The Best Year - 5. Chapter 5

In school suspension, I didn’t know who came up with the stupid idea, but by Friday I was actually thankful for the weekend. Even though I knew Mom and Dad were still high on the idea of keeping me grounded, I didn’t have high hopes of doing anything fun this weekend aside from my plan of sneaking out of the house Saturday night.

After the fight Monday, we had to complete our in school suspension anyway. Welker didn’t think we really learned anything so he started our punishment over the next day. I didn’t get the worst end of things and if I actually played for a school sanctioned sport, I would have gotten in worse trouble. Toby and Derek both were benched for two games and their upcoming season was going to kick off tonight.

The bus ride home after school was short and should have been a breeze, but I couldn’t help thinking everyone’s eyes were on me. The coolest fucker in school, grounded from driving by his mother. Of course I lied and told them I had car trouble and hoped Mom would come to her senses. She didn’t like having to take time out of her day to drive me to my practices no more than I liked riding with her. So far though both Mom and Dad were sticking to their guns, I nearly respected their determination this time.

“Mom,” I said, getting her attention after I walked through the front door and saw her looking over a stack of papers. I hoped she had to work this weekend on a large shipment, it meant I could sneak out a lot easier with both of them gone. I doubted if I covered all my bases that I would even be caught. There was a reason grounding me never really worked out, they were always just too busy to make sure they followed through.

“Yes?” She said adjusting her reading glasses on her nose. She barely even glanced in my direction, so I felt hopeful she’d just agree with me to get me out of her hair.

“The football team is kicking off the season tonight,” I said, wincing at my poor attempt at trying to sound casual.

“I heard the fight Derek started got him and Toby benched for the first two games,” she said, taking off her glasses and finally looking at me. “I’m guessing you want to go?”

“Yes,” I answered shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

“I don’t know about that Jackson,” she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. She looked stressed and I couldn’t help feeling hopeful she was finally tired of keeping me at home. “Toby and Derek won’t even be playing and you’re grounded. Those delinquents might be there.”

“Mom I can take care of a couple of ass… idiots,” I said blushing when her eyes narrowed.

“Not tonight, Jackson,” she countered turning back to her papers. “Maybe when you can get through a school week without ending up in Steve’s office.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” I groaned then grimaced at how close that sounded like whining.

“You still ended up there,” she countered smiling. “Maybe if you behave yourself for two weeks we’ll think about ungrounding you.”

“Fine,” I said, preparing to go up the stairs to ignore everyone for the rest of the day. I didn’t want to hear from Ally or the rest of them either, not about how much fun they had at the game, even though it was a scrimmage. Then the party at someone’s house, whomever was lucky enough to have parents away for the night. If I had my phone, I likely already would have been invited - everyone wanted me at their parties.

“Maybe Luke has the night free,” she offered, stopping me on the third step. I looked up at the rest of them to the second floor sighing before I turned to look at her.

“I’d rather go to the dentist,” I countered and she shrugged, turning back to her papers.

“Your own fault if you get bored,” Mom said, stopping me for a second time before I disappeared to my room. “You need better friends, Jackson.”

“Ally would want me at the game to watch her cheer tonight too,” I argued, “she is my girlfriend.”

“I think you and Ally should stay away from one another until your hickies go away,” Mom said and I felt my face flush. “Maybe even after that if you two can’t behave yourselves.”

“Mom,” I hissed, “we can behave ourselves.”

“I’ve yet to see it,” she countered and I stomped up the stairs to get away from her.

I wished there was more to do than just stare at the walls and flip through the television channels. It only took me one Friends rerun to become completely bored with myself enough to stand up and step out into the hallway. I didn’t want to, but the silence of the house drove me crazy as my shoulders slumped and I stomped back down the stairs. Mom was still on the couch looking over the paperwork, but she had let her hair fall down from the bun she usually kept it in. It made her look younger and a lot more approachable and I wondered if she dressed that way to be taken more seriously at work, being the top manager hired there. I only knew that because she told me a hundred times over the years after she was promoted.

“What’s Luke’s number?” I asked and smiled when she jumped a little not expecting me to address her in any way after I got to the bottom of the stairs. She probably thought I was in the kitchen about ready to rummage through the fridge.

“Number is on the recent calls,” She said, handing me her phone.

“Okay,” I said, taking the phone from her and scanning down through the numbers until I ran across Cindy Clarke and pushed for it to dial. “Who the hell doesn’t have a cell phone?”

“You,” Mom answered and I rolled my eyes as I listened to the third ring about to hang up.

“Hello?” Luke answered and I pulled the phone away from my ear. The plan to ask him to go out fell to pieces as soon as he answered. I didn’t want to make a habit of hanging out with some Church School loser. What would he be doing on a Friday night anyway? Reading? Watching a G-rated movie with his parents? I didn’t know anything about him and I didn’t want to.

“Sorry, wrong number,” I said after bringing the phone back to my ear and I saw Mom glance over her shoulder at me. She shook her head as I held my finger to my lips.

“I knew it was you,” Luke answered when I hesitated. “Your parents know how to say hello after someone answers.”

“Whatever,” I countered immediately feeling like a lame ass. I shook my head and gripped the phone tighter.

“What did you want?” He asked a hint of amusement in his voice. I felt my face getting hot as I swallowed wanting nothing more to hang up and forget the whole thing. “Going to cancel on tomorrow?”

“Right,” I answered, shaking my head as I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck. “I’d have to be on my deathbed before Mom let me out of that.”

“Then what is it?” He asked and I sighed hearing Mom giggle behind me.

“What are you doing tonight?” I blurted then chewed on my lower lip. When he fell silent I realized I was holding my breath and let it out and grimaced when I knew he likely heard that.

“Still grounded from your real friends then?” He asked, no longer sounding amused.

“Yeah,” I answered silently hoping he would just hang up on me.

“I’m going to my uncle’s business opening tonight,” he replied sounding more excited than what I imagined a business opening could be. “It should be fun, why?”

“A business opening?” I asked, “Why would you waste a good Friday night doing something like that?”

“I think if he’s done it right, everyone will waste a few Fridays at his place,” he answered, “did you want to come, he said I could bring a friend.”

“Beats sitting my ass at home,” I said and heard Mom clear her throat behind me.

“Wear old clothes you don’t like, I’ll pick you up in about thirty,” he said and then I heard him hang up the phone.

“Well I’m going to a business opening tonight,” I sighed walking around the back of the couch to sit across from Mom. “Hope you’re happy.”

“I am,” she said smiling. “Who is opening a business?”

“Some uncle,” I answered, shrugging as I read a form she was looking over upside down.

“You need to watch your language around him,” Mom said, picking up her pen and signing her name at the bottom.

“I’ve not even met his uncle,” I countered frowning when she laughed.

“I meant Luke,” she responded, rolling her eyes as she leaned back and took off her reading glasses. She looked tired already, but I also knew she had a long night ahead of her if she was going into work.

“Nah,” I said, shrugging as I smiled. “He needs a good dose of reality.”

“I don’t think getting kicked out of your community outreach will help your cause for being ungrounded Jackson,” she said, but she didn’t sound too concerned about that happening. They probably would take any help that showed up regularly and thanks to Mom that was going to happen. “Just remember his mother is my dearest friend.”

“After you turn me loose you won’t have to worry about them hating us,” I said leaning back on the couch. “He wants me to wear old clothes I don’t like, what sort of business does his uncle have?”

“No clue,” she said, but I could tell she was lying. “I’m sure you’ll find out.”

“Do I have a curfew with Luke?” I asked, “Not like I’d need one, but just in case.”

“Yes,” she answered smiling. “His curfew, I’m sure he’d be in at a reasonable hour.”

“Right,” I sighed frowning. “I’ll be back before dark, will you?”

“Not likely,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. “But when I am, you better be in your room asleep.”

“So Dad will be gone all night too?” I asked and she frowned thinking she read my mind.

“Your keys will be in my purse,” she countered crossing her arms over her chest. “With your phone, Toby and Derek are in trouble, none of you need to be out tonight.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said rolling my eyes. I was planning on it Saturday night, somehow I was going to have the fun weekend I wanted before football really took my friends for the rest of the waning summer and then swimming really took me for the rest of the year. We only had a shrinking number of chances to be ourselves together, to feel the bland freedom this small town can create sometimes.

“Try not to look so miserable when he picks you up,” Mom said as she leaned forward and straightened out the stack of papers. I watched her slide them into a folder and then into her briefcase. “Do you need any money?”

“I have money,” I answered as she stood and I watched her slide her cell phone into her purse after she grabbed it off the couch.

“You’ll have fun, I love you,” she offered as she stepped around the coffee table and leaned forward to kiss me on the cheek. I met her halfway so she wouldn’t have to let go of her things to balance herself on the back of the chair. “See you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile as she walked back around the coffee table. She didn’t look back or tell me anything, like I expected her to. One more, “now be good,” before she opened the door and left, but she didn’t.

After the door closed behind her I stood and walked up the stairs to my room. I quickly undressed and slid on a pair of old jeans that had a few too many holes to still be cool and a white t-shirt. Then I walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen preparing to get a quick bite to eat before Luke arrived, but as I opened the fridge there was a knock on the door and I frowned closing the refrigerator door and walked back into the living room. I could just see some of his spiked blond hair in the small decorative windows towards the top of the door as I turned the knob and opened it.

“Hey,” he greeted wearing a pair of old cargo shorts that had small holes around the pockets and a t-shirt.

“You’re early,” I countered holding the door open for him, but he hesitated.

“We have a bit of drive,” he said, cocking an eyebrow. “When do you have to be home?”

“When you are,” I answered, shrugging. “I don’t have much choice.”

“I figured you had a strict curfew since you’re supposed to be grounded,” he countered smiling.

“I wouldn’t be allowed out at all, remember?” I asked and he laughed as I grabbed the spare house key by the door and locked up behind me as he made room for me on the porch.

“So your fight didn’t get you in worse trouble?” He asked and I rolled my eyes cursing Mom for telling Cindy everything about me. She already thought I was a punk, I could see that on her face when Luke and I left last weekend.

“I didn’t really get a chance to hit anyone,” I answered, “the dumbass that started the fight blindsided me.”

“Yeah,” he said, “I heard that too.”

“Of course you did,” I countered as he laughed. “Our Moms need to stop talking fifty times a week.”

“Ready to go?” He asked and I noticed that he seemed a little bit nervous. Not like he was when he trespassed on our front porch the other night though.

“Lead on warden,” I answered and he smirked and I followed him out to his truck. It wasn’t anything great, just a two seater. A small compact truck that didn’t hint at power or anything like that. I instantly missed my Mustang. Glancing over my shoulder towards the garage I saw that Mom was back to driving her boring Fusion.

“What music do you like to listen to?” Luke asked as he backed out of the driveway. I looked at him after I realized we weren’t heading into town. I knew there wasn’t anything opening in town, nothing like that has happened for decades. Most anything that tried to wow the people in this town fell far short after a couple of months anyway. There were dreams boarded up all over the place, for sale signs marked every empty building. Some of which had more than one failure to own them. It only made Mom and Dad’s decision to move back here even more stupid. The town was dying - eventually there’ll be nothing left. Nothing to hold even them. At least I knew I would be out of here before that happened.

“Whatever,” I grunted and he glanced at me for a moment then sighed, turning the radio off completely.

“What are your friends up to tonight?” He asked and I glared at him. He ignored me by keeping his head forward, but I saw his brown eyes darting to look at me when I didn’t answer.

“Don’t talk about them,” I answered, crossing my arms. “They’re having a hell of a time and I’m not.”

“Which is your own fault,” he countered and I saw the muscles clench in his jaw.

“Okay Mother,” I said and he shook his head as he pulled to the curb.

“Get out,” he said as he put the truck in park.

“No,” I argued looking around the deserted road. We hadn’t made it far from my house, but I didn’t want to walk back.

We sat in an uneasy silence after he killed the engine a minute or two after I refused to leave the truck. He was just nice enough to let me make the decision to leave on my own and not try to force me out, but his cheeks had reddened. I could even tell I pissed the easy going church dude off and he was building up to yelling at me, it was only a matter of time.

“Look,” I said, glancing around for any sign of another vehicle on the road. “I’m not looking for new friends, I…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” he countered leaning back in his seat, his hands still on the wheel. “I thought I was doing something nice for you, getting you out of that house for a night.”

“Me?” I asked, feeling my anger boiling up. I knew it wouldn’t do any good for us both to be pissed. I was starting to actually feel bad for giving him a shitty time so far too. “I’m trying to apologize if you’d let me.”

“Maybe you should learn how to, because that first attempt was pretty bad,” he said and I shot him a glare, but I couldn’t help fighting the urge to smile.

“Well if you’re going to be like that, I don’t think you need one,” I argued and we had another silent staring contest before I sighed. “But I am sorry for being a jerk, I just hate being told what to do.”

“I see that,” he said, “do you still want to go?”

“You could just drop me off at the game, you can come in and watch too,” I said, noticing his eyes narrow slightly. It made his brown eyes seem darker.

“I’m not going to drop you off to be with your friends,” he said, blinking as he turned to start the engine. “Your parents trust me, that’s the only reason you’re allowed out at all, right?”

“Yeah,” I answered, chewing lightly on the side of my jaw, not wanting to admit that to him.

“Then why mess that up the first night?” He asked, smirking as the truck came back to life and he eased back out on the road. I half expected him to turn around at the next house and take me back home, but he kept driving.

“Don’t you have friends?” I asked after I knew he came down from some of his anger.

“Yes,” he answered, “but not really.”

“What the hell kind of answer is that?” I asked before I could stop myself.

“They’re my friends, but I don’t know much about them,” he said and I couldn’t help notice that he sounded desolate. “Or them me, we don’t really do stuff outside of church and school.”

“Sounds boring,” I said and he glanced at me just long enough to smile, but it didn’t touch his eyes.

“None of them wanted to come with me tonight,” he said as we both looked ahead at the winding road outside of town. All of these roads that connected small towns to other small towns were curvy and minimally kept, but I could already see the next town in the distance. Unlike home, this one had more to do within its limits. It is where Toby used a fake I.D to get the alcohol at least. It was why all the smaller towns around it were dying too, it had a lot more to offer and at least double the number of stoplights.

“So I was your last choice?” I asked and he laughed as he nodded.

“Don’t let it knock your ego any,” he joked and I rolled my eyes, failing at my attempt not to laugh.

I knew that we arrived when he slowed and pulled into what looked like a deserted little space where the town met the surrounding farmland. The building he parked in front of was a large warehouse style building.

“You brought me to a factory?” I asked when he released the seat belt and went to open the door. There were other cars scattered in the parking lot, but it didn’t look like his uncle was open for any sort of grand opening. It looked dark on the inside and there weren’t any windows to illuminate what I was about to walk into.

“He bought this place after the tractor dealership went out of business,” Luke answered smirking when I finally unhooked my own seat belt and let it slide off me. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” I said, already planning on being bored and out of place around more of his family.

I didn’t expect to see what I saw when he held the door open for me and walked inside though. The place was nearly pitch black except for ultraviolet strobe lights and scattered lights that illuminated only small areas in the building. From what I could see, it looked like a maze. The ground not far from the concrete entrance looked uneven and when his uncle saw us, he broke from a small group and walked around a bale of straw to greet us.

“Hey nephew,” he greeted, holding out his hand. He looked younger than his parents and shared Luke’s blond hair, but his was receding. “This the friend you said you’d bring?”

“Hi and yeah,” he answered nodding his head towards me. “This is Jackson Forrest.”

“I waited for you before getting started,” he said smiling. “Just sign the accident waivers and we can get started.”

“Accident waivers?” I asked, turning my head to scan my surroundings again.

“Yeah, this group will be the lab rats,” his uncle answered shrugging as he handed up a piece of paper. It excused him from being responsible for accidents tonight.

“Tim wanted us to try it out before he opened the indoor space for customers,” Luke explained, taking the pen from his uncle and Tim turned his back to us so that Luke could sign the paper.

“It is an indoor paint balloon warzone,” Tim said and my heart leapt and my eyes finally adjusted to the ultraviolet light and darkness enough to see the place as a whole. People in white shirts stood out in bright glowing purple. There couldn’t be more than fifteen or twenty huddled around what looked like two large crates.

“Damn,” I said, taking the pen as soon as Luke offered it to me. He then turned his back to me and I quickly signed and dated the piece of paper without reading it.

“Good deal,” Tim said, taking the papers from us and folding them lengthwise before shoving them haphazardly into his back pocket. Then he picked up a loudspeaker, it shrieked before he put it to his mouth to get everyone’s attention. He explained, very loudly since he was only a few feet from us, that there were refilling stations scattered through the maze. The rounds lasted ten minutes. There were also water guns filled with water mixed with food coloring and he assured everyone that the paint was non-toxic, just not to swallow it too much.

He passed around a box of swimming goggles for everyone to wear. People with glasses got the bulky science lab kind and he only slid on a pair of safety glasses. I didn’t expect him to be participating too, but he put down the speaker and waved for us to follow him.

We walked up a small platform stage and he pointed out the entire warehouse in front of us. The largest open area was in the middle. There were crates balloons for people to grab and places for people to hide, like a thin wall of wood with random large holes cut out of it. There was an old car half with the windows taken out of the front and back. Some of the people around us were talking excitedly as we all looked around.

“I want to add automated throwers that are timed to randomly toss balloons and stuff into the air onto people,” he said and I tried to picture what the place could really turn into. Right now it just seemed like a stack of hay bales arranged in a maze that leads people to the center where most of the fighting would take place. There were definitely some exit points and off to the far side, looked to be a spot where people could go mid-battle and wash off paint - probably for those that get plastered in the face and want to see again. “Might add some water jets from the ceiling one of these days too, to help keep the place clean while soaking people.”

“How can you afford the paint?” Luke asked turning to face him, but I could tell his uncle wanted the small tour to end and for us to get started.

“This was donated by my partners,” he answered smiling. “They’re more interested in the paint gun arena outside, but since it will be winter soon they want to see if I can pull this off.”

“You got a good start by the looks of it,” Luke commented and Tim smiled then turned to the larger crowd on the platform.

“Two teams, divide up,” he said as he waved his hand to someone stationed on the raised platform off to the side. When he did, red numbers lit up and he smiled. “Thirty seconds to hide yourself in the maze, go!”

When he released us I took off running through the maze. The ground was rubbery underneath my feet and when I fell I noticed that it was recycled tires, like the sort that were on playgrounds. Then I looked up and saw a hand in front of my face. Luke had come back to pick me up off the ground as the bell sounded and the time clock started ticking from ten minutes. Screams erupted over the sound of music playing as more strobe lights were activated.

He already had a balloon in his hand and he led me to the two large crates he found and I picked up a water gun with a strap and put it over my shoulder. There at the station was also a stack of pouches that held more balloons that a person could carry just with their hands and I threw it over my shoulder as well and quickly packed it full.

“We have to get through the of the maze untouched to win something, Tim told me it had two exits and that the prize was worth the attempt, or we can go to the middle and just hit people with balloons,” Luke explained and just as I was about to decide to go towards the middle the person manning the clock announced what he just told me. “What do you want to do?”

It was completely unlikely that anyone would get through the maze without getting paint on them. At least Luke was smart enough to wear dark clothes, but I stood out like a beacon in my light blue jeans and t-shirt.

“Let’s go to the middle,” I answered and he laughed and we cautiously started around the stacked bales of straw. The maze was a good five feet wide, so I was expecting someone to pop around any corner, but it surprised me when something cold and gooey slammed into the back of my head. I heard Luke bust out laughing and when I turned I saw that he had stopped walking and his arm was still outstretched from where he had thrown the balloon at me. The paint was white, which reflected the ultraviolet light making it glow a bluish purple.

“You’ll pay for that,” I yelled over the noise and he took off running and quickly disappeared around a corner. When I got there I saw that the maze split into three different paths and I sighed picking one randomly, making sure I kept turning towards the middle.

I cursed when I came to a dead end, but when I turned I saw movement, most people were already pretty splattered with paint and when they saw me I aimed my water gun at them and fired. I heard a girl shriek and dance around as she tried to get out of the way. Then a second balloon smacked me right in the face. I had to reach up and clear it off my goggles so I could see, but the girl was gone and I started backtracking until Luke darted past me being chased by a small group of people. Smiling, I took off after them throwing balloons as I followed. With me behind them they stopped chasing Luke and at an intersection took a different path than he did.

“Thanks,” he said, scaring me as I turned the corner. We were both out of breath and out of balloons to throw so we made our way through the maze until we found another pair of crates. This one was significantly more empty and evidence of other people were everywhere by the splattered paint and illuminated footprints.

As we went deeper the maze got more interesting. There were raised vantage points where people could stand and throw balloons at people yards away. There I could see that no one was really even interested in finding the end of the maze which I could see at the other end of the warehouse. Most people were just running from crate to crate when they ran out of balloons. I had to admit I was having a blast and for the moment I didn’t care with who.

“Get down!” Luke yelled and I ducked as two balloons zipped by my head. They both exploded on the straw behind us and when I stood back up we ran from the platform towards most of the people around the center of the maze. We only had a minute or so left in this round and I thought it was too long, I was already winded and didn’t know how many more rounds I could take before I was too tired to move.

“Run!” I yelled when I looked behind me and saw a group of people belting towards the two of us. Balloons bounced off my back and landed beside me as I ran. When we got to another intersection Luke darted down one corridor and I the other. I kept running then out of the corner of my eye I saw Tim spraying a group of people with what looked like shaving cream. He had them backed into a corner and I ran past him slipping on the white foam.

Just as I had my balance though, a body crashed into mine laughing as we both hit the ground. I opened my eyes to see that it was Luke and I laughed as he scrambled to get off me and fell just as the buzzer sounded for the first round to end. When it did the main lights came on and I could see that the paint was a lot of different colors and when I looked over at Luke he had a splattering of light blue and neon pink all over him. He reached up and spiked his short blond hair, trying to clean some of it out.

“That was fucking great,” I said still breathing heavily, neither one making a move to stand. We were the only ones still left in the center of the maze as other people picked their way towards the starting point where Tim told us to meet after the round was over. “I don’t know if I can handle another round though.”

“I know,” he breathed holding his side as he removed his goggles. “Tim needs to rethink the time for the rounds.”

He blinked a few times as some of the wet paint ran from the edge where the goggles were keeping it a bay. He reached for his shirt, he had been hit a lot more than I had. Smiling I got on my knees and lifted the corner of my shirt, finding a dry spot. I held it out to him and he took it and cleaned the light blue paint from his eyes just as Tim turned the corner and found us.

“There you two are,” he said and I looked up to see his hair matted with paint and sticking up in every direction. “What’d you think?”

“It was a blast, Tim,” Luke answered, still cleaning his face with my shirt. I blushed now that most of my lower stomach and abs were visible.

“I didn’t think I was going to survive the whole ten minutes though,” I said and he laughed nodding.

“Yeah I think five or seven minute rounds would be better,” he said but he looked excited about the business.

After we got back to where everyone else was standing, still laughing and cleaning away paint with towels that were stacked on the bench near the entrance. There were a few clean people seated, probably late people that walked in after the round started.

“Anyone get the prize?” Tim asked, getting everyone’s attention. No one held up their hand so he smiled nodding his head. “Well who is ready for another round or two?”

Most people were and I glanced toward Luke who only shrugged and pulled on his goggles. Smiling, I slid mine back on and Tim quickly got the stragglers ready for the next round, explaining the rules and letting them sign the papers. Then the lights went out and the bell sounded and everyone bounded back into the darkness.