. That’s his cousin, Ty, ” Colt said at Patton’s questioning look. “He comes around sometimes. He’s pretty quiet and mostly keeps to himself. I think things are kind of bad at home for him so Riley tries to get him out whenever he can.”
“Oh,” Patton responded sadly. “That sucks.”
Colt nodded and they stood quietly for a moment as the game got underway and the crowd roared as the ball was finally kicked off.
“Wes is probably down along the track right now. He always loves watching the teams warm up,” Colt said with a smirk. Patton studied him, not sure what that was supposed to mean but eventually turned his attention that direction, looking for one of the taller heads that might be standing along the fence by the track.
He couldn’t spot Wes’s dark brown head of hair but with the game just underway there were people milling about everywhere.
When Patton looked back at Colt, he noticed the boy’s gaze focused somewhere over his shoulder and a smirk on his face. Patton turned to see what he was looking at.
Wesley was walking their way, his long strides eating up the pavement between them. When their eyes met, Wesley smiled wide and Patton was actually kind of shocked to see the guy looking so happy to see him. Wes was probably just glad it was Friday night and he was out with friends.
“Hey, man,” Colt called as Wes approached and the two boys did some weird handshake.
“Hey, guys,” Wesley responded cheerfully then shook Patton’s hand in a regular handshake. Patton belatedly realized that Wesley had painted his nails some shade of dark green that almost looked black. “Hi, Patton. I’m so glad you came. You look good.”
Patton shifted his weight from foot to foot suddenly slightly uncomfortable with Wesley’s appraisal and tugged awkwardly at the hem of his shirt. “Oh. Um... thanks.” Colt snickered and Wes grinned.
“Everyone else getting snacks?” Wesley asked, turning his gaze to look for his friends in the line of patrons.
“Yeah,” Colt replied readily. “Riley brought Ty and the trio are getting the usual.”
“Gummy bears?” Wes asked obviously well-versed in their routine. He turned back to them, giving Patton another smile before looking at Colt.
Colt nodded and they both chuckled.
“How’s Ty looking?” Wesley asked, turning a bit more serious.
“He looks alright. Just quiet like normal,” Colt responded and Wesley nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer and finally turned his attention to the game.
Patton studied Wesley from the corner of his eye as the other guy’s attention was elsewhere. Wesley was wearing green shorts with little yellow pineapples printed all over them and a matching yellow tank top that made him look exceptionally tall with his long arms exposed from his shoulders to his fingertips. He was still quite thin and Patton realized the shirt he was wearing was the tightest shirt Patton had seen Wesley wear. He looked healthy and fit, his skin showing a bit of a tan.
It was almost strange that Patton was even at the game with Wesley and his group of friends. He’d seen enough of Wesley’s behavior over the last few days to realize that although Wesley was friendly and generally well-liked around school, he didn’t readily socialize with people or invite them to sit with him at lunch.
Patton wondered, not for the first time, why Wesley had invited him to eat lunch at his table.
A group of girls Patton recognized walked by drawing him out of his thoughts.
“Hi, Patton,” Lydia and Payton called out together, waving at him as they walked by with their friends.
Patton smiled and waved back, not responding out loud since the girls had already passed by and the crowd was so loud.
Wesley nudged him with his elbow. Patton could feel his cheeks heating and when he looked over at Wesley, the guy had an annoying smirk on his face.
“Shut up,” he grumbled and Wesley and Colt both chuckled.
Only a few minutes later the rest of the group made their way over with snacks in hand, and it was decided to find seats in the stands for a little while to let everyone eat.
Patton followed Wesley’s group through the crowd, and as they passed, several more people said hi to him. It was kind of funny actually. By the time they made it up to an open row in the bleachers, everyone in Wesley’s group had looked back at him at some point. He just shrugged. What else was there to do?
Patton found himself on the aisle way sitting next to Ty. The boy was around their age, with similar coloring to Riley’s. His strawberry-blond hair was a little long, hanging just below his ears and the hat he wore had what looked to be a sports team’s logo, although Patton didn’t recognize it.
He was carrying his own paper boat full of nachos and a soda.
Patton glanced down the line of his newest friends. Lizzy and Colt were on the other end from him, then came Wes, Hannah, Becca, Riley, and finally Ty. Patton had spent little to no time talking with Becca, Riley, or Ty for that matter, and though Hannah claimed they had classes together, he’d still never even said hello to the girl. The only people in the group he’d ever really talked to were all several people away from him down on the other end of their group. He could either sit in the awkward silence watching a game he didn’t know how to follow or try to engage the two nacho-eaters sitting closest to him…
“I’m Patton,” he offered to Ty after the other boy had taken a drink of his soda.
Ty looked over at him and smiled shyly. It was weird. His whole face seemed to transform with that smile. His eyes were a clear blue even though the brim of his cap was shading them from the harsh stadium lights, and Patton noticed a dimple pop out of his left cheek. He looked... Nice.
“Tyler,” he offered. “Though everyone just calls me Ty.”
Patton nodded. Ty had a soft voice and even over the noise surrounding them, Patton could tell it was clear and pleasant. He would probably have a great singing voice.
“You’re Riley’s cousin?” Patton asked.
Ty popped another chip into his mouth and nodded. When he finished, he went on, “I’m homeschooled, but I’m the same age as Riley.”
Patton tried to keep the shock off his face at hearing that Ty was homeschooled, but he knew he failed miserably.
Ty laughed a sweetly melodic sound. “I know. That’s pretty much everyone’s reaction when they find out.” A look crossed Ty’s face and Patton could tell whatever he was thinking about probably wasn’t a pleasant thought for him. He looked back up at Patton. “It’s not all bad. My parents are a little eccentric with our religion and just feel like we’re getting a better education from my mom and the church than we would be at a traditional school.”
Patton nodded, not sure what to say to that. He’d always figured going to traditional school was about more than just learning facts and writing essays. There was a social component to it as well. Learning to get along with your peers and problem solve when you completely hated someone but had to deal with them anyway and let things go. Learning to manage as a number in a system where all of the teacher’s focus cannot be divided. There was so much more to school than just the studies.
Ty crunched on a few more chips. “I haven’t seen you around the group before. Are you new to the school? Everyone seemed to know who you were as we were walking over from the snack bar.”
Patton shook his head. “No. I have a class with Wesley and he invited me to eat with him and his friends the other day. I’ve been going here since I was a freshman.”
“How come everyone knows you?” Ty asked quietly.
Patton shrugged. “I’m in choir and everyone who said hi is in it too.”
“You sing?” Ty asked, his eyes going wide as he looked back a Patton.
“I sing too, but Mom only lets me sing religious songs at home,” Ty confessed quietly. He looked over to Riley who was chatting with Hannah then around the rest of their group. He turned back to Patton. “I love to sing along to the radio whenever Riley comes to get me. He always plays it really loud because he knows how much I love it.”
Patton smiled at Ty’s subdued excitement. He could tell Ty was just bursting inside and seriously wanted to go crazy. Poor kid. Patton couldn’t imagine being told what he could and couldn’t sing at home.
“You wanna go sing with me?” Patton blurted out, having the thought but not really meaning to give voice to it.
Ty’s eyes widened again.
“We can just go sit in my car and I’ll turn the radio on.” Patton looked down at the football field and then to the scoreboard. At some point in the last while, both teams had scored seven points. Patton turned back to Ty. “I don’t really know anything about football, and I kind of only met these guys”—Patton gestured to the row of their friends—“the other day. If you want to go sing I’d totally rather do that.”
Ty smiled, showing all of his perfectly white teeth. He nodded. “Sure. That’d be sweet.”
Patton smiled in return and stood up. Ty leaned over to talk into Riley’s ear. Riley looked over to Patton and shrugged. He said something back to Ty and he nodded.
As Ty stood up, Wesley glanced their way. The smile he’d been wearing fell as he watched them. Patton nodded and waved then looked back at Ty. “Ready?” Patton asked and Ty nodded eagerly. Patton smiled back at him and then took off down the steps.
As they left the stands, Patton noticed Lydia and Payton along with a few other girls standing near the fence, chatting.
“Hang on a sec?” he asked Ty and the other boy shrugged in response. Patton left him and walked over to the girls. They smiled and said their hellos, and Patton explained why he was there. They all glanced over his shoulder at Ty who’d been watching them and the other boy seemed to shrink into himself, hunching his shoulders. Patton turned back to the group.