by Dan Dillard
*****
School was back in full swing, and in the madness of new classes, new teachers, new friends and old friends I hadn’t seen all summer, I lost track of time. Walker’s Woods Elementary was small, so it was no surprise when Adam, Erin and I were all placed in the same class. It made the days fly by.
As I’d predicted, Kevin and Jason entered 9th grade and parted ways. It was just a mutual understanding—unwritten kid law—that the football player wouldn’t be seen with the brainy, thoughtful kid. It was scripture, they made films about it.
I didn’t see Kevin for other reasons. He was a band student, and they had intramural activities. When I did see him, it usually involved tackling him as soon as he came in the door, which he seemed to enjoy. By the time we had settled into the new school routine, front yard baseball turned into front yard football, leaves turned their oranges, yellows and reds and t-shirts grew longer sleeves. The sun retired for the evening at seven instead of nine and Mom bought pumpkins for the front porch.