The League

by Thatcher Heldring

  “Can we go?” Aaron asked.

  “You can set the table,” Mom said, pointing to the dining room. “We’re going to eat soon.”

  “You got it,” Aaron replied.

  We had dodged another bullet, but I didn’t want to celebrate. At that moment, all I wanted to do was hide in my room until the Fourth of July.

  “Oh, Aaron,” Mom said, stirring a pot of chili on the stove. “I still haven’t seen any paperwork from the parks department. And I can’t seem to find any information about the volunteer program anywhere.”

  “Yeah,” Aaron replied casually as he opened the napkin drawer. “They’re not very organized. The website is way out of date. Typical city government, right, Dad?”

  I began taking plates out of the cupboard, my hands shaking so much I was afraid I’d drop the whole stack.

  “It’s not that we don’t believe you,” Dad said. “It’s just that we don’t know anything about what you’re doing.”

  “You should ask Wyatt what I do. He saw me a couple days ago.”

  Aaron didn’t see it right away, but that was the moment our story finally fell apart. I just stood in the corner of the kitchen waiting for the end, not sure whether to smile or to cry.

  “He did?” Mom asked.

  “Yup. I think I was just finishing up lining the ball fields. So it must have been around two o’clock. Does that sound right, Wyatt?”

  Dad stood in the middle of the kitchen with his arms crossed. “I’m confused. Was that the same day you stopped at Corner Pizza?”

  “Huh?” Aaron said, obviously beginning to realize what he’d done.

  “Wyatt said he only left golf camp early once,” Dad said. “Was that the day you went to Corner Pizza or the day he saw you in the park? Or were you lying?”

  Mom and Dad both looked at me. I stared right back at them, ready to face them once and for all.

  “What’s going on?” Mom asked. “Wyatt, did you leave golf camp early more than one time?”

  Across the room, Aaron closed his eyes and swore under his breath as he realized his story had finally trapped me.

  “Wyatt?” Dad said.

  “I haven’t been to golf camp at all,” I said quietly. “I’ve been in the park, playing football.” The words fell out of my mouth like they were being pulled by gravity.

  “You’ve been lying to us this whole time?” Dad asked.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said. “I know it was wrong. But I’ve been playing for two weeks and I haven’t gotten hurt once.”

  “Wyatt, this is very serious,” Mom said. “You violated our trust and you put yourself at risk. What if you’d gotten hurt and we weren’t able to find you? What would you have told your coach?”

  “There’s no coach. It’s just kids.”

  “No coach!” Mom exclaimed. “Wyatt Parker, are you telling me the whole time we thought you were at golf camp, you’ve been playing unsupervised tackle football in the park without pads or helmets?”

  “Yes, but it’s not as bad as it sounds,” I said, placing the plates on the counter. I wasn’t sure which part Mom was more upset about, the tackling or the lying.

  “How could it sound any worse?” Dad said, raising his voice with each word that flew out of his mouth. “You endangered yourself. You disobeyed us. And you lied to me.”

  “Don’t yell at me,” I said, feeling the internal fight in me come back. I might have been wrong to lie, but I knew on some level I had a point and I wanted to make it. “I told you I didn’t want to go, but you didn’t listen.”

  “That doesn’t make it okay to lie,” said Mom.

  “What was I supposed to do?” I asked. “Why should I have to do whatever you guys want me to do? If you had just let me play football, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

  Aaron quietly put down the napkins and began to sneak out of the kitchen.

  “Stay there!” Dad ordered, never taking his eyes off me. “Who were you playing football with, Wyatt?”

  “We want to talk to their parents,” Mom added.

  “Friends from school?” Dad asked.

  “Answer us, Wyatt,” Mom insisted.

  I glanced at Aaron. He was leaning against the wall. He knew he was toast. If I told Mom and Dad who I was playing with, he’d be in even more trouble.

  “I’m not saying anything,” I told her. “If you want to punish me, go ahead. But I’m not giving you any names. Playing football was more fun than anything I’ve ever done. I was good at it too. Maybe I could’ve gotten hurt, but it was worth the risk.”

  Nobody said anything.

  “Also,” I went on, “I think I want to try out for the high school team.”

  “No way, end of discussion,” Mom said.

  “Thanks a lot for listening,” I said, making a break for the stairs.

  “Wyatt!” Mom called. “Come back here!”

  “Let him go,” I heard Dad say.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I sat at my desk and stared straight ahead. I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. For the first time in my life, I was in deep trouble. Not came-home-late-from-the-park or didn’t-clean-up-my-room trouble. Serious, maximum-punishment trouble.

  In some ways, I was glad it was over. When I woke up the next morning, I wouldn’t have to make up a story about where I was going or where I’d been. That was a relief. But part of me was going to miss my secret life, the one where I was a football player who stood up to bullies like Spencer Randle and Julian, and who could run the wildcat better than anyone else on the field.

  Thinking about that made me smile, even as I realized I was about to get grounded the day before the Fourth of July. Evan would have to watch the fireworks with her friends from the pool. When I had served my time, maybe she and I could go see Dr. Pirate 2. I knew she’d be up for it.

  Eventually, I heard a knock on my door.

  “Can I come in?” Dad asked.

  “Sure,” I said.

  He walked into the room and sat down on my bed.

  “I’m sorry I lied,” I said. “And I’m sorry I played football after you told me not to.”

  “Thank you for saying that,” Dad answered. “But that’s not what’s most important to me.”

  “Do you want me to pay you back for golf camp? Because I will.”

  “We’ll get to that. The more important lesson is that your mom and I need you to tell us the truth, all the time, no matter what.”

  “I tried to,” I said.

  “I know you did. I should have listened. I was just really excited about playing golf with you. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. And now that you’re finally old enough and capable, I didn’t stop to think that you might not be as excited as I am. So while I can’t excuse what you did, I can understand it.”

  “You can?”

  Dad nodded. “I think you were a son so determined to do his own thing, he defied his parents.” He squeezed my ankle. “But independence comes with responsibility, Wyatt. If you’re going to be in charge of your own life, you have to learn to make good decisions, or there are going to be consequences.”

  “Can I play football again?” I asked. “There’s a big game tomorrow and it’s really important.”

  Dad was quiet for a moment.

  “Can I?” I asked a minute later.

  “Look, here’s what’s going to happen,” Dad said, standing up. “Mom and I will talk tonight about what your punishment should be. Tomorrow after dinner, we’ll sit down with you and Aaron and we’ll let you both know what we’ve decided.”

  “Is Aaron in trouble too?”

  “He lied about what he was doing. He hasn’t been volunteering at all. Apparently he’s just been hanging around all summer. Those were his words. So, yes, he’s in trouble too. In the meantime, I’ll let you judge for yourself whether playing football with your friends is the right thing to do.”

  “Really?” I said. I couldn’t believe Da
d hadn’t said no. “Can I watch the fireworks too?”

  Dad started to say something, then stopped himself. His expression became sad, just for a moment. Then it seemed to pass. “I’m not saying yes or no, Wyatt. I want you to make the right decision on your own.”

  It wasn’t until later that I realized what Dad hadn’t said. But by then, there was nothing I could do.

  There was a quiet moment while Dad made his way to the door. When he had one foot in the hallway, I said, “Dad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “I know you are,” he replied. “But I’m not the only person you need to apologize to.”

  That was the understatement of the year.

  The next person I had to apologize to was Mom. Then I’d have to call Francis. And Evan too, since I’d almost gotten her in trouble at the store.

  As if that wasn’t enough, I had no idea whether or not to play football and go to the fireworks tomorrow.

  I fell asleep later that night without any clue what the right answer was. Usually I was good at multiple-choice questions, especially when there were only two options. But this one stumped me. Maybe that was because there was no right answer. If there was, I hoped I would find it in the morning.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The next morning I ran into Aaron in the kitchen. He was dressed in clean shorts and a collared shirt I had never seen.

  “I guess you’re not going to play football today,” I said, pouring a glass of orange juice. “What happened?”

  “They got me too,” he said, cramming a toasted bagel into his mouth.

  “What? How?”

  “Mom and Dad aren’t stupid,” Aaron said, chewing as he talked. “Once they figured out you were lying, they obviously knew we were both full of it. So now I’m going down to Corner Pizza to see if Will can help me get a job.”

  “Where’s everyone else?” I asked.

  “I heard Dad and Kate split earlier this morning, and Mom is working.” Aaron glanced at my clothes for the first time. “Wait a second, you’re actually going to play football today? After last night?”

  “Dad said it was up to me.”

  “Sounds like a test,” said Aaron, before leaving me alone in the kitchen. “I hope you pass.”

  I went to the field to play football. I figured if this was the wrong decision, Dad wouldn’t have given me the option to make it. He would have told me not to play.

  On the way I stopped to see Francis, but nobody answered the door. It wouldn’t be much longer before I realized why he wasn’t home.

  When I got to the field, the guys were warming up. Planet and Ox were lacing up their shoes. Shane and Julian were playing catch. And José was talking to two guys I hadn’t seen before.

  I walked over to José and the two new guys. “Sorry I’m late,” I said.

  “Oh man, Wyatt. I didn’t think you were coming,” José said. “I heard from your brother you guys got busted. Why are you here?”

  I searched for an answer, but none came. Still thinking about the question, I reached into my backpack for a pair of socks. I jerked my hand back when my finger hit something sharp. It was a spike from my golf shoes. They had been in there all summer. Suddenly I knew what Dad hadn’t said the other night—and why Francis hadn’t been home this morning. They were at the father-son golf tournament, which was where I needed to be.

  “I gotta go,” I said to José. “I’m sorry.”

  José held out his hand. “Don’t worry about it, wildcat. When I heard from Aaron, we called in some subs.” He pointed to the two guys he’d been talking to.

  “Thanks, José. I had a lot of fun playing with you.”

  “Right on,” he said. “And hey, your brother told us you didn’t say anything about the league to your parents. That was really cool. I hope you can play with us next summer. I mean, you know you’ll always be an Idiot.”

  “Thanks. I hope I can play too.”

  I said goodbye to Planet, Ox, and the rest of the Idiots. Planet and Ox told me they’d look for me when school started. Then I hopped on my bike and pedaled as fast as I could to the golf course.

  If I got there in time, Dad and I could still tee off in the father-son tournament. I smiled as I thought about how excited he’d be to see me. If we got lucky, maybe we’d get paired with Francis and his dad. I pedaled faster and wondered if IE23D was still in the theater. If I bought us two tickets, that would be a good way to say I was sorry. I bet he’d want to see it again so he could explain everything to me.

  I coasted right up to the clubhouse, locked my bike, and ran inside to get my clubs. I bolted out to the first tee, but to get there, I had to pass the putting green.

  Francis was there with a few other guys I didn’t recognize. They were standing in a pack while one of them lined up a putt, brought his club back, and softly tapped the ball toward the hole.

  “That looks like money …,” Francis said.

  “… in the bank!” they all said together as the ball rolled into the hole.

  “Francis!” I called.

  Francis told his friends he’d be right back, then came over to me. “What do you want?” he asked.

  The easy answer was that I wanted everything to go back to the way it was before I had lied to Francis and ditched him at the movie theater. But I knew I couldn’t just snap my fingers and change the past. Also, I wasn’t even sure I really wanted everything to be exactly the way it was. Francis and I were different, and there was no rule that anyone had to have the same friends forever. That didn’t mean I could just walk away, though. If we were going to go our separate ways, I had to make sure we made peace first.

  “I wanted to say I’m sorry,” I began. “What I did wasn’t cool. I acted like a jerk. I shouldn’t have lied to you, or made you lie for me, and I should have gone to see I E Two Three-D with you.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me you didn’t want to go to golf camp? I would have understood.”

  I had a hard time believing that Francis would have understood, but I didn’t think arguing with him was a good way to show I was sorry. “You’re right,” I said. “I should have come right out and told you. Man to man.”

  “Yo, Francis!” I heard his friends yell. “You’re up. Are you coming?”

  “So, are we cool?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, man,” Francis answered. “Things are kind of different now. I mean, you’re not the only one making new friends.” Francis looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be right there!” he yelled. Then he turned back to me. “Why did you come here?”

  “I came to play in the tournament,” I said.

  “With who?”

  “My dad.”

  “Dude, I hate to tell you this, but they teed off like an hour ago.”

  That didn’t make sense. He couldn’t be playing alone, and there was no way Aaron would have come with him. “Who was he with?”

  “Kate,” Francis explained. “We all watched her hit her first shot. It didn’t go far, but it was straight. She’s got a pretty nice swing.”

  “Maybe I’ll just putt with you until they’re done.”

  Francis frowned. “I don’t know. I’m kind of here with these guys.”

  “Some other time, then,” I said.

  “I better go,” he said. “It’s hard to find five tees together. I’ll see you around.” Then he was gone.

  I guess I had that coming, I said to myself when I was all alone. I stood on the edge of the putting green for a minute. I was waiting for something to happen, for Dad to show up and invite me to play with him and Kate, or for Francis to come back and tell me there was an open tee next to his. But that didn’t happen. Hundreds of people passed by, going in all directions, but none of them had anything to say to me. Eventually I returned my bag without ever taking a club out. Then I went home.

  The only sign of life in the house was the music pounding against the walls of Aaron’s room. Kate and Dad wouldn’t b
e home from the golf tournament for another few hours, and Mom was working a long shift at the hospital, probably stitching up people who forgot to throw the firecracker after lighting the fuse. Feeling an urge to tell her how I felt, I decided to write a note.

  Mom,

  I’m very sorry I lied to you and Dad about what I was doing this summer. I won’t ever do it again. I know you think football is dangerous, but playing in the park was the first time I wasn’t afraid of people who are bigger than me. Can I please try out for the freshman team? I was serious about that. If not, can I try boxing? Ha ha.

  Love,

  Wyatt

  After leaving the note on the counter, I went next door and rang Evan’s bell.

  “Oh, look,” she said, opening the door. “It’s the criminal mastermind.”

  “Can we talk?” I asked, trying to show Evan that I wanted to be serious.

  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one not joking around.

  “I’m mad at you,” Evan replied, blocking the doorway. “I wasn’t at first, but then I thought about what could have happened if we’d gotten caught. You know you can be arrested for shoplifting?”

  “It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” I admitted. “Mostly because of what you just said. That’s why I’m here to say I’m sorry. Are we still friends?”

  “You’re done lying and stealing?”

  “I promise.”

  “I don’t want your life of crime, Wyatt.”

  “You’ll never see me break another law again.”

  Finally, Evan opened the door all the way. Now we were on her front stoop. “Anything else I should know before you’re officially forgiven?”

  “Well, you might not see me again for a while.”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “Ka-boom,” I said, making an explosion with my hands. “That’s what.”

  “They found out?” Evan asked. “How?”

  I told her about the scene in the kitchen and about seeing Francis at the golf club that afternoon. “Now I think I’m gonna be grounded for the rest of the summer.”

  “Oh man,” Evan said. “Don’t you get a break for being a first-time offender?”

  “I don’t think my parents see it that way.”