Jamdown

Chapter 15

Terry Arden

Life had a habit of surprising me. It surprised me again today, because I was now in Portmore and I still wondered how I reached here with Vanessa at my side. Donavan had called us and here we were. 

I looked around in muted awe with an intense urge to venture. This was the Maticull Field stadium, it was huge. I was absorbed within the grand high reaches of this structure. The shadow it cast gave us a nice shade and left an indomitable impression on me. 

It was my first time being at a stadium. The biggest I ever was at was that field outside my old school. 

It barely had more than a few rows, but this place was huge. I breathed out and looked around me with a pert nod. “Damn, this place looks nice.” 

Vanessa paced around. She was dressed in a tight black and white maxi dress that ended just above her knees. Compared to her, I looked like a nobody, but we were sitting on the back seats looking through the open side door. She said, “This is cool. Looks so neat…” She turned to me. “You going inside?”

They invited me inside to this launch party. I was not sure what they were launching. My eyes wavered around at the guys. All fourteen of them were well dressed in dress shirts and pants. Malt and another tall male went towards the stadium. 

I answered, “The gear is inside the van, I should protect it.”

Vanessa frowned. “Come on Terry you can just lock the van.”

“I don’t want to go inside there, Vanessa. Me look like—” I was about to say 'a wasteman', which was a useless man who lacked responsibility and maturity. No, I was not that, not anymore.

Vannessa must have recognized where my thoughts planned to go. She shook her head and gripped my collar fixing it. I stiffened, but relaxed as she patted it down. “You look fine. Come on, I hear they have free food.” Vanessa walked off behind the guys. 

My eyes shifted around. The wind blew across the empty lot. Sighing, I supposed free food was not exactly a bad idea. I got up and followed. 

The walk under the tall columns made me truly appreciate how big this stadium was. I was overpowered within the open space of the concrete landing where the ticket area and the various food courts settled in holy matrimony. 

Soon enough, we reached within its inner layer. The roof came down to a more comfortable height with the caveat that we held within tighter walls, so there was not a lot of wiggle room to run around inside. 

Our shoes made the echoing squeak that came with sneakers along the tile. We traveled through the tunnel, no cracks in the walls, the smell of a pine-scented clean. The bright lights hovered over our traverse and I was impressed at this exhibition of prominence. 

They were small talks here and there. Whisperings from some of the teams that would be there by the guys, I knew nothing about most of those guys. I never hung with any of them, still, I knew Leon, Irwin, and Donavan in passing.

The guys were glad Vanessa came on this trip. Why, because it gave them a chance to talk to her. I swore to God. The laughter I tried to hold back at how hard those guys tried to flirt with her. She handled ignoring them well enough.

At least Vanessa was not easily flustered. I was worried since she was not from around here. Not that I cared very much, for I only wanted to get paid. If Vanessa made it easier for me, then she was welcome wherever we went.

We came out into a room that looked like a ballroom. The roof consisted of bright round lights intermittently appearing around the room. Two big tables held many plates of food. Party favors and decorations were tacked onto the wall and flanked us. It was not too colorful, for it was just enough to leave a light-hearted impression on the mood.