The Field
Page 5
Northbrook takes the ball, and high on adrenaline from scoring, they come out charging. Our defenders fight them off, but the ball stays on our side of the field. Now the play is moving closer … a shot is coming, I know it. I see the ball zooming towards me, over my head. I jump and reach and just tip the ball up, but instead of going up and over the top of the net, it hits the crossbar and bounces out in front of the goal. Another shot! I dive right and block the second shot with my body. It ricochets off me right at the feet of the Northbrook striker. He settles it and shoots … but I’m up on my knees and I lunge left and grab the ball, pulling it in close. My heart is hammering in my chest. My teammates are yelling. The crowd is screaming. Three saves!
“Way to go, big guy!” Will yells.
“Awesome save, Eric!” someone else calls out.
I walk slowly to the edge of the penalty box, savoring the moment. I bounce the ball three times and punt it so it arcs high in the sky across the center line to the other end of the field.
We end up winning two to one. Making those three saves in a row really helped pump up our team and deflate Northbrook. I didn’t let them score on me again.
Coach Swenson talks to us for a few minutes after the game, and then we grab our gear and walk towards the locker room entrance where the fans are waiting to congratulate us. I texted Renee that I would meet her here after the game and then we would figure out what we wanted to do, so I’m scoping out the crowd looking for her. She’s standing over to one side with Cole and Bonnie. As I walk over to them, some of the fans congratulate me on my saves, and I stop and say good-bye to my family. Will has gone over to talk to his dad and I can see that they’re arguing.
“Hey,” I say to Renee when I reach them. “Do you mind waiting here a few minutes while I take a quick shower? I thought we could get something to eat in town.”
“Sure,” she says, smiling. My heart does a flip.
“We’ll wait here with her,” Cole volunteers. “Then we can all go together.”
“Okay. Maybe.” I really want to be alone with Renee for our first ‘date.’ “What’s up with Will and his dad?” I nod in their direction. I have a bad feeling about it.
“There’s something going on with them, but I don’t know what,” Bonnie says, frowning and shaking her head, which makes her blond curls jump. “Will’s really pissed at him.” Maybe I know.
“I’ll be right back.” The locker room isn’t my first choice for personal hygiene since it’s pretty gross, but it’s all there is, so I shower and change and am back out again within ten minutes. The crowd has thinned out by now and it’s getting dark. Renee, Cole and Bonnie are sitting in the grass.
“We were thinking we’d all go to Bub’s Burgers,” Cole says.
“Okay, but maybe Renee and I could meet you there.” I look at Renee. “Do you want to walk over? It’s not too far.”
“Yes, I’d love to,” she says, getting up and brushing the grass off her shorts.
It’s not totally dark yet, more like dusk, but all the street lights are already on in the parking lot. There’s an older residential neighborhood between the high school and downtown, and I steer us in that direction instead of the taking the main drag so we can walk through the quieter streets. The buzzing of cicadas rises and falls in a wave of sound all around us, and the smell of freshly mown grass scents the warm night air. We pass a group of kids playing kick the can in the dark. I’m very conscious of Renee beside me. Even though we don’t know each other very well, I feel a connection to her.
“So, how do you like living in the States?” I ask.
“I’ve visited before, but living here is different. Everything is so big! The houses and cars are bigger, the streets are wider and the supermarket is enormous. Even the people are bigger, I mean taller,” she adds quickly.
“Just admit it, you mean fatter,” I laugh.
“No, really, I didn’t!” She stops and puts a hand on my arm. I think she’s afraid she’s offended me.
“It’s okay,” I say. “We’re pretty well aware of it.”
“Well, some people are fatter, but Americans really are taller. Like you.” She says softly. She’s looking up at me. The top of her head barely comes up to my chin. We’re almost facing each other stopped on the sidewalk. I look down at her and her eyes meet mine. We stand there for a moment and I get that feeling of knowing, like I know her more than I possibly could already, and then my eyes travel down her face to her slightly parted lips. I can’t help wondering what it would be like to kiss her. I take a breath and quickly turn away. It’s too soon for that. I start walking again and she falls in place beside me.
“It helps to be tall in the goal,” I say to break the spell.
“You were great tonight. Those saves you made in the first half changed the game in our favor.”
“Thanks. You seem to know about soccer.”
“It’s extremely popular in Europe, more like a religion. Everyone watches it.”
“Was it hard for you to leave your friends behind to come here?”
“Yes and no. I could have stayed in France and lived with my grandparents, but it’s exciting to come here. An adventure. I also wanted to be with my family.”
“Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“A younger sister. What about you?”
“A younger brother and a younger sister.” Even going at a slow pace, we’ve reached the end of the neighborhood. If we cross the street and continue we’ll almost be at the restaurant. I’m not ready to join the others yet, so I ask, “Are you hungry or do you want to keep walking?”
“I ate something earlier, so I’m fine. Let’s keep walking.”
“Good.” I smile at her and turn right at the corner down another residential street.
“So, where was I in my questioning? I know—what is your favorite thing to do?”
“Am I being interrogated?”
“Yes. Do you mind?”
“No, as long as I get equal time. I would say my favorite thing to do right now is painting and drawing. Last year it was sculpting.”
“So you’re an artist. Is that what you’d like to do when you grow up?” I make quotation marks in the air.
“I think so. I’m just not sure what type of art.” We pass under a street lamp and it abruptly goes out.
I surprise myself by saying, “That happens to me a lot.”
“What happens?” she asks.
“You’ll probably think this is weird, but street lights and lights in parking garages often go on or off when I go under them.”
“Really?” She looks at me quizzically.
“I’ve never really told anyone about it because it’s hard to explain. I mean, a light going on or off isn’t really a big deal, but it happens to me so much that I started noticing it. Kind of strange.” I laugh self-consciously.
“It actually reminds me of a scientist my father knows, although for him it’s much worse. My dad says that every time this guy comes into the lab, the instruments start to go haywire and their experiments get messed up.”
“No kidding? That makes what happens to me seem less bizarre. It must make it hard for that guy to do his job.”
“You would think so. My dad says it may have something to do with his energy field. Maybe you have a strong energy field, too.”
“I’ve wondered if it might be something like that because of the electricity. So, do you know anything about the remote viewing studies your dad is doing? Will and I are thinking about signing up.”
“I’ve done some of them myself, but not the paired studies. They’re pretty interesting. He’s found that bonded pairs do better at intuiting what the other partner is thinking or doing than randomly paired subjects, which makes sense. You should come tomorrow. One of his graduate assistants can’t be there, so I’m helping my dad.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Will. That would be great.”
We turn a corner and are right down the street from Bub’s.
“Of course. Didn’t you say something about ice cream?”
“They’ve got the best in town.”
The restaurant is crowded with families and teens out on the town. I see Will, Bonnie and Cole sitting in a booth at the back of the restaurant. Will and Bonnie are on one side and Will has his arm draped across the back of the booth behind her. Renee slides into the seat next to Cole on the other side of the booth, and I sit next to her so she’s sandwiched between us.
“It’s about time you guys got here,” Will says. “We’re already done.”
“I can see that.” Their plates with the remains of their burgers, fries and milkshakes cover the table. “We took the long way. We’re going to order something now if you want to hang out a while longer.”
“No problem,” Cole says. He’s leaning on his elbow looking at Renee. “So, Renee, did Eric tell you about the survey we’re doing for Psych class?” The waitress comes and we order our food.
“No, he didn’t mention it.”
“It’s called Hot or Not.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” She’s smiling warily at him, not sure where this is going.
“We’re asking students whether they think different articles of clothing or characteristics are ‘hot or not,’ and then graphing the results. It’s very scientific.”
Bonnie snorts and laughs, making her blond curls bounce. “Ha! They’re really just using it to find out what girls think is hot.”
“Well, of course. We also want to communicate what guys think is not hot.”
“Like what?” asks Renee.
“Number one in the Not Hot category for us is body piercing, except navel piercing, and tattoos, except very small discreet ones, if you know what I mean.” Cole smiles and raises his eyebrow.
“Also, too much make-up. That is definitely Not Hot,” says Will.
“What about what girls think is Not Hot?” says Bonnie. She’s leaning forward. “How about BO and ratty clothes? Definitely not hot.”
“We can add those to the list,” Cole says. “Alright, let’s switch gears to what is Hot. Renee, what about you? Anything that you find particularly attractive?” he asks with a deceptively nonchalant air. I was waiting for this. I figured he’d been leading up to something like this all along.
“Well, I think someone who has good manners and is confident is attractive,” she says, skirting the question.
“Ah, those are good traits, and I believe that your date, Mr. Horton, here possesses them, but what about appearance? Hair, for instance. What do you think of Eric’s long soccer hair?” He reaches behind her to ruffle my hair, and I bat his hand away.
I feel like I should step in to deflect Cole’s question, but I also want to know what she thinks, so I don’t say anything right away. Renee turns to look directly at me, smiles and says, “Hot. Definitely hot.” Without missing a beat. I smile back and think, Ha! She’s definitely not shy. Will lets out a low whistle. Then I feel the heat start to rise in my face and I’m afraid I’m going to blush, so I say, “Okay, let’s move off of that topic.”
Fortunately, the waitress brings my burger and fries and Renee’s milkshake right then. Will says, “I heard there’s a party tonight at Todd Sloan’s. Do you guys want to go?”
“That’s kind of a party crowd, isn’t it?” says Bonnie, a crease forming between her blue eyes.
“Maybe,” says Will, stealing a fry off my plate, “but come on, it’ll be fun and we don’t have to partake. Anyway, one beer never hurt anyone. Hey, we won tonight! I want to enjoy the moment.”
I turn to Renee. “Do you want to go? It’ll be crowded and noisy.”
“I don’t mind either way, really.”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d rather skip it. I’m beat and it’ll just be a bunch of people standing around drinking.” To Will, I say, “Renee says that Dr. Auberge is doing the remote viewing study tomorrow and we can go. We have to be there by nine.”
“That’s cool. Don’t worry, I’ll be by to pick you up at 8:30.”
After we finish our food, Will, Cole and Bonnie leave to go to the party and Renee and I walk back through the neighborhood to the high school and my car. It’s nice just to be with her and talk. I feel really comfortable around her. A party isn’t a good place to get to know someone, and I really am tired. When I pull up to her driveway to drop her off, I’m trying to decide if I should kiss her goodnight, and what kind of a kiss it should be. As I put the car in park and turn towards her, she lays her hand on my chest and leans into me. She stops with her lips just inches from mine. She can probably feel my heart pounding in my chest. I look into her eyes a moment, then reach my hand to the side of her head and close the distance between our lips. It’s a soft kiss, just a momentary touching of our lips, but it’s unreal. I don’t want to rush things, so I lift my head and then lean my forehead against hers and whisper, “Goodnight, Renee. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Good night,” she says. “I had a great time.”
7
THE FEAR IS strong, but the sense of urgency and foreboding is stronger. I have to act quickly or something terrible will happen. But what? What do I need to do? It’s all confusion. Then comes the explosion. And heat. Intense, searing heat. Someone is screaming. It’s too late! Oh God!
I wake up in my bed gripped with fear and drenched in sweat, the sheets wrapped around my legs. I lay there shaking and breathing hard while the realization sinks in that it was another nightmare. Not real. Holy shit. I roll onto my side and curl into a ball. Breathe. In and out. Calm down. I get up and walk shakily down the dark hallway to the bathroom, get a drink, splash water on my face and lean against the sink, feeling the cool, hard counter beneath my hands. The details of the dream aren’t clear; just the fear and the urgency and the tearing, ripping explosion. Even that is starting to fade at the edges and slip away, thankfully. When I get back in bed I concentrate on thinking about Renee and our kiss to chase away any remnants of the nightmare. This time, my dreams are peaceful.
DREW IS ALREADY downstairs watching cartoons when I come down for breakfast. I took a quick shower this morning, basically to make sure my hair isn’t sticking out all over the place, and I want to have a bowl of cereal or something before Will picks me up.
“Hey, buddy, what’s up?” I ask as I sit down on the couch next to him and put my bowl and the gallon of milk on the coffee table.
“Eric!” He pummels me with his fists and I retaliate by grabbing his wrists and pinning him to the cushions.
“You’re doomed.” I transfer his wrists to one hand and tickle him mercilessly with the other. Just a little brotherly love.
“Okay, okay, stop!” Drew says between gasps of laughter.
“Alright, truce. I need to scarf down this cereal. What’re you doing today?” I pour cereal into the bowl and fill it up with milk.
“I’ve got a soccer game at 9:30. Can you come watch me?”
“Sorry little dude, I have to be somewhere, but maybe I can go to the next one.”
Mom comes into the kitchen and starts the coffee maker. “Good morning guys.” She comes over to stand by the couch. “Eric, I would really rather you didn’t eat in the family room, and please put the milk away next time.” She picks up the jug. “How about cereal with strawberries for you, Drew?”
“Sorry,” I say. “I’m going with Will to be part of a study with the physics professor I told you about.”
“That’s fine. We’ve got Drew’s game this morning and your dad already took Marcie to school to catch the bus for her crosscountry meet. We won’t be back till this afternoon.”
My cell buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text from Will: IN THE DRIVEWAY. RIGHT ON TIME.
“I gotta go. Will’s here.” I get up and give Drew one last tickle.
“Bring yo
ur bowl and the cereal box into the kitchen please!” she calls out.
“Right. Will do.” I grab the empty bowl and box and leave them on the counter. Not exactly put away, but in the right vicinity. “See you later.”
“YOU MISSED A wicked party last night!” Will says, as I climb into the Taurus. “A lot of guys from the team were there and everyone was dancing. It was crazy.”
“Late night?” I notice he’s drinking a highly caffeinated energy drink.
“What are you, my mom now?” he replies with an edge to his voice, which surprises me because usually Will’s so easy going. “I was home by one. I’ll take a nap this afternoon, if it’ll make you happy.” I’m a little ticked at this, so I say, “I don’t care what you do. I just wondered if you were up late. Don’t get shitty with me.”
“I just don’t need you checking up on me, okay.” He takes a swig of the energy drink. “So, do you know where we’re going?”
“Yeah, it’s in a lab at the physics department at the university.” I’m still pissed about Will’s remark. We talk about last night’s game the rest of the way to the university—an easy subject.
When we get there, Renee is checking people in at a table in front of the lab. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, and she’s wearing a lab coat, which gives her a sexy librarian look. She’s talking to a man and a woman who I guess are married or boyfriend and girlfriend. When she’s done, she turns to us.
“Hi, I’m glad you came.” I love that she really looks happy to see us (me?).
“Hey. You look very official.”
“Why, thank you.” She pulls the lapels of the coat together and makes a serious face. “It helps people to know I’m part of the staff.”
“How does this work, and what will we actually be doing?” Will asks.
“It’s a remote viewing study with bonded pairs, as opposed to random pairs. You’ll be in separate rooms, and one of you will be viewing images on a computer screen. The other one will try to identify what he is seeing on the screen. We’re looking at both the ability of the viewer to send or communicate the image and the ability of the receiver to identify it.” She hands us each some papers. “You need to fill out these questionnaires before you start, and you’ll each be paid twenty dollars for the half hour session.”