Part of me could tell that Jason knew I wasn't being entirely honest. Alright, feel better or whatever. Are you gonna be at the game tomorrow? He responded
For sure. I can't miss the game. Coach would kill me. I answered back.
LOL yeah. Alright, we'll drink in your honor tonight. See you tomorrow. I put my phone on my side table. That's typically where any conversation would end. I rested on my bed thinking about how I was going to keep my new housemate from my friends. No sooner did I start to drift off before my mother called my name from downstairs. I groaned and forced myself up and downstairs. What could she want now? I asked myself.
"Who's your friend, Leo?" she asked quietly, drying dishes in the kitchen.
"He's a guy from school. He's going to be staying with us for a while." I replied. I could see the look on my mother's face was disapproving, "Mom, he's homeless. He needs a place to stay for a while."
Her attitude changed almost instantly, "Well, in that case, he's welcome to stay as long as he wants. Go ask him what he wants for dinner. Your father will be home soon." She pushed me out of the kitchen.
I went upstairs and back into the guest room. I knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before opening it. Raph was relaxing on the bed, barely awake. "Do you want anything to eat?" I asked bluntly.
He hoisted himself off the bed and sat off the edge, "I don't want to be any trouble." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"You won't be. It's just me, my mom, and my dad. You're no trouble at all. Now come downstairs for dinner." I encouraged him, as much as it pained me to be kind to him.
He stood off the bed and followed me downstairs where my mother had the table set for four. I hadn't seen it like that since my older sister left to study abroad two years ago. Raph sat down across from me, my father and mother on either side of him. My father sent me a few glares of concern, all of which went unnoticed by Raph.
Dinner was silent, the clanking of metal utensils hitting the ceramic dishes. After he finished eating, Raph thanked my family for the meal and went back upstairs. My father looked at me, "Care to explain?" He said simply, putting his fork down and wiping his face with a napkin.
"He's a friend of mine. He needs a place to stay, he's homeless." I explained, "Dad, I can't just let him live on the streets." I expected some kind of refute from him. He had never taken kindly to house guests.
My dad looked at me, "He looks like trouble, and you know- "
I cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "He won't be. I promise." I looked at my mom, who I knew was on my side. She was looking at my dad, caringly.
My dad looked at my mom, and sighed in defeat. "Alright, he can stay." He announced. "But at the first sign of trouble, he's gone, you understand." He affirmed that I got the message.
"Understood. Thank you." I cleared Raph's dish and my own and went back upstairs to my room.
A while later, I heard my parents go to bed. I stayed awake, preparing for tomorrow's game, texting Jason to see what kind of fun I was missing out. Later, when I was ready to go to bed, Raph knocked on my door. I let him in and we sat down on my bed together.
"Your dad thinks I'm a bad influence. He's right." He laughed a little.
"Look. I'm giving you a place to live; the least you could do is try to get along with my parents. It took some time to buy my dad on the idea of having you stay."
"I know. I heard." He replied. "He was right, you know. I am a pretty bad influence on a preppy kid like you."
"I told him he was wrong. I promised him you'd behave." I whispered angrily, "Can't you be at least a little bit appreciative of what I'm trying to do for you."
"I still don't get why you-you let me stay here. You don't like me. Your kind and my kind don't mix." He insisted.
"Why does it always have to be about kinds with you? I know you aren't only the kind of person that hurts and disappoints people. The story you told me, about your dog, you douchebag you wouldn't have cared about a stray dog like you did. You don't have to be a douchebag all the time." I explained to him, "You can be nice." I tried to make a joke about it, smiling half-heartedly.
"Where's the fun in that?" Raph joked back, standing off the bed and heading towards the door.
I laughed a little, "Just…think about it." I nodded my head before he left, "Night." He closed the door.
"Night," I heard hushed from down the hall. I smiled; maybe he wasn't such a douche after all.
The next day, I slipped out of the house early for pre-game practice. I didn't talk to anybody, I didn't see anybody. I went in to check on Raph, but he was sound asleep when I went in. So I left and went to practice.
I was the first one there, as was the duty of the quarterback, and I waited for the rest of my team to show up. Jason, number 27, star running back, was the next to arrive. He greeted me in the locker room, "Feeling better?" He asked, punching my shoulder.
"It's no use lying, is it?" I rubbed my shoulder and laughed a little.
"Nope. Not at all," he nodded, "Mind telling me why you couldn't come. For real this time."
"My family needed me."
"What, the mother that doesn't give a shit about what you do and the father that doesn't come home until 9:00. Strike two, Leo," he punched me again, "Wanna go for three"
I rubbed my shoulder again, "Not really."
"Then no more of your bull shit. The rest of the team will be here soon." Jason extended his fingers as if to prepare them to punch me again.
"I was working on that science project with Do- I mean, the nerd and junkie." I wasn't supposed to become friends with them, or know their names. But it still hurt me that I had to refer to them that way. They are not what we have them labeled as.
Jason nodded, "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" He gripped my shoulder pads smiling giddily.
"I didn't want you to know I bailed on the party to work with those two." I was still lying to him. I guess I'd rather be known to be with Don and Mike than with Raph.
The rest of the team started to arrive. We ran drills and not long after, the game started to get underway. Before I knew it, it was half time. When we lined up to start the third quarter, "I looked out into the home crowd. I saw Don and Mike sitting next to each other, blending into the crowd. I smiled knowing that they had actually shown up. I knew this kind of environment was not their niche.
I continued to scan the crowd. Another individual caught my eye: Raph. I smirked a little. He never said he was coming. Maybe he was going off what I told him last night.
The whistle blew and I called out the play. The game continued. Touchdown after touchdown after touchdown. Our plays were flawless. Those North High Panthers didn't stand a chance. It came to the last quarter; we were so tired of scoring that we just passed the ball between teammates when it was in our possession. The game ended shortly after. All the players and I went to the locker room to get changed. I accepted my compliments and slipped out before showering. I wanted to see Don and Mike, my friends, before they left the field.
I ran out to them, calling their names, assured by the fat that all my teammates were still in the locker room. I saw them heading out together, and caught them just in time. "Don! Mike!" I called.
They turned and looked at me, "Leo." They smiled and said in unison. "Great game." Mike congratulated me, "You were really on a roll." We chatted a while longer, just to make conversation, when Raph came up behind me.
"Hey guys." He greeted me, Mike, and Don. "That was some great football out there Leo."
I could tell by the looks on Don and Mike's faces that they were taken aback. They hadn't talked to Raph since the fight at Don's house. I smiled at him, "Thanks. And thanks for coming."
"Sure thing." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Listen, Mike. Don. I want to apologize. I've been a real asshole, and I'm sorry. I was wondering if I could get back on the science project group." He half smiled the best he could.