The Move
Chapter 5
By Doug Smith
It was obvious this is a small school when I walked into my Philosophy class and all the same kids were there. Ryan, Chris, Randy, Becky and Debbie were there as was Josh. Even Tim, Tanya and Abby were in this class. There were a few other kids I recognized from some of my other classes as well. I grabbed an empty seat next to Ryan and opposite Becky.
"Hi," she said smiling at me. "I hear you've had a rough day."
I found her both friendly and pretty. She looked athletic but didn't seem to have a jock or is it jockette attitude. I hoped we could be friends but I didn't know how good of friends we could actually become. Even if I wanted to explore a relationship with a girl, would it be fair? Becky is attractive. I can appreciate that. The problem is what I feel looking at her sitting in her seat and Josh sitting in his are totally different. Of course I only see Aaron when I look at him. ... I just want this day to be over with.
Becky and I talked a couple of minutes before the second bell rang. Right before the bell Phil and a couple of his friends walked in and took seats in the back.
"Great," I said under my breath probably a little too loudly.
Becky looked at me and smiled. "I guess you've met some of our better students," she said with a smirk.
"At least he's only here and in my Phys Ed class. He hasn't been in any of my other classes but I did get into it with him a little at lunch. He's kind of an as...., ahh, jerk," I said.
"No, you had it right the first time," she laughed. "He's an ass."
I laughed when she said that.
"Actually, that's not right. I was going to add a second word to that but you get the idea."
"That's true. After all, there's nothing wrong with a nice ass," she whispered while looking at my chair.
I looked at her and must have turned ten shades of red. "Gotcha," she said laughing.
"Okay class, settle down. We're going to talk about a subject you all ought to find interesting. We're going to have a discussion about 'love'. Anyone want to tell me what they think love is?"
Phil laughed. "Love is what I get every Saturday night. I'm looking forward to a little 'lovin' after the game this weekend," he laughed.
He got a few hoots from his jock friends and the teacher said to settle down and asked if anyone else wanted to tell him what love is. I thought that was a dumb question for a teacher to ask a bunch of high school kids. What kind of answer did he expect?
Most of the girls said love was when a boy made them feel special. I chuckled when I saw Becky roll her eyes and clearly mouth 'airheads'.
"What's your name son? Do you find that comment funny? Maybe you can enlighten the class with what you think love is."
Becky looked at me and kind of smiled apologetically. "Sorry," I said. "It's Dan, Dan Johnson."
"Well Mr. Johnson why don't you tell us what love is to you."
"Well ... love is more than any of that. At least it is to me. I certainly don't think it's what I get on Saturday nights."
"That's because your hand doesn't count," Phil laughed from the back row.
"Mr. Clayton -- there will be none of that. Go on Mr. Johnson."
I thought of Aaron. "I guess love isn't just one thing. Yeah, it's a strong connection with someone but it's all kinds of emotions rolled into one. Plus it's like they're all on overdrive."
"Can you elaborate?"
"Well, .... I can only describe it in terms of feelings. It's that feeling you get in your chest when you think about the person you love. It's the anxiety you feel when you're not with them but want to be or the happiness you get when they're happy or the sorrow when they aren't. Love is special between two people It's when you want to, almost need to, be there for another person, to help them in any way you can, to protect them, to make them happy. It's like an addiction. The stronger it becomes the more you want it. Sure, you have your own life but the person you love always comes first. It certainly helps when the other person feels the same way," I smiled.
"Faggot," Phil said from the back of the room. I just turned and scowled. If the teacher hadn't jumped in I probably would have let my mouth say something I would have regretted.
"That's a pretty lofty ideal. Do you think people can really find that?"
Looking around I saw Chris, Ryan and Josh staring at me. A lot of the girls were looking as well.
"I definitely believe it's possible. I doubt if everyone who is together feels that for each other. They might have at one time or they might have settled for something else. Love may not last either or it can be taken away quickly. People change. Maybe the intensity of the love changes as well." I left out the part about people dying. I also had to wipe the tears from my eyes.
Mr. Harrison just looked at me, smiled and slightly nodded. "Okay, people. Tonight I want you to research love."
"I have to wait until after the game for that Mr. Harrison," Phil laughed from the back row.
"Anyway people, tonight I want you to think about what love truly means. Look on-line to see if you can find a good definition ... and I don't mean look at porn Mr. Clayton. Is Mr. Johnson right? Is his definition of love correct or is love something else? I want you to write a one page paper talking about the definition you find. Tell me why you think it is right or why you think it isn't. Use your minds people."
The bell rang as Mr. Harrison was talking. I quickly gathered my books and nodded to Chris and Ryan saying I'd see them tomorrow. Josh and I made eye contact but neither of us said anything. I really had some thinking to do. Becky said good-bye and headed towards the door.
In the hall Phil Clayton came up and said we had some unfinished business.
"I've got nothing to say to you," I said.
"It's not that simple faggot. Nobody talks to me like that."
"Then I suggest you keep your mouth shut and we won't have to talk at all," I said quickly looking into his eyes.
I saw him move like he was going to push me into the lockers and I grabbed his wrist as he went for my shirt. I squeezed it tightly and twisted it downward causing him to turn around. I pushed him against the lockers holding his arm behind him and said "I told you to leave me alone." Leaning closer I whispered into his ear so only he could hear. "You don't want to do this ... Walk away."
There was a crowd gathering around us. "Come on Phil," Ron said. "We need to get to practice. It isn't worth it. You get in a fight and you'll get suspended and kicked off the team. Then where would we be?" I let him go and he stood up rubbing his wrist.
"This still isn't over faggot. Nobody talks to me like that."
"It better be," I said. "You stay away from me and we won't have any trouble."
He glared at me as Ron dragged him down the hall. I looked around and saw everyone staring at me. Chris and Ryan had seen the whole thing.
"Wow," said Chris. "Nobody stands up to him like that. He definitely wasn't expecting that. You should have broken his arm. It would have done us all a favor."
"Yeah, right," I said. "My parents would love it if I got suspended for fighting my first day. I can't believe you thought I was friends with that asshole."
"Sorry," said Chris. "I guess we had you guilty by association."
"Yeah, well, you know better now," I smiled. "I'll catch you later. It's been a long day and I still need to finish unpacking. Then I need some sleep. I haven't been sleeping very well."
"You need any help?" He turned towards Ryan and seemed to ask him for concurrence even though he didn't say anything. It was obvious these guys were really good friends.
I thought for a minute. I'd like to get to know them better. "You're welcome to come over if you want. It'll probably be pretty boring watching me put my clothes away but we can listen to music and talk. We've also got Nintendo Wii we can play."
"Great," said Chris. "You have a car? We'll follow you."
"No, I'm walking today. My jeep is still in transit."
"No problem. We'll give you a ride."
Everyone who had been watching my confrontation with Phil had moved on. I said I needed to stop by my locker but noticed Mr. Harrison standing in the doorway as I turned. I wondered if he had seen what happened with Phil and if he had why he hadn't said anything. It really made me wonder as I started walking towards my locker and seeing him smile as we made eye contact. I paused for a second as our eyes met. After a couple seconds he just nodded and turned to go back into his room. Maybe it was nothing but it gave me a strange feeling. It was like he saw inside me. I'm not sure I liked that.
"Earth to Dan," said Chris. "You're not going to faint on us again are you?"
"Sorry," I said. "How about I meet you by the front door in five minutes."
"Sounds good. We'll see you there."
There was that 'we' again I thought as I walked to my locker. For some reason it made me feel good. I liked these guys. Hopefully we could be friends. I just didn't know if they were good friends with Josh as well and if they were how that would affect things. I really did have some things to think about.
I saw Chris and Ryan as soon as I stepped out of the school. The problem was Josh was standing with them as well. 'Shit,' I thought. 'I hope they didn't invite him along.'
"Dan," Chris said. "We need to drop Josh off on the way. His father is expecting him home."
"No problem," I said trying not to make eye contact with him. I was more than relieved that they hadn't said anything about him coming with us although they probably told him they were doing something. I did feel a little guilty not at least offering that he come over but wasn't going to bring it up. He and I sat in the back seat of Chris's Honda which didn't give us much room. We weren't touching each other but we were close. I tried not to look at him but could feel him looking over at me. Neither of us said anything.
I really didn't say much at all. Chris and Ryan tried asking about where I had lived before, what I liked to do, did I have a girlfriend, and other get to know you questions. I pretty much answered with one or two word answers all the time sensing Josh watching me. It was so strange riding with him. If it had been Aaron we might have been sitting closer, our arms around each other. Eventually the friends we had knew about us and never said a thing when we were affectionate with each other. Jason, a good friend of ours, used to joke that at least we didn't have to worry about getting each other pregnant. We both turned red when he said that but he just laughed saying "whatever floats your boat."
Fortunately Josh's house wasn't very far. He lived in a nice neighborhood and had a big house. I noticed it was a little rundown though. It didn't look like anyone took much time to keep it up. Josh saw me looking and seemed embarrassed.
"I'll catch you guys tomorrow," he said. Chris and Ryan said good-bye the way you'd expect friends to be. I just said "see ya" in a monotone voice. Chris and Ryan just looked at me. At least I hadn't fainted. I thought that was an improvement.
"You okay?" they asked as Chris pulled out of the driveway.
"Yeah, fine," I said.
"Is there something about Josh that you don't like?"
"No," I said. "Why would you say that? I just met him."
"I don't know. You just seemed quiet." I heard that to mean standoffish. "He's really a good kid. His dad is a jerk but Josh is okay. He's also our friend."
That's the second time someone said something about Josh's dad. It also confirmed that Chris, Ryan and Josh were friends.. "Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to be. I just have a lot going on." I didn't know how this was going to work. Chris and Ryan seem like good guys but that would mean I'd have to deal with Josh too. I guess I would anyway since he's in at least one of my classes but it would be harder with them all being friends. I didn't know how I could do that.
"Okay," said Chris. "I'm sorry. Anything we can do to help? Which way to your house?"
"Thanks and to be honest I'm not really sure," I laughed. "I don't know my way around. I live on Chestnut Drive. You know where that is?"
Chris and Ryan looked at each other. "You rich?" they asked.
"I don't know. I guess my parents do okay. My dad is a lawyer. He works for a firm that has offices all over the country. My mother is a psychiatrist. That kind of sucks at times. She is pretty good at reading my moods. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. That's a pretty nice area of town. When we were looking for a new house my father said we couldn't even afford the door on some of those houses. You might not want to hang out with us common folk," he laughed.
"I hang out with whomever I want. Today that's you. Maybe tomorrow I'll change my mind and invite Phil over," I laughed.
"Ouch, that hurts," laughed Ryan.
"Don't worry. That's not happening."
I was more talkative on the way to my house. I'm sure they noticed a change after dropping Josh off. They seemed to be doing that talking with their eyes thing again. Maybe I noticed because Aaron and I used to do it too. We knew what each other was thinking with just a look. I was a little jealous but also happy for them. I wondered if I would ever be able to do that with anyone again.
Even though they hadn't said anything I was pretty sure they're gay. The way they looked at each other. The way they reacted to each other. It reminded me of Aaron and me. It made me smile.
Once we got onto Chestnut I pointed them at my house. I hadn't thought of us as being rich before. I had no idea how much money my parents had. I knew we were well off but I never considered us rich. Maybe rich is all relative. The guy who has more is rich. I just hoped it wouldn't make a difference to Chris and Ryan. I had always felt my parents raised me to be a normal kid. They made me work for things and didn't just give me stuff. They didn't want me getting a job saying they didn't want me taking up so much of my time for what I'd get in return. That didn't mean they just gave me money. I had to do things around the house and I was expected to do well in school. Education is very important in our family.
I didn't know what Chris and Ryan thought when we pulled into my driveway. Nobody was home since my parents were at work and Scott was staying after school until my mother picked him up.
"Come on in," I said. "Nobody is home but we should be able to find something to eat and drink. My mother went to the store yesterday."
Chris and Ryan looked around the downstairs as we walked into the kitchen.
"The bathroom is right down the hall if you need it. Why don't we grab something to drink and go downstairs for a while. I doubt you really want to watch me unpack clothes. I can do that later."
"You're not going to give us a tour? This is a big house."
"Sure but let's have something to drink first. What would you like? Coke? Dr Pepper? My father would kill me if we drank his beer," I laughed.
"We don't drink very much. Especially during the week. Dr Pepper will be fine."
I grabbed three cans along with a bag of chips. I wouldn't eat them but figured Ryan and Chris are normal teenagers.
"Come on downstairs. I'll give you a tour later. We can play Nintendo or shoot some pool. I'd say we could watch TV but for some reason they haven't hooked it up yet. Hopefully it'll get done soon. I need to email some friends."
I led the way and told them to make themselves comfortable. I looked at them as we sat down. "I'm really glad we got things straightened out earlier. I like you guys. I hope we can be friends."
"We were kind of stupid. Phil does that shit pretty much every morning. It gets kind of tiring after a while."
"I can imagine. Tell me, is Mike like that too? He lives across the street and I thought he was a pretty good guy. He and I went running this morning. I was looking forward to doing that more often. I'd hate to think he's a jerk too."
"Mike is okay although we don't know him that well since he hangs around with all the jocks, especially during football season. They're all on the football team but Mike does other stuff too. He doesn't bother us though."
"I guess I'll wait and see how he is. I'm sure Phil isn't saying very nice things about me at practice. It'll be interesting what Mike says. Given he lives across the street I hope we get along. ..... Let's see, who else did I meet today? Tell me about Becky."
Chris and Ryan looked at each other. "What about her? She gets good grades. She's popular. I don't think she has a boyfriend if that's what you mean," Chris laughed.
"I didn't say that," I laughed. "I'm just trying to figure out who is who. She is kind of cute though. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess. Most guys wouldn't mind going out with her."
I couldn't resist. "How about you two? Either one of you ever date her?"
They looked uncomfortably at each other. "No way man. A girl like that doesn't want to go out with someone like us. We're not really in her league."
I smiled. "Why? Is she a bitch?"
"No, it's just that we aren't the jock type that girls like that want to be seen with. Why? You going to ask her out?"
"Me? I doubt it. I assumed she had a boyfriend. Besides I'm not a jock either."
"Yeah, but you look like you're built. Maybe she'll make an exception."
I smiled when he said that. I was proud of my body. Running, karate, and working out in general had kept me in good shape. I'm also careful what I eat. I'm not a health nut or anything but I do avoid junk food. I guess I'm not your typical teen when it comes to eating. I'd rather have some granola mix than a cheeseburger and fries.
"She seemed nice. Who knows. Do you guys want to shoot some pool? Why don't you play a game? I have to run upstairs for a minute."
"Sure, but I need to take a piss first," said Chris.
"Bathroom is right there," I said pointing across the room. "I'll be right back. I just remembered something I need to do."
"You need any help?"
"No, my mom asked me to throw in a roast she put in the fridge. I better get it in before she gets home. I'll be right back."
I ran upstairs. Fortunately Mom did leave a roast for me to start. It was already to go so all I had to do was turn on the oven and put it in. I also ran upstairs to my room. If I was going to give Chris and Ryan a tour I thought I should move the pictures of Aaron I had around my room.
"I'm sorry buddy," I said running my fingers over the glass. "You know I'm not embarrassed of what we meant to each other but this is different. I can't let them see you. Not yet. Maybe never." I looked at the pictures and felt tears starting again. "You'll be back where you belong soon."
I ran back downstairs where Chris and Ryan were playing pool. We all played for the next hour and a half occasionally taking a break to play Nintendo. It was really a fun afternoon. I hoped it wasn't going to be a one time occurrence.
At one point we took a break and I showed them the house. "There are five bedrooms upstairs. It's just my parents, my brother and me so we have a lot of room I guess. My mother is using one for an office. My father's study is off the living room plus there is a dining room and a den/music room. I play the guitar a little and will probably either play there or up in my room. There is a pool out back. Supposedly it's heated but it doesn't work. The people who lived here didn't maintain it very well. My father said he was going to work on it this weekend. He said he'd probably have to hire someone to fix it but he wanted to look at it first."
"It's a nice house Dan. Both Ryan's and my house could fit in here and you'd still have room to spare."
That was the second time they said something about money. I was kind of embarrassed. I had never considered us as being rich or anything. Sure, we had lived in a big house in Illinois too but most of my friends had big houses as well. I wanted them to know it didn't make any difference to me their houses were smaller or their parents weren't as well off as my parents.
"Guys," I said. "Lets get something straight. Okay? This is my parent's house. They do what they do and buy what they want. I don't have any control over that. What I do have control over is who I choose to have as friends. You're here because I want us to be friends. I don't care what neighborhood you live in, how big your houses are or anything like that. As long as you're good guys and we enjoy hanging out then nothing else matters. Okay?"
They looked at each other and smiled. "Okay Dan. It's not like we're poor or anything. We just don't have all this. We didn't want you to ..."
"Stop right there. I told you none of that makes any difference so can we go back and shoot some pool or something? I'll show you the upstairs later."
"Okay," they smiled as we went back downstairs. They seemed much more relaxed when we went back downstairs. Whereas before they had acted like guests, now they acted more like friends over for the afternoon. I was kind of surprised I was having such a good time.
About quarter past five I heard my mother come in the side door. I could tell by the pounding of Scott's feet running around.
"Dan, are you down there? Whose car is that in the driveway?" she called out.
"Yeah mom, I'm playing Nintendo with a couple friends from school."
We shut off the TV and walked upstairs. "Hi Mom. This is Chris and Ryan. They gave me a ride home and I asked them to hang around. It's okay isn't it?"
"Of course honey. I'm glad you met some friends already."
"This is Scott, my little brother," I said picking him up. "Scott, this is Chris and this is Ryan. They're friends from school."
We spent some time talking with my mother. She just asked typical questions a mother does when they meet new kids. It was good though since it gave me the opportunity to watch them. The acted differently than how they did with me or with other kids. They stood kind of close to each other although they weren't touching or anything. Chris stood a little in front. I got the impression they were looking out for each other and everyone else was secondary. They reminded me of Aaron and me. I guess they reminded Scott of the same thing.
He looked at them and smiled. "Are you guys boyfriends?" he asked.
I thought Chris was going to choke on his soda. "Scott!!!," Mom said. "You shouldn't go around asking things like that."
"They're friends Scott. I'd like them to keep being my friends too but they won't if you ask stuff like that," I said looking at them. They looked pretty uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry Dan. I just thought ..."
"Don't apologize to me. Why don't you apologize to Chris and Ryan?"
He looked at them. "I'm sorry," he said.
"It's okay Scott. We're not mad," Chris said looking at me a little, no very, uncomfortably.
"Let's go upstairs," I said. "I'll show you my room."
"Do you boys want to stay for supper? It doesn't look like Dan burned the roast too bad."
"No thank-you, Mrs Johnson. Maybe some other time. My parents are expecting me home soon."
"Okay, but don't be strangers. It's nice to see Dan meeting new friends." I looked at her and frowned. It was okay she was being nice but the way she said it made it sound like I didn't have any friends. "I just meant new friends here Dan," she added.
"Come on upstairs. I'll show you my room such as it is. Like I said, I haven't finished unpacking."
"Okay, but then we have to get going. It's getting late."
They followed me upstairs. "I'm really sorry about Scott. Sometimes he says things without thinking."
"It's okay," Chris said. "I'm not sure why he'd think that though."
"I had a couple of friends who are gay back in Illinois. I tried to explain their relationship to him but I'm not sure he understood. I guess he thinks anyone I bring home is like them. It was hard not to laugh when he said that though. You should have seen the looks on your faces. I thought you were going to choke on your soda."
"You had gay friends and you were okay with that?"
"Sure, why not? That's one reason why I don't like it when someone calls someone a 'fag' or a 'faggot'. These guys were friends of mine since we were in first grade. It hurt that they felt they couldn't tell me until last year but I understood after we talked. They said they didn't say anything because they weren't sure how I'd react. They were afraid I'd hate them. I was hurt but couldn't blame them. A lot of people are like Phil. I definitely wasn't like that but I'm sure I made some sarcastic comments at times. I tend to do that. We still hung out. Hopefully we'll stay in touch even though I've moved."
"But they eventually told you?"
"Actually, no. I kind of caught them together one day. You want to see two guys move fast? Catch them making out," I laughed.
"Wow," said Ryan.
"I'm sure if some of the guys at school knew then things would have been different for them. But I made sure they knew our friendship was solid. I made it clear they could count on me. That's just me. Friends mean a lot to me."
Alright, I guess I told them a little white lie. Just because the two friends in question were Aaron and me and it had been us who jumped when Jason caught us making out and it was Jason who was hurt that we hadn't told him, they didn't have to know that. I didn't expect them to come out to me but wanted them to know I was okay with having gay friends. Hopefully I was right about them and they aren't really homophobes but I guess if they are I wouldn't want them as friends anyway.
"Anyway," I said. "This is my room. I haven't done much yet. There are still a bunch of boxes to unpack but I'll get to them eventually."
"We'd like to stay and help but it's getting late. I need to get Ryan home and then get home myself. My parents expect me for supper on school nights."
"It's okay. I'm glad you came over and again, I'm sorry for Scott being Scott. He's a good kid but can be a pain sometimes."
"Don't worry about it. Can you not tell anyone at school though? People might get the wrong idea."
"That's something else you'll learn about me. I'm usually pretty sarcastic with my friends but it's all in fun, I'm used to them being the same way. I may give you a hard time in front of others but hopefully it will be obvious I'm only joking. I wouldn't intentionally say anything that would give people the wrong idea. If I do go too far then let me know okay, don't just get mad."
Chris smiled. "I'm not sure I've ever met anyone quite like you. I think we're all going to be good friends."
"I hope so," I smiled before walking them back downstairs.
The doorbell rang just as we got to the door. When I opened it I found Mike standing on the porch.
"What happened between you and Phil?" he asked without even saying hello. "He was talking shit about you all during practice." He seemed a little surprised when he saw Chris and Ryan.
"Shouldn't he be practicing during practice? I heard the team isn't very good. Maybe that's why."
"Come on Dan, you know what I mean. What happened between you two?"
"He and I just had a difference of opinion. More like two or three differences. I lost track."
"Dan, it's not funny. Phil is pissed. He's not the type to let things drop."
"Look Mike. I know he's your friend but he's a jerk. That was obvious two minutes after I met him this morning and he pretty much confirmed it all day. It seemed every time I turned around he was in my face. He even confronted me in the hall after my last class. I don't care if he is your friend, I'm not going to let him push me around. I don't care whose friend he is or that he's the 'star' quarterback."
"Calm down Dan. First, he's not really my friend. I know what I said but we're just on the team together. I know he's a jerk but I have to deal with him if I want to play ball. Second, I just came to warn you. He's really pissed and he's stupid enough to do something. Just watch your back, okay? He's not someone to fuck with."
"I'm sorry Mike. I didn't mean to jump all over you. I'll be careful but I can also take care of myself. If Clayton starts something I won't back down."
Chris and Ryan looked uncomfortably at Mike. "We really need to get going Dan. Thanks for having us over. Let us know if you need help unpacking."
"Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow."
Mike watched them walk to Chris's car. "What were they doing here?"
"What do you mean? They gave me a ride home and stayed around. What's the big deal?"
"Nothing, at least it's not to me but it will be to Phil if he sees you with them. You heard him this morning. Do you want the ridicule those guys get?"
"Yeah, I heard him and I thought it was disgusting and what he thinks doesn't really matter when it comes to who my friends are. Chris and Ryan are good guys. They don't deserve the crap Phil dishes out. I didn't see you disagreeing with him."
"Dan, give me a break. I don't like that crap any more than you but Phil isn't someone to mess with. If half the rumors are true then I don't want to piss him off."
"Would you stop worrying about Phil Clayton? He already knows I'm friends with them anyway. That's what set him off a lunch. He didn't like me sitting with them."
"Yeah, I can imagine. What happened at lunch anyway? I heard you two almost got into it and then you passed out."
I pushed him out the door. "Quiet Mike. My mother will hear you. She can't know about that." I glared into his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. What happened anyway? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just anxiety or something and it didn't have anything to do with Phil if that's what you're thinking. He doesn't worry me. I've got it under control. I'm worried about you though. Are we still cool?"
"Yeah, we're cool. I'm looking forward to running some more. It'll be fun to kick your ass."
"In your dreams," I laughed. "You want to come in? I have to help my mother."
"No thanks. I have to do my homework since I had practice after school."
"Are we running in the morning?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Good. You can show me the six mile loop and don't worry about Phil. Okay?"
"Alright, just be careful"
"Geez, I thought I'd stop by football practice tomorrow and have it out with him. I'll tell him this school isn't big enough for the both of us," I said in my best cowboy accent.
Mike just shook his head. "I'll see you in the morning. About six thirty?" he asked as he turned and walked down the steps.
"Sounds good. See you then."
I went back inside. 'Not bad for one day,' I thought. 'Two probable friends, one maybe friend, two if you count Becky. One probable enemy. And then there's Josh.' I had no idea what he is.
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