Chapter 10

Green left soon after I finished changing back. My clothes were now riddled with pine needles from under the deck, so I started towards my room to change them. However, on the way, my dad stopped me in the hallway.

"Hey, sport!" he said, grinning. He likes to call me nicknames like 'sport' or 'champ' or 'tiger.' He's told me before that they remind him of how his dad used to talk to him. My personal theory is that he just started doing it to annoy me and it ended up becoming a habit. Either way, it's kind of our inside joke. "You look like you've been outdoors. What's with the pine needles?"

I thought of coming up with some sort of lie that would cover up why I was covered in the leaves of a tree that was a few months out of season. I decided against it, and instead told a partial truth. "I was searching under the porch for Green's frisbee."

"Nice, nice," he said. He looked approving. "Not afraid to get a little dirty to help out your friend. That's a good quality, champ. And you know what?" He raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Girls love that in a guy."

I rolled my eyes. "All right, dad."

He didn't look off-put by my dismissiveness. Instead, it seemed to encourage him to talk more. It turned out that this had just been small talk. "Hey, Red, I know I'm not home from the office too much lately. The boss man is giving us long hours, and I can't really say no, you know? The system's got me in its grip!" To illustrate, he clenched a fist like he was choking something. "I feel really bad about it, because I don't get to see you a lot anymore."

I shrugged. My dad (and to some extent, my mom) had recently started spending long hours at their office jobs, and were rarely home throughout the day anymore. I didn't mind much, since with them out of the house I could focus on my homework and other stuff without interruptions. It was getting a bit lonely, though, as time went on. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was starting to miss spending time with my parents, as much as they annoyed me. Still, I didn't bring that up, and said, "It's really fine, dad. You have to do what you have to do."

He sighed. "I knew you'd say that. It's just the kind of stoic guy you are. But..." He snapped his fingers, his grin returning. "There might be a way for us to spend some more time together."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What's that?"

"Well, have you heard of Team Rocket?"

"No," I admitted truthfully. The name tickled a vague memory of a small article I'd read on the back of a newspaper, but I couldn't remember anything significant.

My dad launched into explanation without missing a beat, almost like he'd rehearsed this. "It's this great organization that does charity work and social get-togethers. I joined up a while ago along with some guys from the office, and it's been great! It's like being a part of something monumental–something way bigger than yourself." As he spoke, he got a sort of faraway, knowing look in his eye. I raised a skeptical eyebrow. That look wasn't one he often got.

He cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, I thought it might be nice if you joined up as well. I'm at meetings a lot of the time during lunch breaks and on weekends, and I'm of course at the campouts and other fun stuff like that. As one of the full members, it's expected." He grinned at me. "If you joined, we could spend a lot more time together through Team Rocket. It could be like the old days, you know?"

I remembered the old days. Dad's job hadn't always been so demanding. It was only in the past few years that he'd been required to spend more hours in the office. He'd expressed discontent many times, but the pay was just too good to quit. Before that, though, he'd always had time to look after me, and play catch, and have those father-son talks that don't seem important at the time, but slowly start to better your character as the years go by. Before his job ramped up, my dad had been able to... to be a dad.

Yet that wasn't enough to sway my skepticism. I briefly wondered why he'd joined Team Rocket, since his time at home was already so scarce. Perhaps it had been an office thing that his coworkers had pressured him into? Doubtful, but possible. Still, it struck me as odd that he would join some social club before worrying about his own family.

"Tempting," I said, keeping my voice even. "But I'm going to pass for now."

I can't say it didn't hurt to see his face fall at my answer. "Oh," he said, his voice downtrodden. He seemed to have put a lot of stock into this offer. With forced enthusiasm and a fake smile, he quickly recovered his usual demeanor. "Well, that's okay. I get it. You're the kind of kid who doesn't like to rush into stuff too quickly. That's a good quality, Red. But at least keep Team Rocket in mind, all right, sport?"

"All right," I agreed. "I'm going to go to Yellow's place, if that's okay."

"Yellow..." he mused. "She's that girl from the grade below yours, right?"

"Yeah." I already knew where he was going with this.

A genuine grin broke out across my dad's face. "All right! Making friends with the ladies, eh, tiger? That's my boy!" He laughed and ruffled my hair, as chipper as though the previous conversation hadn't happened, and made his way past me down the hallway. I didn't bother telling him that it was a group thing. It couldn't hurt to let him have his fun teasing me.

I didn't change out of my pine-needle-littered clothes. I was too distracted. The conversation had left me confused, though I couldn't figure out why. When my dad had laughed just then... hadn't I heard that same laugh somewhere before–someplace that I didn't associate with him? But where...?

Bewildered and unsettled, I made my way out the door, and started the long walk to Yellow's house.