In the Shadows

Part Five: the Plan

Shit, I'm so late.

I rushed out of my English class. We had been watching Romeo + Juliet, and I loved all things Shakespeare. Some of my buddies gave me a hard time for it, but I never cared. Something about poetry amazed me.

I've lived in this town my whole life. My kindergarten class was just down the street, every school I've ever been to was just around the corner. My family had a house on the other side of town; my mother had to argue with the principal to let me come here when high school started. This district said I was zoned for the rival school, but all my friends were coming here. I knew everyone at this school. 

One of the perks of the baseball team, was the popularity that came with it. Or so I was told, I didn't enjoy a ton of attention. I very much enjoyed the team. This is my junior year, but I was placed on the varsity team at the end of last season. The varsity players were under close watch of college scouts, so they played with much more intensity. That made the game even more fun. The other varsity players were seniors, so that meant their last class of each day was baseball. They would spend the time between the locker room and the sports medicine class; getting arms and legs wrapped in athletic tape, massages, ice, or lifting weights. Instead of leaving class early to join my team,  I decided to watch just a little more of the film. I was probably the only guy in class who actually paid attention anyway.

Mrs. Gertrude appreciated that. I liked to make people happy. I also really liked the books she assigned.

I believed that was why I had as many friends as I did; I tried my best to be nice everyone. Well, almost everyone. There was an incident last year with a few guys who decided to talk badly about my brother. That wasn't the first time I had gotten in a fight to defend someone else, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last.

Just then, I heard a deep voice coming from the library. Across the hall, two boys jumped on their skateboards and rolled over to me with their arms up in the air.

"Tony! Where you going man?" It was Brett, my best friend. He recently buzzed his hair off, and the newly bald tan line was glaring in the sun. He adjusted his tank top, exposing his tattoos. He was the only kid at our school with visible tattoos, and often got in trouble for them and his largely stretched ears. He hopped off the skateboard before dapping me up. Close behind was John, our other best friend. We were a trio of trouble makers for our teachers. John was a bit more quiet than Brett and I. He zipped up a bright green windbreaker, holding tightly to his binder.

"Come on, dude. I really gotta write this paper." John complained. He needed to get really good grades this year so that he could follow his girlfriend to their dream college in the city. It became his sole focus in the last few months. Having the goal was good for him, John really shaped up. He stopped smoking and started reading a lot, even when he would hang out with us at the skate park.

I nudged my friends, "You got this, man. Hey, you guys coming to the game this weekend?"

"You know it, brother!" Brett replied with a goofy grin.

It meant a lot to me having my close friends come to all of my games. They were good at embarrassing the girls when the cheerleaders got annoying. It felt good having people in the crowd cheering for me, but it was also really uncomfortable to know I was being watched. Socialization wasn't my strong suit, but those girls followed me around anyway. I pulled at the collar of my white t-shirt, the tag was itching me all day. I couldn't wait to change out of it and get my work out clothes on. The smooth, cool, fabric always felt better against my skin.