String - 14. Fort McHenry

It was the last game of the year. Once again, we were in the stands of Central Catholic High School. The crowds were some of the largest we’d ever seen during the season. We’d won five games and lost three. If we won against Central Catholic, we’d be in the high school playoffs. It wasn’t looking good though. With only a few minutes left we were down and Central Catholic had the ball and were trying to put the game away.

Ryan had been getting more and more playing time as he learned from Coach Rush how to break free of the defenders and get open. We never did get back together as boyfriends or lovers. But we had grown into even better friends than we’d been before, playing Minecraft and chatting into the night.

My dad decided against taking a boat ride for my sixteenth birthday. Instead, he actually came to the party my mom had for me. They even managed to not talk smack about each other, not even in their usual passive-aggressive style! No one was under any illusion that they would ever get back together. That ship had sailed and life had gone on. But the fact that they weren’t actively hating each other anymore gave me more peace than I’d felt in years. I didn’t feel like I was being torn in two so much anymore.

The band was playing better than ever. There were some people who came to the games just to hear the band. Mr. Reilly had truly turned us around from a bunch of kids playing instruments into a true band. And the Phantom show was amazing. Everyone agreed that Kyle’s “Music of the Night” solo on the trumpet was one of the best performances any student had ever done in school history. He truly had captured the emotions of the song and the music just poured out of him. The wind would catch hold of his shaggy red mane and give him that extra bit of subdued wildness that captured the essence of the Phantom perfectly.

And then there was Danny. Oh, Daniel…

After his torrid week-long affair with Savannah, he’d moved on to Samantha, a French horn player in our grade. That lasted until he’d called her ‘Savannah’ by accident in the middle of doing it with her. By the end of marching band season, I’d lost track of who he was currently with, I think he might have too.

“Are you going to fuck your way through the whole band?” I asked.

“I’ve only had sex with four or five of them,” he said.

“Oh, is that all?” I said. “How do girls keep falling for you when they know you’re just using them for sex?”

“You’d be surprised how many girls want it just as much as the boys do,” he replied.

“Is it all meaningless to you?” I asked.

“Not always. There was this one time at band camp when it meant something,” he winked.

“Oh no, I’m not getting into that again! You were right a long time ago when you said we could never give each other what we needed.”

“So you think I’m a player?” he asked.

“I think you’ve become my father,” I said.

“I like your dad,” he replied.

“He has two other kids besides me, you know. Just in case you think that what you’re doing is harmless.”

“Hey, after Lydia, I keep it wrapped, bro.”

“You didn’t for me,” I reminded him.

“You were special,” Danny replied.

“I feel so honored to have gotten the full Danny Rossi Experience,” I laughed.

That’s how our relationship had been in the months after we did it. We were so much more relaxed around each other. I felt like I could tell him absolutely anything and he wouldn’t judge me. We didn’t worry about hurting each other’s feelings by saying something wrong. He was closer than a brother. He was constantly trying to hook me up with guys. It seemed he had something good to say to me about anyone from the Alliance.

“We didn’t start the Alliance so you could try to hook me up with every guy who walks through the door,” I said.

“Not every guy. I haven’t tried to hook you up with Kyle,” Danny said.

“Now there’s an interesting combo,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? Mr. Perfect is wound so tightly you’d never get your dick in that asshole.”

“Who says that’s what I’d want to do with him?” I asked.

“Could you imagine trying to have a date with Kyle? He’d probably send you a bill for using his precious time. He’s condescending, pretentious, arrogant, egotistical…”

“To you he is. I’ve worked with him as a captain. I think he’s interesting.”

“He has no soul,” Danny said.

“I like red hair,” I replied.

The Central Catholic team got stuffed at the goal line trying to put the game away. We were down by five points with only fifteen seconds left on the clock, and our team was starting in the other team’s endzone. We resigned ourselves to having had a good season, but still ending with disappointment. On the last play of the game, the quarterback was looking to pass the ball downfield, Central Catholic sent everyone they could to sack the quarterback to end the game decisively. Shawn Spencer did everything he could to hold off three defenders by himself. One of them got past him. The quarterback threw the ball at the last possible second before he was crushed by the other team’s linebacker. The ball floated like a wounded duck through the air as if I’d been the one to throw it. It wobbled about ten yards… right into the waiting hands of Ryan Crawford!! Because Central Catholic had sent everybody to sack the quarterback, there was no one to cover Ryan! He took off down the field like he’d been shot out of a gun! Past the fifty, the forty, the thirty yard lines, all the way into the endzone as the visiting crowd exploded for the game-winning touchdown! Ryan dropped onto his back and the entire team mobbed him in the endzone. The band almost joined them, but Mr. Reilly managed to contain us so that we could play the fight song. The football team actually came over and joined us in the stands to celebrate. It was one big party with all the kids from Mon Valley celebrating as one. Coach Rush even joined us. He picked up poor Mr. Reilly and hugged him so tightly that Mr. Reilly had to have cracked a rib or two.

“Final score, Central Catholic 26, Mon Valley 27,” the announcer said, to even more applause.

With everybody all gathered in the stands partying, Coach Rush got one of the cheerleaders’ megaphones and spoke to the crowd.

“WE’RE ON OUR WAY TO THE PLAYOFFS, BABY!!!!!!! WHERE’S MY BOY CRAWFORD?”

Ryan, who had been hoisted on his teammates’ shoulders and paraded around like a hero found his way to Coach Rush’s side.

“THEY SAID THIS GUY RIGHT HERE WASN’T TOUGH ENOUGH TO PLAY BALL! THEY SAID HE’D NEVER MAKE THE TEAM! THEY SAID HE WAS TOO TIMID! WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BOY NOW?!?”

The crowd roared its approval, and Ryan got swallowed up in one of Coach’s bear hugs. Lots of tears followed as Coach spoke words of encouragement to him. One more round of the fight song and we all made our way to our busses or to the locker room. I couldn’t believe the excitement on our bus as the party continued. Mr. Reilly didn’t even attempt to stop the celebration. Sure, we lost in the first round of the playoffs the very next week, but we hadn’t even sniffed the playoffs for ten years, so even that was a celebration of how far we’d come in such a short time since the combination of Mr. Taylor, Mr. Reilly, and Coach Rush had reinvigorated the school with their energy.

As football season came to a close, concert season and jazz band season began. We also were in the beginning stages of drama club for the school play. You’ll never guess what our production was going to be.

“Congratulations to Kyle McHenry, who will be playing the Phantom,” Mr. Reilly announced. “Savannah, you’ll be playing Christine. Jake Finnegan will be Raoul…” and the list went on. Danny ended up being the Auctioneer.

“First up to bat,” Danny said, trying to not be upset about having a two-minute part and then spending the rest of the play hanging out in the background. “At least I don’t have to wear a stupid mask the whole time like Mr. Perfect. What part did Ryan get?”

“He decided not to try out,” I said.

“No?” Danny said. “I’d have thought they’d want to have the big football hero be front and center.”

“He’s playing basketball instead,” I informed him.

“Sportsball, huh? Now that he’s the school hero, does he even have time for us normal people anymore?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him in a while. No time to Minecraft anymore. I guess we’re getting a little too old for that anyway.”

“Uh oh…” Danny said.

“What?”

“Dude, you got dumped,” he said.

“No, he’s just busy. We’re not even together anyway, so it’s not like…”

“When was the last time he called you or texted you?”

“Yesterday.”

“When was the last time he initiated the conversation and he wasn’t just replying to you?”

“I… Well… He…” I sighed. “Shit, I was dumped.”

“It happens,” Danny replied. “You were never going to be a forever thing anyway, even as friends. You’re from two different worlds. He’s a football hero now, you’re just a band geek.”

“We’ll always have Kennywood,” I said wistfully.

“I know you think I’m cynical because you think that you’re going to find your one true love, but really, you’re probably not going to meet the perfect guy until you’re in college, if then. You might as well sit back and enjoy yourself a little bit.”

“Like you?” I said.

“I have a lot of fun with my life. Just because you go out with somebody doesn’t mean you’re going to marry them.”

“Or have sex with them.”

“No, I’m hoping to have sex with them.”

“No, I mean you think that just because you have sex with somebody it doesn’t mean you want a relationship with them.”

“I like being free,” Danny said. “You really think your dad should have gotten married?”

“Probably not. He was pretty miserable.”

“Why would I want that?”

“I’d like to find someone who loves me and wants to grow old with me.”

“And you’d like to find that person today?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve already struck out with you and Ryan.”

“You call it striking out, I call it having a wonderful experience together.”

“It was good, wasn’t it?” I said.

“Yeah, now don’t go hoping for round three. I’m very happy with our friendship right now and I don’t want to fuck it up with feelings again.”

“I am too. It’s just… I haven’t had sex since band camp.”

“So you need to get laid, is that what you’re telling me?”

“No, I just… I really enjoyed what we did and if it happened again I wouldn’t be upset about it.”

Danny looked at me. “We have to get you laid, dude.”

Spending time at practice for the drama and band meant I spend a lot of time around Kyle. Despite Danny’s disdain for him, I liked him. He was serious and very smart. I liked his shaggy dark red hair that curled around his ears and on his neck and brushed across his forehead, like he was so serious about other things that he didn’t have time to comb it. I could see why Danny wouldn’t like him though. He always looked bored. Even if you were talking to him it felt like he couldn’t wait for the conversation to end so he could be alone. He was a steady member of the Alliance, though. He was at every meeting and he always had good ideas. Too bad Danny tended to dismiss anything that was a “Kyle idea.”

One day after play practice, I managed to talk to him alone without Danny hanging around telling me he wanted to leave because he’d had a dentist appointment that day.

“That was a great practice,” I told him.

“I think once they finish the mask I’ll really start getting a feel for the part,” Kyle said.

“It’s funny how you played “Music of the Night” for the field show and now you get to sing it. I’m surprised the school is even able to afford the rights to the play.”

“You don’t know? Mr. Reilly paid the rights fee for it,” Kyle said.

“Really? Wow, that must have cost more than he makes in a month.”

“I think Mr. Reilly could work for free and he’d be fine. He and his husband are pretty loaded.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“You should talk to him outside of band and play practice. You ever met Billy?”

“His husband?”

“Yeah,” Kyle said.

“Why would I have?”

“He comes to every football game. I always talk with him during the third quarter when we get to have a break. He’s super nice once you get to know him. He can tell you the stats on every player on the team just from memory.”

“Wow,” I said.

“Yeah, he and Mr. Reilly invested in Google stocks ten years ago right out of high school and made a fortune. He’s an accountant up in Pittsburgh at some big firm. And Mr. Reilly’s mom was a famous child psychiatrist. I read her book on teenage psychology. It’s pretty good.”

“Why would you read a boring old book on teenagers?”

“Because I wanted to understand myself better and maybe understand Mr. Reilly better too. Like, did you know he’s dyslexic?”

“No way!”

“Yeah, he’s learned how to deal with it, but you ever notice how all the clocks in the rooms he teaches in were replaced with digital ones? That was my first clue.”

“Liking digital clocks means Mr. Reilly is dyslexic?” I asked.

“He can’t read an analog one. It messes with his brain. He has a hard time dealing with right and left. You ever notice how often he makes that little “L” with his left hand like he would always yell at Danny about? He’s been doing that all his life. You want to know where I learned that?”

“Let me guess, his mom’s book,” I said.

“Yep,” Kyle replied.

“You might just be a little too obsessed with Mr. Reilly,” I said. “You’re like a Mr. Reilly fanboy.”

“Oh, I think he’s awesome,” Kyle said.

“Okay, smart guy. Why does he need the knee brace?”

“Motorcycle accident when he was in high school,” Kyle answered. “Almost snapped it in half.”

“Really? That’s kind of cool,” I said. “So… What do you do besides band and play practice?”

“Me? Oh, you know, school work and stuff.”

“No, I mean what do you do for fun?”

“Fun?”

“Yeah? Like, do you do Minecraft or…”

“Why would I want to make crafts in a mine?”

I just looked at him. “You do Snap, or Skype, or YouTube or anything fun?”

“Who has time to play around on the internet?”

I sighed. “Do you do anything fun with your life, Kyle?”

“I read books. I like to write poetry and music. I just like to do things on my own, like watch a sunset and watch the stars come out at night. I like to go for walks in the woods and listen to nature.”

I just looked at him. “I said fun, not boring.”

“What you consider fun would bore the crap out of me. I don’t want to go to parties or just hang out with a bunch of people. If I had my way, I’d just have a quiet little dinner with just one person and talk about music or a good book we’d read.”

“Are you ever planning to get laid, Kyle?” I joked.

Kyle blushed. “I think I’m going to go now,” he said.

“No don’t. Sorry. I just, I’ve never met someone like you before. I don’t understand how you’d find any of the things you talked about fun.”

“You don’t have to spend your life being constantly entertained Jake. You’re addicted to that phone of yours. Every time we end a scene you reach for that thing, like a smoker on a smoke break. Don’t you remember how you got in trouble in band last year for messing around during practice with Danny on that thing? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without it.”

“I don’t think…”

“There are more important things in life than what’s on your little screen.”

“Like what?”

“Love, peace, contentment, the smile on another guy’s face, the feel of the wind on your face when you go outside. You’re always looking down at that thing. Maybe you should look up once in a while.”

I sighed. No wonder Danny thought Kyle was an egotistical douche. He never would have been able to understand the things Kyle was saying. But deep down, I understood him perfectly. He got up to leave, but before he got to far away I called out to him.

“Hey Kyle!”

“Yeah?”

“You want to go out sometime?”

He looked confused. “What on earth would we do?”

“I don’t know… Watch a sunset? Look at stars or something?”

Kyle blushed. “I don’t do hook ups, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”

“No, I just… I like you. I want to spend more time together, I’ll even leave my phone at home.”

He thought about it for a moment. “Okay, Friday night. I’ve wanted to check out this little Italian place over in Belle Vernon for a while. You want to go?”

“I’d love to,” I said.

“You realize how funny this is, right? The Phantom and Raoul are going out together instead of fighting over Christine.”