The League (6 page)

When I got home, I could hear Mom and Dad talking in the kitchen about their work schedules. There was no sign of Aaron or Kate. Quietly, I found the school directory we kept by the telephone in the living room.

I looked up Randle and found the number. Then I dialed. My heart was pounding, but I willed myself not to hang up. I was starting a new life. I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore. I was going to earn a little respect.

Besides, what did I have to lose? Spencer already knew it was me. Or at least that was what I thought.

“Who’s this?” Spencer asked when he came to the phone.

“This is Wyatt Parker,” I said clearly. “The guy who told on you.”

“That was
you
?” he asked. “You got me suspended for more than a week. Groton said he would have suspended me for the rest of the year but he wants me to come back for the last week so I can end on a positive note. Can you believe that garbage?”

My mouth dried up like the desert. “You s-s-said you knew who it was,” I stammered.

“I thought it was that punk Morelli,” Spencer said. “He’s got the biggest mouth in school. I was looking forward to shutting it for him. But I guess I’ll have to teach you a lesson instead.”

This was not going the way I had thought it would. I tried to get back some of the courage I had felt earlier. I remembered what Evan had said about turning the tables on Spencer. “Or maybe I’ll teach you a lesson,” I said, my voice quavering.

“Are you crazy?” Spencer asked. “You’re threatening me? Nobody threatens me.”

“That wasn’t a threat. That was a promise. I didn’t threaten you.”

“I promise you,” Spencer growled, “I am going to make you regret picking up the phone.”

“Well, I’m going to make you regret answering it.”

“You just don’t know when to stop talking, do you?” Spencer asked.

“Apparently not.”

“Good. When I get back to school, we can talk all day long, if you know what I mean.”

The line went dead.

I didn’t feel like talking during dinner. Luckily Dad was busy with Aaron. “Have you found anything to do this summer?” he asked. “If the answer is no, you’re going to be stuffing envelopes at my office. All day, all week, all summer.”

“I’m volunteering in the park,” Aaron replied.

That surprised me. I couldn’t picture Aaron volunteering. Unless it was volunteering to steal golf carts and roll them into sand traps, which is what he did last summer.

Dad was surprised too. “Really?” he asked. “Volunteering how?”

“Um, just cleaning up trash and clearing trails.”

“Did you hear about this at school?” asked Mom.

“Yup, at school.” Aaron kept his eyes on his plate. “Oh, I need one of those orange vests. For safety.”

“Well, good for you, Aaron,” said Dad, nodding proudly. “I’m glad you found something productive to do.”

They seemed so happy that I decided to speak up after all. “Can I play flag football?”

Dad leaned back in his chair. “What was that?” he asked.

“Some friends of mine are playing flag football this summer. Can I play too?”

“You’re going to golf camp,” Dad replied.

“With me,” Kate reminded everyone. “And my new clubs.”

“Only if you get a B on that math test,” Mom reminded her.

I kept working on Dad, hoping for a break. “Golf camp isn’t all summer.”

“When does football start?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just heard about it today.”

Dad looked skeptical. “This doesn’t sound very well thought out.”

“Or safe,” Mom added.

“There’s no tackling or anything,” I explained.

“I think the answer is no,” Mom replied. “After golf camp, if you still want to try another sport, we can find something for you. Maybe tennis. Or swimming.”

I remembered Roy telling me that nobody messed with football players. I doubted anyone ever said nobody messes with tennis players.

After dinner I went to the back porch to read, but the armchair was occupied. Aaron was picking pieces of lint out of the fabric of the cushion and tossing them absentmindedly into the darkness.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be on the phone with your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Aaron mumbled.

“What?” I said, taking a seat on the porch swing where Evan usually sat.

“I. Don’t. Have. A. Girlfriend,” he said again. “She dumped me.”

“Didn’t you take her to River Tunes?”

“It has nothing to do with River Tunes,” Aaron snapped. “She dumped me because she doesn’t appreciate me.” He pounded on one of the arms of the chair. “Man! I can’t wait for summer. I am going to break someone’s bones.”

“Picking up trash?” I asked.

“I’m not picking up any trash.”

“What do you mean? What about your volunteer job at the park?”

“Are you nuts?” Aaron said. “I’m not volunteering in the park. I’m playing football.”

Sensing something big, I sat up straight. “You are? Where?”

“None of your business.”

“Please tell me.”

“No, and don’t ask me again. And don’t even think about telling Mom and Dad what I told you.”

“Is it flag football? Because a bunch of my friends are—”

“It’s not flag football. Give me a break.”

Aaron was right, that was a dumb question. But the more he refused to tell me where he was playing football, the more I had to know the truth. “Is it at the high school?”

“I told you not to ask me again,” Aaron said, getting out of the armchair. “I’m going inside.” He kicked a bucket of lawn darts that had been sitting upright on the porch. Darts and hoops spilled everywhere. “Don’t follow me.”

With frogs croaking in the background, I pushed myself back and forth on the swing and thought more about my conversation with Aaron. It was easy to believe he would make up a story about volunteering in the park to get Mom and Dad off his back. But I couldn’t figure out the football part. Mom and Dad already let him play football. Why would he need to lie to them about playing this summer? Did he think Mom and Dad wouldn’t believe he’d be able to do both? Suddenly, it was all I could think about.

I tried to distract myself by reading more of
Frankenstein
. When that didn’t work, I went to my computer and searched for
football leagues in Pilchuck
and got about a ton of links to stories about Pilchuck High School. So I typed in
football leagues in Pilchuck summer
, but I didn’t find anything except the flag football league at the rec center.

I fell asleep that night wondering what Aaron was up to and how I could get in on it, because whatever it was sounded like a lot more fun than golf camp.

“Maybe he got recruited for a secret team that plays football during the day and fights crime at night,” Evan guessed on Tuesday evening.

She was in her usual spot on the porch and I was a few feet away in the armchair. “I don’t think so,” I said. “Aaron causes crime. He doesn’t fight it.”

“Are we even sure it’s football? He might be doing something he’s too embarrassed to tell anyone about, like ice-skating or chess.”

“Trust me, Aaron only knows two things, football and … actually, he only knows one thing.” I tilted my neck back and stared up at the sky. “Argh, I have to know what it is!”

“Why do you care so much?” Evan asked.

“I care because … why should Aaron get to play football this summer while I have to play golf? It’s not fair.”

Evan narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “Wait, you want to play football?” She said it like she hadn’t heard me right.

“Don’t act so surprised,” I said. “I’ve played football before.”

“Tell me one time you played football.”

“Okay, maybe I can’t think of a time right now, but that doesn’t mean I’m never allowed to play. Isn’t there a first time for everything?”

“You really want to play football?” Evan said again, the disbelief in her voice fading. “Like with pads and helmets?”

“I haven’t thought that much about it,” I said. “I just want to try it.”

Evan’s eyes sparkled. “Go, Wyatt! That’s so cool. You should definitely try it. I saw the sign-up sheet for the flag football league at the rec center. Did you ask your parents yet?”

“They’re thinking it over,” I explained, reluctant to admit they had already said no. Not when I had finally found someone who was on my side. “My mom is afraid I might get hurt. I mean, I’m not the biggest guy in the world.”

“So what? There was this girl on my lacrosse team last year who was short, but she was a total star because nobody could check her.”

“Why not?”

“She was too quick.”

“You really think I could play football?”

“Yes, I do,” Evan said. “I bet you could even be on the freshman team next year.”

“No way.”

“Way. All you need is practice.” Evan poked me in the ribs. “And a few meals. Oh, and you have to let me watch a game.” She shook her head. “I never thought I would get to see Wyatt Parker playing football,” she added, hopping off the swing. “Gotta run.”

I slapped her hand as she passed by. “Toodle-oo, kangaroo.”

“Keep it real, harbor seal.”

Not long after Evan left, the screen door flew open and Aaron appeared on the porch. “Are you any good at geometry?” he asked.

“Geometry?”

“Yeah, geometry. You know, like shapes. I have to do all these calculations and I think my teacher might have explained it all on a day I was out. So, can you help me?”

“Fine,” I said. I stood halfway up, then sat back
down. “Hold on. If you want my help, you need to tell me where you’re playing football this summer.”

Aaron’s face went tense. He closed the door behind him and made a slashing motion across his throat. “What are you doing?” he hissed. “I told you not to say anything about that.”

“Do you want my help or not?”

Aaron rolled his eyes upward and bit down on his lip. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell you …”

I pumped my fist. “Yes!”

“… after you help me.”

“Deal,” I said, jumping to my feet.

It took me about an hour to teach Aaron how to calculate the angle of a triangle using the lengths of the sides. I could have taught him to do it the other way around too, but I was afraid his brain would overheat.

“Thanks,” he said, closing his book. “You really saved me.”

“Yeah, yeah. Talk to me about football.”

Aaron was about to answer when there was a knock on the door. “What?” he barked.

“Mom wants you to take out the garbage,” said Kate, sticking her head into Aaron’s room.

“Got it.”

Kate didn’t move.

“Why are you still here?” Aaron asked.

A smile crept across Kate’s face. “What were you guys talking about? Will you tell me?”

“It was nothing,” I said. “I was just helping him with his math.”

Kate didn’t buy it. “I can keep a secret,” she promised. “Please tell me.”

“Man!” Aaron cried. “Why does everyone in this house have to know everything?”

Kate stepped farther into the room. “So there
is
a secret. I knew it! Are you in trouble? Did you get a new girlfriend? Is Sara mad?”